Atlanta Recap

[jep6095]

The “will we or won’t we come to Atlanta” question has finally been laid to rest. Ali, Heidi, and Jeff from AK Crossfit stepped up to host and proceeded to take very good care of us all weekend. Having the venue owners actually take the seminar shows their dedication to their gym in not only providing excellent resources for their members to attend but also their commitment in being trained and studied in the best possible way to impact the athletes training. AK Crossfit has a lot of very interesting things going on and if you’re ever in the Atlanta area, I highly recommend scheduling a session with them. They have some great ideas in furthering the strength component of the gym and I’m looking forward to watching them grow. They also have some nice pictures of the weekend on their Facebook page, check ‘em out. Thanks guys, we look forward to the next time.

We had more than the average number of couples there and watching them train and coach each other was impressive. We get asked all the time by one ½ of a couple on how to motivate the other to begin training. I would say, sign up together for a seminar. These guys were awesome and we hope to see all of them again down in Texas (keep an eye out for a couples retreat lifting weekend at WFAC.) Another treat was all of us looking out for the Englishman all weekend. Adam is an 18 year old who found Starting Strength and decided to fly over from England by himself to attend a seminar. Now, having a 17 year old who won’t even go into Target by herself, I was quite amazed that this kid would fly to another country on his own. We fed him grits (didn’t like it…who does?) and made adjustments on his lifting and programming to get him on the right track. Adam, make sure you keep us updated on your progress and working through your squats, we want to know how that goes. We hope to see you again, possibly next year at another seminar and spending some time training down at WFAC with us.

There were a few tough cases where athlete’s perceptions of what their bodies were doing was not what was really happening. For instance, we think we’re using a back angle to fully stretch our hamstrings and rebound out of the bottom of a squat but in reality, we’re staying fully vertical and taking a large portion of our posterior chain out of the exercise. I would encourage all of you, who have attended the seminar already or are going to in the future, to try to find a Starting Strength coach in your area to get feedback on what your lift looks like. We’ve already had a few people sign up and take the seminar over (even those who have passed the course) to continue to get feedback and solidify the knowledge they gained in their first seminar. Jeremy was one of our highest scoring coaches but came again this weekend to continue to learn. Thanks Jeremy, it was awesome having you there! Don’t forget to email me with updates on how you’re doing.

We’re looking forward to coming back to Atlanta, keep an eye out for schedule updates. There were a few of you who were distressed when it looked like we wouldn’t make it there earlier this spring who couldn’t make it last weekend, we hope to see you at the next one.

Keep an eye out for the Starting Strength Training camps in Philly and Texas to keep your knowledge fresh. And, as always, keep us posted on your coaching and lifting progress. Remember you’re all invited to come down to WFAC and train with us. Just call first to make sure we’re there…we’ll leave the light on for you.
Jp
juli@startingstrength.com

[Adam Moncrieff MacMillan]

Thanks again Juli, Stef, Mark and John for all the valuable information and kind American hospitality you gave me. Also thanks to Ali and Heidi for providing and helping to organize the seminar, not too mention everyone else that made me feel welcome and offered me lifts!

Looking forward to getting stronger and put into practice what I have learnt over the next few months, I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Adam MacMillan

[jep6095]

Here's another picture of Adam enjoying his grits.

I was incredibly remiss in omitting the highlight of the weekend. The newly certified canine, Casper (although we're wary of his test results so are thinking he may just receive a Certificate of Attendance.)

Casper was one of the most attentive attendees all weekend. He was the first to the lecture room and the first back to the platforms all weekend. It was tough to get his deadlift pull in the mid foot position, having four and all, but he pulled it off without a hitch. He joined us for dinner all weekend long and even held court with Rip. He's quite a dog.

I also forget to talk about our Saturday night dinners. This was a good one. Enjoying southern cooking with the group was awesome. It's my favorite part of the weekend (go figure) and Roasters didn't disappoint.
jp

[T.J.]

I enjoy reading these recaps. Thanks for putting them up!

[Nic Kirkland]

Had a great time. I can't encourage others to do this enough. Great people all around and an excellent action packed weekend.

[Tfin]

I attended the cert this weekend and want to tell everybody thanks. I had a great time and look forward to putting all of the coaching tips to practice on all of my lifts. The instructors were great. Thanks.
Trevor Tristan Travis Tyler Findley

[jep6095]

Trevor Tristan Travis Tyler Findley You need a new forum ID....
T4Fin
4TFin
T4
T3 (because 'Tyler' was never really in the mix)

Think about it.:D
jp

[Patrick L.]

A few weeks ago I was the one reading the recaps of the past seminars. This week, I am finally the one commenting.

Let me start by saying that my comments will not be unique. Everyone who has attended this seminar has claimed that it went beyond expectations. This is completely true.

In the three days we trained and lectured for almost 25 hours. The staff gave everything they had during the three days of the seminar. By the end of it, so were the attendees. The constant mental focus and physical exertion required for this seminar was extremely high...but well worth the price. In the past I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to train in a gym with someone who attended a Rip seminar and brought the techniques back to our gym. Although that has been helpful, the one on one coaching from the staff has brought me light years ahead. The seminar was hard work and frustrating at times because I had to "relearn" some bad habits, but now I feel like I have a better command of the lifts that were taught.

Run, DO NOT WALK, to the next seminar near you. My girlfriend (who attended this seminar with me) and I are already planning our trip out to WFAC.

I could go on and on about what an awesome experience it was but a lifter must experience it for themselves to appreciate it.

Much thanks to Rip, Stef, Juli and Johnny Pain to the complete enjoyment of the weekend. You will see us again....soon.

[toddmr]

Anyone who attended the Atlanta cert, lives here and wants to practice coaching? My bench press sucks and I haven't yet found someone in Atlanta whom I would trust.

[jep6095]

wants to practice coaching?Keep your eye on the Starting Strength Coach Directory for updated names of coaches in your area who have gone through the course and passed.

As for practicing coaching, that's a curious term. I'm going to go out a limb and state that almost most of them would "practice coaching" for the appropriate fee.



http://startingstrength.com/index.php/dir/directory

jp

[Adam Moncrieff MacMillan]

I just wanted to add now almost a month from the seminar my improvements thanks to form changes or discussions from like minded people. My squat is going well now, it is around 365 for the sets and I hope to get it to at least to 405 or higher before moving to the Texas method. In the end I realised my stall was a diet issue and I probably needed some time after cramming for my exams, staying up mega late and so forth. Going to gym around the month my exams started, and jumping straight in doing starting strength I didn't really have a good environment, hence why I was probably stalling at 315 on squats. This is not to mention now I have finished school, I can avoid getting up at 4am on a Monday!
It also occurred to me in Atlanta after speaking to some people about their diets how I probably needed more protein, I was probably taking in tops 180g. I've also improved my diet more by eating less carbs, but still eating plenty of fat.

Thanks again,
Adam MacMillan

[jep6095]

That's a great update Adam, thanks. I'm glad you've identified the areas that were causing you to stall out.

If I remember correctly, in Atlanta, you believed your diet was where it should be and were a 'tad' resistant to the idea that it wasn't. So for you to go back and take a closer look on how diet affects your training and recovery was a nice step in getting back on track.

If you're on a break from school now, it's an excellent opportunity to hit the gym, rested, with a diet more conducive to strength training.

Nice job, please continue to keep us posted on how it's going.
jp

[Tfin]

Great job Adam. Keep up the good work.

[BCS]

I've been out of touch, but I fully intend on being at the next ATL seminar that I can afford. I'm woefully underemployed right now, but working on changing that.