Interview with Navy SEAL, Brad McLeod (part 1)

Thanks, Brad, for making time to do this interview.
For those of our readers who don't know you yet, let me just say Brad runs SEALGrinderPT/CrossFit Grinder in  Atlanta, GA. He also is a flies to California several times a year to instruct at the SEALFit Kokoro Camps.
If you don't mind Brad, let's just jump into the interview.




When did you first take an interest in training?


I first started lifting weights with a buddy about the age of 16. We would bench press in his barn with sand weights (covered in plastic). We eventually got the courage to sign up at the local gym. In those days we only had a local bodybuilding gym as CrossFit not yet invented. I loved the gym and hurried from school every day to get under the bar. It was a good environment as everyone there training hard and trying to push their mind and body to the next level.





I see you put a high emphasis on mental toughness on your website, forum, & blog. About what age did you start focusing on this?

Good question, Frank. When I went into the Navy SEAL training at 19 and I just had a burning desire to become a Frogman. I had no training on the mental side other than bullies telling me how much "I sucked". I was used the getting beat down so I figured BUD/S would be no different.





I was not a high speed high school jock - in fact I was the opposite. I skateboarded a lot and in that sport I learned and re-learned how to get back up after getting skinned up. You quit skateboarding soon if you can't handle pain. I once hit my right wrist really hard and thought I broke it. I went in to the Doc and he says put both hands on Xray plates. He ran the Xray and comes back and tells me my right wrist brides but ok. My left wrist had been broken for weeks and he would have to put in a cast. I was learning to ignore pain at an early age. I wanted to skate hard and nothing would stand in my way (yes, I skated that afternoon with fresh cast on).





Later in life I looked back on the toughness of BUD/S training and honestly asked myself "how did I make it"? It was there that I began reading more and learning more which eventually led me to SEALFIT where we work hard to forge mental toughness.





 Could you elaborate on the "20 X factor" regarding your time with the SEALS, and how it currently affects your training and life?

20x just basically says that we are capable of 20 times more than we think. I found that out in BUD/S and later inline graduating college and in business. For me it rings especially true as I am an older athletes and even this week have set new lifting personal records. I strive to daily embrace the 20x and push myself despite being older in age.





 Being both a CrossFit Level1 Trainer and an Underground Strength Coach , like myself, how do you find they work together in your gym?

The training styles have many common points and work together well. We like to use the logs and tires as an unknown variable to push our athletes. We use theUSCwarmup and look for ways to give our athletes and unknown quantity like a sandbag or irregular stone and work with it. Our goal is to have more of our trainers travel to New Jersey to get certified as a UnderGround Strength Coach and there are even talks of holding a certification at our gym in Atlanta.

 Did you find CrossFit first or Underground Strength?

CrossFit and then Underground shortly after.

note:  We'll have part 2 when Brad's schedule allows him to do it. in the meantime check out his upcoming SEALFit Challenge