United Barbell - CrossFit SOMA

Please note there will be no Oly class tonight.

Community Day

We are so excited to meet your friends as we open our doors for a free, beginner-friendly WOD for you and your buddy! Just a reminder to register now for Saturday's Community Day class at 12:30pm. The class is free for both you and your buddy. We have lifted our class cap, so the more the merrier! We hope to see you there!

(Reminder: Make sure to come early to have your buddy sign the waiver. To save some time, you can have them fill out our waiver online before they arrive.)

New Schedule Announced Next Week

We are preparing to make some changes to the AM class roster. Stay tuned next week for the announcement of additional classes as well as some time changes that will be going into affect the beginning of May!

Spring is here. In California the spring equals, among other things, avocados! And since you know fat's a friend, not a foe, you can properly celebrate with these 20 paleo recipes from parade magazine. Have other avocado favorites? Post a link to the comments!

1. Pumpkin Spiced Avocado Smoothie – I love adding avocados to smoothies. It may sound a bit weird but don’t knock it until you try it. Pumpkin spice and coconut milk are the predominant flavors in this smoothie and avocado creates a thick, creamy texture similar to a milkshake.

2. Baked Avocado and Egg with Miso Butter – Cooking an egg inside an avocado creates a tasty breakfast full of protein and healthy fats. Miso butter adds a ton of flavor.

3. Sweet Potato, Apple and Avocado Salad – This is one of my favorite lunch options at the moment. Sweet potato, apple, red onion, and lime juice complement the avocado perfectly.

4. Chilled Tomatillo Avocado Soup – Avocado acts as a thickener in this recipe to create a rich soup that you’d never know is missing the cream.

5. Avocado Egg Salad Lettuce Wraps with Bacon – In a different take on egg salad, avocado binds eggs and celery together for a simple lunch or snack.

6. Grilled Avocado and Peach Salsa – Have you ever tried grilling an avocado? It creates a smoky flavor perfect for salsa! This recipe is wonderful on top of fish and poultry.

7. Grilled Spicy Cilantro Shrimp and Spinach Salad – Perfect for lunch or dinner, this salad is both flavorful and filling.

8. Mini Bacon Guacamole Cups – These guacamole-filled bacon “cups” are pretty much the ultimate appetizer.

9. Rock Shrimp Cobb Salad – This salad is a tasty lunch or dinner option.

10. Scallop Ceviche with Orange and Avocado – If you love scallops as much as I do, this ceviche is for you. Avocado is the perfect complement to the shellfish and orange brings a refreshing citrus note.

11. Zucchini Pasta with Avocado Cream Sauce – In addition to creating a rich, creamy smoothie, avocados are the perfect base for a healthy cream sauce.

12. Baby Kale Salad with Strawberry and Avocado – This is a perfect summer lunch or appetizer!

13. Tuna and Avocado Stuffed Tomatoes – This satisfying lunch is brimming with nutrients such as omega-3s, something many of us lack in our everyday diets.

14. Southwest Meatballs with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce – A dinner so flavorful you will never miss the pasta!

15. Paleo Taco Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing – I always love a good taco salad.

16. Blackened Salmon with Mango-Avocado Salsa – Avocado and fruit salsa is always a perfect companion to fish.

17. Grilled Pineapple Burgers with Spicy Avocado Cream – Who needs a bun? This burger is incredibly satisfying.

18. Paleo Steak and Avocado Roll-up – I love steak and avocado together, which is why this wrap is especially intriguing. It requires a specialty ingredient that can easily be swapped with lettuce for a convenient meal.

19. Chocolate Avocado Pudding – You haven’t fully experience the wonders of avocado until you try it in pudding or mousse.

20. Perfect Chocolate Ice Cream – This ice cream is better than store bought and so much healthier!

There's been a lot of great things happening around UB. But a couple of highlights from this past weekend require some attention. Please take a couple of minutes to read this epic 2 part blog-o-glory brought to you by myself and coach Trent.

Not so Average UB Competitors Rock the Joe's Competition

brought to you by T-Pain

At the average but not so Average Joe’s competition United Barbell showed up in full force. We had 4 men and 4 ladies competing. Diablo Crossfit ran a well organized competition and here is the breakdown from this weekend.

The first half of the day was the men. There were two workouts with 10-12 competitors in each heat. Our athletes battled through a barrage of sandbag and axlel bar exercises. With coaches James and Trent in their corners, the men fought hard through each workout, pushing to their absolute breaking points. Josh Tobin “Tobias” was up first out of the six heats. Staying unbroken with all axle deadlifts and thrusters he placed in the top 5 of each of his heats. Next up was Shaun K. Making quick work on the sand bag drags and sand bag burpees he fought hard till the end also placing in the top 5 of his 12 person heat. Jeremy Reither and Rich Stone were to finish out the days heats. Both placed in the top 3 positions of their heats. Surrounded on both sides by great competitors they stayed the course and pulled ahead while others tanked. Stone moved on to a triple elimination final with an epic display of pull ups, push press and double under consistency to help him come from behind and win his heat. All UB men did a hell of job and made their coaches proud.

The second half of the day the ladies showed up and represented hard. All day the loudspeakers were blowing up. “Out of no where CrossFit SOMA” the commentary said. Again with 12 competitors in each heat we had Lindsay Dagan and Haley Beauchamp in heat two, Ruth Galpin in heat 3, and Jo Gail in heat 4.

In heat 2 Hayley came out strong not knowing she would quickly become the rabbit for all the girls to chase. With doubts by the commentary, Hayley stayed with her pace never deviating and took first in her heat. Lindsay displayed epic strength prowess making the axle power cleans and thrusters look like childs play. Coming right behind Hayley in the second heat to round out a 3rd place finis,. Ruth “Ruthless” Galpin took the field after heat 2. With a set of 10 axle thrusters and 5 sandbag burpees to start, Ruth worked her consistency through each movement and battled to an epic 2nd place in her heat. It was a rock star of a moment! Last but not least Joanna “Jo” Gail took to the battle grounds. Quick with axle and sand bags she demonstrating strength and the capacity to go long giving her two top 3 finishes.

It was then to the finals for Hayley and Joanna. Triple elimination brought Joanna to the 2nd heat after an epic comeback during the 15 push presses. Jo ended just short of getting to the final heat taking 5th overall. Hayley was cool and calm through both the first and second elimination rounds taking first in both. She was then in the finals with the four toughest ladies of the day. It was a sprint that consisted of a 500 meter row 15 Overhead Squats and then a first come first serve prowler to the finish line. Hayley was seconds away of getting to the prowler finishing out the day with a fourth place finish.

Overall the day was filled with emotions of excitement, anxiousness, and pure HAMness! For a number of our athletes it was their first competition experience and definitely not the last. The thing with competition is that it fuels the fire to burn stong into the next. Just an endless cycle of getting more bad ass. I speak for the entire coaching staff at United Barbell when I say we are so blown away and proud of our athletes this weekend. You just put United Barbell on the map huge! Way to represent crew!

Team UB at Regionals

When Olivia and I started UB, we started with the dream that we would create a facility where people could realize themselves as athletes capable of anything they put their minds to. Just over 3 years later, and the results are palpable. Icing on the cake is to have our coaches continue to set the standard for what's possible. As 2014 CrossFit Open closes and the 2014 Regionals season begins, we get to have both.

This year, on May 30 - June 1, 2014, we will be sending not 1, not 2, but 3 athletes to the compete in the CrossFit NorCal Regionals! Up first we have coach Trent who will be representing UB for the 2nd year in a row! He has worked hard over the last year to keep himself at his best while working on his weaknesses from last year's Regionals. Next we have coach James. He set his sights on this goal last year and has followed his program with unwavering dedication. It has been a great pleasure to watch what tremendous gains come from relentless commitment and focus. Last, but certainly not least, we have our female athlete Colleen representing. I have had the distinct pleasure of coaching Colleen over this last year. The woman is the epitome of everything it is to be an athlete and her tenacity will continue to serve her as she climbs the CrossFit ladder.

What an awesome dream come true to have these 3 fantastic athletes and people represent us on the CrossFit mainstage! Congrats you three! You done us proud! (more details on Regionals' details coming soon!)

Friday's noon class

This Saturday, United Barbell athletes will be competing in the Average Joe's competition, presented by Diablo CrossFit. The competition itself will take place at Universal Sports Academy. Please come out and support your fellow athletes! Details below.

Here's how Diablo describe the event:

"We have had many requests and inquires about all the 'average' people in the CrossFit world who love participating in classes and the CF Open but would never enter a competition due to the very competitive athletes that attend the “regular” CF Comp circuit.

So we are happy to support all you with the competition bug and help you become 'the best of the rest'!

DETAILS:

Date: Saturday, April 12th

Time:
Men: 8:30am- 11:30pm
Women: 12:00pm - 3:00pm

Venue:
Universal Sports Academy
330 Ferry Street,
Martinez, CA

ATHLETES COMPETING:

Hayley
Joanna
Lisa
Lindsay
Ruth
Sean F
Shaun K
Jeremy
Josh T
Rich S

This week's Dose of Awesome brought to you by Coach Trent.

We got two Malone’s at UB, not related, but luckily enough they don’t throw down in the same class because stuff would just blow up on impact. Today we talk about the spunky Jenn Malone! Jenn’s been at this CrossFit game for just over a year now. Over this time she has made awesome progress. Busting out pullups, doing snatch and clean work in her free time, and getting involved with the community inside another gymnasium to bust some heads in dodge ball. All these things come together to make Jenn the awesome athlete that she is. UB you better recognize. Congratulations Jenn keep on conquering!

Malone squatting big!

There are lots of events going down at UB! Here are some dates for your calendar...

Community Day

You've been telling your friend about CrossFit for what feels like forever. But for whatever reason, they are timid and nervous about signing up. Well on April 19th at 12:30pm we have an opportunity for you. We're opening our doors and offering a free, beginner-friendly WOD for you and your buddy! The class will be capped at 20. Tell your friends who keep asking you what CrossFit is and bring them down for an in person introduction! Prospective athletes can reserve their space on our online schedule and you're welcome to keep them company!

Because some people need to test the water first

Kinetic Chain

Feel a little beat up after the open? Due to popular request, we have invited back the team from Kinetic Chain for some in house ART. Saturday, April 19th we will be hosting our two favorite body workers, Monte and Jay, for bookable sessions. Each session includes two people working on you simultaneously for 1/2 hour. Sessions are $150. each. There will only be 10 slots available... so if you are interested, respond quickly!

Hydrostatic Bodyfat Testing

It's that time again! We've got the folks from fitness wave bringing their hydrostatic body-fat test van. Getting ready for summer? Stepping up your training? Here's your opportunity to check your progress. They will be here at 681 4th St. on May 16th. Click here to sign up.

Gelatin is gaining popularity in the real food and athletic communities for its gut- and joint-soothing properties. It's a protein derived from collagen - another type of protein found in animal connective tissue - that's been cooked. Collagen is well known for its role as a supportive protein, helping form skin, tendon, ligament, and bone. It's also important for gut health. As athletes, maintaining healthy joints, which go through a lot of wear and tear, and a healthy gut, which keeps us from getting sick, is really important.

Normally, we get gelatin from cooked animal tissue. Bone broth (soup stock) is a great way to get it naturally. If you've ever cooked, then refrigerated a chicken and come back to find jiggly meat juice at the bottom of the pan - that's gelatin.

Since gelatin is a protein, people commonly think it's good for post-workout recovery, but that's incorrect. Gelatin is high in the non-essential amino acids proline and glycine, and while those are good for building connective tissue, they're not great at building muscle. For post-workout recovery, choose protein sources such as meat, eggs, and fish, which are rich in the branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These BCAAs are critical for muscle protein synthesis.

While bone broth and soups are great, you may want to switch it up and include these gummies to supplement gelatin in your diet. Look for high-quality brands of gelatin powder such as Great Lakes, which derives the gelatin from grass-fed animals. This recipe is only slightly sweet, so you won't want to eat the whole pan at once. As a supplement, the recommended serving of gelatin per day is about one tablespoon, so if you cut this recipe into sixteen servings, then four squares will get you there.

Recipe and article from breaking muscle.

Strawberry Lemonade Gelatin Gummies

Yields 4 servings

The following article is a good read from the Tabata Times. Enjoy!

It’s that time of the day again: the clock finally beeps that your eight minutes of torture are up; you slam the barbell down, sweat raining into your eyes and blurring your vision; and you stumble to the whiteboard. Trying to regain your breath, you do some preliminary analysis: Well, Mike finished 30 seconds faster than me, but then again he didn’t do the Rx weights. Damn, Taylor beat my time! But did she really? I mean, we all know how she “counts.”

The whiteboard is a central part of the CrossFit experience. Whether your box uses a traditional whiteboard with dry erase markers or the fancy virtual ones that chart your progress, it’s been ingrained in you from day one that you record your scores after every workout. It’s probably second nature for you to check the clock as soon as you drop your last snatch to make sure you catch your time, down to the second, so you can get your score on the board and see how you did compared to everyone else.

So you use the whiteboard daily, but do you ever stop to think about what it’s really there for? Here are five misconceptions about the CrossFit whiteboard and some suggestions for how you should really be looking at it.

1. The whiteboard is there so I can compare myself to everyone else.

What is it about CrossFit that makes it so different from other workout programs? Is it the goofy gear you get to wear or the fact that you now have an extensive collection of selfies taken with barbells in the background? I guess it is for some people. But if you ask most people what they love so much about the CrossFit atmosphere, they’ll probably tell you it’s the awesome sense of camaraderie they get to bask in every time they walk in the door. CrossFit is as much about the community of like-minded people you get to interact with as it is about being the fittest on earth, or whatever. So the notion that the whiteboard exists mainly for you to compare yourself to the other athletes is a little contradictory.

"Sure, it’s good to have some people whose scores you check to make sure you’re on the right track and you’re giving your best effort, but turning it into an über-competitive platform for being critical of yourself or for bragging about your superiority over others goes against the spirit of CrossFit."

There’s no need to be so tightly wound when it comes to the whiteboard. Relax a little and remember not everything’s a race.

2. I thought I was counting right, but now that I see Timmy’s score I obviously miscalculated. I’ll just say I did the same reps as he did.

Grrr. Stop doing this immediately. Quit using your “inability to count right” to justify cheating. You counted right. For whatever reason, Timmy got more reps. So be it. Be honest with yourself and your fellow athletes and put up your real score. Nobody likes a cheater, and sooner or later — whether it be in competition or just being called out in a WOD —y our buddies are going to realize what you’re up to. It’s much better to be honest than to be embarrassed when competition time comes and everyone is shocked that you couldn’t really do 140 burpees in seven minutes. Be real.

3. Sally did Rx weight, so obviously that means I have to too.

Obviously nothing. Sally might have 30 pounds on you, or she might have started training two years before you’d even heard of CrossFit. Disregard Sally and her superhuman abilities for a minute and focus on you. Are you ready to do the weight or the movement Rx? If you’re on the fence, the best thing you can do is consult your coach. But remember he probably has 100 other athletes so don’t just run up and go, “How much should I lift?” Bring him your most recent numbers for that specific lift or movement and let him know what you’ve done in the past, and go from there. Whatever you do, do it with the confidence that it’s a choice you made based on your abilities. Don’t worry about the choices others made to suit their fitness goals. You don’t need other people’s whiteboard victories to dictate your decisions.

4. Last time we did back squats I did MORE than I did this time! I’m obviously a failure and am losing all my gains.

Oh, please. The whiteboard is an inanimate thing. It can’t judge whether or not you’re getting better — only you can do that. Maybe the last time you did back squats you had eaten perfectly all day, no cheats, plenty of fats and good carbs to help give you the explosive power to crank out some heavy back squats, but this time you had a rough day at work, got stuck in traffic, got to CrossFit five minutes late and were running on coffee and a protein bar from four hours ago. The whiteboard doesn’t know any of that, so all it’s going to show you is you lifted less this time. Quit being so hard on yourself. Everyone has the occasional day of complete Crap in the Box. Don’t completely disregard it —remember what happened that day and try to avoid those mistakes in the future — but don’t beat yourself up over it either. You’ll have another chance to back squat weight that would put the Hulk to shame.

5. I have something to prove and I’m going to use the whiteboard to do that.

No you’re not. Prove yourself out there on the floor. Prove yourself in the final moments of a crushing WOD, as the sweat pours from every crevice of your exhausted body, in the moment when it would be so much easier to quit or to get hit by a car or something.

"Prove yourself when you really do lose count of your reps and you start over to preserve the integrity of your workout. Prove it by no repping yourself when you know you didn’t get low enough or get your chin over the bar, even if no one else is watching you and calling you out."

Prove it in the real, tangible progress you make every day that you throw everything you’ve got into being the best athlete you can be. That’s what shows, at the end of the day. After you’ve done that, the number you write on the board is practically irrelevant.