This is a copy of the original Slim & Strong blog post.
Meet Kamen: Not just inspirational but without limits!
Over the past 5 years - that’s when I created Slim & Strong - I’ve met thousands of participants. In fact there are many that are still with me to this day and many that come back time after time for a kickstart. Kamen is one of them. He was one of my early Slim & Strong participants in 2009. You may know him because he didn’t just stop there. He has taken fitness above and beyond and that’s why I want you to meet him and learn about his story. Fitness truly can change lives.
I interviewed Kamen about his crazy journey into fitness after he dropped me back down:
Ariane: I remember the first day you walked into Slim & Strong in 2009, telling me that the night before the weigh-in you had steak, a whole watermelon and a few other things to make for a heavy weigh-in. You played your strategy well from the get-go and you promptly lost 20 pounds in less than 2 weeks (check out Kamen’s stats here). Tell us what motivated you to sign up for the program?
Kamen: All my life I had relied on genetics of above-average metabolism. As a teenager I could build muscle by eating donuts. In my twenties I could maintain my shape on a crappy diet, but not improve. Once I crossed 30 it started going downhill. I maxed out at 232lb when my daughter was born – you know how husbands put on “sympathy” weight during pregnancy which they never lose?
In 2008 friends at work organized a biggest-loser-like contest which I entered and won. The thing with exercise is that once you get enough of it, it starts being addictive… you just need to concentrate on what you really like. After that I thought I might have a future in professional weight loss :) I tried the Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp, where I heard about Slim & Strong… and I was sold!
Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp and Slim & Strong played an instrumental role in making me who I am today. I transformed myself and made great friends. They are truly a great way to train a diverse set of people of different abilities. You can slack a bit if you can’t keep up or you are having a bad day, but you can never do the whole thing 100% without breaking down.
Ariane: About 3 years ago you and I and a few other boot campers signed up for a Half-Ironman in Rhode Island. Obviously, that was only one of the few things you’ve since conquered. What have you accomplished since 2009 with regards to fitness?
Kamen: I started racing in 2009 indeed. In the beginning it was mostly running, but then I started doing stair climbing races, swimming races, and triathlons. To date I have done 5 Full IronMan races, 10 Half IronMan races, about 15 other triathlons, duathlons and aquathlons, a 50 mile trail run, 3 60K runs, 4 marathons, 15+ half marathons, and many others… I tend to place highest in stair climbing races, which remains a mystery to me, because I am still heavy for that at 190 lbs.
Ariane: What motivates you to work out like you do and compete “the Kamen way”?
Kamen: Frankly a lot of things. I’ve had my fair share of accidents and injuries, and the feeling that you cannot do something is terrible. I think people take too much for granted that they can exercise if they choose to. This is not a right, this a privilege, and there are countless people out there who can’t do it. We owe it to ourselves to take advantage of it while we can, and hope that we will be able to for a long time.
Another big reason is the inspiration you give others. A lot of friends have completed races because one way or another I have pushed them through it. It is great to see how you can make a difference is other people’s lives and make them better. And a very special one of these people is my 10 year old daughter Julianne. We have done several races and triathlons together and she is now competing as part of the Prospect Park Youth Running Club. I can’t afford not to try to be the best I could be, even if it was just for her.
Ariane: You two got a nice shout-out at Mizzfit.com about your workout relationship link. What do you consider to be the most effective way to get your body into shape?
Kamen: Hands down – variety. Do different things. Do not settle on one. Swim-Bike-Run, Boot Camp, Yoga, Strength training (bodyweight, CrossFit, etc.) People have evolved to be versatile. It is true that you can become extremely good at something specific, but that does not attract me much. Fitness is a complicated issue with a lot of dimensions (strength, endurance, agility, flexibility, …). I try to be within the 75-80% of the best in anything… It is work in progress of course.
Ariane: What challenges are still on your to-do list?
Kamen: I try to stick to the 75-80% goal from above and claim whatever I can on the way. I tend to avoid setting race specific goals, but some of the ones I can not afford not to think of are a sub-5-minute mile, a sub-3-hour-marathon to qualify for Boston Marathon, to qualify for IronMan and Half IronMan championships.
Ariane: What do you suggest to our blog readers who aren’t very much into fitness and eating clean quite yet, but want to make a move?
Kamen: Make a move! And then another one, and another one. You don’t have to address all deficiencies day one (or ever). Find out what you enjoy most and do more of that, but don’t settle into a single routine. Learn to listen to your body and distinguish fatigue from injury. Push through the former and stop before the latter. Sleep, eat, and repeat.
If you find like-minded people who can push you where you never thought you can go, that helps a lot. With the usual suspects that show up at Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp you will never have trouble with that.
And remember – you can do way more than you think you can… I keep finding this out quite often. So keep pushing through. I’ve started collecting some of the better stories of my adventures here.
Here’s Kamen being interviewed by Myrna after she kicked his butt across the Brooklyn Bridge: