What is #GridStyle?

I have now been using a GridStyle format of training for 7 ½ weeks. It has been over a decade since I last performed even close to this level. Here are some of the highlights of my training so far:

• 605lb Back Squat started at 500lb
• 374lb Bench Press started at 330lb
• 675lb Deadlift started at 600lb
• Clean & Jerk 160k/352lb started at 140k/308lb
• Snatch 124k/273lb started at 100k/220lb
• Power Snatch of 120k/264lb
• Power Clean 150k/330lb
• Jerk 182k/400lb
• Front Squat 225lb x 20 reps in 26.9 sec
• Deadlift Ladder of 405-455-505-555-605
• Toes 2 Bar 12 unbroken
• Shoulder to Overhead of 165lb x 20 reps in 64 sec
• Standing Strict Press of 226lb started at 190lb

These are just a few! There are several reasons for this success, but the big one is: I am having fun again! I am challenging myself with new activities. I am working on movements that I have never tried in my life. However, I am still lifting heavy things, which is what I love to do.

I have also surrounded myself with an incredible team. Will Hall, Paul Stewart, Chuck Hendo, Cooper Hanson, Mike McClusky, and Mike Priest are the guys that I normally hit the gym with. The Carolina Crush coaches, Ken Crowder and Paul Klein, are also pushing me once per week. These two guys are two of the best coaches that I have ever had. This week they encouraged me to complete a workout that six weeks ago would have been impossible. They know just how far to push us, and that’s what the team will need to win. I am not sure yet if I am going to make the team or not, but no matter what, I am all in with this team.

A lot of people have now been asking me, What is #GridStyle? Simply put, it’s taking your God given genetics to formulate a proper strength program and conditioning program while constantly introducing new movements. I have spent some time in the CrossFit world, and I think that it is an overall great workout. However, it doesn’t take my genetics into account at all. I am strong! I love to lift heavy things. I am designed with fast twitch fibers only. Anything past a minute is getting into my unfamiliar zone. My conditioning looks something like this:

1. A Barbell Movement for 15-20 reps for time.
2. Lift something moderate for high reps, sprint or bodyweight movement, and then lift something heavy for 3-7 reps. Then I recover and repeat several times.
3. Row Sprints
4. 30 minutes on the rower or aerodyne at a steady pace to improve my cardiovascular system.

These are just a few. Notice that there are no workouts with 100 pull-ups or 100 burpees. Those workouts force me to fight my genetics, and ultimately all I do is get weaker and feel terrible. My bodyweight/gymnastic workouts consist of me learning a new movement, or practicing one that I need help with. Normally those workouts end with a small met con that might look like this:

• 5 strict Chest to Bar Pull-ups
• 5-8 Ring Dips strict
• 10 Burpees
• 3 Rounds

Every workout begins with a strength component except on Wednesday. My strength work looks something like this:

• Monday- Snatch and Clean & Jerk work up heavy and then high rep down sets
• Tuesday- Squat with high rep down sets
• Wednesday- I get Crushed by the Carolina Crush coaches.
• Thursday- Bench Press and Strict press with high rep down sets
• Friday- Snatch and Clean & Jerk with high rep down sets
• Saturday- Front Squat and Deadlift with multiple high rep down sets
• Sunday- Push Presses with multiple high rep down sets
. Everyday there is time for a Bro Session of course!

There are also aspects of muscular imbalance work to address my weaknesses. Obviously due to a 2007 cervical spine fracture, I have issues with overhead endurance. I am using overhead carries both bilaterally and unilaterally to name one way that I am working on my weaknesses. I am also performing farmers walks, unilateral overhead squats, and fat grip DB Waiter squats to name a few. A lot of this is due to my friend Zach Greenwald.

What is GridStyle? Will Hall answered this question the best on my podcast “The Barbell Life”. He said, “This program will make your strengths stronger while eliminating weaknesses.” Here’s what you will get when the plan drops:

• Strength Workouts that fit your genetics: Strength Athlete, Body Weight, or Work Horse
• Grid Conditioning that fits your genetics and goals
• Grid Gymnastics that fits your genetics, capabilities, and goals
• Muscular imbalance plans to address individual weaknesses
• GridStyle Private Facebook Group to mingle with teammates and coaches
• GridStyle Supplementation
• GridStyle Nutrition
• Weekly Video Analysis
• Weekly communication with coaches
• GridStyle Mobility

I am teaming up with Coach Paul Stewart and Coach Will Hall to bring you the most exciting plan to date. Our goal is that you have the most fun making the most Gainzz of your life. I can honestly say that no matter what happens with The Carolina Crush and the National Grid League, I will continue this style of training forever. If I don’t make the team, I will train every day until next year to make sure that I am ready.

If you want to know what the true movement in functional fitness really is, it is #GridStyle. If you embrace it, you will fall in love just like I have. Football was my first love in sports, and I thought that nothing on earth would ever replace it. This style of training and the hope of competing within the Grid have finally taken its place. Every day that I go to the gym, I have the potential to set a PR, or do something for the first time. Almost daily, I am receiving small wins that keep me coming back for more. Giving me daily wins is like putting drops of blood in shark-infested waters, and I am the shark!

#GridStyle isn’t just for people that want to compete within the Grid someday. It is simply a style of training that is designed to be optimally fit for each individual’s own specific goals, needs, and genetic makeup. We want each of you to have the most fun getting into the best shape of your lives. Be on the lookout for the program to drop within the upcoming weeks.

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