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IYCA Summit – Diary of a Fitness Seminar Addict

Author: Steve Long \ \ Diary of a Fitness Seminar Addict, Sports Performance \ 0 Comments

This weekend we attended the International Youth Conditioning Association Annual Summit. This is the third IYCA Summit in a row that I have attended, and I go back year after year for good reason.

The Speakers

Every IYCA summit that I’ve attended has featured a really great lineup. This year was no different.

We are all lucky enough to learn from people like Eric Cressey, Wil Flemming, Dave Jack, Toby Brooks, Dave Gleason, Melissa Lambert, CJ Easter, Mike Robertson, Corey Taylor, Ben Bruno, Jim Kielbaso, Dave Schmitz, Ryan Ketchum, Pat Rigsby, Pamela MacElree, and Chris Mohr.

As you can see, there are some real all stars and subject matter experts on the list. Having all of these big dogs in one place made this a really educational experience. Some of the time slots had multiple speakers also, so unfortunately I had to miss a few speakers, but that’s extremely common with great seminars.

IYCA Hang Training Team - Tom Hurley, Steve Long, David Kittner, Jared Woolever — Hang Training Team – Tom Hurley, Steve Long, David Kittner, Jared Woolever

The Content

Dave Jack, who by the way is one of the greatest men on earth, was the host for the event. He is AMAZING at keeping a positive vibe throughout the event, introducing each speaker, and telling great stories that tie everything together. Like I said, Dave is great, and the best MC that I could ask for.

The lecturing started with Eric Cressey. If you don’t know Cressey you need to. This guy is one of the smartest in the industry, and offers tons of online education to help us all get better. His topic was on mobility, and as always, EC dropped some serious knowledge bombs. Although Eric is a genius he kept the pretty user friendly at the same time. I’m not sure if I’m getting smarter, or EC is getting better at explaining things in terms that “us normal people” can understand, but it was a great talk, that kept me focused the entire time.

Wil Flemming talked about power training. Wil explained a bunch of great ways to help youth athletes increase power. Wil is much more than just an Olympic lifting coach and he definitely showed us that with this presentation.

After lunch, Toby Brooks enlightened us on the details of understanding research studies. This talk really made me think about the validity of what we call fact. Toby is a genius, and a major contributor the IYCA curriculum and success of the IYCA as a whole. Not to mention a great guy!

Dave Gleason spoke about evaluating and assessing youth athletes. Honestly, I used this time for a few meetings with other attendees. I learn a lot when on the road, but it’s also a great time to brainstorm with other like-minded professionals. I got a lot of stuff done in two hours, and although I missed two great presentations, I’m sure the impact of those conversations will be huge as time goes by.

Jim Kielbaso’s topic was “Making Speed and Agility Training Useful, once again, I was still in meetings at this time, and I heard that I missed a great presentation. I know I’ll get a chance to see Jim again soon, and I’m excited to learn for him when the time comes.

Dave Schmitz always brings the energy, for each IYCA Summit and this year was no exception. Dave knows more about bands than I know about all topics combined. Dave is a really smart guy, and knows how to make training fun. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dave present and not be chomping at the bit to try out a cool new exercise on Monday. Dave keeps it fresh and fun, while brining a smart background to his methods. Also, we were lucky enough to be able to sit down and brainstorm with Dave about Smart Group Training, and how we use his RBT bands in our systems. After a few hours of plotting and scheming, we laid out a killer resource that gives you the ability to use our systems with nothing but RBT bands. If you want SGT quality with the versatility and fun of bands, check out this resource.

Check out SGT with Bands

Ryan Ketchum and Melisa Lambert shared a spot. Melisa educated us all on the mental side of training youth athletes. This is a MAJOR part of training that I think people lose focus on, or never even try to improve on at all. When it comes to training youth athletes, the mental side of training is more important than almost any population. The things you say and do as a coach can have a lifetime of impact on a youth athlete so educate yourself and make sure you are having the best impact possible.

Cory Taylor and CJ Easter split time, and since speed and agility training is my weakest link I decided to see CJ. I also know, like, and trust CJ so that played a role also. This was CJ’s first national presentation and he killed it! He broke it down and made things simple, which is the sign of a great coach.

After Cory and CJ, Pat Rigsby and Pamela MacElree split time for the next presentation. Pat is the man of course, but since he is my personal business mentor, I decided to see if Pamela needed any help. Teaching kettlbells to groups is no easy task so I wanted to see if I could lend in hand in PMacs hands on presentation. Pam went over some great kettlbell basics, and had things so tight; there

was no need for me to do anything but watch and learn. Great stuff from Pamela once again; she is a true kettlebell guru.

Chris Mohr and Ben Bruno spoke late in the afternoon. I decided to see Ben Bruno since I’ve seen Chris speak quite a few times, it was Ben’s first big lecture, and Ben was talking about Large Group Training Program design, which happens to be something I’m pretty passionate about J Unfortunately, Ben had some technical difficulties and his PowerPoint wouldn’t work. He rolled with the punches and knocked out a really great presentation anyway, which spelled out an easy to administer program. He went into great detail on how he lines up his supersets when training youth athletes. He also, went over some cool exercise selections, that were big impact exercises, and easy to coach at the same time. Ben’s laid-back presentation style was easy to follow, which made for a great educational experience.

Mike Robertson finished up the event with another great presentation. I never have anything but great things to say about my bro Mike Robertson. Mike has been to my training what Pat Rigsby has been to my business. Mike is on the cutting edge when it comes to top quality training as much as anyone out there. He spoke about the 7 R’s of training:

Release, Reset, Readiness, Reactive, Resistance, Regeneration, and Recovery

I’m a huge fan of this approach, and have been using it for a while, due being lucky enough to be mentored by Mike. One of these R’s has been missing from Large Group Training, and after dinner with Mike, I think we have found a solution to the lack of Resets in LGT. There will be LOTS more to come on this subject in future posts so stay tuned.

Three Takeaways

I’m a professional coach: CJ Easter explained that he is a professional coach. He coaches athletes, he coaches trainers, he coaches in the weight room and on the field, he c

oaches nutrition, and much more. The way that he said it really made me think. I do a lot of things, but really they all revolve around coaching others. I love to make people better, and the fitness and performance field is the arena in which I do it.

Landmine One Leg RDL: Ben Bruno gave some great examples of exercises that he uses in his coaching. One of them I loved was the Landmine One Leg RDL. He explained that balance is a big issue on the single leg RDL’s with youth athletes, so he uses this landmine version to help with stabilization. I think this is a great idea and I can’t wait to add it into our single leg RDL progressions.

Even Mike Robertson Draws a Line: Mike told a great story that I think most “corrective people” need to hear. He explained that he was recently at a pretty advanced Postural Restoration Institute workshop, and had a major realization. They were basically going over a case study of how they fixed the issues with a particular client. Long story short, in order to have fixed that clients issues, he needed to sit in a empty room with special glasses on for 20 minutes 5 times per day. Mike said that when you start getting into stuff like that, you have probably crossed the line a long time ago. I agree. If you a trainer or strength coach, there are some things that you may not need to spend time learning. Some things you just refer out, and spend time focusing on things that you can learn that will have more impact for you as a coach. If you are a clinician, feel good knowing that people like Mike and myself, and going to send you a lot of patients, so we can coach clients.

Overall it was another really great IYCA Summit. If you missed out, you can still check out the IYCA East Coast Event later this year in June.

Also, make sure you stay up to date with the IYCA by visiting their facebook page at

IYCA – Facebook Page

and the website at

IYCA – International Youth Conditioning Association

I couldn’t think of a good tie in for this picture of Jared, but I had to post it. Please post comments on what Jared is pondering below 🙂

Just for the heck of it :-) — Just for the heck of it 🙂

Training for Warriors Certification – Diary of a Fitness Seminar Addict

Author: Steve Long \ \ Diary of a Fitness Seminar Addict, General Info, Sports Performance \ 0 Comments

A couple of weekends ago, Martin Rooney came to Complete Fitness Results to host his Training for Warriors Seminar. This is a two-day seminar where Rooney teaches his training systems he has used for high-level athletes, fighters, trainers and fitness clients throughout his career.

I had hoped that by having Rooney at the studio, we could learn a few things from someone with a ton of experience, and get our staff members motivated at the same time. While this was accomplished, to just say that we learned a few things and got motivated would be the understatement of the decade.

The Instructor

Martin Rooney is the man. I’ve seen lectures by Rooney a few times at Perform Better events and have seen many of the Parisi Speed School videos, so I had an idea of the kind of guy Rooney is. I was really hoping that through this event, I would find he was the real deal, and it wasn’t just show. I am so happy to say that Rooney is legit, and a real role model for fitness and sports performance professionals.

This man has done things like:

Gone to physical therapy school, become a PT and quit
Co-founded the Parisi Speed School
Was on the United States Bobsled Team
Is a Black Belt
Was a college athlete
Has coached 100’s of pro athletes
Worked for the Giants and Jets
Been the trainer and corner man for champion UFC fighters
Founded the Training for Warriors System and Certification
Is an author and lecturer
Is a husband and the father of four girls

Although Rooney has a great resume, and knows a lot about training, it’s his great attitude and ability to inspire people to become more that really drew me to him. Being around him will make you a better person; he is a teacher of life, and truly cares about helping the world. I can’t say enough about the character of Martin Rooney.

The Content

We started the morning of day one going over the background of the Training for Warriors system and Martin’s training philosophies. Martin tells interesting stories that not only teach about the system, but also teach about life in general in the process. We mainly went over philosophy and assessment all morning, and I was captivated the entire time. I told Martin at lunch that it was the first time I had spent four hours straight in lecture and never yawned or checked my email at all. Like I said, the morning was four hours, but it flew by, and we were off to lunch.

After lunch, we started the afternoon learning the Training for Warriors Assessment protocol in hands-on format. While I obviously like FMS, the screening and assessment portion of the Training for Warriors Certification was still really great, and is a great way to assess people easily.

After we learned the screen we went over how to incorporate prehab into the warm-up and how to address common issues that most people experience in the general warm-up. I have to say the way Rooney runs warm-ups is amazing. The exercises are great, but it’s the way he coaches that really makes it something to strive to emulate.

Day two started with another great lecture. We went over the 10 Training for Warriors Rules of program design and talked about how to put together programs. Once again, another captivating lecture and more great information.

After lecture we went back into hands on. To quickly summarize, we went over the warm-up from the day prior and did a two-circuit workout. The workout was great, and once again, another learning experience that was beyond the exercises and programming.

Once everyone refueled, we did another quick lecture, and back to hands-on for conditioning. Martin took everyone through some “Hurricanes,” which were really intense and fun at the same time.

From there, we did a quick lecture on nutrition, reviewed the material from the weekend, and took the test. I’m now TFW Certified, and proud of it.

Three Takeaways

1) The experience is everything: Rooney makes you want to work harder and be better. He provides an experience that helps you grow and makes you want to come back for more everyday. That is also what he teaches in the Training for Warriors Certification. This is something that has always been important to me and something I always try to do at my gym. This has been reinforced even more now that I went through the weekend with him.

2) Tell stories: I’m always giving advice and saying motivational things when I coach, but Rooney takes breaks and straight up tells stories. There’s nothing better than just when you think you can’t take any more pain … story time! This keeps things interesting and fresh, which makes you want to work harder during the work periods. I need to do a better job of telling stories that make people want to work harder whenever possible.

3) Create an event: Basically this is another way of saying you need to have a goal with a deadline, but the way he explained it made it more of a mantra. I know I’ve never trained harder than what I did for the RKC. A close second place would be anytime I’m going to be on vacation somewhere with a beach. Either way, it’s an event with a deadline, with a consequence for failure.

*) Bonus Takeaway – Sprint more.

To sum up, obviously I thought it was an amazing weekend. $500 isn’t the cheapest seminar, but at the same time it’s not even close to expensive. Most importantly, it’s a great value. I can’t put a price tag on what the impact of having Martin Rooney at my studio will have on my entire staff for years to come. I would definitely recommend attending Training for Warriors Certification without hesitation. You can check out the schedule for the upcoming Training for Warriors Certifications below:

Training for Warriors

Teaching Olympic Lifts to a Large Group

Author: Steve Long \ \ Large Group Training, Sports Performance \ 3 Comments

We recently had Wil Fleming do an inservice for all of our trainers and I have to say it was amazing. Wil knows his stuff when it comes to Olympic lifts for sure. I was pumped when Wil said the he would share an post with us on the Smart Group Training Blog.

Olympic LIft In Service — Wil Fleming Olympic Lift In-Service

Teaching Olympic Lifts is hard enough, so teaching it groups make it one of the biggest coaching challenges we can think of. Wil has offered up some great advice on how to teach Olympic Lifts to groups much easier. So that being said, check out Wil’s blog post below.

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Teaching Olympic Lifts to a Large Group

If I presented most people with the following list, the likely response would be “Psssshhhht, impossible”

-Actually finding a real live bigfoot.

-Water skiing with no boat.

-Climbing Mt. Everest with no ropes.

-Developing a cold fusion machine.

-Teaching Olympic lifts the right way to large groups of athletes.

Like the guys on Monster Hunters, the mythbusters, and Bear Grylls I beg to differ (at least on the last point). No, like a mad scientist hard at work on a world changing project, I am here to present to you the way that you can teach Olympic lifts to large groups with no problems.

1) Have a way to determine if someone is ready

Just putting any John or Jane Doe on the platform is a bad idea. Actually, it is worse than a bad idea, it’s a horrible idea. Aside from the technical know how that is required (which we will cover in a moment) there are so many physical requirements that putting a newbie on the platform without knowledge of their ability is absolute craziness.

To really teach large groups how to Olympic lift it is important to determine their readiness through your assessment process. The FMS gives us some important information about the movement patterns that new trainees posses but there are a couple OL specific ideas that are important to wrap your head around as well.

Expanding on the FMS and the deep squat test, I find that having an individual perform a full front squat with a barbell is perfect to determine their physical ability to achieve and maintain the racked position of the clean and its variations.

Standing tall have the potential Olympic lifter rack a barbell at the shoulder level with their upper arm parallel to the floor. This position itself requires great thoracic extension, and shoulder external rotation, and those that do not posses the right amount will find this position uncomfortable and difficult to achieve. Descending into the full squat position will give you back up data to support conclusions you make in the deep squat about thoracic extension, hip and ankle mobility.

With that information and the appropriate corrective exercises in place, 3 sets of movements should be practiced in a group setting to prepare individuals for the platform.

The hinge

The squat

Plyometrics

The hinge will form the basis for the starting position in terms of weight distribution, and foot placement, and the movement pattern will be used to accelerate the bar in the hang position, or above the knee in the traditional clean or snatch.

The squat will then form the basis of the receiving position, and the pattern of knees out will be mechanically identical to what happens at the catch. Have your group prepare by practicing both goblet squats, and overhead squats.

Finally, plyometrics are an important class of movements to prepare for Olympic lifting. The take off position teaches individuals how to produce force, while the landing position informs the group on how to receive the bar with proper patterns.

2) Have a ready made set of progressions

Technical knowledge in the Olympic lifts is one of the biggest problems that most coaches see with implementing the movements in a large group setting.

While there is no doubt that technique makes the lifts successful or not, a simple set of progressions to take a newbie to a seasoned lifter is not a pipe dream.

The key in teaching the Olympic lifts is to teach from a position that allows for early success, doesn’t require extreme mobility, and is easily relatable for most individuals. I am talking about using the “hang” start position for the Olympic lifts.

The hang start position for the clean and the snatch will be a much easier task for most clients than using the floor start position. The floor start, in the traditional power clean or power snatch, is one that requires mobility and technical knowledge that most do not posses early on.

Instead we use the following progressions of movements, each with their own individual teaching progression to use Olympic lifts effectively with new lifters.

Hang Clean à Power Jerk à Power Clean à Split Jerk à Hang Snatch à Power Snatch à Full Clean à Full Snatch

Your clients can get great benefits of the Olympic lifts by just performing the first 2 movements. Progressing to the latter stages of these movements is not necessary unless you have great confidence in the abilities of the individuals you are coaching.

3) Know the corrections to make for common mistakes.

As technical lifts there are many things that can occur during the completion of the movements that can make the lift go wrong. If your qualification process and progressions are together there are not many mistakes that are outright dangerous, but rather are just impediments to maximizing the benefits of using the Olympic lifts.

Knowing common corrections to common mistakes will allow your clients to unlock the full potential of the Olympic lifts.

One common mistake that has an easy correction is jumping forward when receiving the bar. This is often a result of incomplete hip extension in the second (fast) pull above the knee. In turn the typical reason for this mistake is the athlete being too far forward over their toes in the pulling position.

When on the toes the individual is unable to get their hips to the bar and complete hip extension. This causes the individual to jump forward when receiving the bar.

While there are many other mistakes that can be made in the lifts, you can have confidence that qualifying the individuals before beginning lifting will remove much of the chance that the movements can be dangerous.

Conclusion

The Olympic lifts can hold a lot of benefit to your clients. Unlike many might suggest there is an easy and effective way to teach the lifts to large groups so that they all can become stronger and more powerful.

Wil Fleming is the Owner of Force Fitness and Performance in Bloomington, IN. He is the author and creator of COMPLETE OLYMPIC LIFTING, detailing his entire system of teaching Olympic lifts to any individual.