Perform Better Functional Training Summit Thoughts Part II

Yesterday I posted an article summarizing some of my favorite speakers from this past weekend's conference in Providence, RI (article HERE ).  With this article I would like to highlight more take-home points specifically from a bunch more speakers. 

Gray Cook:
Tough to explain without a video, but Gray had some fantastic exercises and lessons. 
   1) His Half Turkish Get Up Progression (he has a DVD on the topic with Brett Jones) and how even half of the movement can be a teaching tool, assessment, and exercise all in one is remarkable.  After previous injury, an asymmetry can be a huge predictor for future injury, and Gray chooses this exercise as a self-limiting, self-explanatory tool to check for imbalances between right and left sides of the body.  Awesome!  Also, he pointed out how they have more recently started the TGU in a snow-angel position, with arms and legs more spread apart from the body.  My favorite cues from him: sternum to ceiling, knuckles flat and parallel with the ceiling, and make sure each stop in the movement is PICTURE perfect. 
    2) Quadruped/Child's pose external and medial rotation exercise sequence were taken to another level; Gray uses the prone position to further examine and mobilize someone who is having difficulty rotating from the thoracic spine.

Thomas Meyers
Few thoughts and quotes:
--We can't turn a building upside down, it was designed for gravitational forces.  But the human body?  We can put it sideways, upside down, and in every direction. 
--Fascia is the entire environment of fibers contained in a glue-like substance around and between muscles, ranging from watery to very thick cartilage.
--One of the keys for the 21st Century Personal Trainer is to embrace what it means to live in an electronic world.  Most treatments are based on industrial-age techniques, while the electronic era of the last 10-20 years has completely revolutionized our physiques, postures and demand for physical movement. 
--We are grown from a 'seed', not put together by a machine into parts.  Yet some still train on machines, and in parts.  Without dissection, it is IMPOSSIBLE to activate ONLY one muscle at a time.  Even when 'isolating' muscles during a bicep curl, the tricep, brachialis, anterior deltoid, brachioradialis and other wrist muscles all contract to maintain integrity. 
--Does the body REALLY have 600 muscles?  Or 1 muscle in 600 fascial 'pockets'? 
--Fat is basically a wetsuit surrounding your body.  Hopefully it's thin!
--Fascia is extremely responsive to tension, and lays down more tensile structure as a result.  In some cases, bone can re-knit faster than fascia!

Bill Parisi
Great thoughts and quotes from Bill:
--Are you really honest?  Tell me the last time you lied...(interview question?)
--Know your numbers - break even, investor versus business partner, etc.  Know them!
--over 240 investors initially passed on Starbucks' initial offering (think big!)

Also, I love listening to Bill; he's a great speaker, he knows his business, and is not afraid to admit a wrong or two.  I liked how he spoke candidly about staying with his gyms too long before selling, all the while he was moving into franchise mode with Parisi Speed.  Finally, the fact that he and Martin Rooney still co-exist under the Parisi umbrella is a testament to two men working commonly towards a different goal. 

Thomas Plummer
Oh man, this is definitely the 2nd funniest guy on the Perform Better circuit.  Simple quotes and statistics from his presentation (keeping it less than 10...there's so many!)

• 2009 was the single worst year in the training industry, after having peaked in 1995
• BodybyJake was your 'personal trainer' in 1995
• There are 28,000 commercial gyms in the US, and still, 84% of the population does NOT have a gym membership
• Generalists are chosen for convenience
• Specialists are chosen for expertise
• The future of gyms and personal training studios is the 300 member gym/studio in 2,000 square feet
• The past is the 3,000 member gym with 30,000 square feet
• Curves: as of 3 years ago they had 10,000 facilities, today they have 5500 and are closing 1200 this year
• HEH stands for Human Energy Hours: after so many hours of working in a week, working past that point is no longer useful.  At all. 
• Doing something is better than doing nothing.  You can fix a mistake.  But you can't fix inactivity.
• Most people are who they are by accident.  Be who you want to be by choice!

That's all for Part II, for Part III I will be gathering most of the motivational quotes from my notes and then Dr. Stuart McGill's teachings for implementing into your programs and coaching.  Stay tuned!

-Coach Kev