Have you ever felt aches and pains after shoveling the sidewalk? How about burning in your joints after a long walk or jog?

Those feelings are a sign that you’re stretching yourself and growing muscles that take you to the next level.

But if you aren’t careful, your body may not have the building blocks needed to repair and heal after a workout. You might be discouraged to find that you feel so sore after pushing yourself, that you’d rather quit than feel pain for days.

Let me ask you a question. Are you sure you’re replenishing your energy reserves appropriately? Are you confident you are feeding your body the building blocks to grow stronger after exerting energy?

Deep down we all know that if we take something out we need to put something back — whether that be in our bank account or our body’s nutrients.

I’ve learned that there is a truly body-nourishing energy drink that is all natural, and can be sourced from locally raised pastured animals.

It’s called bone broth.

You’ve heard people talking about it. Maybe you’ve even made it once or twice. Regardless, if you have or haven’t, here are a few benefits of bone broth from Dr. Axe:

1. Protects Joints
2. Good for the Gut
3. Maintains Healthy Skin
4. Supports Immune System Function
5. Boosts Detoxification

Simple and Easy Chicken Bone Broth

Notes

Simplified from this recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 pounds of bony chicken parts, such as necks, backs, breastbones and wings
• 4 quarts cold filtered water
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch parsley

Instructions

• Place chicken pieces in a large stainless steel pot with water, vinegar and all vegetables. Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour. Bring to a boil, and remove scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 8 hours. The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavorful it will be. This will impart additional minerals to the broth

© 2023 Copyright Bartlett Farms

As a farmer and someone who keeps busy in the family business, I find that I often don’t get the level of working out that challenges me to get to the next level of fitness.

Even getting outside to do chores twice a day doesn’t always force me to expand my abilities. Especially during the winter, indoor office time and not having as much activity can make me tired and somewhat depressed.

So I decided to take on a challenge.

I decided to try my hand at a world-famous Spartan obstacle course race near Atlanta, GA. It’s running, climbing, lifting, and crawling through mud, water, trees and more!

The best part is that I’ll be doing the race with friends and my brother Jonathan.

In getting myself ready for the challenge, I’ve started paying more attention to what my body is getting in order to maximize my workout routines.

I’ve made a habit of taking homemade bone broth every morning. Overall, I feel GREAT!

I am convinced that as long as I’m depositing nutrients to my body’s reserve through real food such as bone broth, I can push myself and not regret it. Nutrients like calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and others are getting where they need to be because I’m taking in a nutritious energy drink.

Before taking bone broth, I had been consistently taking vitamin C tablets. That made my joints feel significantly better. While I still plan to take supplements as needed, I’m hooked on bone broth after experiencing better recovery after workouts using bone broth,

Now I don’t worry as much about hurting myself doing pushups, pullups, burpees, box jumps, and miles under feet in preparation for the race.

Have you been anxious to try making some bone broth? If so, I encourage you to take the plunge and give it a try. I think you’ll be impressed with the benefits, and knowing you are getting nutrients into your body. It is worth the effort.

I hope that you will join me in pushing yourself to try something new. It doesn’t have to be big, but any step forward builds momentum that carries you on to achieve more.

Broth photo by Hannes Grobe (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons