Once inside, we were greeted at the front desk by Dan Piper, one of the head instructors, and we were then taken on a tour of the facility. We marched through the corridor with rooms on both sides as we were introduced to the massive facility. The inside of the building was just as impressive as the exterior, with a 2,000-square-foot multi-purpose area and 1,000 square feet of strength and conditioning gear. All together, with the adjoined Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, there was a combined 11,000 square feet of fun.
Once I walked into the open area, I quickly noticed tires probably weighing in excess of 300 pounds, the different sizes of sledge hammers, bars hanging off the walls, ropes off the ceiling and on the walls, dumbbells, machines, gas masks, Airdyne bikes, and wheelbarrows, all creating the space known only as “API.” I whispered to my pals, “Wow, definitely not your typical weight room” as we slowly made our way in. I immediately felt a surge of adrenaline as my eyes widened even though we had not slept all night.
A familiar face approached us with a kind smile and a firm handshake. “Hey guys, I’m Scott. I hear you came down all the way from Canada?” I recognized him from the Sean Sherk and Brock Lesnar UFC All Access show, although now he was missing the crazy goatee. He had a warm face and stocky frame with slightly rounded cheeks, with a darkness I could not put my finger on. He was very friendly with a bright demeanor, which was quite the opposite of his image, as he looked like a very tough guy, rugged with a helping of “I will kick your ass!”
There were others present for class who were more punctual than we were, but I noticed that there were no tables at which to sit, and stations were set up along the gym. It started to dawn on me that we had a hell of a night in store for us, and we weren’t going to be burying our noses in the books that night!
During the warm-up, we did dynamic stretches and a little cardio to get the heart pumping, but the truth was that all eight of us were working hard and dripping with sweat, with our hard breathing indicating as much. After a good twenty-minute warm-up, the instructors started preparing the circuit. While we waited, we learned about proper warm-ups and that training cold was a recipe for disaster that could lead to muscle cramps, strains, or worse, injuries. Even small injuries meant time away from the gym, preventing you from reaching your goals in a major way. We were also shown the puke buckets and their locations in case we would need them; we thought it was more for show than anything else.
As we saw the gauntlet of pain set up for us, I felt sluggish from the lack of sleep and sitting in one position in the car for so long, but I was stubborn by nature and pushed on. We had to do the activities at each station for one minute straight, working as quickly as possible. There were three exercises per station followed by a one-minute break before proceeding to the next station.
The entire routine was a Muscle Power Cardio Power circuit.
• Jump Push-Ups on Twelve-Inch Steps
• Jump Clap Push-Ups
• Airdyne Bike with Hands Only
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• Push-Ups on the Ball
• Push-Ups Side-to-Side Over the Ball
• Push Tractor Tire Across Gym
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• Throw Ball on Wall and Sprawl
• Sit-Ups with Medicine Ball
• Run on Incline Treadmill
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• One-Legged Squat with Olympic Bar
• Squat Jumps with Olympic Bar
• Bike
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• Switch Lunges with Olympic Bar
• Thirty-Pound Ball Jump Over Punching Bag
• Skipping
Now, when I write this, I have the same feeling as most of you probably do, it really seems easier than it is. Believe me, or give it a try for yourself, after speaking with your health physician of course, working as hard as possible over and over is anything but easy. At first, I was doing very well, and I even grunted a few times as I was exerting my muscular system to the max. It felt good! I was training where the pros trained with the best instructors in the world, and I was going to give it my all.
Halfway through the routine after I blew through the stations, I made it to the inclined treadmill. After positioning my fee on either side of the deck, I jumped onto the belt and into a full-out run, and it was going so fast that it was a little tricky for me to stay on the treadmill; I was pumping my hands and legs for dear life. It took a lot out of me, and I felt my insides ready to come out, as I started getting the vomit burps. It was a good thing that afterward, I had a minute of rest until the next circuit.
I started the one-legged squat with the Olympic bar, and I felt worse and worse from the inside out. I was having difficulty containing my insides, until my body finally had enough. I ran toward the designated puke bucket, remembering the flight attendant-sounding instructions that had been given earlier, grabbing the bucket for dear life and running out the door for fresh air. My head was spinning; I really did not want to be the one to throw up. With an effort, I forced back down most of what had attempted come up; don’t ask me why, but I was not thinking right at the moment, and I was running with the bucket instead of stopping to spit into it. I think my mind was so fatigued and set on the goal of getting outside that the rest was not computing.
Once outside, the smell hit me, and I realized I should have just thrown up into the bucket without reservation; that’s what it was for! I knelt down outside to catch my breath and just spit into the bucket to get the taste out of my mouth. I needed that cool breeze on my face, something that a millionaire would give their fortune for at that point. After a good thirty seconds, I heard Scott inside asking “Where’s Chris? Did anyone see Chris?” followed by muffled sounds.
Seconds later, Scott came out to check on me. I told him I threw up a little but was coming right back in. Just like triage, once he comprehended that I was okay, he then asked, “Let me see it” and I met him with a bewildered look, “See what?” “The puke; let’s see it. How much did you puke?” It took me a few seconds to realize he was serious, and I explained what had happened, and he chuckled and told me to take my time.
I ran in almost right after him to my next station which involved squat jumps with the Olympic bar. I found my groove again and went hard at it, surprisingly almost fully charged to keep going. I put the vomiting incident out of my mind and figured that I had some making up to do.
All of us were breathing hard with our mouths open, slowing down tremendously toward the end. But we all had the fight in us to keep going, even though none of us were used to this pace in our workouts. I think the fact that we were all here for the same reason and that we were all motivating each other and training at a premier gym made us work much harder than usual.
We had all done it, soaked in our sweat, with small chips on our shoulders; we had completed a notorious Caveman routine! We were like explorers that had just reached the top of the mountain, pushing past adversity, the bitter cold breath of mountain air being no match for us. Matt quickly brought us back down to Earth. “Alright, so tomorrow we have a lot more training and many exercises that we have to do for perfect form!”
I must admit that I was very happy being there that afternoon, so far away from my comfort zone. Life brings many opportunities, and when it works, it works. I believed that I was meant to be there at that point in my life and that I had a lot to experience, learn, and grow with, as a person.
As we all clutched our knees while trying to get our heart rates down, Scott mentioned, “Not sure if everyone saw, but Chris did use the puke bucket, but then quickly came back in and went right back at it, and that is exactly the attitude we are looking for.”
I was feeling good before this, but I was floating on clouds after a compliment from Scott. Life is funny that way, too!