Perform Better Chicago

I attended the Perform Better Functional Training Summit in Chicago last weekend. To say that Chris Poirier and his staff at Perform Better pulled off a great event is an understatement. I predict that this tour will become the standard in the fitness and sports training industry.

Here's a quickie rundown (keep in mind that I couldn't see all the speakers as they ran 2 lectures and 2 hands-on sessions simultaneously and I'm doing this from memory)...

I arrived Thursday night and while checking out the venue I ran into (almost literally) my good buddy Jean-Paul Francoeur from JP Fitness. With "Kaiser" from the JP Fitness forum as our guide we toured the city and saw the sites (including the giant bean at Millenium Park...freaky) and dined on Chicago-style deep dish pizza (Note to Mike Roussell...it had spinach in it so it was safe to eat, right?).

On to the PB Summit...

Thomas Plummer may have been the perfect choice to start things off.

He's an energetic, pulls-no-punches type of speaker. If it's on his mind, he'll say it. In a very short time, he laid out the basic foundation for building your fitness business. This guy has literally been in every gym in the country and knows what makes your fitness business successful or what will cause it to fail.

A note to personal trainers everywhere...

Lose the earrings, cover your tattoo, wear a collared shirt and nice shorts or pants. It's time to step it up and be a professional. Clients are not interested in being bodybuilders...they want to have fun and will pay big money for it.

Stuart McGill was first up after lunch. I was really looking forward to hearing him and he didn't disappoint. Dr. McGill has tested them all from the highest level of athlete to Joe and Jane Schmoe. Where others theorize, he has direct laboratory results to support his recommendations. The underlying theme is to create what he calls "superstiffness" by effectively utilizing co-contraction of all the abdominals.

Other gems:
If you think you can contract the transversus abdominis and multifidus in isolation...dream on. Don't waste your time.

The hip airplane is one of the best ways to get the glutes to fire.

Groove the motor pattern (this was in reference to retraining the squat)

Great athletes have the ability to turn-on and turn-off muscles quickly which make for efficient and effective performance. This is trainable by the way.

Bill Parisi of Parisi Speed Schools ROCKED THE HOUSE!!

By far the most energetic of all the speakers, Bill talked about how to effectively network and build your sphere of influence. His just happens to include a guy named Phil Simms, Super Bowl quarterback and now TV commentator.

I also related to Bill because he, like me, was a javelin thrower and a linebacker in college although after a brief discussion I found he was a much better thrower than I was.

There's no way I can express the impact Bill has as a speaker in this blog.

Let's put it this way...he talked 30+ minutes over his time. No one wanted him to stop and no one left early.

His passion and enthusiasm for what he does with kids and his athletes is obvious.

Oh, and one attendee walked off with $100 of Bill's money for increasing his vertical jump by about a foot in about 30 seconds (it wasn't me). :)

I didn't get a chance to see Robb Rogers (who I found out happens to live in the same area as I do) talk about Muscle Activation Techniques, but I have seen his video on the topic which is quite good. Regardless, I was able to socialize with him a bit. Robb's "been there and done that" for a couple of decades in the strength and conditioning field and is not only a tremedous resource of training info, but a class act to boot.

I missed Diane Vives' talk too, but I sat next to her at dinner Saturday night. She's a very cool gal who also works her ass off. She's also trains some hardcore bodybuilders in a hardcore training facility that most women would be afraid to even walk by. The girl knows her stuff.

Lee Taft was there as well showing off his low box training which if you haven't seen, you'd think Lee was in his 20's. The guy hasn't lost a step and his explosiveness is unbelievable. Lee's been a friend of mine for a few years and his Lee Taft Speed Academy is growing like a weed in upstate New York mainly because the guy is one of the best in the business. He never stops working. At Friday night's social, you could see Lee answering questions and doing demos all night.

Speaking of the social Friday night...

THE GUITAR PLAYER WAS TOO LOUD!!!

Aside from that, Chris Poirier's hospitality and generosity are endless and he deserves many thanks for bringing so many folks in the industry together.

I had a chance to catch up with Ryan Lee (you still owe me a consult for fixing your neck at the first Ryan Lee Bootcamp;)). Ryan has a million projects going at once as usual and has a new baby on the way (that makes 3). He's living in Jupiter, Florida these days as his new nutrition and supplement company for trainers (Prograde Nutrition) explodes onto the scene.

Also hung with Mike Robertson, Mike Dodd, and assorted others.

Special mention: Never say you don't have time.

Angela from Crown Point, IN told her story over drinks. She's a Mom of 4 who home schools her kids AND runs a thriving fitness business geared toward women training for weight loss. Ladies and gents...you now have no excuses.

Special Mention #2: Graham Dean from www.dominateathletic.com came all the way to Chicago from South Africa. He's a very sharp guy, and I have no doubt that he will quickly become the go-to guy in all of South Africa not to mention that my network has now gotten a lot bigger.

A good start for Day 1.

Day 2 is coming...

Bill