Under the Spotlight - Grip Profile - JALAND WORLEY

[Vinnie]

This month's profile features JALAND WORLEY: Newbie or old-timer? 

You'd think that a guy who certified on the COC 3 last year and sets world records on hotly contested implements would be someone who's been around the grip Block for a while (see what I did there?) -- but Jaland is actually a newbie, chronologically, having just become interested in grip in the middle of last year.  I had the honor of meeting him in Colorado, at the Rolling Hills Grip Challenge this past March.  We had been communicating a little before that, as I was watching his meteoric gripper climb: Jaland certed the COC 3 less than a year ago, just months after deciding he was interested in grip.  He thereafter climbed the mash monster ladder to something like level 7, and undoubtedly would have kept going if the ladder had not been yanked from under us (just kidding, @Cannon).  I am sure there are other certs to fall soon though.  For example, in Colorado, I offered Jaland my light COC 3.5 to attempt a TNS close.  He dang near almost got it.  By now, he probably would get it.  The credit card set of a harder gripper and thus the 3.5 cert cannot be far off.  Also in Colorado, I set some sort of 80kg arm lifting weight class record on the IM hub (it was dual sanctioned; I didn't get the grip sport international weight class record, I think I was second on that leaderboard).  Guess who was the only one at the comp to beat me on that event?  Jaland (and he won the comp, as well).  At least he's not in my weight class, and I can keep my crumb until it's contested again!  Jaland is a fierce competitor, and yet a decent guy to compete and hang out with.  Good combination, and I hope to see him at future comps.

Without further ado, here is what Jaland had to say (his preface, then the standard questions and his answers):

<<I recently did an interview on The Grip Show with Zach Mullins, and I touched on many of these topics, so I am going to attack them from different angles.  I don't want to repeat what I have already taken the time to say.

1. What are your stats?

    GripBoard name: dubyagrip
    Age: 37
    Height: 6'0
    Weight: 257lbs (I am on a serious cut, down from 275lbs.)
    Dominant hand, and hand size: I'm right handed, but I train both hands differently for the various one-handed lifts.  My hands are 8.5" in length and span 10.25".
    Country/City: Mead, Colorado
    Relationship Status: N/A
    Children: Two Boys
    Occupation: I lead and manage a technology operations team for a popular health and wellness retailer/website.

2. Why did you start training grip (and how long is it now)? 

September 2022 was when I decided I should actually figure out how to close the #3 when I had found it and the other grippers I had purchased back in like 2010.  I would squeeze them occasionally over the years, but I never did any structured training.  I didn't even know what the different sets were.  I did everything with a poor TNS technique.  I trained hard after educating myself and the #3 fell on November 15th, which is my birthday.

3. What are you most proud of accomplishing in grip already, and what is/are your grip goal/goals? 

I am proud of how quickly I am picking up the sport and entering rare territory on my lifts and gripper closes, and I am also happy that I can help people who want to get stronger but don't know how to get started.  My life is kind of a mess right now, but grip is something I can use as an anchor to what I know my potential and capabilites as a human are.

If I narrow it down to a specific thing, I think I am most proud of how I turned pinch grip into my strongest asset after being embarrassingly weak to start.  My first session with the IM block was 50lbs or so back in March, and I put up 121lbs on it at King Kong 2023 (*VIN's editorial note: since Jaland managed to do this without using sticky stuff, hand misplacement, or bracing, it is actually the new WORLD RECORD!*).  I will put that same focus into training my wrists and fingers for thickbar and rolling handles now.

My goals for the rest of the year are to try and cert the 3.5 and GHP9, but my gripper hand isn't really healthy, so there may be a delay.  Next year, I will solely target the #4 since Mash Monster isn't a thing anymore.  I would also like to break some more records, win a larger competition, and lift some more of the biggest blobs next year.

4. How do you currently structure your overall training/how do you incorporate your grip training?

I train all aspects of grip every 5-7 days.  I don't do rolling handles with my gripper hand, and vice versa.  The staples of my training are grippers, saxon bar (2" and 3"), 2-3/8" Axle, and 2" Vbar.  I will add in other implements as competitions or feats call for them. 

I train the rest of my body on non-grip days, protecting my hands so they can recover.  My workouts are short and intense.  I rarely exceed 20 minutes a day.  I do not live in the gym.

5. What hobbies (other than grip/bending/lifting) do you enjoy?

I like hiking in the backcountry out here in Colorado.  Photography is something I have enjoyed since I was young, as well as writing and playing music.  I'm always looking for ways to be creative.  I'm working on getting better at chess.  I will go back to jiujitsu someday, and I have plans to train judo.  My kids are starting sports, so I am teaching them how to train, practice, and become killers.  I play video games with and without my kids.  I read a lot.  Life is hard, so I make a point to escape from reality as often as I can once I'm sure I have done my duty to provide and maintain order for my family.

6. Do you have a personal anecdote, topic or thoughts you'd like to include in your profile?

I think as a man heavily involved in strength training and sports, it would be easy to let it define me and become the stereotypical, "bro," but I have never been down with being one-dimensional.  We can be more than one thing.  There's so much to do and learn in the world, and I think it is a shame to limit oneself, unless that person has found and is at peace with where they are.  Grip is cool, but if you sat down to talk to me outside of a competition or sports setting, you'd be way more interested in everything else I'm doing.

7. Whose Grip profile would you like to see next?

Zach Ebel>>

[dubyagrip]

Thanks @Vinnie - You're too kind.  I love these profiles, and I look forward to them every month.

Edited November 1, 2023 by dubyagrip