NerdFit Guam: Functional Fitness and Nerd Culture

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What is the Bam Box?

The Bam Box is monthly subscription box for collectors. Each month contains nerdy and geeky items as well as autographed collectibles. The Bam Box also has an auto upgrade and instant winner system. You could receive extra items or automatically receive an upgrade to an item in the box. Upgrade examples are variant pin, print and comic colors.

What's in the Box?

The pin for this month is from South Park. You could have received Cartman or Kenny as well. I really like Chef from the earlier seasons of the show. He was one of my favorite characters before Isaac Hayes went nuts.

The first item is a metal print of Homer Simpson. It's a very interesting item and would look great on my wall. I love the Simpsons and have been a fan of it since I was younger. My grandparents didn't like me watching it which only made it cooler!

The first autographed item is from Dynamite Comics. It's signed by cover artist Ken Haesar. Not a big fan of Betty Boop and would have liked something different. The comic books in these boxes have been misses for me. I was hoping for something more mainstream like Marvel or DC.

The next autographed item is from cosplayer Kristen Lanae. While it's a sexy picture, it's not for me. I'm not a big fan of cosplay and this item is wasted on me. I will probably try and sell it on ebay.

The last autographed item is "Bevis and Butthead Attack Rick and Morty" by KC Day. This is my favorite item in this box since it's a mash up of two great shows. I will definitely be putting this up on the wall soon.

Final Thoughts

While this was a great theme the people at Bam Box missed the mark. I was hoping for more mainstream adult cartoon items and something more than just prints. This was a make or break box and I'm sad to say I will not be renewing my subscription. I had high hopes for this service after seeing past boxes but the last two months have been disappointments. I'm sure other subscribers liked all the items this month but I'm not one of them. If the quality and variety of items change in the upcoming months, I may resubscribe.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

Monday

Snatch - 4 at 60% (45 kg), 4 at 70% (53 kg), 3x4 at 75% (57 kg)

I haven't done much snatching since I've been back. It took a few warm up reps to get used to it and I started on my percentages. Overall, I felt great at these weights. I didn't miss a rep and was able to get through this fairly quickly. It was a lot more reps than what I was used to however but I took some time in between to rest up.

4 Cleans + 1 Jerk - 1 at 60% (62 kg), 1 at 70% (72 kg), 1 at 75% (77 kg)

This was just as hard as the snatches but I was able to pick it up. I'm more comfortable with heavy cleans than snatches. I didn't need much of a warm up and went right into my first set. This workout wasn't as bad since I had cut out two of my last three sets. I had to leave early. Four cleans are tough especially at the higher weights.

Wednesday

Bench Press - 5x5 at a heavy set of 5

My previous weight for this workout was 185 lb. but I wasn't sure if I would be able to complete a set. I warmed up and loaded 185 lb. on the bar. I was only able to complete three reps. This was not a big surprise since I haven't been doing much bench presses.

WOD - For Time

Row (1000 m)

50 pistol squats

30 hang power cleans (135 lb.)

I wasn't sure how well I was going to do in this workout. The pistol squats were going to be tough and would probably slow me down. I wasn't too worried about the cleans or the row, I'm sure I would be able to get through them without much trouble. My pace for the row was about two minutes per 500 m. I finished the row at about 4:10. The pistol squats were tough but I broke the sets into 10 reps. I took some time in between each set so I could catch my breath but I took a lot longer than expected. The 30 hang cleans were not too bad. I broke it up into sets of 10 reps which were manageable. My goal was to finish within 15 minutes but I finished in 16:17.

Saturday

Power Snatch - 2 at 60% (45 kg), 2 at 65% (49 kg), 2x3 at 70% (53 kg)

This was easier than Monday. The heavier Monday session was just what I needed to get better at my Olympic lifts.

Power Clean + 2 Jerks - 1 at 60% (62 kg), 1 at 65% (67 kg), 1x3 at 70% (72 kg)

Started to feel the fatigue in my arms at the 70% weight but it wasn't an issue.

Back Squat - 3 at 60% (225 lb.), 3 at 70% (275 lb.), 3x3 at 80% (305 lb.)

This was my biggest workout of the day. I haven't squatted anything heavy in awhile. The last time I attempted a heavy back squat was back in July. I was a little nervous but I wanted to hit some numbers. My first set for the workout was okay, I wasn't too worried about 225 lb. My second set however was a bit worrying. The three reps at 70% were a lot harder than what I remember. I wasn't sure if it was because of the time between lifts or if my warm up was too short but I decided to move forward and go to 80%.

My July workout was 6x3 at 80% (305 lb.) and I felt great doing it. This gave me some confidence. I completed the first set but it was tough. I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish the rest of the sets. I took a few minutes to get some air and rest before going on to set two. I was able to finish two reps before racking the weight. It was too much and I almost needed a spot. I decided to stop there and end the workout. After reflecting on the workout, I realized that I needed to slowly get back to squatting. I should have gone up to 75% instead but I wanted to see if I could handle my weights from only a few months ago. I'm confident that after a few more sessions in the squat rack, I'll be back to my old self.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

What is the Bam Box?

The Bam Box is monthly subscription box for collectors. Each month contains nerdy and geeky items as well as autographed collectables. Bam box also has an auto upgrade and instant winner system. You could receive extra items or automatically receive an upgrade to an item in the box. Upgrade examples are variant pin, print and comic colors. This was my first box and I was excited to see what was in it.

What's in the Box?

The first thing you see when you open the Bam Box is the monthly pin. This month had a few variations. You could have received Chucky from Child's Play, Sam (above) from Trick r' Treat, Billy from Saw or an all red Billy variant as a 1up. I haven't seen Trick r' Treat so I don't understand the reference. Maybe I'll watch it one day.

Next item in the box is a "Demonic Box Puzzle Cube". It's basically a rubix cube with symbols instead of colors. It's an interesting piece but I would have wanted something different.

Also included is a badge from the movie Evil Dead. The main character, Ash Williams, is the head of housewares at S-mart. This is a cool item that I may use for a costume next year.

The first autographed item is an issue of Kiss signed by cover artist John Lucas. You could have received an alternate black and white cover as a 1up.

My first autographed print. This was made by John Branham and I could have received another variant of Freddy and Jason. Not bad for the first print.

The second print is from the movie, the Exorcist. It is signed by Linda Blair the actress who plays Regan in the film. The alternate print and autograph is from Scream. The picture is of Ghostface and it was signed by Skeet Ulrich. I've been watching the Exorcist TV show and I'm starting to love it. This is probably my favorite item in the box.

Final Thoughts

This was not the best first box for me. I subscribed because I saw a lot of things that I liked in previous boxes but I probably should have waited for next month. The Exorcist print was my favorite item followed by the Leatherface/Michael Myers print. I will probably subscribe for one more month.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

Europe 2016: Honeymoon Edition

September has been a great month. I got married and went on an awesome honeymoon to Europe. We visited four cities: London, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam. I brought my GoPro with me and took a few shots using my new Feiyu Tech G4S Stabilizer. It worked really well and I hope the video comes out great. I posted a lot more pictures on my Instagram (@ENPalomo) if you want to see some stills.

After reading a lot of posts about pick pocketing in Europe, my wife bought a Pacsafe Venturesafe 150 GII cross body pack. I used this instead of a body wallet that people usually recommend. This worked great on the subways and buses throughout Europe. It has a lot of anti theft features which makes it a great alternative to a body wallet. I might do a review on this after all the cities.

Cell Phones

We purchased SIM cards in London, Paris and Rome. We did not purchase SIM cards in Amsterdam, instead we used our previous SIM cards and roamed. This lasted about three days into our trip to Amsterdam which was enough.

Airfare and Transportation

I booked my tickets using Kayak and my train ticket using Eurostar. Each city has a different system for public transportation which we picked up after landing. We also used Uber for a few rides in London and Paris. This was the first time using Uber and it took a few rides to get used to using it and the etiquette when using it. The app didn't update numbers when switching SIM cards which I found out the hard way. Overall, I had a great experience with Uber and the drivers I interacted with.

If you plan on using taxis to get to your accommodation, use a legitimate one. Their will be people asking you if you need a taxi in the airport terminals and some of them are not legitimate. Make sure they have a meter and a taxi sign or licence. They prey on tourists and will overcharge you.

Another great app to download would be City Mapper. This app was a lifesaver on the trip. It requires an internet connection but you can use it offline if you save routes. You pick a starting point or use your GPS location and pick a destination. The app then calculates the quickest route to your destination including all forms of public transportation. It also calculates driving, walking and rider sharing apps like Uber. This made navigating the city that much easier. It doesn't have all major cities so check the website to see if the one you're visiting is on there.

Accommodations

Trying to find hotels that fit within our budget and proximity to the city center was extremely difficult. We opted to go with AirBnB. This was my first experience using AirBnB and it was great. It was also more affordable and located in great areas within the cities. At first I was hesitant to use this site but after talking to multiple friends we decided to give it a try. Each place we stayed in had an excellent guest ratings and had a minimum 50 reviews. I also read all the negative reviews if any. We had a great time in each place which I'll discuss in each city review.

Attractions and Restaurants

We primarily used the website Trip Advisor to look up attractions and restaurants. I've used this website to plan past trips to Tokyo and Seoul. They have a great forum if you need to ask questions about places you're going to visit. I would also save locations using Google maps. I will talk about the few we visited on our trip.

Money Exchange

We took some cash with us with the intent to change it at a currency exchange. In retrospect, it wasn't the best way to obtain foreign currency. We should have brought half the amount of cash and pulled the rest out of ATM's. When I added up the fees from the ATM transaction, it was lower than the fees from currency exchange. Most European bank ATM's do not charge fees, with most of our fees coming from our local bank. Our bank fee was about $2. Try to avoid independent ATM's and stick with bank ATM's.

Some currency exchanges have commissions and the trading rate was higher than the bank rate. Make sure you inform your bank before traveling. Most banks will lock your account since withdrawals from a foreign country looks suspicious.

Credit Cards

My wife and I have a travel friendly credit card. We do not get charge foreign transaction fees and we get the best dollar to euro/pound conversion rate as opposed to cash. The rates are made by Visa which is close to the bank currency exchange rate.

I will be writing about the cities in the order I visited them, London, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam. I'll try to finish one each week.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

I didn't post a workout for the prior week since I didn't go to the gym. I took that time to work on wedding stuff and rest. I felt great going into the gym on Wednesday.

Wednesday

Overhead Squat - Find Your 1RM

I was able to PR this lift! I warmed up to 155 lb. and worked up to 210 lb. The weight wasn't bad and I probably could have went another 5-10 lb. heavier but we ran out of time. Also, my wrist and forearm were starting to hurt so I took a break and stretched it out.

WOD - Open Workout 13.4

AMReps in 7 minutes

3 clean and jerks (135 lb.)
3 toes to bar

6 clean and jerks (135 lb.)

6 toes to bar

9 clean and jerks (135 lb.)

9 toes to bar

12 clean and jerks (135 lb.)

12 toes to bar

15 clean and jerks (135 lb.)

15 toes to bar

18 clean and jerks (135 lb.)

18 toes to bar

I heard this workout was tough and I could see why. The clean and jerk weight wasn't too heavy but the toes to bar were going to kill me. I was able to keep a steady pace until the round of nine. The clean and jerk were getting heavier and I had to do them in sets of three. I would take about 15 to 30 seconds of rest in between sets. The toes to bar were a lot slower. I would do about two reps at a time. My abs would cramp up and it was harder to string more than two reps together. I finished 9 toes to bar by the end of seven minutes.

Friday

Snatch Complex - Find heavy 1 rep

Power snatch + 2 overhead squats

I was still a bit weary of this workout since my wrist and forearm problems have been flaring up. I also do not like doing overhead squats with my snatch grip. Thankfully, I didn't have any issues during this workout and I managed to PR my snatch. I was able to complete this complex at 165 lb. which is a 10 lb. PR. I attempted to snatch 175 lb. but was unable to get under the weight. I can feel another PR coming!

Partner WOD - 15 Minute AMRAP

9 push press (115 1b.)
6 front squat (115 1b.)
3 power snatch (115 1b.)

We broke up the work into alternating rounds and I started first. The original weight was 135 lb. but I wasn't able to power snatch it. I was too tired so we stripped the weight down to 115 lb. which was manageable. The first few rounds were great. The push press, front squat were unbroken and the power snatch were done in fast singles. I started to slow down on the push press and power snatch. I would do about six reps and then rest the bar on my shoulders before finishing the reps. I would take more rest between snatches. It was tough but we managed to complete 10 rounds in 15 minutes.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!