A few months back, I wrote a blog titled “Mike’s Top 12 Training Resources,” and the goal was simple:

To highlight a few people in our industry who I consider to be true experts in the field.

Unfortunately, a lot of people are now “experts” (as dubbed by fitness magazines, websites, etc.) despite the fact that they rarely (if ever) train people!

It’s incredibly frustrating, because when you sit down and talk to a coach or trainer for any extended period of time, it’s really easy to figure out who knows what they’re talking about and who doesn’t.

But I digress – back to the list.

Three of the guys I highlighted in my list of top resources were Charlie Weingroff, Joel Jamieson and Patrick Ward.

These are guys that I willingly travel to see speak.

I’m excited when they write blogs.

And if I can sit down and chat with them at any point in time, I take advantage of it.

Quite simply, these guys are legit – they don’t just talk about improving the training process, they’re out there doing it with real people every single day.

A few months back Charlie, Patrick and Joel held a small event in Seattle called the Strength In Motion seminar. Only 20 people were allowed to attend, as they wanted to keep the event small and intimate.

Luckily for the rest of us, they recorded the whole thing and it’s amazing!

I’ve taken the time to review the entire DVD series, but if you’re serious about stepping up your game as a strength coach or personal trainer, you’ll want to check these videos out for yourself.

Module 1
How to Make a Monster
Charlie Weingroff

This is the presentation that Charlie gave at IFAST earlier this year, and while I will definitely take credit for an awesome title, the rest is all Charlie!

I love this presentation because Charlie highlights why he uses the FMS, but more importantly, he talks extensively about the continuum’s he like to use in training.

If you’ve seen me present in the last 2-3 years, you know how I feel about assessments. A good assessment literally drives the program design process, so there’s no argument there.

But based off the findings of that assessment, you need spectrum’s or continuum’s to progress or regress your clients. Not everyone will start at the same point, so progressions and regressions are critical tools to have in your coaching toolbox.

If you want principles to help you build a training philosophy, you’ll love this presentation.

Module 2
Corrective Exercise Case Studies
Charlie Weingroff

Whether you use the FMS or not, this is a very cool presentation because it takes the FMS principles and applies them “on the fly.”

One of the biggest issues I notice with trainers is that once they learn how to assess someone, they don’t know how to take the information from that assessment and use it to build out a program.

Here, Charlie actually evaluates an attendee and starts to discuss programming options with him right then and there. This is cool to see, as most people would never dream of doing this in a live setting!

Modules 3 & 4
Enhancing the Physiological
Buffer Zone I & II
Patrick Ward

Full disclosure: These are probably my favorite two presentations in the seminar!

I’ve been a huge fan of Patrick’s for years, but this was the first time I’d ever seen him present “live.”  And going up against Joel and Charlie (two guys that present on a regular basis), I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Needless to say, he didn’t disappoint!

The physiological buffer zone helps us answer that age old question:

Why do some athletes/clients always end up injured?

And on the flip side, why do some never seem to get injured?

The physiological buffer zone helps explain this.

The first module is more theoretical, and explains the concepts behind the PBZ – most importantly, what the PBZ represents (the gap between physical capacity and breakdown/injury/pain), what defines healthy versus injured athletes, and how to expand the PBZ with the clients and athletes you train.

The second module is more practical in nature. Instead of waxing philosophical, Patrick actually shows you what he does with his clients and athletes to keep them moving and feeling great.

Needless to say, I thought these two modules alone were worth the price of admission!

Module 5
Developing the Performance Model
Joel Jamieson

Next up was Joel Jamieson, this time talking about developing the performance model.

At first glance, this is just Joel showing you how to use Excel. Not that exciting, right?

But when you step back and think about it, this has wide-ranging applications.

Joel shows in-depth how he uses Microsoft Excel to evaluate clients against each other. Whether you work with a certain demographic (i.e. high school baseball or soccer players), or in a more physique focused environment (i.e. fat loss clients), you can use these tools to compare clients against each other and show where they fit within the training spectrum.

Because of this presentation we’re actually going to be doing more and more of this at IFAST. I love the idea of having normative data that you can plug someone into and show them (with real numbers!) where they need to improve.

And possibly the best part of this presentation is that it comes with an example Excel template so you can start using this stuff right away. SCORE!

Module 6
Managing the Training Process
Joel Jamieson

If you’re a science geek, you’re going to loooovvveeee this presentation!

The final presentation by Joel gives a fantastic overview of what really happens physiologically during and after training.

But more importantly, it shows you what you need to do based off how your client or athlete is responding to the training.

Joel covers a ton of different tools you can add to your toolbox to track recovery (including HRV, RPE, performance measures, etc.) and how to use that feedback to dial in and refine the training process.

This is admittedly something I need to work on, and I took a ton of notes during this presentation. As we all know, a training program is great, as it gives us a basic framework or guideline to follow.

But what happens if someone is suffering from a lot of stress, for whatever reason?

Being able to track recovery, and managing the training process as a result, is something that all of us should strive to use in our programming.

Summary

This is an amazing seminar series, and one I definitely took a ton of material away from.

If you’re serious about improving yourself as a strength coach or trainer, this is a solid resource to add to your training library.

Get the Strength in Motion DVD’s NOW!

All the best

MR