• Geoff’s Take Aways
• Mike's Take Aways
• SK's Take Aways

• Amber's Take Aways
• Madi’s Take Aways
• Rob’s Take Aways

" You are always evolving, evaluating and exploring new and different opportunities. Because quite frankly if you don't you are going to get passed by."

Geoff’s Take Aways

It is always nice to take time away and work on your business rather than in your business. There are far too many pieces of information or small anecdotes which impacted me greatly during our time at the Perform Better’s Functional Training Summit. I spent my three days immersed in lectures from some of the leading experts in the field. A couple of the things that hit me the hardest...

We are amongst the leaders. I do not pretend for a second that we do everything perfectly. In fact, I know that does not exist. But for all of the sessions in which I attended I could see CPC in each of their stories. This business was built on being different and doing it against the grain. Now, six years later it's becoming the norm. The big box facilities are closing and the consumer is results driven, experienced focused and educated. They can smell a bullshit artist when they come into their personal space and want no part of it. The informed consumer wants a facility that has a mission, a passion and an education. Check. And as the industry continues to evolve so shall we.

I am grateful for the previous weekend I had because of those I shared it with. There were many moments in which I stood back and appreciated my colleagues intelligence, professionalism and candor. They extrapolated the pieces of information that made the biggest impact and deciphered how it was going to influence them at work in real time. The biggest moment of pride?... jokes! Ya, jokes. When you listen to a great comedian they are not all about profanity or talking about grotesque topics. They are witty and see the world in which we live in differently. They are intelligent and insightful. There were numerous times during a session in which the presenter told a joke. Yes there were a number of dorky exercise science jokes. There were a great number of jokes which someone could not follow without a deep understanding of the human body. But each time I laughed I looked around the room. Amongst the masses there was an incredibly small group that would partake in laughter and therein were my CPC colleagues. Their bodies bouncing in the chair finding humor in the very silly message that I did. To me, that was awesome!

And probably my biggest takeaway lies in a quote I heard a few years ago. "When you find your own path the experts only get in the way". That stuck with me significantly this weekend. No presentation, no research study and no opinion derailed me from the current trajectory of what we have created and intend to evolve into. Every day I am fortunate to wake up and do what I love but I ALWAYS remain clear that it is work. Any entrepreneur will empathize with me that your mind is truly never at rest. You are always evolving, evaluating and exploring new and different opportunities. Because quite frankly if you don't you are going to get passed by.

This weekend continues to leave a smile on my face for many reasons. For reflecting back to my attendance in 2009 when CPC was only a dream or when I think back to a meaningful piece of advice one of my first managers ever gave me.

"Geoff. Don't ever be afraid to hire people better than you are". For those of you that don't know... I'm very good at chess.

Mike's Take Aways

Concepts, Strategies, and Practices

To give you a little background, the two and a half days that we all spent at the Perform Better Summit was spent bouncing between two types of presentations. We had lectures and “hands-on” demonstrations in which people (we) got to participate in, and to experience what was being talked about. Each hour there were two of each going on, we all tried to split up to gather as much information as possible. Of the 12 possible presentations I could have attended I think I was the only CPC staff member at about 5 of those. Why am I telling you this? Even though some of us came away with a lot of the same or similar information I know that we all were affected differently and came away with a little different experience. This is also why each of us took part in this week’s blog post, so you could get a different angle from each of us.

With that being said, I have already been asked a few times by people what I learned and what new diabolical exercises, movement, or ideas I came back with in order to torture everyone. Well, my answer hasn’t really been that at all, I don’t have a whole new playbook of “killer shit” to throw at people in order to make their lives a living hell in class or during a one-on-one. Not to say that I didn’t come away with some new stuff to utilize and to utilize with specific people in specific instances, there is always some of that, which I have to go back and sift through.

What I ultimately came away with was less of a broadening of an ever growing “play list” and more of a new understanding of, appreciation for, or deeper knowledge of a lot of the concepts, strategies, and practices that we utilize day-in and day-out when we step through the door. The things like how to program a workout, cue/explain an exercise, manage/run a business in this industry, or ways to work with specific populations are what steer the ship. The end product of all of this coming together is the workout/experience each subscriber that comes here has come to know and love. Those details are the aspects of those “hidden” “less tangible” details that go into what we do and how we do things; which were solidified and validated by the top industry professionals this weekend.

That’s what hit me, and was my biggest take away!

Is there always something new to learn? Yes, of course, always. I got new information and new tools. Is what we are doing at CPC correct, on the right track, and some badass stuff? Yes!! Not to say that we are perfect, that we have it all figured out, or have nothing to learn. No no, I don’t think that will ever be the case, but what we have been and are doing up to this point, has been of the high quality that we always try to live up to. We’re not perfect, but what is perfection? It’s knowing and realizing you have weaknesses, working on them until they are strengths, finding new weaknesses and starting over. Always striving for “perfect” which will never truly be attainable, but the fight, the work, the journey, the reward in getting close in the attempt to get there is what keeps you at the top of your game.

I know for me it will take a few days at least to go back through notes and reflect a little further on what was attained during the summit and let it sink in a little bit further, I’m sure it will be the same for the rest of the staff. Rest assured that some of what you experience, what is delivered, or what is offered in the coming days, week, or possibly months takes that next step in the always changing evolution of who we are and what we do. It’s never going to be perfect, but you better believe it’s going to be some pretty kick ass shit!

SK's Take Aways

Find Your Niche - this was a reoccurring theme through multiple presentations over the course of the weekend. Finding your niche, becoming an expert on everything in that area, and capitalizing on it. Each presenter had their niche within the world of Functional Training. While they shared similar theories of training they each had different methodologies. These methodologies were their way of setting themselves apart. Their niche has made them money. I have always known I have a unique skill sets and knowledge with my triathlon, strength and conditioning, coaching, and athletic training background it wasn't until the idea of 18 Maple Endurance Training became a "thing" did I realize just how much of a niche I have.

Change The World - Thomas Plummer presented a lecture entitled The Beginning of Everything..How to Create Your Own Future in the Coaching World. Again, he spoke to finding your niche and becoming an expert in that field but what resonated the most with me is just how impactful we, as coaches, are on ourselves and our clients. The business of personal training can eat you up and spit you out. But, with an approach that is geared toward developing a professional career path with honest reflection, commitment to bettering yourself, and commitment to bettering your clients. Changing the world. Plummer repeatedly said this, "Change The World". Make the commitment to yourself to be the professional you want to be. Have goals. Evolve. Charge what you're worth. Make money! Allow yourself freedom from the job and enjoy life. Change your world. I find that I work so hard to bring a positive change to my clients lives, and change their worlds, that I forget to change my own. The repeated mention over the course of the hour presentation was a much needed reminder to step away every once in awhile and enjoy some freedom.

Where are all the Women? - Over the course of the 3 days there were 28 speakers. Only 2 were women. Yes, this is a male dominated profession. Are there women in the field, right now, that should and could be presenting? Yes. Why aren't they? I'm not sure. Maybe it's time to do something about that. Find your niche. Develop A System. Be An Expert. Kick down a few doors. Educate.

Amber's Take Aways

This past weekend at the Perform Better Functional Training Summit was incredible. The amount of experience and knowledge each and every one of the presenters brought to the table was undeniably inspiring. The common theme that really stuck out to me throughout each session was that in this field, “it is all relative.” What does that mean, everything is relative? Our knowledge and experience with the human body, mechanics, tools, equipment, is continually growing, changing, and expanding. There is no right exercise, no right answer, and simply sometimes the answer doesn’t even make sense it just IS. Our brains have to be malleable to change. Change often, change when we may not want it, change when we can’t even see it ourselves. Trying to express that to a team, client, or each other may not be as easily done. It was reassuring that each professional has their own play box. Most of you can attest that the way our programs or classes are designed have major similarities but are also very individualized. That is the beauty of this profession. The freedom of a variable practice. Knowing what each person NEEDS not what you WANT to do with them. Exercise on its own is play. As we started from kids that urge and need to play or run around has not left us. We have just reconstructed how it is performed. One of the speakers, Gray Cook was referring to the experimental part of this field. Find what works and find what doesn’t. He followed by saying, “you don’t hit save on a shitty document.” How true is that. Focus on what is needed. Get rid of what you don’t. Keep what does. That can apply to everything in your life, not just this profession. It was more than motivating to keep progressing and growing for the betterment of all of our subscribers.

Madi’s Take Aways

This weekend at the Perform Better Summit was definitely one to remember. Those who have never been to this type of conferences might think we are just there to learn more exercises, but there's more to it than that. I learned a significant amount of performance, power, assessment techniques, importance of the spine, the core, and sequencing of the hips. The list can go on about what I personally learned, but the biggest realization is that all of us at CPC are in a good place. It was the thought of "we do that. we know that. now we know this, which makes us even better than before". I want you all to know that it is our mission to constantly better ourselves coaches for you, and that's what we did this past weekend. I know that we are all very excited to bring these new things to you!

Rob’s Take Aways

I did not know what to expect going into this past weekend, I have had never been to a Perform Better Summit. I have attended conferences at both the national and regional levels for athletic training and strength and conditioning and I can confidently say this is one of the top conferences I have attended! The biggest thing I have learned over the years is to go into every lecture/hands on session with an open mind eager to learn. Even if you don’t agree with everything someone might be presenting or teaching you can always take something from it, make it your own to progress in the ever-expanding profession of strength and conditioning.

One of my biggest take aways from the summit was the concept of not settling with being an average coach as well as not forgetting who has helped you along the way and where you came from. As a coach, you should always strive to be the best you can be to improve the individual lives you encounter at work without becoming too impressed with yourself and become caught up in your ego. Another take away from the conference was the importance of a work and life balance. We all spend the majority of our time serving others but tend to forget about ourselves. The keynote speaker, Olympic silver medalist Todd Hayes, really stressed the importance of the work and life balance in his power of “we” speech and was a big reality check. My final take away from the weekend was from Greg Rose’s lecture on evaluating the rotary athlete. As both an athletic trainer and a strength and conditioning coach his presentation really hit home for me. It made me realize that I must tap into both of my backgrounds when evaluating athletes. Moving forward when evaluating athletes, I will be utilizing more tools that are in my toolbox.

Sunday night while unpacking my bags I was finally able to wrap my head around how much I learned this weekend, not only about myself as a coach but how I can better serve the athletes and individuals who cross my path while on this journey. The Perform Better Summit was well worth it and I will most definitely be attending more of them in the future!