MBG: How did you find MBG?

JG: I majored in Kinesiology-Human Performance and took an internship and MBG after a friend of mine did and he said I had to check this place out. Jon (Hinds) offered me a job so I took CNT 1 & 2. The CNT courses really helped me to break down movement and learn how to progress through different levels of training.

MBG: What kind of shape were you in when you first arrived at MBG?

JG: Before MBG, most of the training I was taught was either go heavy or go light. Then a friend of mine told me about the body weight training philosophy he learned at MBG. I was a big meat-head at the time, still am, but I was having a problem with my elbow that was getting worse. I was bench pressing and doing curls and stuff like that. It felt like someone was jamming a knife in my elbow, so I knew that I had to stop or I was going to get injured. Within a few months of doing Eischens Yoga and kettlebells the pain gradually went away and I haven't felt anything like that since.

MBG: Was it difficult for such a meat-head to adjust to the unique movements at MBG?

JG: I couldn't even do a cartwheel when I first got here. And I used to think jump ropes were for girls. Now I can do 100 doubles, walk on my hands and I'm strong.

MBG: How have you integrated what you've learned into your training outside MBG?

JG: Before MBG I didn't have as many options to offer my clients. Now, if someone can't do a push-up, I can tell to do a knee push-up or an incline plane hold. First is alignment, then we build strength and then we get to add power. Like Jon (Hinds) says, “If you're driving a hotrod down the road with a ton of power, but the alignment is off, you can race for a while but eventually the whole car's going to fall apart.” So now I can train people to have a strong foundation and then build from there so they can hopefully keep racing for years to come.

MBG: What do you think of Eischens Yoga?

JG: Love it! But you have to stay dedicated. If you do, it really works. It activates muscles, creates balance, instead of just stretching your muscles. If you just stretch, your muscles will go right back to where they were after 10-15 minutes. I was able to bring Eischens to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to the hockey team and now there's 10-12 guys that meet regularly to do yoga. Eischens will make you a healthier individual and a better athlete.

MBG: Does yoga still have a stigma with the college and professional athletes you work with?

JG: There is an image thing with some people. Do you want to tell the guys your going to go to a yoga class? Some people still call it a sissy thing to do. I just ask them if they understand what yoga is.

MBG: Same thing with jumping rope?

JG: I used to have the attitude that I didn't need to jump rope but then I learned that it's a great cardio workout. Running hurts my back, so I get a better workout jumping robe then most runners get running for miles.

MBG: What were you doing in North Carolina this summer?

JG: I worked with a minor league baseball team, messing around with a bunch of young bucks from 20-24 years old. They're down there living a dream, trying to make it to the majors. Baseball's been a love of mine. I got to travel all over the place. I got to room with some of the guys and hung out with them, living dirt cheap. I loved it.

MBG: What training did you introduce?

JG: I broke the mold a little bit. They gave me a sheet and said this is what we are going to do. I was was kind of shocked because they were about five years behind the times. They had the basics down but they weren't aware of a lot of good stuff that's out there. And even though I wasn't supposed to, I broke out the kettlebells and did some lifting on the side with a few of the guys. I got them to progress to some heavier sets on a game day. Bottom of the ninth comes up and this kid hits a home run. He comes around and touches home and everyone in the dugout is yelling “More kettlebells!” It was so much fun.

MBG: How did the season wind-up?

JG: By mid season, we were tied for the worst record out of sixteen teams. Then after the All-Star break we went on a ripper. We won seventeen out of twenty and won the division and went to the playoffs – from worst to first.