Inaugural Starting Strength Coaches Association Conference

[Tom Campitelli]

I've mentioned it elsewhere and I admit to being biased, but we just had an excellent weekend at the Wichita Falls Athletic Club. This was the first meeting of the Starting Strength Coaches Association and if you are a Starting Strength Coach and were not there, you have my sympathies.

Friday night got off on the right foot with a few words from Rip, followed by Matt Reynolds discussing how to use the prowler for conditioning. We then moved on to a practical session taught by Rip on the split snatch and an open gym workout. The front room at WFAC was full as the coaches were squatting, pressing, and pulling while Rip and Kirk Karwoski provided coaching. Ever want to have the greatest squatter in the world watch you lift and provide feedback? Well, that's what was happening on Friday night. Reynolds deadlifted 700 pounds for a double, which was one of many impressive lifts and PRs. It was a great environment where a bunch of folks that know the lifts well got to work out together. That kind of thing doesn't happen often.

Saturday was packed with information. Rip led things off again with a keynote on where we are as an organization and a challenge to chart the course ahead. Andy Baker, whose coaching chops are already well established, provided insights about running a successful business as a black iron gym. Baker delivered the goods regarding business models, best practices for operating a gym, and avoiding pitfalls. I gave a brief presentation on the basic structure of running a Starting Strength Camp, which I really think tied the morning together, not unlike how The Dude’s rug tied his room together. After lunch, it was time to train again. Rip went over the finer points of the press as outlined in the 3rd Edition of Starting Strength. Despite the fact that I coach this lift at the seminars, I had things to clean up in my own press. Having good coaching helps. There is no way around it. Also, Gillian Ward pressed a little better than bodyweight. Lots of other big presses went up with Reynolds leading the charge again with either 275 or 295. I am sure he will correct me. Next up was our celebrity guest, Mr. Kirk Karwoski. If you are wondering if Kirk is still intense, I can assure you that, yes, he certainly is. It became very clear early in Kirk’s talk why he rose to dominate the sport of powerlifting. The man was dedicated to his goals like no one else and was single-minded in his approach to training, eating, and recovering. It is not every day you get to interact with someone who was the best in the world at an athletic endeavor. Dr. Jonathan Sullivan capped the evening off with a masterfully crafted talk on the importance of barbell training to improve medical outcomes as well as quality of life. There will be video forthcoming from his presentation, so you can enjoy it, too. It was really damn good. After all the lifting and learning, it was time to eat and drink. So we did.

Sunday provided more opportunities for discussion as the members provided ideas and suggestions on how to grow the Coaches Association and direct its efforts. Rip talked briefly about how to equip a gym to provide a proper training environment without breaking the budget. Dr. Stef Bradford gave a fascinating talk on how we perceive movement and how training improves our abilities to see and coach lifters. Rip and Sully brought us up to lunch with a discussion of common injuries, how to treat them, and how to train through them. If you ever wanted to know what pin firing a horse was, this was the time to find out. After lunch, we began a round table discussion involving Rip, Sully, Karwoski, and Baker. It was a panel with a wealth of experience and insights into training, business, medicine, and life. Kirk filled us in on how Velveeta could be used in place of bread for peanut butter sandwiches and how a gallon of milk per day was a good start, but more milk was required early in his career. It was a fitting capstone to a great weekend.

When Rip and I were coming up with ideas for the event, we both suspected that it would be good, but the Coaches Association Meeting exceeded both of our expectations. Special thanks to all of our speakers that truly nailed their presentations with the kind of professionalism and depth of knowledge found nowhere else. Thank you to Rip and Stef whose work and cooperation made this possible. Lastly, thank you to all of the attendees whose enthusiasm and willingness to travel across the country made this such a success. It was a pleasure to interact, reconnect, and train with all of you. I am looking forward to next year.

This is also posted over in the Starting Strength Events Forum.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Thanks to Tom for coordinating most of the weekend's activities. I can't say enough about how the event exceeded my expectations. If you missed it, there is a hole in your experience.

[Tom Campitelli]

The highly anticipated group shot:

[hunter308]

Starting Strength Events Forum[/URL].

Cool pic, just goes to show what's possible if you drive your lifts up. I bet you the female coaches could
easily power clean most of the Male members on this forum or rape them if they were so inclined.

[mariawolters]

Did anybody video Stef's talk and Rip and Sully's talk about injuries?

[Beau Bryant]

Pissed I couldn't make it. It will not happen again. Maybe we can turn this into a traveling get together. Rotating between the new Starting Strength Gym's.

[Brian Harlin]

Thanks for the write up Tom, and for managing to incorporate 'the Dude'...White Russians surely contribute to GOMAD requirements.

[Adam Lauritzen]

I enjoyed Kirk's stories, specifically the one demonstrating his commitment to gaining weight. The man drank 4 gallons of milk a day along with peanut butter cheese sandwichs, kids look at me cross eyed when I suggest adding a half gallon a day.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Did anybody video Stef's talk and Rip and Sully's talk about injuries?

Amazingly enough, we did. They will be ready soon.

[Corrie]

The highly anticipated group shot:

Great pic. I'd love to see them labeled so I can put faces to names.

Can't wait for the video either, sounds like you guys had a really productive weekend.