Bruce Kelly

My first thoughts are to thank Chris Porier and his great staff at Perform Better for putting on what are currently the best educational seminars/clinics in our field. Chris attracts the best, most cutting edge practitioners in the field including Thomas Myers of Anatomy Trains fame this year. Thus we in the industry are left with a wealth of choices amongst all these great presenters and it comes down to 4 tough choices every 90 minutes. That is a great luxury to have and makes the Summits the best educational choice in the field.

First, let me preface this by saying that I obviously couldn't be in more than one place at one time so I had to make some tough choices when it came to the sessions I did go to.

Personally, I prefer the hands on sessions over the lectures (that is just me) probably due to my ADD (as my wife calls it!).

I also tend to stay at one session the entire time rather than float around as many others prefer but that is just me. I feel I get more out of it that way but I realize others like to sample from most, if not all , of the speakers. I can appreciate that style as well.

In any event, here are some of the highlights from Day One from the sessions I attended. If you are in this industry and don't make it a priority to get to one of these Perform Better Summits once per year, I believe you should re-evaluate why you are in this business in the first place. They are extremely informative sessions from practitioners in the field not in some lab or research facility.

First up I saw Steve Cotter talk about kettlebell training for advanced fitness. Because of time constraints, Steve concentrated on a few key cues and teaching progressions and movements: the swing, clean and snatch. Even though my kettlebell background is extensive and I have done the RKC, Cotter had some very useful and practical tips for kettlebell training. He pointed out that the kettlebell is an ideal tool for conditioning or metabolic work…it is not the ideal tool for maximum strength, for example, as other tools like heavy dumbbells and barbells are better suited for that task . He also stressed that it was important to use optimal technique for the task or movement involved which meant good technique for the load, speed and movement involved….not too much nor too little. In other words, efficiency of movement for conservation of energy which for metabolic work is critical to avoid early fatigue.

Next up was Al Vermeil, the legendary strength and conditioning coach. Al has been the head strength coach at the NBA, NFL and MLB level which is a trifecta many may aspire to but he is in exclusive company. Al was talking about speed development but also made some "Ah Hah" comments relevant to other areas of training. He emphasized that speed/acceleration development was a low volume, high quality/technique oriented component of training. In fact, he said anything more than 300-400 meters per session was "overkill" and for younger, developing athletes even less was necessary. It was as much about neural fatique as muscular fatigue though the first frequently leads to the second.

Al also said that as we age we must do "stuff" to maintain our athleticism/movement quality and ability and even "older" folks should do some speed training twice per week. What constitutes speed work is all individually based and could be med ball work, example. He also said, more than once, that jogging/slow running tore down muscle mass and put too much stress on one's joints. I believe Coach Boyle has been known to say something similar!

After lunch I went to see Dr. Jeff Anderson's presentation on Fundamental Biomechanics Relating to the Back, Hip and Knee. Though the presentation focused on the low back that didn't make it any less informative. Anderson has developed some protocols using Pilates, Yoga, and physical therapy methods to treat the issues related to low back pain. Though I would have liked to see more information related to the other movement issues involving the mobility problems that lead to low back pain, Anderson's stretching, stability and "core" training are a worthwhile addition to the training toolbox of practitioners dealing with clients with low back pain.

Next up was Mike Boyle who did a hands-on session on his pre-training stretching and mobility routine. He made the point that he has read the "latest" research on the supposed impact of static stretching on power. His take on the conclusions of these studies is that they are somewhat flawed in that the power reduction is very small and he would have the injury reduction potential of stretching in his arsenal than worry about a little power decrease. Good rationale.

Coach Boyle went on to talk about the value of foam rolling before stretching as you want to work on improving soft tissue quality before stretching that same tissue. So Coach Boyle's pre-workout "warmup" routine consists of foam rolling, static stretching, mobility and then more dynamic movements to complete the warmup. His exercises concentrated on the common problem areas: hips, hamstrings, thoracic spine, lats, and pecs. The details of these routines are given in his new book, Advances in Functional Training, as well as the Functional Strength Coach 3.0 DVD series.

Fraser Quelch, of Fitness Anywhere, was the next presenter I saw on Day One. Fitness Anywhere is the parent company/manufacturer of the TRX Bodyweight Suspension Training system. This implement has taken the training world by storm since it's introduction about 4 ½ years ago. The TRX is amazing in it's simplicity, efficacy and ease of use. Fraser showed us progressions/exercises using concepts in High Performance Body Weight Training. Because of the stability, balance and control necessary to properly do the TRX exercises, the TRX can challenge even the fittest of athletes/clients. In addition, Frazer showed some simple but effective bodyweight exercises using no or minimal equipment. If you aren't currently using the TRX in your training programs then you are missing a valuable tool in your training protocols.

The final presenter on Day One was Thomas Plummer who is one of, if not the leading, business expert in the fitness industry. Plummer's no-nonsense, straight forward, practical approach to the business side of the fitness industry comes from his 30+ years of experience in the industry in a variety of roles. Plummer does not mince words and his topic was: "Passion Alone is Never Enough." Essentially, the gist was that passion without some goals and a plan wasn't going to lead to success. You need some focus and some planning to truly make your dreams come true and he said you should sit down every 3-4 months and write down your goals, plans and ambitions. A goal not written down is merely a dream. As usual Plummer's presentation was leavened with humor, some profanity and some very practical advice. He knows from whence he speaks.

Those are some of the highlights from Day One at the Perform Better Summit in Providence, RI . More to come soon.