We’ve finally broke the key in figuring out the best time to go to Atlanta for a seminar-October! The weather was gorgeous and anyone who stepped outside during the weekend was energized to finish out the day strong. We had a great group of attendees from all walks of life come to hear about the Starting Strength methods and listen to hours of lecture on why we do what we do. We had West Point grads and those returning from deployment searching a more efficient way to get strong. We had CrossFit gym owners who have found the need to get back to dedicating more time to strength training for themselves and those in their gym. We had top tier track cyclists and even Pilates instructors, which just goes to show that the demographic of those in the strength world is as wide as it is large.
Heading back to our Atlanta home at AK CrossFit was a pleasure as we now know exactly where to go for good coffee, fried chicken, homemade corned beef hash, and Italian food that will bring tears to your eyes (Alfredo’s was a hit Heidi!) Reconnecting with Heidi (and Casper) and Ali and bringing Sandra into the Starting Strength family makes these seminars much more than just a weekend gig-thanks so much guys! See you again next year.
We had some good thinkers in the group who sparked some in-depth conversation on the realities of pulling and squat mechanics versus conventional wisdom. We also had some excellent examples on the platforms which proved what we perceive is happening during the squat or pull off the floor, is the exact opposite. Someone even brought out the video camera to show the effects of a poor pull off the floor vs. an efficient pull and what subsequently happens to the bar during a clean. Video doesn’t lie folks. If you want the bar coming up in a straight line, you’d better make sure your start position gives you a chance to pull in that straight line.
I’m going to pick on our new friend Justin a bit (bear with me Justin, you’ll shine in the end.) Justin came to us with that age old argument that he wants to get stronger but maintain his “lean” muscle. So how does he do this without gaining any weight? Of course the answer is, he doesn’t. He, and others like him, will be able to maintain linear progression for a little while but at some point soon he stall out on his strength gains. I can understand your need to maintain weight if you’re in a weight class sport but as Rip said this weekend, “Maybe you need to go up a class.” In any case, Justin fought long and hard all weekend aboot gaining weight for strength gains. Something must have clicked, even just a little, because for lunch on Sunday he went to Fatburger and picked up TWO Double Cheese Bacon burgers. Well done Justin! Please keep us posted on your progress!
We appreciate all of you who came out to see us. Some of you are regular posters on the boards, let us hear what you think. If you have pictures from the weekend, please post them. Mine were annoyingly erased so the only picture I have was of me and Stef with our new favorite waiter at Alfredo’s. As always, keep us posted on your progress. We hope to see you again, don’t forget about our Roundtable event coming up in December. It’d be a good time to hear some great Q&A with Rip, Jim Wendler and Jim Steele and refresh the lifts while we train together on Sunday. More info here: http://aasgaardco.com/store/store.php?crn=227.
jp
I'll post some more later, but I wanted to drop a note to say that A) the seminar was excellent, definitely the best educational money I've spent since college, and B) say thanks to (in no particular order) Rip, Juli, Stef, John and Tom for all the help, guidance, teaching, patience, and teasing this weekend.
I'm sending each of you a complimentary pair of bib shorts. I will expect them to be worn next time I see each of you. Except for Rip. He didn't say a fucking word about the damn things, to his credit. ;-)
Holy crap those are nice photos. I have to come to one of these. Atlanta would be closes to me sadly so I just missed my chance. Could be worth a drive to Texas.
Atlanta (Pt II) Recap
Originally Posted by Bloodninja666
Could be worth a drive to Texas.
