United Barbell - CrossFit SOMA

As you come in today to get your dead lifts on, remember to check in to the 2014 CrossFit Games. The WODs have been made, the finalists have packed their compression gear and are awaiting their "go" signal today -- in fact, for the competitors are already one day in! Check out the schedule of events, and log in to ESPN3 to watch the whole weekend live, or watch on your TV on ESPN 6-7 today and ESPN2 5-7 Saturday and Sunday! If you have been sleeping on the job and want to catch up on what you've missed, check out the live footage archive and see your favorite games masters, individual and team athletes throw down. Who are you rooting for?

This week's awesome comes to class with enthusiasm, an appetite for learning, and a side of sassy east coast flair. She is the first to come in in the mornings (if the buses are on time), and the last to leave after class. She's not just hanging around, Courtney means business... the business of becoming a CrossFit badass.

Courtney has been setting goals for herself since she joined UB. She works diligently to tick them off one by one... kipping pull ups? Check. Strict pull ups? Check. Better mobility? Check. But what's great about our heroine of the week is she never settles. There is always a new goal to reach - that's why you'll find her spending her weekend at the California Strength Seminar instead of soaking in summer "sunlight." She even got shiny new oly shoes and knee sleeves to prep! As long as she's got something to say about it, nothing will get between this lady and CrossFit rockstar status.

Courtney is one dedicated chica, and all I have to say is keep chipping away lady! Your an inspiration to us all!

Only a rockstar does buddy carries in heels!
...CrossFit, bringing fun poses to couples since 2001.

Let's play a little mental experiment. Imagine ... You are in the middle of a WOD. You can feel the lactic acid creeping in and your form starts to break down - but you keep plowing through. Cue your coach - they tell you "reset your back!" "knees out!" or "head position!" Now for the important question: how do you react? Do you listen or do you just keep moving for the sake of finishing with a faster time despite poorer mechanics, performance and safety risks? Do you take a moment to hear what is being said, or do you get angry and frustrated at the coach for interrupting you? What ever it is, your reaction is a measure of your coachability.

Want to get better? Don't take corrections and cues personally.

For those of you who don't make the corrections, you might be thinking: "I want to be faster & I want to win, so just keep moving." Maybe you are thinking "it hurts so bad, just get through it." Or perhaps it is as simple as "I can't calm my body/mind down enough to listen," But before you commit yourself to these mentalities - let's look at the consequences:

• Safety: This is the most obvious. We coaches are trying to help you achieve your goals in an orthopedically safe manner. We have your best interest in mind. If you choose to ignore your coach, you are potentially putting yourself at risk of injury.
• Bad habits die hard: Movement is built on repetition. If you do 5 perfect deadlifts during a warmup but do 30 poor form deadlifts during a WOD - which do you think your body will remember? (Keep in mind your habits will then determine the positions, postures, and movements you adopt outside of CrossFit)
• Performance: Our goal as coaches is to teach you perfect form, and then challenge your capacity to maintain it under change - such as load or high intensity. Performance is your ability to do exactly that. If you slop your way though to the finish, you are not only missing out on the physical benefits of doing an exercise right, but you are missing the point all together.

All of that sounds pretty bad, right? Well here's the good news: coachability is a mental and physical skill. It is another layer of technique. Once you become aware of it and put in the effort to improve it, you will allow us to more effectively give you the tools you need to become the rockstar athlete you want to be.

Recipe from nom nom paleo.

Spicy Tuna Cakes

This weekend was a great demonstration of power and athleticism. The USAWeightlifting world brought out their A game this weekend with several weight classes having epic battles for the gold down to the last lift. Many many records were broken and many PRs were set. Personally, I experienced a new sense of team and vision for the sport that left me inspired and hungry for more weight on the bar!

For those of you who got to see it, I hope you were equally inspired! And if you weren't excited enough for this weekends Olympic Weightlifting Seminar with California Strength -- now you get to be taught by national 2 time national champions and 2014 nationals medalists!

Here are the results from your favorite lifters!

UB Coaches

Coach Jenny 19th place (Snatch - 73k (161#); Clean and Jerk - 85k (187#); Total - 158 (348.33))
Coach Kristin 10th place (Snatch - 83k (182#); Clean and Jerk - 105k (231#); Total - (414#))

Some of Your New Friends from the California Strength Team

Rita Benvenidez 11th place (Snatch - 75k (165#); Clean and Jerk - 97k (213#); Total - 172 (379#))
Nicole Lim 6th place (Snatch - 57k (125# ); Clean and Jerk - 77k (169#); Total - 134 (295))
Rob Blackwell 2nd place (Snatch - 145k (319#); Clean and Jerk - 160k (352#); Total - 305 (672))
Spencer Morman 1st place (Snatch - 154k (339#); Clean and Jerk - 192k (423#); Total - 346 (762))

Want to know what it is like to be a Regionals athlete? Sevan Matossian asks NorCal Regional athletes about their training methods.... Colleen is in there twice!

Did you figure out who was in last week's Saturday blog photo?

Congrats on your engagement Tao Tao! We are so happy we got to be a part of your engagement shoot!

Have some free time Friday -Sunday this weekend? Tune into the live feed for the USA Weightlifting National Championships. Watch your current coaches (not to mention get a preview of the awesome that is the Cal Strength Seminar Staff) compete throughout the weekend.

UB Coaches

Coach Jenny (Friday 2pm Pacific)
Coach Kristin (Sunday 12pm Pacific)

Some of Your New Friends from the California Strength Team

Rita Benvenidez (Friday 630 Pacific)
Nicole Lim (Saturday 10am Pacific)
Rob Blackwell (Sunday 2pm Pacific)
Spencer Morman (Sunday 4pm Pacific)

And for a little more reading, here is a blurb from my teammate Sandra (lifting tomorrow at 930 Pacific) on prepping for an oly meet.

Preparing for a competition is interesting.... interesting, exciting, fun, frustrating, scary, and truthfully, hard. You have to endure longer and harder training. You need to push through any mental and physical pain you may have. The preparation time is often longer but can be more intense than the actual competition. Those of you going for the CrossFit Games know what I mean.

When I prepare for a big competition I do a few things differently. But the biggest thing I do is visualize lifting not only during training, but throughout the day. It is the last thing I think about before I go to bed at night. Your subconscious can analyze and work out problems better than your waking mind, so use it. Walk through the venue, the warms ups and then successfully make each attempt in your head. Fall asleep working on the part of the competition that you need to improve the most. Your mind is your ally. It can help you to overcome the fears, the missteps and the doubts. More importantly your subconscious can help you to realize it is not so unknown, you just need to tap into your mind and all that mental and physical preparation and destroy that fear. Go to bed thinking it, achieving it, and you will be surprised how much more focused you are when you are actually doing it.

This week's dose of awesome is brought to you by coach Trent.

When this dose isn't out crushing real estate sales you can find her killing box jumps and pullups at United Barbell SOMA! Vi arrived a little less than a year ago. She had worked out and done endurance training before but was timid towards lifting heavy things and throwing them around. For the first month she was shy and reserved but after surviving that month she became excited to tackle on new challenges, whether it was barbell work or dreaded pullups. Looking back now, it's crazy to see how much Vi has developed into a bad ass athlete. Knocking out pushups well into the 20’s and using her springs to jump onto a 30” box like its play school. And what makes us so proud as coaches is to watch someone go from being shy and timid to finding their inner confidence to be a shining star every time they come into the gym.

Sweet n shy Vi no more. Check your radar... she’s right behind you, “Froning(ing)” your ass to take the workout of the day.

To “Froning(ing)” means to stalk and pray, trail slightly behind, and strike and or kill at a moment of weakness.

No rest for the awesome!

Get Motivated! In just 2 days the USA Weightlifting National Championships will begin in Salt Lake City Utah. Want to lift like the big boys? There are still a couple spaces left for the California Strength Seminar/Certification at UB next weekend!

WHAT: Two Day Olympic Lifting Seminar/Certification with David Spitz and California Strength Team Members.

WHEN: Saturday & Sunday July 26th - 27th, 10am - 4 pm

WHERE: United Barbell!

WHO ITS FOR: This seminar is meant for anyone who wants to learn. You do not need to be a high level lifter to participate in this seminar. Love olympic lifting? Do it. Just curious? Check it out. Love the Cal Strength boys and girls? Come play!

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
This seminar will include 12 hours of practical instruction on the snatch and the clean and jerk. We will also cover proper squat, press, and pull technique. Instruction will cover the California Strength top-down system for learning and teaching the Olympic lifts. This seminar is relevant to people interested in learning the lifts, coaches who teach the lifts, and trainers who use such lifts in their programs. California Strength seminars are very "learn by doing!" Everyone who attends the seminar will lift weights, so wear appropriate attire and bring lifting shoes if you have them.

HOW MUCH: $350 per person for Standard Seminar, $495 for Cal Strength Coaching Certification