CrossFit Santa Rosa 1005H Cleveland Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95401 (707) 542-7725

We all know that olive oil is great for us. The problem is that it doesn’t hold up at high temperatures. So what to use for high heat cooking? There are a few good choices, but today we welcome: ghee!

Ok, so ghee is made from butter, and butter is dairy, and dairy is…well, it’s definitely not paleo. Primal Blueprint guru Mark Sisson calls dairy a gray zone. Some people (myself included) get clear signals from our bodies that dairy is a no-no. Others tolerate it just fine. To figure out where you are on that spectrum, eliminate all forms of dairy for at least a month. Then reintroduce it and pay careful attention to how you look, feel, and perform.

But here’s the thing: ghee is butter minus the solids – lactose and casein – which are dairy’s main irritants. So someone like me who is very sensitive to dairy does just fine with ghee.

Ghee (also referred to as ‘clarified butter’) has a nutty flavor, and stands up to high heat. It’s great for stir frying, pan-frying meats, and especially well suited for curries. Furthermore, ghee is stable at room temperature and can keep on the countertop unrefrigerated for months, so if you want to drop a dollop of it on something just before eating (like some steamed veggies), it’s all soft and ready. Can you tell I love it?

It’s really easy to make. Here’s the basics, but know that you can make flavored batches too- garlic ghee, cinnamon, you choose. I use a pound of pastured (grass-fed) organic butter at a time.

Butter goes in the saucepan. Medium heat is fine until the butter melts, then turn it down a little.

The butter will sizzle loudly as the solids begin separating from the fat.

Soon the solids will start to sink to the bottom of the pan, and you'll see the clarified butter through the dissipating top layer of bubbles. Now's the time to use your ears! Don't play any music or talk on the phone, because you need to listen for the sizzling to stop. That's when to turn the heat off.

After letting the pan cool a little a little, pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a glass container. Let that sit until it cools and solidifies.

End result: a nice little pot of ghee, ready for eating. This can keep a home on your counter to use on anything, no refrigeration necessary. (Note: the white stuff in the this picture is remaining solids that will get skimmed off before using.)

Enjoy!

Jo and I's computer. It's a PC.

The Internet is a wealth of information, both good and bad. CrossFit is an open source communtity. With the aid of the internet, you kind find LOADS of good information related to not only CrossFit, but diet and lifestyle as well.

Jo and myself spend a healthy amount of time in front of  people, books, periodicals, journals, and of course the internet to learn and bring you the good stuff. We definately have favorite sources where we like to reep the info related to diet, excercise, and lifestyle.

Do you have any websites, journals, authors, coaches, …etc that you check in and learn from? Or could Jo and I convince you that snorting spaghetti will get you strong because we are your only source?

Open Gym is now a reality! A number of you asked for some Open Gym time, we delivered.

What is Open Gym for?

-Working on barbell technique. Knowingly or unknowingly, you all want a better Snatch, Clean & Jerk, Squat, Press, Deadlift and all their variations. The more effcient you are with these movements, the faster your WOD times and higher your max efforts will be.

-Working on gymnastics skill work. Some of the ladies just nailed or are getting damn close to a Handstand Push Up. They did this by coming in early or staying late and working on the different drills related to this movement.

-Making up a missed workout. Bummed you missed a WOD earlier in the week? Think a WOD would strengthen your weaknesses better than the days flavor?

-Supplementing our programming for something you would like to do. Not everyone is created equal. Some could benefit from spending a longer amount of time in a specific metabolic pathway. Some could benefit from extra strength work. Some from body weight excercises.

-Hanging with friends. Being in the gym is fun, plain and simple.

Post questions to comments.

Kathy and Tom have been CrossFitting for about 8 months now, but until our move, they weren’t coming all that often. Recently, they decided to make a change and to increase the frequency of their training. And boy is it paying off!

The two of them are moving more quickly, more smoothly, and more accurately as a result of consistent training. And they’ve both hit new PRs this week! Tom upped his deadlift by 40 pounds, and Kathy perfectly pressed 50 pounds today. Congratulations, you two! I have the feeling this is only the beginning…

If I weren’t working next Sunday I would be at Tamalpias CrossFit for their Grand Opening party. Here’s what’s on tap…

Schedule of events:

9:00 Doors Open/Sign in

9:30-Kelly Starrett Mobility and Recovery Lecture
Coach Kelly Starrett founded San Francisco CrossFit in 2005 with his wife Juliet. Kelly received his Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2007 from Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, CA. Before starting his own physical therapy practice at San Francisco CrossFit, he practiced performance-based physical therapy at the world-renowned Stone Clinic.

11:00 More Coffee, Treats, Giveaways:  T-shirts, FREE Memberships  (First 10 new-to-CrossFit to sign in) and Discounted Memberships,  1 hour personal training session to the first 10 current TCF members to

11:45- Nationally Ranked Freddie & Niki Myles Olympic Weight Lifting Team Demonstration
Freddie Myles coaches a strong, competitive Olympic Weightlifting team. His team is comprised of high level, nationally ranked athletes as well as those who are new to the sport. Freddie and his team are please to demonstrate their skills and partner with Tamalpais CrossFit.  Olympic Weightlifting is an integral part of CrossFit.  This demonstration is a wonderful opportunity to watch elite lifters firsthand.  Freddie is also the Olympic lifting coach that trains the coaches at Tamalpais CrossFit.

12:45 Last treats and home in time for the big game with a game plan of your own for your new fitness program at Tamalpais CrossFit!!!

Are you an experienced CrossFitter? If your Fran time is under 8 min., come dressed for a workout! Bring your “A” game as prizes will be awarded!!

People pay good money to listen to Kelly Starrett talk.

I would pay good money to watch a Freddie & Niki throwdown.

Take advantage.

There’s a tendency to get lax with air squats. Some people view air squats as something unnecessary of their full attention. They let the chest fall, the knees come in, the heels come up…who cares, it’s not weighted.

DEAD WRONG

The Air Squat is your foundation. Nearly every movement you execute is a derivative of the Air Squat. Treat this exercise with the respect it deserves. Fight for a perfect Air Squat every time and you will be rewarded with PR’s and compliments on form. Not to mention a longer, safer athletic career.

Great video that shows the differences between the Press, Push Press, and Push Jerk.

Crossfit is comprised of functional movements. What qualifies a movement to be considered “functional” is it’s real world application. The deadlift is damn functional, but why it is may not be your first guess. Yes, we do pick up stuff from the ground on a daily basis and it would behoove you to know how to pick these things up correctly. But the deadlift is functional for another, even more primal, reason. The deadlift is second to none in it’s ability to develope core strength. With every properly executed functional movement we perform in CrossFit and in life being “core to extremity”, having a solid core is paramount. Your core strength is your foundation. Deadlifting is like pouring concrete.

Mark Rippetoe - purveyor of the deadlift.

Rippetoe on the Deadlift – “… it’s very hard to imagine a more useful application of strength than picking heavy sh!t up off the ground. “

Sometimes we get a tad carried away with competition. A little friendly competition never hurt anyone. In fact, it probably helped you accelerate past what you would have accomplished working out alone. But there’s been some unhealthy competition brewing for awhile now.

Throwing form by the wayside and risking injury in order to attain the unattainable is about as smart as toasting bagels in the bathtub. Not only are you risking the longevity of your athletic career, you’re also severely impeding your progress by making no gain in the form column.

Do you ever wonder why a 5′ tall, 145lb  Olympian can put 2.5x their body weight overhead? Yes, they’re strong, but the answer lies in their form. When you see great form, you see efficiency. The people who take the time to become efficient with their lifting, by developing great form, are the ones that go on to drop jaws.

Don’t be the guy or girl catching a clean with heels in the air, bar 12″ back of mid line, body in a “C” position in order to beat your buddy, or keep up with the group. You’re robbing yourself of any long term progress for the sake of a number that’s going to be erased the next morning. Stupid.

Keep em’ legit.