Perform Better Summit Notes
Perform Better Summit Notes
At the end of August, I had the privilege of Attending the Perform Better Summit in Long Beach. Thanks to the vision of Perform Better CEO, Chris Poirier, it’s not just a chance to see some of the top minds in the strength and conditioning industry, it’s also a chance to meet them face-to-face. And let’s not forget the exchange of ideas with other motivated coaches.
The presentation schedule was so stacked that it was very hard to decide who to see and who to miss. So who did I see?
Well . . .
John Berardi
Mike Boyle
Lee Burton
Gray Cook
Robert Dos Remedios
Sue Falsone
Brett Jones
Thomas Plummer
Greg Rose
Charles Staley
Mark Verstegen
Nick Winkleman
Just a couple of people
I did not see Dan John speak. This is only worth mentioning insofar as it was almost painful, considering how much I think of the man.
I had originally planned on posting my notes from the seminars I attended. However, there’s so much technical detail available flooding the internet these days that I feel that we can cover our technical bases with any one of a hundred fitness blogs. I’d prefer to give you some broader concepts – some of the things that made me prick up my ears.
If there was one overarching message that came across during the conference, it was this:
* Simplify your approach
Seriously. Strip it down. Get rid of any unnecessary complexity and anything that is distracting you from the genuine goal.
I’d elaborate but that would be missing the point.
* Simplify your goals
Focus on incremental, sustainable change. If it worked to have overly-ambitious goals that required a high degree of willpower . . . well, that would have worked for you already.
* Growing means changing your mind
If you’re not changing your systems out of a fear of looking like you were making mistakes, get over it. Things need to change. You can choose to evolve in order to stay up to date or you can keep on doing the same old thing. Or, if you prefer Thomas Plummer’s take , “I love Blockbuster! Their empty stores make great training facilities!”
* There is no substitute for experience
When you compare the actual number of experts out there to the number of purported internet experts, things get crazy. You need to put in a lot of time under the bar (and a lot of time going above and beyond) before you can honestly call yourself an expert.
* You don’t have to embrace the Functional Movement Screen (this is, perhaps, the only bandwagon that I’m personally comfortable being on) but you do have to respect the universality of the human developmental process. Trying to hack your way through the minutia is to forget about the first (and most important) point I’ve made. If a pattern is important, then fix the pattern.
* And on that note, Coach Dos would ask if you need to “train” your ass or move it?
* Build your athletes from the ground up. The importance of the foot has been largely ignored in terms of developing quality movement. Having tennis athletes train 365 days a year on sand would not be productive. The first place to impart stability (above the ground itself) is through the feet.
* Stability starts with your connection to the ground but must be maintained by (in Brett Jones’ words), “closing doors in the right sequence,” so that strength goes where you want it to go.
* Movement can be made simpler – or more difficult by breathing.
* Drill with a purpose. You should have a clear and articulate reason for how every single thing you do facilitates progress.
* Always have a plan but be ready to ditch it in a heartbeat
* If things aren’t working for you on the client level, Mike Boyle would ask if you’ve “considered that you may be an asshole.”
* In youth athletes, skill training should peak after growth spurts have passed their peak speed. This concept can be applied to any athlete who is rebuilding their movement patterns.
* Running on a treadmill is not running. The mechanics are very different.
* There is a fixed period for athletic attributes to peak. It depends on the quality but always happen after training has significantly decreased.
* There are many examples of training variations (including high-intensity intervals and block periodization) that yield comparable results to the standard protocols, but in far less time.
And finally (this one’s from Alwyn Cosgrove)
* The only thing more worrying than people who have gone five years without some kind of continuing education are the people who are proud of that fact.
GG
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These are, like, the rules of life. Not just training/lifting/whatever. Right?
15.09.2011, 3:40 pmI’d go so far as to say that the best stuff is universal. It’s definitely in the interest of having a good life!
15.09.2011, 3:54 pm