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

Please welcome Michael (aka “Stock”) and Brandon to the internship program! Look for these two great guys shadowing, co-teaching, and student-teaching in the On Ramp, privates, and regular CrossFit classes.

Brandon Richardson

Brandon grew up in Santa Rosa and in high school played football and baseball. He is a firefighter and driver/operator with the Calistoga Fire Department, where he has worked for the last seven years, and will complete paramedic training in 2012.

Brandon used to be a member at several “globo-gyms,” but always felt that he was missing intensity and a competitive edge during his workouts. After learning about CrossFit, he began doing CrossFit-inspired workouts at his gym until everyone gathered to stare, and eventually asked what exactly he was doing.  Soon he discovered Crossfit Santa Rosa and the importance of proper nutrition.

Brandon is a Crossfit Level 1 certified trainer and has an Associates of Science in both Fire Technology and Emergency Medicine.  He is a Santa Rosa resident and enjoys snowboarding, mountain biking and hiking.

Michael Stockinger

Born and raised in the East Bay, Michael grew up playing baseball, basketball, and competing on a swim team. That is, until running took center stage in his life. He competed in Cross Country and Track throughout high school, and later, in community college.  Michael attended Sacramento State University where where he joined the Sac State Triathlon Team and received his BA in Journalism/Environmental Studies. After college, Michael trained for and received his Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification and was assigned to work at the Sonoma Coast as a State Parks Ranger.

After a couple of years of being uninspired with his athleticism, he realized that something was missing. He wasn’t feeling healthy and kept getting sick, which led him to discovered the Paleo Diet. He began to practice the Paleo Diet’s principles, and in his  research kept hearing about CrossFit. From there he found Crossfit Santa Rosa. Michael notes that CrossFit is challenging, and every day is a learning experience. He continues to run long distances – faster and stronger than before – and is looking forward to coaching others. He wants to make fitness fun and accessible to everyone, and show people what they can do, from weightlifting to gymnastics.

Congratulations to Brandon for completing the CrossFit Level 1 certification the weekend before last in Santa Clara. Can you spot him? (Hint: Chuck Carswell and Jason Khalipa were instructors.)

Here are the August PRs. Big ups!

And a particularly pretty, meticulously-organized, and oh-so-readable (and useful!) strength training tracker. Guess whose?

In her first month out of the On Ramp and in regular classes, Cori got her first kipping pull ups!

In his first month out of the On Ramp and in regular classes, Eddie showed up for Olympic Lifting class because he knew he wanted to work on the movements that he found most difficult. You make this coach proud, Eddie! Blurry picture, but here he just Snatched 125 lbs.

On the platform at the 2009 Redwood Empire Championships. Stop by on Saturday for a short or long while. It's the best weightlifting meet in Northern California and it's just a few minutes away!

Please drop by the town square in Cotati (aka La Plaza Park) on Saturday to watch some great weightlifting at the 2011 Redwood Empire Championships. This annual competition is hosted by our good friend Freddie Myles and is a fun, outdoor event with hay bale seating, beer, and bbq. Last year both Emily and Thomas lifted in the meet.

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to see some top weightlifters Snatch and Clean & Jerk. Lifting goes on all day, from 10am-5 pm. Stop by any time. Oh, and Thomas will be lifting with the big guys, at 4 pm! This is a free event, and so close to home. You’ll be missing out if you don’t check it out. Hope to see you there!

In other news:

-Gleason Ranch Meat CSA box drop off is this Monday evening (8/29). Please plan to pick your meat up by 8:30 pm.

-Please note that on Labor Day (Monday, September 5th) we will hold a 10am class only.

-On Friday, September 9th from 5-7 pm we’re hosting a Happy Hour! We will only have one evening class at 5:30 pm.

Got a shoulder thing? Check out CrossFit Oakland’s shoulder clinic recap post, complete with photos and descriptions of exercises to strengthen and support your shoulders. Good stuff there. Come into the box early or stay late to complete these exercises on a regular basis, especially if you’ve got crunchy or painful shoulders that limit you in daily life or in training.

The date for the 2nd annual NorCal 40s has been announced: Sunday, January 29th, 2012! This is a CrossFit competition specifically for athletes ages 40-49, and last year was held close to home in Novato at TJs Gym. There hasn’t yet been info released other than the date, but this was a fun event last year. If you’re in your 40s and can generally do WODs as prescribed, this is for you!

On Saturday, September 3rd, CFSR will run the 31 Heroes WOD “to honor our heroes killed in action August 6, 2011 with a workout in an effort to raise funds for the families affected by this tragedy. All funds received will go to these families through the Navy SEAL Foundation, other like-organizations, & individual family funds.” You pay $31, get a t-shirt and do the workout, and your money goes to these families. Register here. Can’t be in class but want to participate? Donate here.

Then, on Saturday, September 17th, CFSR will participate in Fight Gone Bad 6, benefiting Camp Patriot, a non-profit that takes disabled U.S. Veterans on outdoor adventures; Infant Swimming Resource with CrossFit Kids, which provides swimming lessons to kids as part of a drowning-prevention initiative; and the Warrior Foundation, which provides a college education for the  children of U.S. service men and women killed at war. There are prizes awarded to FGB participants who raise the most cash for these causes. Register here.

There’s a bunch of new cookbooks coming out of the Paleo/Primal world. Woo-hoo! Check out Make It Paleo: Over 200 Grain Free Recipes for Any Occasion. A perusal  of the authors’ blog plus the preview of the book are plenty of evidence that this is going to be a really good one, worth pre-ordering.

Next is Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking in a Gluten-Free Kitchen also available for pre-order. Here’s a look inside that book. And like the first book mentioned above, this one is written by a couple that has a blog with recipes you can check out.

And last but not least, a great chart from Balanced Bites showing us the quantity of carbohydrate and nutritional value of various vegetables and fruits. Lots of things to take away from this chart. We can see one reason why, for example, sweet potatoes are preferable to white potatoes as a post-workout food for glycogen replacement. The sweet potato is micro-nutrient rich while the white potato is relatively void of nutritional value. Check it out for yourself to help you make informed choices and good choices in your eating.

(For more pictures from the day, please see the CrossFit Santa Rosa Facebook page.)

Michelle's 185 lb Clean (a PR), which earned her a 4th place spot in Event 2.

One hundred female competitors and at least three times as many fans and spectators showed up at Alhambra High School in Martinez on Saturday for Femme Fit 2011: Summer Edition. In the competitor pool were CrossFit Santa Rosa members Carolyn and Michelle.

There were five events in the day. The first was a trail run through the dry and brush-filled hills surrounding the main site. The catch? Competitors did not know the length of the run, even while on the course. They were directed by guides as to the direction of the path, but did not know when it would end. It is estimated that the run was around 3 miles. Carolyn came in 2nd place in her age group in this event.

Carolyn was worried about the Deadlifts in Event 3, but it was the Box Jumps just after Deadlifting that was hard.

Event 2 had athletes establishing a maximum-weight Clean within a 5 minute time period. Michelle’s opening lift of 155 lbs was heavier than most of the women even finished with. By the end of the five minutes, she had successfully cleaned 185 lbs, a ten pound personal record! This put her in a tie with Jenny LeBaw who just finished 6th overall in the 2011 CrossFit Games.

With time left on the clock, Michelle attempted 195 lbs, but the bar got away from her and hit her knee on its way down. Although she iced her knee on and off over the next few hours, the swelling and discomfort caused concern over how she’d be able to handle the rest of the competition. Despite the hurt knee, Michelle powered through Event 3, the deadlift/box jump/Kettlebell workout, in just 6:05.

Athletes take off running up into the hills surrounding the event site. They did not know what the total distance of the run would be; it ended up being about 3 miles.

The last two events of the day were a 100 meter dash (sanctioned by USA Track and Field and monitored with fancy-schmancy stuff: a gun start, a clock with hundredths of a second recording, and a photo finish) followed by a run/sandbag carry/burpee combo. The 100m race was an exciting crowd pleaser, with the top two women in each heat going head to head for a second round. The sandbag carry workout came an hour later, which on the one hand provided the athletes needed rest, but on the other just gave time for the adrenaline levels to drop and fatigue to set in. Still, Carolyn held her own in both of these events, coming second in her age group on the sprint and first in the burpee/sandbag workout.

I don’t think I could be more proud of these two amazing women. Congratulations Carolyn and Michelle! I am so proud of you for choosing to enter this competition, and for giving it your best. Competing can be scary and nerve-racking, but I know that you are better athletes now because of the experience this weekend. Mad props to you both.

When you see these two strong ladies at the box, give a big high five to each of them. They really deserve it.

This weekend, on Saturday, August 13th, both Michelle and Carolyn will be competing in Femme Fit: Summer Edition. I know they’d love to see some of your faces there and hear you cheering for them. Round up a crew to carpool, pack some snacks and sunscreen, and head on down to the East Bay for some or all of the events. Directions to the event can be found on the ‘Location’ tab of the FF website. Please come out and support these two awesome ladies!

This should be a super fun competition to watch, too, as women from all over Northern California will be showing their skills, strength, and stamina. There are five different workouts and 100 competitors. The spots were filled within hours of registration opening.

We’re so proud of these two strong women for taking on this challenge! Show them some love!

Femme Fit – You Vs. from CrossFit Sweat Shop on Vimeo.