Vital Stats
TRAIN MAGAZINE
The Official Print Partner of Bodybuilding.com
Website: https://train.magcs.com/
Facebook: TRAINmagazine
Twitter: TRAINmag
The sheer dedication it takes to become a member of Team Grenade is enough to put the most diligent of fitness fanatics off going to the gym. The challenges certainly don't stop once the members make the team. Each member faces individual challenges, but together, every challenge is beatable.
Each year, while attending Joe Weider's Mr. Olympia Fitness and Performance Weekend in the heart of Las Vegas, Team Grenade embarks on a boot camp that could crush the wills of normal people, but these are not normal people.
In 2013, the group took on the Rhino CrossFit boot camp, to see which member of Team Grenade was the fittest of them all.
Camp Rhino Boot Camp
Camp Rhino CEO and instructor Julie Johnston runs Team Grenade through a CrossFit style assault course in Las Vegas each year to coincide with the Mr. Olympia weekend. She is a tough instructor; she has to be to get the best from this group of elite athletes.
In 2011 Team Grenade was sent out into the Las Vegas desert to undergo a grueling early morning workout: carrying heavy logs, running up sand dunes, and pulling vehicles.
The 2012 weekend took Team Grenade's yearly boot camp to the Las Vegas strip, where they performed workouts on a custom-built trailer. Onlookers could see the team members being put through the paces up and down escalators, over bridges, engaged in pull-ups, rings, and high-intensity sprints.
Team Grenade take on Boot Camp Las Vegas
Watch The Video - 03:28
TEAM GRENADE
Richard Elston—UKBFF Mens Physique Midlands Champion
James St Leger—CrossFit competitor and world record holder
Gabriel Sey—WBFF Pro Muscle Model
Melih Cologlu—NPC Mens Physique Nationals champion
Shane Raymond—BNBF Bodybuilding champion
Nyisha Jordan—WBFF Pro Diva Fitness Model
Melissa Haywood—UKBFF British Finals 2nd place Bikini & Arnold Classic Madrid 2nd place.
Claire Harper—WBFF Pro Diva Fitness Model
The 2013 challenge took Team Grenade indoors to the Camp Rhino warehouse to attack the CrossFit assault course. The challenge? Undergo three rounds of a 10-minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) triad: upper body, lower body, and core.
Grenade endurance athlete James St. Leger specializes in CrossFit training. James finished with the most total AMRAPs at the completion of three rounds, and was thus named the fittest member of Team Grenade.
Who knows what 2014 will bring! The team will find out when it returns to Vegas!
Rhino Boot Camp Workout
1
LUNGES WITH 45-POUND PLATE
This is great for your quads and glutes, and will certainly make you more explosive as you push up with a 45-pound plate raised above your head.
2
SQUATS TO BOX JUMP
Right after the team members finished the lunges, they went straight into doing squats, then a box jump. Once again this focuses on your legs and explosiveness.
3
VERTICAL MONKEY BARS
The vertical monkey bars are no joke. As Team Grenade member Richard Elston mentioned, it completely "ruins your grips." It will however completely work your arms and upper body significantly.
4
THE YELLOW WALL
Climb across the Yellow Wall as many times as possible. How difficult could that be? Apparently it's very difficult. Team Grenade members were hanging by the tips of their fingers on the bars of the dreaded Yellow Wall. It's a great way to gain strength in your arms using only the benefits of gravity.
5
MEDICINE BALL OVERHEAD PRESS
You might get thrown out of your gym for doing this, but if you can purchase a medicine ball and use it outside, then this is a great way to not only gain explosiveness, but you'll also give your deltoids a great workout too.
Medicine Ball Overhead press/Handstand Press-Ups
6
HANDSTAND PRESS-UPS
Press-ups are already a great way to gain upper body and core strength, so doing them with just the use of your hands is only going to make it more difficult, but the strength gains will be great too.
7
COMMANDO CRAWL
If you're looking for an all-body workout, then rope commando crawls are for you. The more you do the more tolerant you'll become to lactic acid.
8
WALL CLIMBS
Wall climbing may not seem like the most arduous of tasks, but it can be very tough for your lower body and back muscles.
9
KETTLEBELL SWINGS
Everyone wants to have rock-hard abs, yet no everyone diversifies their workouts.
Add some kettlebell swings into your workout and the fantastic looking core you always wanted may soon come.
Plus, you'll burn a significant amount of fat in no time.
10
TOES TO THE BAR
There's no better way to complement your kettlebell swings than with some ab-crushing 'toes to the bar' exercises straight from the CrossFit sacred scrolls.
Your shoulders will get an intense hit from hanging on to the bar.
