Part II

Another throwback to a solid workout a while ago... Good times.

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Tomorrow is gonna be good for some Zamcave publicity! Keep your eyes out for a couple Z tshirts in the halls...

So despite my best intentions to lift today, my track coach had other plans... In fact, he eliminated any possibility of me lifting (or walking, for that matter) with:

All done at 80% of full speed: 
- 200m 
- 600m
- 400m
- 400m
- 300m
- 300m
- 200m

80% doesn't sound like a lot... Until the end of the first 400. Brutality.

No walking for me! I think I should invest in a wheelchair for all these leg workouts I do. (You think I'm kidding...)

Hit a little bench sesh with the guys in the weight room after... Nothing too heavy. The sprinting was enough.

In other news, there are about 8 coming this Saturday! It should be mid 50's and sunny. Perfect day for a grisly workout (Just kidding! Not really!...)

More improvements on the Zamcave: Marine and Air Force flags going up this week, as well as a bar rack for the wall and some more painting. It's looking pro... All it needs is the people!

Also, new shirts are in the near future... I'm almost out of all of the current ones, and I'm putting together a new design... I'll run it by a couple folks first just to make sure it's top of the line. There will be some prototype designs on here in the next few days...

With that, Here are some Mainsite goodies:

Dave Durante Front Uprise (gymnasty)

The Open

Closing Out the Open

Repping the Z today at 14.5! I'm kind of sad to be done with the Open, but glad to get on to some more serious training finally. Closed it out on a good, but painful note.

I said on Thursday that I'd tell you all how the workout was, and it can be accurately summed up in one word: crappy. Prior to me doing it, people on Instagram and at the gym who had already done it used similar verbiage to describe this workout. (The exact wording was not necessarily blog-approptiate... I'll leave it to your imagination.) After doing it, I too agree that it's the only word that does it justice.

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Gonna hit some major strength work tomorrow.

- 5x5 back squat at 85% (255# more or less)

- EMOM 10: 
power clean + front squat + full clean + low hang squat clean

No joke just made that up now. That's how it goes sometimes: "What haven't I done in a while? Cleans? I'll do those then."

Alright, the first real workout of the spring is going down this Saturday at 11am. BE THERE!!
The Zamcave is primed and ready for some gnarly workouts!

Pretty smoked from a long day working on the new gym plus 14.5, so this is gonna be it for the blog tonight... Gotta finally get some shut eye.

Enjoy!

Best of the Best

Here's a picture from the triathlon expo I attended today. I think everything that could go wrong with a picture, went wrong in this one. Closed eyes, awkward smile... The list goes on. At least my double chin game is strong. But since this is the only clear picture I got with Siri (yes, that's her real name), I'm sticking with it. It's not every day I get to take a picture with a back to back triathlon world champion! 

Really cool lady, really cool experience. She gave a great presentation, and I thought some of the things she talked about would be interesting for the blog:

My first real takeaway was how far she has come in the sport of triathlon. I realized how it really is possible that, with a little passion, even the most seemingly hopeless athletes can become some of the best in the world. She told us a story about her first ever triathlon - she only knew how to doggy paddle for the swim, then hopped on a rental mountain bike before spending the 3 mile run alternating between sprinting and dry heaving. Despite coming in dead last, she loved the experience and wanted more. Eventually it grew into an obsession of hers, which carried her to the top of the ITU World Championship podium in 2001 and 2002. She went in to (a lot) of detail describing her training and journey to the championships, but her bottom line was that her passion for the sport was what made her great.

Be passionate about something. This blog is a product of my passion for Crossfit. My brother devotes his time to becoming a better leader because he has a passion for leadership. Some of my friends have passion for soccer or basketball. Find something awesome and be passionate about it. It makes life a lot more enjoyable.

The second thing I learned from her, and this is more oriented to Crossfit and training in general, is to not take yourself too seriously. I definitely needed to hear that, and I know a lot of people who could appreciate that information too. Sometimes I beat myself up about missing a workout. I know people who have come over and who have beaten themselves up over not being able to do a certain move or lift. Neither of these situations are reasons to get discouraged or give up. I'll come back and get a harder workout in the next day. He'll come back in a couple months and be able to do 25 pullups in a row.

Feed off the support and positivity of the group to make it more enjoyable if you're feeling rough during or after a workout. As I mentioned in The Crew, if you're not having fun, you're not crossfitting.

It's a journey, not a destination. If you don't enjoy the journey, what's the point of even going?

TGIF

Another great picture from an awful workout. This was Hotshots 19, a Hero workout in honor of the 19 firefighters killed in the Arizona fire last year. I barely slept the night before this because I knew it would be that hard... even today I have yet to do a harder workout. Shoutout to Tyler Charon for being brave enough to tackle it with me.

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It's Friday! Had to get a quick post in.

Some news... After this weekend, the Open will be over and the Zamcave will be ready for the season! The workouts will be on Saturdays. Just let me know ahead of time if you plan on coming out!

Anyways, no heavy lifting tomorrow... Trying to finally get some recovery time in before 14.5. Mobility all day.

Since I don't have much to write today, here's a cool video from Mainsite a couple days ago:

http://media.crossfit.com/awset/CrossFit_10_GeneralPhysical_skills6_53163396e5d5d_SD.mp4

Notice how flexibility is kind of put on the back burner for most of the people in the video. Flexibility and mobility are usually chinks in people's armor because it's ignored so often. Improve your mobility and you'll be one step ahead.

Enjoy!

Old School

Talk about Throwback Thursday..! One of my neighbors generously gave this bad boy to me for the gym. This is how it was done way back in the day... I'll have to find a special place to put it.

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If I had taken a selfie this morning, I would post it on Instagram tonight as a #throwbackthursday.
Today's been that long.

Here's what we did during the AM workout...

3 Rounds (not for time):
- 12 HSPU
- 30 DU

Then...

AMRAP 8
- 5 Power Snatch, 95#
- 10 Pushups

Then a nice little 5 minute plank for a cashout.

Lots of pushing, but it turned out to be a pretty decent workout. Tried to hold about a 4" deficit (hands on 45# bumpers, head to floor) for the HSPU sets, but after the 1st 12... Game over. Maybe some other time. Overhead is my biggest weakness so I'm not too bummed.

Speaking of overhead...

14.5 is out!!

21-18-15-12-9-6-3
- Thrusters
- Burpees

Not sure what I think of this one... I feel like the thrusters are going to just kill me. I'll let you guys know Sunday evening.
If you want to come out and support all the people at the gym in Acton, let me know! It's a pretty good time. Nice people and a hyped atmosphere, what else can you ask for?

Regardless of whether you show up and cheer in person, I want to thank all the people who read this blog for your support so far! Halfway to a thousand views in one week - never thought that would happen. This is gonna be big because of you guys! Thank you.

In other news, the shirts are going fast!  There are only 2 larges and 2 mediums left out of the original 13. Shoot me a text if you want me to save you one exceptionally sharp looking and insanely comfortable "think inside the box" t-shirt. (Crossfit gyms are called boxes, for those of you out of the know)

Here's an awesome article I found that really relates to my box and how it's growing and developing. It's definitely worth a read.

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/35_05_Garage_Gym_II-The_Revolution.pdf

Dinner of Champions

Working pause squats today... Gotta love the pain face.

Russians say, "If you can't fix it with squats and fish oil, you're probably going to die." Ain't that the truth.

Speaking of fish oil...
As you probably guessed from the title, I'm writing about food today. Specifically, organic food. Most people, once I tell them I eat organic, instantly write me off as one of those granola folk who drives a wood-paneled station wagon, wears peace sign necklaces, and says "dude" and "gnarly" way too much. Okay, I do say "dude" and "gnarly" too much. You get the point. People think that organic is synonymous with hippie... Not the case.

Food is as important to performance as training. In training you break down your body so that during recovery it builds back stronger. If you don't feed your muscles the best fuel in order to rebuild,  your final product will be suboptimal. It's basic logic.

For example, here's what was for dinner tonight:

100% organic, 100% towards improving my performance.

Admittedly, this was an especially good meal. For the most part though, it's a good example of what a performance based diet should look like: protein, veggies, some starches, no wheat. That's also almond milk in the corner, not cow milk. 

Although organic is your best option, conventionally grown "real food" (see above) is a close second. Both of these options are far better than, say, a Nutella & Fluff sandwich on white bread. Your performance is on the line. 

In four words: Eat clean, perform better. 

Tonight, instead of mobility (but bonus points if you throw mobility in there too), cook yourself a quality meal. Treat your engine to the 93 octane instead of the 85. 

Enjoy!

Happy Hour At My Favorite Bar

The shirts are in! These are the 1st edition, more to come! Packing up a couple to send to the West Coast and Puerto Rico...

Big thank you to everyone who's supporting the project by buying these.

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Today was unfortunately another day off from lifting. With track workouts thrown in there along with my Crossfit schedule, the daily soreness is something serious. But the best way to get rid of soreness is to work out more right...? Right.

Lawd.

Got some major bar work going on tomorrow morning:

EMOM 10
Hang Clean + Jerk @85%

AMRAP 5
- 5 DL 165/115
- 5 Hang Cleans

rest 2 min

AMRAP 5

- 5 Thrusters

- 5 Lateral Burpees

It's gonna be spicy. 

I was talking with a friend today about trying out Crossfit for the first time. As usual, the first response to the idea of Crossfit is "it's too hard for me." Not true. It's as hard as you make it. In your first workout, it will hurt some and you'll be a little winded afterwards. That's expected. In an hour or so, you'll feel awesome. It'll get more fun each time you do it, and you'll get better results. Don't get me wrong, if you want something easy, Crossfit is not for you. But if you want a challenge and if you want to surprise yourself with what you're truly capable of doing, it's worth a try.

Tonight I'm going to spend a ridiculous amount of time on the foam roller because I am currently walking around my house like a baby deer. I suggest you guys do some mobility too, try focusing on shoulders with the lacrosse ball. Again, check mobilityWOD. 

Notice the pattern in my last couple posts? Mobility is good. Go become a supple leopard. 

RnD

Here's the Zamcave so far! Huge improvements went down this weekend... New sound system, new box, fixed a bunch of little details that just make it a better place, etc. It's all about Research n Development. This is gonna be the place to be.

 Also, the shirts came in! I'll be posting a picture tomorrow... they're pretty slick.

I'm contemplating changing the name of the gym to Zambox. Any thoughts? I think it sounds cool. But then again so does Zamcave. We shall see.

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So unfortunately yesterday didn't happen. I'm actually kind of glad it didn't. Chilly weather, Sunday afternoon, and still recovering from 14.4 do not make a good combination. I guess it was all for the best. Rest days are important too!

Luckily, a couple of the guys that couldn't make it came up to me today and said they were excited to spend the summer in here, which is going to be unreal. I think the summer is when the Zamcave will go from being a pretty cool garage gym to being a legitimate pain cave with a ton of equipment and "members" ... It'll be good.

Speaking of legitimacy, this is the summer I'm going to get my Level 1 Certification (L1) for Crossfit! It's basically a coaching course, and once I "graduate" I will be able to legally coach Crossfit to anyone, start my own affiliate, etc. That'll be when I start charging people. Just a heads up. L1 is world-class training, and that doesn't come free (to me, that's why I have to charge.)

Since I've basically established the philosophical foundation for Crossfit, the posts from here on out will be mostly WODs, useful information, news, and other goodies for you guys. I'll try to never miss a post like I did yesterday, but it will inevitably happen sometimes. Like I said on Saturday, it's all about balance.

Super quick burner I did today:

15-12-9 backsquat 185#
21-15-9 ring dips

(The reps went 15-21-12-15-9-9)

"Ohh, it's the deep burn." Feeling like Ron Burgundy after that one. It was so quick and painful. I love it. Came in in around 6:05.

Here's an interesting article I found today... Worth the read.

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_Losing_Striffler_FINAL.pdf

In The Zone

Here's the aftermath of 14.4 today... One of the greatest photos ever taken. Also one of the most painful workouts ever. It was a good day.

Also, a big thank you to Tess Gong for coming out and supporting!

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After the workout this morning, a bunch of us went over to the new gym in progress to work on it. While we were working, Jim (in the picture) and I had a pretty cool talk about a lot of the stuff that I've been putting in this blog. We talked a lot about balance and how important it really is to everything. I haven't given it much attention in my past posts, but it deserves a special mention.

If you do too much of any one thing, you'll eventually burn out and not be able/willing to do it anymore. Makes sense, right? It applies to Crossfit too. It might even apply to this blog. (Hopefully not!) If you let yourself become consumed by any one thing, it won't be good for you in the long run. "Constantly varied" is a big theme in Crossfit, and it really applies to more than your time in the gym. Been doing a ton of heavy squats lately? Try throwing in some muscle-ups or handstand pushups. Been spending too much time on work or studying for school? Take a break. Go on a run. Do something fun. The time you spend switching it up and refreshing yourself will be paid back to you.

Another interesting point we talked about is something that really has helped me in almost everything I do: you can't worry about what everyone else does, because you can only control what you do. In the Open, you could score a 72 or a 272 on a workout, and that's it. That's all you can do. True, sometimes redoing an open workout can get you a couple extra reps, but most of the time you won't make any momentous, make-or-break Regionals changes to your standing. If you get smoked by a particular workout and someone else crushes it, oh well. Accept it and move on. I'm not saying accept failure, don't get me wrong. Learn how you need to improve and do so, then come back and be a beast next time. This "only worry about what you can control" mindset has also helped me keep a cool head in a lot of situations, knowing I can't control how rude or wrong someone else seems. It's helped me relax during tests in school, Open workouts, job interviews, etc. I know I've prepared as well as I can - I can't ask for any more than that.

Philosophical heavy lifting aside, here's what's going on tomorrow:

15-20 mins on push press/push jerk with light-moderate weight

Partner WOD:
AMRAP 8
- Partner 1 runs 200m
- Partner 2 racks up max burpee box jumps
Partners switch back and forth until time is up. Score is total burpee box jumps.

Rest 4 min

AMRAP 8
- Partner 1 runs 200m 
- Partner 2 racks up as many rounds as possible of:
  - 10 air squats
  - 10 kettlebell SDHP 
Same format and scoring as the first AMRAP.

I really like this kind of workout because the running partner can't slack off or the other partner will rack up points and get a higher score, and that partner can't slack off on the reps because that's how he's getting his score up. It's mean.

Same drill tonight: Roll out your legs/lower back, and spend some quality time hanging out in the bottom of the squat. I'll see some of you tomorrow!

Calm Before The Storm

Throwback to right before the "Barbells for Boobs" breast cancer fundraiser at the gym last October! First Crossfit "competition" ever... Good times.

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Tomorrow is 14.4! After tomorrow, it's four Open workouts down, one to go. I'll miss Open season! For those of you wondering, the Open is an annual five week long worldwide Crossfit competition where everyone has a chance to compete and compare with everyone else in the world. It's a pretty cool event because you can track your improvements from year to year and push yourself and your friends in a competitive environment, not to mention stacking up against the rest of the world!

Here's the plan:

AMRAP 14
- 60 calorie row
- 50 toes-to-bar
- 40 wallballs
- 30 cleans, 135#
- 20 muscle-ups

It's gonna be a good one! I hope to get to the muscle ups...

Along with the competition naturally comes some stress. Right now, I'm trembling on my foam roller because this looks like something out of a Crossfit horror movie. (Million dollar idea?)

Mindset is gonna be the name of the game tomorrow. Just like it is in every workout, and really every other aspect of life in general. I've talked a lot in the past couple posts about the team helping you and  whatnot, but sometimes it's just you and the bar, or the rings, or the wallball (my personal nemesis). As one of my coaches says, "you've got to be willing to go in the [pain] cave over and over." He has a good point. It takes courage and a certain level of insanity to make yourself hurt so much all the time working in the gym. However, I think that by putting forth the best effort possible in a workout and getting surprising results, you - dare I say - bolster your self-confidence in other aspects of your life. I know I'm getting a little philosophical, I know. Deal with it.

Anyways, I'm trying to keep it short tonight any give you guys a break. I know I can be long-winded sometimes.

For those of you coming on Sunday, work on hip mobility. Sumo (wide stance) squats, lacrosse ball rolling, foam rolling, etc. Anything to loosen up your hips and legs for the workout. The mobilityWOD link is in the links tab at your disposal. Kelly has some awesome stuff to check out and try.

Enjoy!

The Crew

This photo is one of my all-time favorites. Just one of many different workouts with many different, great people. Working out with partners always gives you that extra push, but sometimes you can also rely on them to pull you through some of the tougher workouts. It's all about getting together, having a good time, and getting skrong while you're at it. If you're not having a good time, you're not crossfitting.

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I didn't end up going to the gym this morning, but I hit a gnarly skill sesh/EMOM this evening:

3 rounds (not for time)
- 50 double-unders
- 6 muscle ups

Then...

EMOM 12
Odd minutes:
- 7 kettlebell swings 70#
- 7 box jumps 30"
Even minutes: 
- 7 toes to bar
- 7 burpees 

BRUISER.

Good thing I had my KILLCLIFF! (Don't worry - it's a recovery drink, not a homicidal mantra against an unfortunate fellow named Cliff.) This brings me to Cam's topic of the day: supplements. Disclaimer! These are just my personal views, what works for me, etc. Not trying to impose anything on you guys.
Get it? Got it? Good.

First question I always get asked when I talk about lifting with my friends: "What kind of pre-workout do you use?" And when I say no to that, they ask me if I use creatine. Same answer.
The closest thing to a pre-workout you'll catch me having is some eggs and a ton of water. Maybe some bacon if it's a good day. I always perform better when I don't have to worry about whether or not I have enough calories to do the workout. And if you know me, I'm always excited about something (particularly working out), so I don't need the buzz that a pre-workout would give me. Basically I don't use pre-workout because I don't need it. Plain and simple.
Creatine is a similar story. All creatine does is it forces water into your muscles. That's great for body builders, but I train for performance, so I don't need it. Stay hydrated, folks. That's all there is to it.

A similar question is whether or not I drink a protein shake after working out. Yes! I do. I have a protein called Pure Power something by a guy named Mercola. Super granola. But it tastes good and it's pretty cheap and I can feel the difference when I use it, so I do. If you're thinking more mainstream, Progenex has some awesome stuff. They make some cool shirts too. KILLCLIFF tastes phenomenal and the company supports a good cause, but it's not protein. I like it as a sort of delicacy after particularly brutal workouts. I've got links for all of these in the links tab. (Surprise!) The bottom line is, do your on research and buy your own stuff. Whatever works for you, works for you.

Also, anyone who has had the great privilege of consuming a Nutty Buddy directly from God's personal garden stream (my kitchen) knows that it tastes like sunshine and the laughter of small children. It is also a killer post workout drink. (More killer than KILLCLIFF? Who knows! Haha...) I'll be posting a link to the recipe to share the goodness with all of you. You're welcome.

What pre- or post-workouts do you take? I'd love to hear suggestions for my next stuff!

Early Mornings

Wow! 60+ views in two countries and counting! The pressure is on...

Anyways. Sometimes I go to a gym in the next town over before school to get a workout in, and today was one of those days. Here's a quick overview of what we did:

Light/moderate overhead squat skill work. 
Then...


Against a 5 minute clock:
- 1000m row
- Max set of pullups in the remaining time

Rest 5 min.

Against a 5 minute clock: 
- 1000m row
- Max set of handstand pushups in the remaining time

On the overhead squat, everyone spent a while going over technique with the baby weight to dial in form and get comfortable with the move. An overhead squat, for those of you new to weightlifting, is basically a push press to overhead with a barbell, followed by a squat, all while keeping the bar perfectly aligned over your body. It's an incredibly demanding core exercise (one of the best in the world, if you ask me), which requires finesse and a level of athleticism to complete successfully. Sounds easy, right? Notice I didn't mention that you had to be exceptionally strong to overhead squat. Like many aspects of Crossfit, it is mostly form based. Which brings me to my main point here:

The perceived lack of emphasis on form and good mechanics in Crossfit is a
reason it gets a bad reputation in the media.

Hearing about this from people who bash Crossfit always gets on my nerves. One of the most common myths about Crossfit is that it is all about sacrificing form for speed in crazy-looking workouts. This leads to high injury rates, which makes potential crossfitters apprehensive to try. For the vast majority of cases, this is not true.

Exhibit A: this morning's class. As I was working with my brother in one of the dustier corners of the gym, I saw one of the coaches go up to an individual who was having particular trouble with the movement. He went through the motion with the guy, giving him cues where he needed to position the bar, how wide to place his feet, etc. Although there wasn't much instantaneous improvement in
his squat (completely understandable) I could tell by the look on his face that the guy felt a lot more confident in his squat, because he knew exactly where he needed to improve. This was only one out of several similar cases, all with identical outcomes.

This is the kind of thing that happens all the time in the community. That look someone gets when they break a personal record in a lift, or get their first pullup, their first double-under - the feeling of success - that's what I love about Crossfit. Being able to help new crossfitters who I work out with to improve is the most rewarding thing about running my gym.
But wait! There's more! The fun doesn't stop when you start to get good. Even seasoned competitors PR lifts, learn new moves, and improve their times in certain workouts. No matter how good you are at Crossfit, there's room to improve. And when you improve, you get that indescribable feeling of success. You want more of that feeling, so you improve yourself, and the cycle starts again. It's a beautiful thing.

I know I kind of went off on a tangent from my original point, but hey, it happens sometimes.

Tonight, if you have a little extra time, I suggest working on the bottom of your squat position. Air squat - no weight. A lot of people have problems with it because it's not too common of a position to be in. Try to get your hips below your knees, but don't sacrifice your back to do that. Just play around with it. Get comfortable squatting - we'll be doing a lot of them during Sunday's workout at 1pm.

Here's a video with a good example of an air squat:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=a_fb6Kz7FQg

That's Chris Spealler in the video so you can bet your top dollar that you're seeing impeccable form. The music is pretty catchy too.

Just The Beginning

...and the blog is live! I know not too many people (if any) will read this anytime soon, but someday in the future someone might ask, "I wonder where Cam started all this Crossfit madness out of his garage?" and they might just find this.

I decided to start writing this blog because I want to get more serious about operating this gym out of my garage. It sounds laughable, a "serious" garage gym, but I really love helping people improve and I want to do that in the best/most efficient way possible. This blog can be my way of teaching people more without them actually being here, so that when they come over, they are more prepared for what I'm throwing at them.
The gym is no joke. But we'll get to that later.

Another reason I think this blog is a good idea is to keep myself and others accountable. Mostly myself. By posting what I'm doing day to day, I'm "promising" all of my followers (is that what they're called? No too used to blogging lingo) that I'm going to do what I said. I feel like this will really help me out on days where my motivation is lacking or nonexistent. It happens.

By looking at the title, you would probably think that I'm just starting my gym now. If you know me at all, that is far from the truth. I'm always asking people to come workout with me (working out with the guys also helps a lot with motivation & accountability), and I've hosted a ton of group/team workouts here. Since the gym is now expanding a lot with all the new equipment and people, a new sort of organization or structure is in order... So that will be another purpose of the blog. I'll cover that more in the future.

Bottom line, this blog is going to be a way for me to entertain, enlighten, and encourage my followers  and myself.

I hope you'll come along for the ride.