For the fitness professional there are numerous means of acquiring greater knowledge within the field and all of which have perks, but to me, few compare to the power of a seminar. Where else can you see people present their latest ideas and discoveries in the trenches while critiquing them with the help of several hundred of your friends and fellow critical-thinking fitness professionals?

When I jumped into my car headed to Perform Better's three day summit in Long Beach, I was very excited. For those of you who have been to one of Perform Better's events, you know that the speakers are at the top of the field and that you'll have the opportunity to pick up some great tips and tricks to add to your toolbox all while receiving the world class service that is embodied in Perform Better. For those of you who haven't attended, you should find one and go.

Going into the weekend I had devised a plan to get as much out of the experience as possible. Throughout the weekend I was able to see presentations from industry giants like Mark Verstegen and Gray Cook as well as some of the industry's "up and comers" like Greg Rose and Anthony Slater speak on a variety of topics of interest to the fitness professional. Rather than taking hours of your time repeating every nuance of every presentation which I had the pleasure of attending, I'm going to hand out Carson Boddicker's Perform Better Awards in hopes of stirring up a bit of StrengthCoach Forum discussion. First award on the docket: Most Interesting.

Most Interesting Presentation

My personal vote for most interesting of presentations on the weekend was titled "The Vertical Core" by Todd Wright. While many coaches (myself included) have said that they'd vomit if they had to sit through another "core training" lecture, I decided that given Todd's unique perspective it would be the place to go, and I am glad I went. Todd is by no means a traditionalist, and the presentation reflected this. While most coaches hear "core" and begin to think in the realm of floor based activities like bridging, ab wheeling, and even crunching, this is not the case with the "Vertical Core." The Vertical Core is instead a system designed to help the pillar of the body transform ground reaction forces to and from the extremities. Interestingly, there was very little direct emphasis placed on TA, EO, IO, and the other commonly noted components of the core found on Old McDonald's Farm. In its place was an in-depth exploration of the anatomy of the foot and its function in driving optimal core function. Bits and pieces seemed remarkably similar to some of Gracovetsky's Spinal Engine theory and are obviously inspired by Gary Gray's work, both of which are fantastic sources. If you want something that makes you think outside the box of the traditional strength coach, definitely check it out.

Next up, most controversial.

Most Controversial Point

This year's most controversial presentation goes to none other than Gray Cook. Gray is one smart fellow and he always makes you think. This year he presented on "primal patterns" with a specific focus on rolling to enhance stability. Here is where things got a little wacky; he contends that mobility must come before stability. Why? Well, in Gray's eye the development of stability comes with age and he repeatedly pointed to the fact that "babies don't come out with mobility problems." Spot on. For some reason it was not very well taken.

"Whadddya mean? Mobility before stability? What about all that talk of keeping the spine stable?"

I've decided that it was so poorly taken because we coaches have been so focused on "core stability this or that" for so long; it was a slap in our face for poor practice. Now, I'm certain that Gray was not saying stability is unimportant, but I think he may be on to something. The definition of stability in my mind is the ability to control range of motion, and if our athletes are too stiff, then they already have pre-patterned stability to protect themselves from injury. Why would we add more instead of correcting the pseudo-stability?

Now up, the award for coolest piece of theory.

Coolest Piece of Theory

The award for coolest theory goes to Robert Panariello for his points made in his post-ACL training presentation. In the outstanding presentation, Dr. Panariello went through the nuances of training ACL and PCL post-op clients and went into great detail about specific shear forces on the knee in certain exercises and varying degrees of motion. It was very good stuff, but not as good as the golden nugget that he dropped toward the end. He theorized--with the help of Don Chu and Loren Seagrave--that if an athlete is unable to restore knee flexion enough to actively hit his butt with his heel during sprinting, he is losing significant speed to the tune of .01 seconds per stride. Sure, .01 seconds doesn't sound like a whole lot until you look at it like this:

A 40 yard dash is typically run in 20-23 steps; if multiply that number by .01 you get roughly .20 seconds. Kind of a big deal, right? I would say a 4.4 looks much better at the combine than a 4.6.

The last award up for grabs is for the thorough evaluation is for the best presentation for the developing coach.

Best Presentation for the Developing Coach

There are about four people who really deserve this award for different reasons. Mark Verstegen gave a great presentation on having a clear plan. It was brilliant. Todd Durkin gave a great presentation on living with passion. It was brilliant. Thomas Plummer gave a great presentation on creating a business for yourself that was, you guessed it, brilliant. All of these people did a great job of laying down the framework of what it takes to become a successful professional in the field, and, despite this seeming battle between three people, I have to hand the award to somebody else. Anthony Slater. Anthony's presentation was absolutely brilliant due to the utter simplicity of the topic, yet it is something that way too many people forget. What'd he talk about? He discussed the art and process of coaching. Coaching is really what this industry is about. Sure, making money is great, having a business vision is great, but if you can't coach, you will not have people to buy your product for very long. Within the presentation Anthony showed the coaching continuum and broke each step down. What really is important to note for the developing coach is that there are steps beyond saying, "lay down on your back and push the bar up" before returning to your safe post behind your clipboard counting reps.

A Quick Recap

Most Interesting Presentation: Todd Wright

Most Controversial Point: Gray Cook

Coolest Theory: Robert Panariello

Best for the Developing Coach: Anthony Slater

I hope you will all decide to share your opinions on these and any other arbitrary award that you'd like to hand out.

Lastly, without Chris Poirier and his great Perform Better team, this would not have been possible. Thank you guys for offering a fantastic opportunity for the industry to learn, interpret, and hopefully apply great new information and relationships. Furthermore, a big thanks to all of the presenters. Each and every person brought something new to the table that has already been a service. Thanks guys!

** Joe Bonyai's article has been pushed to next week **