Just a couple of months ago, we first heard that the Warhouse Gym offered bootcamps. Warhouse Gym is a product of Dana Linn Bailey and Rob Bailey. Dana has been a role model of Ankhjii’s for quite a long time. As soon as we found out about the camp, we knew we had to sign up. We did a little research and found out the camp was in Leesport, PA. That’s an eight hour drive, totally doable. I signed Ankhjii up right away and paid our deposit. The cost for the camp is $150 – $25 down to register and $125 (cash) the day of. The cost is insanely affordable considering what you get for the loot. After I signed Ankhjii up we thought for a bit, maybe it would be a good idea for me to go as well. Maybe I’d learn something that could help my wife.

As my friends know, I’m no bodybuilder. I’m not really in good shape at all and I really don’t have the drive to be a bodybuilder. What I do have is a professional figure competitor for a wife, one who has completely blazed the trail to pro on her own – no gym, no coach, just me in her corner as her support staff. So I registered myself for the camp, maybe I’d learn something to help her, at the very least I could keep her company.

The drive out to Pennsylvania wasn’t bad at all, the scenery and mountains are great compared to the flatlands of Ohio we left. Our gym camp day started out looking pretty grim, you can see our hotel flood in my post yesterday. No matter, we got everything into our car and out of the hotel and abandoned ship. I could tell Ankhjii was excited as we headed to the Warhouse, that alone made me pretty happy. I like to find the things my wife really wants to do. I knew she was going to fit right in, these are her people! I wasn’t so sure about myself – I mean, what’s this experience going to hold for an out of shape guy like me? Well, in the end, it was so worth it and I wuold do it all again. In fact, I’m certain we will!

We got to the Warhouse early so we could look around (after we let everyone know about the hotel situation). This place is huge, there is square footage abound and a good deal of it is packed full of gym equipment, some looked familiar and some was custom made and pretty freaky looking! As soon as we walked in, we registered and paid our fees. Immediately we were presented with a variety of goodies. I’m not talking a couple of samples. We had very high quality Ogio backpacks given to each of us from 1st Phorm which were packed full of supplements and goodies, several of the supplements even being full sized containers. We were given another bag, and then another, each containing more items. There was the hats, the shirts, etc. We were literally handed so much stuff I had to turn around and head right back to the car to offload it!

Once we were all the way in, Mrs. Yeo wanted to get right into the Warhouse shop. Not some little booth or table, this was a full on shop. If you don’t know the Flag nor Fail brand, it’s one of Ankhjii’s favourites. If you like the brand, this place is heaven. They make some high quality, custom printed gear and it was all on display. We brough some cash to be able to buy a few items, we walked out with a big bag full. The prices were crazy in that shop, we came out with way more that we ever thought we’d be able to. Ankhjii just about picked up an entire wardrobe – I managed to find myself a couple of great items as well!

Morning – Getting to Know Each Other

Intros and Bios

The actual event started out with an intro which rolled right in to bios for Rob and Dana Linn Bailey followed by the special guest for the day, Brandon Curry. The intro let us know what all would be going on that day, what we could expect, and general timelines. The bios were very interesting to me since I didn’t know a lot about any of these fine folks. The parts that truly interested me were hearing about the relationship dynamic with Rob and Dana and hearing about how he helps her succeed and how they’ve gotten where they are. Between my hectic work schedule, school recently, Ankhjii’s work, her class, her demanding workout schedule, etc. it makes for some challenges. I wanted to hear how another couple was pulling it off. I also wanted to hear some tips about how I could help my wife. What could I do to keep the momentum going. I enjoyed hearing about the people and I liked hearing Rob’s drive and determination, I found that inspiring. I’m pretty sure Rob wanted to keep the personal out of the conversation but I enjoyed the bits that were shared.

Nutrition and Supplementation

From the intro and bios we moved on to discussion about nutrition and supplementation. There was good conversation and opportunity to ask questions. A lot of people had really quality questions, inclusing my own wife. I knew she’d been waiting for an opportunity like this. When you come out to the camp, have your questions ready. It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to ask these types of people your own personal questions. I really liked this part, there was openness and honesty. The information was straightforward and questions were answered well. I just liked that the overall nutrition philosophy was common sense. We learned a bit about food selection, supplement selection, traveling, pre and post competition, etc. I picked up some very helpful tips.

Training Splits

This spoke more to my wife than me. I enjoyed listening, but I know the information that was presented was something she was interested in. What gets worked out and when. What gets worked out together. DLB has some pretty legendary quads, delts, and abs. We obviously spoke about how she makes that work. There was some good discussion about how she got into workouts and how her workouts evolved to be what they are now.

Questions, Door Prizes, Lunch (and snacks/vendors)

There was a pretty good period here for answering questions. It’s great to have a lot of time for this, as I mentioned earlier it’s a hell of an opportunity to get your questions answered one on one. There was opportunity to ask questions throughout but it was nice to have this time. I had the opportunity to run over and grab a snack during this period. There was ample coffee available which was great after my long drive, but there was also an area with vendors like Gaspari Nutrition, Quest Nutrition, Muscle Egg, Muscleicious Foods, etc. You could get yourself a bar, some protein balls (OMFG these are good), protein pudding, a shake, etc. You won’t go hungry here! Besides the snacks, there are handfuls of freebies here too, supplements, shakers, powder containers, etc.

After the questions there was the door prize drawing. Yup, not done giving away stuff yet! Everyone got a ticket when they registered. There’s a rack of possible prizes. Pick your prize and drop your ticket in that box. I lost count of how many prize packages were given away. Were talking boxes of supplements, 6 pack bags, clothes, etc. Ankhjii actually won herself a prize pack from Fusion Bodybuilding that totally rocks! We grabbed some lunch after the giveaway, grilled chicken, salad, etc. It was a healthy and tasty lunch.

We had some downtime during lunch to check out the vendors some more, check out the gym itself, or head back into the shop to check out the Flag nor Fail gear. Before we got into the second half of the day, it was time to head outside for a group photo. That was definitely a cool touch. Various folks whipped out some cameras to capture the moment, but I’m pretty sure the shot I have here was captured by drone. Yup… we even got drones up in here!

Afternoon – Doing Stuff!

Group Sessions

It was time to get down to business. Time to actually do some stuff. We were broken up into three groups led by Rob, Dana, and Brandon. Dana and Brandon each worked out with us a bit. They demonstrated technique, discussed what was important to them, discussed what worked for them. There was a lot of demonstration and a good amount of crowd participation. This was another great opportunity for one on one discussion and questions. There was a lot of information presented about what does and doesn’t work. I know my wife really enjoyed this part, she got a lot of pointers and I heard several a-ha moments.

The session with Rob was unique. I really enjoyed that. We had some one on one time to discuss business. How did he grow the Flag nor Fail brand to what it is now. He talked about business, he talked about his passion and drive, we learned about how he brought the business to where it is. We learned a good deal about the dedication it takes to make this all happen. This was what I wanted to hear, we are just starting out with Ankhjii’s career and trying to figure out the ‘what next’. I got to learn just how hard it is to make this all work. The struggle we are going through is the process, this is how it works.

Posing and Open Gym

After the individual group sessions we broke out to posing and open gym. Dana had time to wander the gym and talk to people while Brandon focused on bodybuilding posing. Then They flipped so Dana could work on figure and physique posing with the girls. Ankhjii got herself some quality time in a small group to work on figure posing surrounded by mirrors with Dana Linn Bailey herself. That was a fantastic opportunity!

Wrapping Up

Once the posing and open gym tine started winding down, it was late. We were well over schedule. We weren’t kicked out though, everyone got to say goodbye, chat, get some pictures, and try not to get run down by Rob on wheels or the dogs. Rob and Dana literally live in that gym. They invited us in. They are constantly on the go and we were there pretty damned late. They could have disappeared, could have booted us out. But they stayed smiling and really made everyone feel welcome. The entire day was a class act to me. This wasn’t some polished act, start to finish, follow the notes, etc. There was a good amount of winging it, no script to follow, etc. I enjoyed that, I got to see how people operate. I feel like I got to see real people. I took a lot out of this experience, I learned a lot. I definitely feel like I am helping my wife in all the right ways and am motivated to try to do more!

All in all, we will be back! If you want to see all of our pics from the weekend, you can hit up my Flickr album.

Sponsors

I tried to mention a lot of th efree stuff we got and the sponsors, etc. I wanted to give an idea of who all is supporting this whole thing, and what you can expect if (when) you go. I guarantee we walked out with more than $150 worth of stuff. The price of the camp is crazy good (Rob shared his philosophy on that with us, it’s cool). Honestly, if you are serious into fitness or into supporting someone who is, this is an event you need to attend.

Here’s a list of all the sponsors and vendors since I’m sure I missed many above since I’m running off of memory here:

• 1st Phorm
• 6 Pack Bags
• Liquid Sun Rayz
• Cardillo Weight Belts
• MHP Strong
• Muscle Meds
• Gaspari Nutrition
• Metabolic Nutrition
• Fusion Bodybuilding
• Powercrunch Bars
• Quest Nutrition
• Muscle Egg
• ProSupps LLC
• Promera Sports
• Team Betancourt
• BSN Supplements
• Musclelicious Foods

And the Gym Equipment (a lot being custom made – you need to see this stuff)

• Cemco Strength
• Area 51 Industries
• Cardillo Weight Belts
• Maxagrip