Yes.  Of course.  Snake.

If you didn’t check the comments from yesterday’s blog post you will see that our own desert wiseman, Bryon L., has weighed in from his present location on an Oregon farm, on the Sonoran Desert equivalent of salmon and blueberries.  Snake and wolfberries.  Shockingly, I didn’t find any of [...]]]>

Yes.  Of course.  Snake.

If you didn’t check the comments from yesterday’s blog post you will see that our own desert wiseman, Bryon L., has weighed in from his present location on an Oregon farm, on the Sonoran Desert equivalent of salmon and blueberries.  Snake and wolfberries.  Shockingly, I didn’t find any of my favorite chefs discussing snake and wolfberries as a delicious appetizer.  Not surprising though, is the reality that we should be eating more snake than salmon.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t relish the idea of snake on my plate, but if you want to be all hard core about your environmentally organically correct diet and your Paleo street-cred, eat some snake, or pack rat.  A wider variety of species on our plates is critical for the ecological sustainability of our diet.  Traditional hunter-gatherers absolutely did not limit their animal repertoire to chicken, tilapia and cow.  By widening the diversity of the species they relied upon for food, they were easier on their food supply and insured a beneficially wider array of fat and nutrient profiles in their diet.  A great example of how important it can be to use unusual animals for food is this little recipe from the Guam government. Apparently, the brown tree snake is a relentlessly destructive invasive species on the island of Guam and one excellent approach to managing the snake is to encourage people to eat it!!  If we were in Guam we’d Paleotize this recipe, but since we don’t let’s not worry about it.  I will keep my eye out for wolfberries though next time I’m out in the desert.  Oh, wait.  I will also keep my eye out for snakes, but for different reasons.  Wolfberries are a member of the night shade family, so if you have auto-immune or inflammatory conditions they might not be a perfect choice for you.

Excellent team work on the Team King Kong everyone.  Linda and Traci even teamed up for the hand stand pushups.  Nik and Jenny L. made it especially admirable, which was a good sendoff for Nik who is moving far far away this week.  Good luck Nik!

The Tucson Magpies have also been doing some hard work.  Finishing up with some hollow rock variations might not have been everyone’s favorite.  How come Mike is always waiting for you guys?

IMPORTANT SCHEDULE CHANGE:

This Saturday, January 29th, Open Gym is cancelled because we are having an In-House training for our staff.  Get yourselves on out and enjoy the beautiful Arizona winter weather instead!

Raymond here has found one legit use for our foam rollers.  I believe perched on the top of the stack is an Orca named Willy.  There is another more Crossfit-related use for these things however.  A lot of times we look at training hard, doing CrossFit, as the magic pill to make us [...]]]>

Raymond here has found one legit use for our foam rollers.  I believe perched on the top of the stack is an Orca named Willy.  There is another more Crossfit-related use for these things however.  A lot of times we look at training hard, doing CrossFit, as the magic pill to make us wonderful.  Training is only one piece of keeping the body well.  I’ve written before about sleep and many times about food, but there is another aspect of caring for your physical body which involves caring for your muscle tissue.  There are therapies and therapists of all varieties than can benefit your hard worked muscles.  There is also the everyday, cheap, in-house approach.  Foam Rolling is one good one.

Listen to Jon Gilsom of Again Faster describe how and why foam rolling should be an EVERYDAY part of your crossfitting.  This is an excellent video of foam rolling.  Watch it please.  There will be a test later.  Click here: Foam Rolling with Again Faster.

PS.  If you are still having trouble with muscle and joint pain even if you move properly and you care well for your muscles, I hope you will turn to the potentially inflammatory nature of your diet to look for another contributor.