My Interview With SEAL Grinder PT Coach & Friend Brad McLeod

So today I wanted to return a favor from a couple weeks ago by having another good friend of mine on for an interview. Wow, with all these interviews maybe I should become the next Larry King. Ok, maybe not. Anyways, you know that I believe that the effectiveness and legitimacy of any strength and conditioning program is all about good coaching.

With so many trainers and coaches out there today quality can at times be hard to come by especially if you don’t know what to look for in one. Well my friend Brad here is a quality coach and has some killer tips on improving your pulling power with some mad pull up skills. We talk all sorts of stuff in this one and believe me you don’t want to miss it!

My Interview With Brad McLeod…

1. Tell us a little about yourself?

I am 49 years young and a father of 2 wonderful children. Married living in north Atlanta and am lucky to have a gym – CrossFit Grinder in Sandy Springs, Georgia – where we train athletes.

I am really just a normal guy who was sick and tired of going nowhere in life. I decided to pick a big challenge and joined the Navy at age 19 to become a SEAL. My friends all laughed as I might as well have said I was going to climb Mount Everest (I am from Florida). Despite all odds (asthma) and being kicked out my first time through (failed a math test) I made it through the training and went on to serve at SEAL Team Four in Little Creek, Virginia. Later in life I became a fitness trainer and started the websitewww.sealgrinderpt.com. I have a lot of fun training athletes.

2. You have quite a pull-up guide that you sell online, right? Tell us about that.

I kept getting questions about how to improve pull ups so I sat down

and jotted out some notes which eventually was made into an Ebook. We had helped hundreds of athletes get their first pull up or string together several. The Ebook comes with unlimited email questions to me as your Coach – so we have received back good feedback from the Ebook. You can check out a copy here online at: http://sealgrinderpt.com/navy-seal-workout/grinder-strength-pull-up-e-book.html/

3. What kind of students do you train?
At our gym in Sandy Springs we train athletes of all ages from 16 to 50 plus and every condition and shape. People think that they have to be an elite athlete to train with us but that is not the case at all. Also we hear that people think they need to get in shape and then come to us. We train athletes of all abilities.

When I travel to California for SEALFIT training we train athletes for a 50 hour straight Kokoro event. The event teaches athletes how to become mentally tough and use that training in their day to day lives. We have a trip to Ireland in March and are very excited to travel across the pond.

4. Brad, you know I love utilizing kettlebells and so do you. Have you used them for your students. Yes; we enjoy the kettlebell workouts and have a full set of them at the CrossFit Grinder gym. We also teach our athletes to make a sand bag or sand ball and use that as a kettlebell. The kettlebell is so useful and portable that we have to bring it in to our workouts.

5. Did you smash your TV after Bama squeaked by our Dawgs in the SEC Championship? By the way everyone, Brad is a fellow Bulldog, right Brad? Yes; I am a graduate of UGA and was upset after the big loss. But I am proud of the Dawgs as they fought valiantly and will only build for the future. I did about wreck my car with the Dawgs scored that big catch and score on the Gators.

More about SEALgrinderPT

The SEALgrinderPT.com website is a Navy SEAL workout with bodyweight exercises. We want to be able to do workouts anywhere at anytime and not be limited by equipment or machines. But as important – we want to train the mind and prepare it for the ups and downs of life. Any athlete can do the pushups and sit-ups but it takes a true warrior to develop the mental edge. The ancient warriors of the past knew this and cultivated this experience.

For us – the mental edge is the critical element. Anyone can be strong for a 30 minute or 1 hour workout. Don’t get me wrong – that is great to workout – we love it too. But we want to use the workout as a tool to work the mind and have it strong so that you can go home and tackle the world around you. No sense being tough and strong for a 30 minute CrossFit workout and then melting down on your drive home as you listen to voice mails on the bills you owe or bad news someone left you.

Come join us at CrossFit Grinder in Sandy Springs (north Atlanta) or online at www.sealgrinderpt.com

You see guys I told you Brad had some great tips. Just remember that it’s all about the mastery of simple movements and the mental toughness to match. Pull ups are certainly one that can do just that for you. Remember that most anyone can train hard, but only the best train smart. Thanks for coming on to join us today Brad it was an honor to have you on!