15.1 Monday Heat Schedule

15.1 Sunday Heat Schedule 

15.1 Saturday Heat Schedule

15.1 Friday Evening Heat Schedule

And so it begins! For the first time ever, there’s an Open workout that has two parts that will count towards your first WOD!
Get those forearms ready!

DON’T FORGET TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT IN THE ALLOTTED TIMES IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THIS POST!

Thursday 6:30pm
Friday 5:30pm
Saturday 9:30 & 10:30am
Sunday 9:30am
Monday 12:00pm

Here is the official WOD:

WORKOUT 15.1

The 2015 CrossFit Open starts this Thursday!  Since those participating in the Open will need to have each of their workouts judged, we will be dedicating certain times to do the Open workouts.  Keep in mind, even if you aren’t signed up for the Open, or aren’t interested in competing, you can still do the Open workouts during these dedicated times.  However, we don’t want to detract from, or neglect our regular classes and for this reason we won’t be allowing Open workouts while a regular class is going on.

Listed below are the times that we’ll be running heats for the Open workout.  Aside from doing it during the Thursday evening time slot, you’ll need to post in the comment section of Thursday’s blog post what day and time you’d like to do the workout.  This allows us to setup the heat times and judges, so things run smoother and quicker.

Open Workout Time Slots:

Thursday 6:30pm
Friday 5:30pm
Saturday 9:30 & 10:30am
Sunday 9:30am
Monday 12:00pm

Lastly, during the CrossFit Open we are adding an additional Saturday morning class at 7:30am.  This way, those not interested in the Open can still get their Saturday morning workout, at either 7:30am or 8:30am, and then enjoy their weekend!

Big congratulations to Sweat Shoppers, Jason and Brianne, who tied the knot yesterday at City Hall in San Francisco!

Jason and Brianne have been a huge part of the Sweat Shop community since the day they stepped in years ago. They both approached CrossFit the way it should be down to it’s core. Jason is the prime example of how to get good at CrossFit. He has always had an appreciation and patience for the mastery of the skill and never lets his ego or scores on the whiteboard sidetrack him. This has shown in his continual progress over the years and seems to never hit a ceiling! Brianne, who has also made outstanding progress since she started, quickly befriended many Sweat Shoppers and has been one of the most positive presences at the Shop. She is always there to cheer everyone on and shows her appreciation for her coaches and those in the community. She knows very well how to make you feel good about yourself in a heartbeat!

Jason and Brianne, these awesome qualities you show us everyday are what make you an AWESOME husband and wife! We appreciate all you are to our community. Congrats again from us at Sweat Shop and best wishes on your future together!

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. I’m sure you’ve heard that a lot. While I think to only care about one meal out of your day is beyond silly, to me, breakfast is most difficult to prepare for. I know this may be different for other people given schedules or access to food, but I think it holds true for the majority of those who have to wake up early and get a meal in before they head to work, school, or the gym. When people ask me what I eat for breakfast, it’s usually an underwhelming egg scramble with spinach, rice, milk and/or a piece of fruit. I am ok with it on most days because it’s quick but I know for some, a meal like this could get stale really quick. More recently, having Hiroshi’s pre-made “Ninja bowls” has been super convenient in that I can wake up and heat up the meal right before leaving home. In addition to it’s convenience of already being made, it forces me to eat new and different foods.

Rather than sending someone links to the tons of gourmet paleo recipes that can be a bit much to prepare with so little time in AM, I wanted to see what you Sweat Shoppers typically do for breakfast each day. I know many of the members at the Shop already know what should be in a healthy breakfast, but sometimes folks find it hard to change it up! Please post your common daily breakfasts in the comments section. Again, if possible, the more simple the better, or some that can be prepared for the night before. Although a “Baked-Egged in Prosciutto-Filled Portobello Mushroom Cap” might sound tasty, it might not be doable right before heading on BART to work. 

Back when I was a raw vegan, my stove didn’t get much use other than housing my kombucha. 

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of questions around kombucha and how to home brew. Back in Dec 2012, I did a post on Kombucha and how to make it yourself. Below is the post from 2012. Post to comments if you are interested in making your own and I can get you set up with a mother in the next week or two.

I get a lot of questions as to what I’m drinking in my unmarked glass bottles with questionable liquid contents. KOMBUCHA of course! I fell in love with kombucha because of its carbonated goodness and fruity flavor. And come to find out, they say its pretty good for you. Win win in my book. So I started buying them bulk style at Whole Foods, but at $3 or more a bottle, it was adding up. I decided to have a go at making my own and I haven’t looked back. Check out some of the benefits below. Also, if you’re interested in making your own I can get you a mother to start. LMK and happy drinking.

P.S. Synergy Kombuca is my favorite.

From food renegade.com:

First, there’s all the benefits of detoxification, such as healthy livers and cancer prevention. One of kombucha’s greatest health benefits is its ability to detox the body. It is rich in many of the enzymes and bacterial acids your body produces and/or uses to detox your system, thus reducing your pancreatic load and easing the burden on your liver. Kombucha is very high in Glucaric acid, and recent studies have shown that glucaric acid helps prevent cancer. I know 2 people in my immediate circle of friends who have had cancer (pancreatic and breast) and fought it into remission without any chemo or radiation therapy. Instead, they warded it off by detoxing their lives (going 100% organic, removing chemical cleaners and agents in their home, changing their diet to be at least 80% raw or fermented, etc.) Central to the detoxification process was drinking Kombucha regularly. Even Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the recently deceased Russian author and nobel-prize winner, in his autobiography, claimed that kombucha tea cured his stomach cancer during his internment in soviet labor camps. (And because of this testimony, President Reagan used Kombucha to halt the spread of his cancer in 1987. You’ll note he didn’t die until 2004, and that was from old age, NOT cancer.)

Next, there’s all the benefits of the glucosamines it contains, such as preventing or treating all forms of arthritis. Glucosamines increase synovial hyaluronic acid production. Hyaluronic acid functions physiologically to aid preservation of cartilage structure and prevent arthritic pain, with relief comparable to NSAIDs and advantage over glucocorticoids. Hyaluronic acid enables connective tissue to bind moisture thousands of times its weight and maintains tissue structure, moisture, lubrication and flexibility and lessens free radical damage, while associated collagen retards and reduces wrinkles.

Then, there’s all the benefits of the fact that it’s a probiotic beverage, such as improved digestion, fighting candida (harmful yeast) overgrowth, and the general health and well-being associated with this. As such, it’s noted for reducing or eliminating the symptoms of fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, etc.

Plus, it’s extraordinarily anti-oxidant rich, and you all know the benefits of anti-oxidants for boosting your immune system and energy levels.

Read more 

Open Season. Are you ready? from CrossFit Sweat Shop on Vimeo.

Signed up for the Open yet? What are you waiting for?

Register here, and sign up for Team CrossFit Sweat Shop.

12 Days To Go……….. Let’s do this!

For those interested in our On-Ramp program, our next one will kick off on Monday March 9th at 6:45pm. As always, it will run each Monday and Wednesday night at 6:45pm for 4 weeks. If you have been hesitant to give CrossFit a try, or think you might not yet be ready for regular classes, the On-Ramp is a perfect opportunity to get acquainted with what we do at the Sweat Shop. The On-Ramp starts out slow and covers the fundamentals of the movements you will be doing most often with us. It is also a good opportunity for those in the class to “Ramp-Up” their conditioning before starting the regular classes.

If this sounds like something for you, hop on board!

To reserve your spot, or for more information on the program, please e-mail me at James@crossfitsweatshop.com. The class is capped at 8 people. Don’t wait too long!

Click here to access our On-Ramp info page.

Not to sound like a conspiracy therorist, but this is pretty interesting stuff.

Taking candy from a baby is easy. Taking sugar from a senator? Not so much. For decades, economists, free market think tanks, good-government advocates, newspaper columnists, and even the occasional elected official have decried the special treatment enjoyed by the American sugar industry.

Under current policies, U.S. sugarcane and sugar beet farmers receive minimum price guarantees regardless of market conditions. In addition, the federal government allots 85 percent of the U.S. sugar market to domestic producers, and it imposes quotas and tariffs on the 40 countries that are allowed to export sugar to America.

Read full post here.

I was recently in a conversation with someone I met outside the gym, we got on the topic of exercise. Here was our conversation:

Woman: I hike Mt. Diablo at least twice a week. There are so many great hikes.
Me: That’s awesome! We live so close, I wouldn’t mind getting out there on the trail. I used to trail run a lot and there’s something really beautiful about being out on a trail.
Woman: Oh great, so you’re a runner.
Me: I used to run, now I mainly do CrossFit for exercise.
Woman: OH NO!!!!… Be careful with that CrossFit stuff, it’s really dangerous!
Me: You’ve tried it?
Woman: No…but I’ve heard stories…
Me: I’m a CrossFit coach
Woman:  Awkward silence.
Me: With improper form anything can be dangerous. I’ve heard the stories too and easy to see how CrossFit gets a bad wrap. If the coaching is solid so will the athlete.
Woman: Yeah, that’s true.

This was not the first time someone who has never tried CrossFit warned me of it dangers. I had to chuckle to myself afterwards. But it got me thinking…

There are plenty of people out there thinking of trying CrossFit, but are held back fear. Fear stemming from a skewed view of what CrossFit is. You’ll never know until you try. I really enjoyed what Seth had to say about fear in his Athlete Profile:

Q.  What advice would you give someone who is hesitant to try CrossFit?

“The first session is free! Who doesn’t like free stuff?”  Seriously though, if people ask me about CF, I usually tell them, “it has the potential to change your life if you’re willing to get past your initial fears”. My educational background is in Public Health so I’m more interested in having conversations about how we can make CF part of our school’s physical education curriculum. I think it should be mandatory. Let’s get kids hooked on CF and clean food early in their lives and end the obesity epidemic in this country!

Have you been met with less than enthusiastic responses to what you do for exercise? If so, what was your rebuttal? Post to comments below: