CrossFit Athletic Group

In September 2019 Owen Munk told me his brother wanted to try working out with us. That might have actually been the first words Owen spoke to me during his first year; hard to imagine that now. Anyway, Zander's first day was September 24 and the ensuing weeks and months did not leave a good impression to me at all; his attendance was sporadic and when he did actually come in his brain didn't seem to follow his body.

When the lockdowns hit I was fully prepared to move on from Zander Munk. But despite me telling him not to, Owen just kept letting his younger brother tag along to the "5:30 pm at Madison" sessions. I tried to discourage it; there was even one point at the track where I asked Zander if he had a mental disorder. Not my proudest moment.

Somehow, very slowly and very steadily, Zander began to pull himself out of the Chris Sinagoga Shit List by Summer 2020 (which I didn't invite him to but he still showed up anyway), and the workout I remember my attitude changing about him was the mile run/100 sit-up workout on Mr. Malak's birthday.

Later that year he won Athlete of the Winter.

The Zander I want to write about, however, is the Zander of Augut 31, 2022 at 10:46 pm. I'm behind on end-of-Summer posts, Rookies stuff, Schott's Bye Bye, and the attendance is not finished. But in the last hour and change of August before the internet here cuts out, my man needs to get his props.

In the later weeks of this Summer when I realized Zander was truly an AOTS candidate, I would find myself purposely assigning him a weight heavier than he could lift just so I could stand back watch him struggle; when you're used to things getting scaled to your strength level, a 95-lb. snatch at a bodyweight of 94 lbs. can come as a real shock, especially when you're already breathing heavy. I had the pleasure of watching Zander get frustrated, doubt himself, grab his shoulder and crank it around in hope it would cooperate, brush his hair back with his hands... anything to distract him from the reality that this heavy thing was preventing him from doing the part of the workout he was really good at. 27 rounds of Cindy? Bring it. Jumping from 195 to 200 on a deadlift? Mental block.

That is how I know someone has "arrived" in my eyes; that is why it was so enjoyable to watch. When I was watching Zander wobble over on his side doing 15-lb. thrusters in the snow on the Madison track, I never would have thought he'd get the Jennifer Banet treatment. Workouts set up to fail are only for the most mentally tough. Now, I have that trust in him. I know he'll talk himself through it, and make or miss he'll still be back the next day (as long as I give him a wake-up call). I'll miss that Zander this fall more than I'll miss him using the cars on Stephenson Hwy to pace his 800-m runs. Or his Penny Hardaway throwback.

Seeing Zander undergo a complete physical, mental, and social overhaul over the past three years has been one of the most surprising, rewarding, entertaining, and enjoyable things about the Champions Club so far this decade; a part of me wishes I could come up with a better combination of words, sentences, and paragraphs that could convey that. But really, who is my audience? You guys got to see it too! You know just as well as I do. That's part of the beauty of this place: you just have to be here. And for the later half of his high school career, Zander was "here" in every sense of the word.

Love ya brotha and hope to see you soon!

Chris