Minnesota Grind

Minnesota Grind Mike Simon is Minnesota Grind
Customized personal training for strength, performance, and fitness. Fast forward 20 years and I'm 320 lbs.

I started power lifting in college and learned to eat a tremendous amount of food to support my goals. Unfortunately, I never learned to adjust my food intake when I stopped lifting. with high blood pressure and diabetes. It was time for a change. I decided I wanted to live a longer, fuller life and knew that getting back to the gym was the answer for me. Getting started wasn't easy. It took a cou

ple years before a friend mentioned they were going to invest in a gym membership and I decided I would use their motivation to help move me in the right direction. We started working out in my home gym, with me sharing the knowledge I'd gained over 25 years of on-again, off-again power lifting. combined with some other significant changes, I lost weight, my blood pressure went down, and the diabetes went away. I also reminded myself how much I loved working out. Turns out, I love it so much I decided that helping others to achieve their goals is going to be what I do from now on. Whether you're looking to compete, or just an easier time getting up from the couch, I can help you get where you want to be. I'll bet I can even make the Minnesota Grind fun for you, too.

11/04/2025

Weekend activities with the kids. Galantis/Dillon Francis at Red Rocks.

02/22/2024

Figured I’d post this for my Facebook peeps before I list on Marketplace. I’m about to make a big, exciting move, but I need to unload some stuff. Not in a hurry, but I am selling all of my gym equipment and ice fishing gear. If you are looking for nearly new, barely used, top quality gear for either, check with me and I’ll let you know what I’ve got, answer any questions, and send pics.

01/13/2024

⚔️Max Effort Advice⚔️

🔺Tempering expectations is essential when performing max effort training. Max effort training requires an athlete to produce the maximum amount of force possible for that training day, not all-time.

🔺This means that while we intend to attempt a PR lift whenever possible, we do not expect to hit a PR lift every time we perform a max effort workout. We must remain reasonable and train in a sustainable manner.

🔺The true goal of max effort training is recruiting large-largest motor units. This is possible provided an athlete trains at or above 90% intensity. So, while a lift may not be an all-time personal record, as long as an athlete is consistently capable of training at intensities of 90% or above, absolute strength will improve.

🔺Another piece of advice is to constantly monitor barbell velocity during dynamic effort training day to evaluate the quality of your max effort programming. A consistent decline in barbell velocity during a dynamic effort training wave is often a key warning sign that your max effort training or recovery protocol needs adjustment.

🔺If your dynamic effort has slowed after changing your training weights to match a new PR, perform the next wave using the former PR as your max to find the working weight. Often, one more wave using a former max to figure working weights allows an athlete to recover and become prepared for the escalation in dynamic effort working weights during the next wave.

01/13/2024

⚔️Accessory Exercise Volume⚔️

🔺Unlike our main exercises, where we typically perform a max or dynamic effort exercise, accessory training involves using the repeated effort method. This strength training method calls for lifting submaximal weights for multiple reps (typically five or more) and sets.

🔺Repeated effort method-based training aims to achieve adequate levels of hypertrophy, resulting in improved strength, muscle mass, and work capacity. Without the right amount of accessory exercise training volume, our ability to achieve these goals would be severely limited.

🔺As far as sets go, we will typically perform each exercise for 3-5 sets, depending on the rep count. Reps per set will depend on the exercise. We will typically perform 4-5 sets of 5-8 or 8-10 repetitions for multi-joint exercises. We will typically perform 3-4 sets of 10-12, 12-15, 15-20, or 20+ repetitions for a single joint exercise, depending on the exercise.

🔺These set and rep counts ensure optimal levels of volume and intensity are achieved based on the differences in training weight used when performing multi-joint versus single-joint exercises. Here are the optimal set and rep counts for each of the accessory exercises listed above:

Exercise 1 - Romanian Deadlift, 5 x 5-8 reps

Exercise 2 - Goblet Squat, 3 x 8-10 reps

Exercise 3 - Inverse Curl, 4 x AMRAP

Exercise 4 - Reverse Hyper, 4 x 15-20 reps

Exercise 5 - Standing Abs, 4 x 25-30 reps

🔺As you can see, we adequately address multiple lower-body muscle groups while focusing on glute and hamstring-specific exercises. This is reflected in our exercise selection and the volume level assigned to each exercise.

01/13/2024

⚔️Accessory Exercises⚔️

🔺On each training day, athletes will perform the main exercise of the day. This will be immediately followed up by accessory exercise training, where the repeated effort method comes into play. This training aims to target specific muscular weakness while also increasing muscle mass and improving overall physical composition. To become a better athlete, you must perform each part of the training day with deliberate intent.

🔺Choosing the correct weight for each set is vital when performing accessory exercises. This ensures that all completed sets are effective and improve strength or physical composition. Failure to properly select the correct training loads for accessory exercises will leave an athlete with unaddressed weakness and increase the possibility of injury.

🔺Selecting accessory exercise weights is simple; use a weight that challenges an athlete as much as possible while allowing all sets and reps to be completed with proper form.

🔺Do not sabotage yourself by failing to take your accessory exercise training seriously. Failure to properly train the muscle groups involved in each lift will lead to stagnated progress and potential injury.

🔺For an athlete to become as strong and athletic as possible, max effort, dynamic effort, and repeated effort training must be performed with specific intent. This means no training days taken off and no laziness during training.

Today’s the day! Come out to try something new or get some competition prep in. Los Campeones - St. Paul.
07/22/2023

Today’s the day! Come out to try something new or get some competition prep in. Los Campeones - St. Paul.

A couple clients have entered a comp with a truck pull, so I’m setting one up for practice, along with a few other event...
07/12/2023

A couple clients have entered a comp with a truck pull, so I’m setting one up for practice, along with a few other events. Since I’m setting this stuff up, come out and give them a try or get some free pointers on technique.

Total shock. First Ace today, , Hole 7. No video, but three witnesses. Absolute garbage the rest of the round.
04/14/2023

Total shock. First Ace today, , Hole 7. No video, but three witnesses. Absolute garbage the rest of the round.

A couple pics From the Arnolds that I forgot to post. Jerry Pritchett, Evan Singleton, Amanda Lawrence, and Jessica Buet...
03/15/2022

A couple pics From the Arnolds that I forgot to post. Jerry Pritchett, Evan Singleton, Amanda Lawrence, and Jessica Buettner. First time in my adult life I’ve felt small.

Came for the Steongman Classic, but getting to meet a lot of rockstars today! !
03/04/2022

Came for the Steongman Classic, but getting to meet a lot of rockstars today! !

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