We’re going to go off the beaten path a bit here today, as I give you the past week’s recaps.  It’s been a busy one, but there’s a ton of great stuff going on that I want all of you to be aware of!

Tomororow we’ll get back to formal content, and I’ll  be writing up our “Rock the Vote” winner in the coming days as well.

Tuesday

I kid around about it, but I always say that the NFL Combine is one of the few reasons that anyone knows about Indianapolis (the other main reason being the Indy 500!)

Regardless, the combine kicked off last week, and as a result, some really great coaches came into town.

Last Tuesday Bill and I went to dinner at Fogo de Chao with physical therapist Charlie Weingroff.  First off, Charlie may be one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met – Dewey Nielsen calls him a “brain with arms and legs.”

Regardless, we had a fantastic dinner and got to talk powerlifting, vibration training, and a whole host of other topics.  Needless to say it was great stuff, and I can’t wait to get Charlie on the phone in the future to pick his brain.

Wednesday was busy running around all day, in lieu of….

The Weekend

I flew out to Los Angeles this past weekend for the Cosgrove Business Seminars, which were hosted by Perform Better.

To say this was a fantastic seminar would be an understatement of epic proportions.  This seminar has literally changed how I look at our gym, and how we have to run it.

The people around me are probably tired of hearing this, but here goes:  I feel we have a great gym.  More than just a gym, I feel we’ve developed a great community of clients who are serious about getting results.

But that doesn’t pre-qualify us as being a great business.  Bill and I would both rather be in the trenches working with clients than designing procedures manuals, phone scripts, and marketing pieces.

In that same breath, though, those are the things that have to be done for us to enjoy long-term success.

I walked away from the seminar with not only page after page of notes, but also just a ridiculous amount of ideas in my head that I had to get on paper.  I can see how this seminar is going to revolutionize our gym and our business.

To Alwyn and Rachel – thank you guys so much for putting on such an amazing seminar!  I know this is only the start, but I can’t thank you enough.  I wish every gym owner would take this course so they can start to envision what their facility can be like.

As well, to Chris Poirier from Perform Better – thanks for always putting on first-class seminars.  Alwyn jokes that people just assume PB is a seminar company, because they put on such fantastic events.  PB is actually an equipment company, so be sure to check them out when you need supplies.

Coming back Sunday night, sleeping was not an easy thing – between jet lag and the numerous ideas bouncing around in my head, sleep wasn’t the best

This all leads me to yesterday…

Monday

I worked in the AM on all sorts of gym stuff, and then coached at IFAST in the evening.  Last night, Bill and I headed downtown again to meet with Chip Morton, head strength coach of the Cincinnati Bengals.

I have no qualms saying Chip is an extremely intelligent guy, and it’s very cool to hear about some of the plans he’s got for training his players in the upcoming months.  Dinner topics ranged from assessments and evaluations, all the way to football-specific training and conditioning.

(Random Side Note: Sitting in Shula’s, I turn around last night and was forced to do a double-take:  “Neon” Deion Sanders was sitting right behind me!  Luckily I didn’t shriek like a little school girl, but that was crazy.  It got crazier when 2 minutes after that, Rex Ryan walked in as well.  That dude is a BIG guy!)

Needless to say, it’s been a hectic (yet exciting!) week.  Hopefully over the course of the next few days we’ll get some traction and start cranking on the content again.

One last thing – every time I get to travel, train people at my gym, or just hang out with like-minded individuals, I’m reminded how lucky I am to do what I love every single day.

Thank you all for supporting me.  I sincerely hope that my work is benefitting you in some form or fashion!

All the best

Mike