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Tell us about the seminar!


Neal Winkler
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Joshua Naterman

I am being hounded to go shopping and other stuff so I'll be be posting more detail tonight.

I haven't had so much fun in years. Seriously! It was awesome! Coach is really a great guy, and so are his athletes. It is very much a family atmosphere. I am still processing everything I have learned personally, but I can tell you that I feel like my brain is too big for my head right now lol! You learn a LOT, and there is always more to learn each seminar. There is so much information that Coach wants to pass on to us that it is impossible to cover even a third of it in one 3 day seminar.

Everyone here who has fun with the GB program and wants to learn more should make it a very high priority to attend at least one seminar. Once you are there one time you'll have a hard time not going back! It is a fantastic atmosphere and you really do learn a TON of information.

We also have a very good group of people here on the forums and at the seminars, and the personal experience with Coach and the other forum members really enhances how real the benefits of this training are as well as the knowledge of how to achieve success both here and everywhere else in life.

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I'm glad someone else started this thread. I started one last night and then went back and deleted it because I didn't like what I wrote.

I'll be making this a sticky as well.

It really helped fill a lot of gaps. However, I also kept on asking a lot more of competitive gymnastic related questions- :mrgreen: .

The mobility and stretching series were very cool, especially since while I have known very few select exercises, it helps to have the whole package. The same thing applies as to the Handstand Development and Body Line drills. I've seen and done a lot of stuff from the Hungarian series over the years as a coach but again it's nice to have things organized. It's frustrating to only have pieces of the puzzle. I have a lot of work to do as far as the wrist mobility series.

My notes are almost organized, Josh, but I think it will require till after work tonight till they are done. However, I need to figure out what we're gonna do in 3 hours for workout!

As well, I will probably be just moving back to the GB WOD for myself and focusing on the shoulder series (as well on one of my guys who is my no.1 besides the stall bar stretching). One of the tricky things will be switching it to 3 days instead of 4 since my guys only come 3d. However, I might be able to get the "LordOfTheRings" to come on Saturdays which would solve that issue. He got that name because he was wearing that competitional meet shirt when the local TV station came to take footage of the gym and he showed off his ring strength back then.

I will probably see about doing the GB WOD for the summer which should give me enough time to re-evaluate it. I did this for a few months last year but well, things are different now. It will be interesting to see the effect on my guys as we prepare for next year's competitive season.

Liz, I got 19 pages of notes! Did I beat you? I hope so. :wink:

We should have played HS wars. :twisted:

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Neal Winkler

Man I would love to go, but I couldn't afford it at the moment. In the future for sure though!

What do you feel was the most important thing you learned?

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John Sapinoso

i plan on attending once i'm back in the states. i look forward to meeting some forum members in person too!

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Joshua Naterman

It'll be great to see you ts00n! lol! I know, what a terrible pun.

Blair, I am pretty sure I have a lot of pages, but they're separated by topic and whether they are basic or advanced, so I probably have more pages, though I don't know that there's more information! Once I get home I'll be putting everything into a more accessible format.

The joint prep series are truly brilliant, and I already do the knee stuff for low reps. Not full ROM yet, I'll go slow on that, but eventually! I am excited to go home and work on that 3rd shoulder prep routine. That's pretty crucial for me. It was great to know that Dillon is so darn strong and flexible now, and that he started out stiff like me 4 years ago! If I can accomplish 75% of what he has over the next 4 years I'll be making eyes pop out everywhere! The unspotted bodyweight curl from inverted hang to handstand on the rings was just... wow.

Hopefully in September we will be able to cover the Hungarian routine. The little bit we got is excellent but I'm looking forward to being able to put the whole thing into my workout routine.

For those of you who are wondering what you learn in the seminars, it is a lot. You get the joint prep, stretching, and the actual workout cycle that Coach uses with his athletes. It is, in fact, the exact program the WODs here follow. With very few exceptions, when we have a dynamic pull day so does Allan Bower, the national champ! He's doing more advanced stuff, but the format is the same. The understanding you get from learning this straight from Coach is far beyond what you will get when he eventually publishes it in future volumes, and like me you may find out exactly why you have not been getting what you perhaps should be getting out of the workouts. I have a feeling my progress is going to pick up quite a lot once I get back home from vacation and get back into the swing of a routine!

I haven't been this excited to work out since I first came here!

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Wow that sounds really awesome! Its always so much better to have contact with a Coach/teacher who can see you and address your particular issues. In this case it sounds really valuable.

2 questions-

Did you attend all three seminars? On the site it looks like they are intended for different levels, but its OK and worth it to do all three in the same weekend?

Is there a minimal skill/strength level one should be at to make it worthwhile or is more a matter of just go wherever you're at if you are into this?

Ok and were there any hints about how far along the awaited books are?

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I wasn't able to organize it that much on the fly so I could write down as much as I could because I didn't want to miss anything.

It definitely has recharged my desire to get back into the gym. Lately because of some personal issues, I would WU and just not be able to focus and end up going home. It was very frustrating but I was just in a "lost" place that I couldn't get back into mind no matter what I sought for inspiration. A week or so ago, I started to get the bug again and feel more comfortable in the gym when I did the HSPU/Wall run ladder.

For me, all the mobility series and the Hungarian series are what I really found the best. Most of the general warmup stretch we do and I didn't write down though I did write all the new shoulder stretches. Erik really liked them today. Most of the guys weren't fond of the basic strength but Erik liked it. Then again he is the kind of kid that will just nod and grin and never tell if something is wrong or in pain, etc. Actually he could do most of them for 1m, but I told him he should suffer like Allan did. I'm sure if he was rested that he may even be able to hold the body lever for that long.

However, the basic strength requirements before working certain skills really opened my eyes. I've been noticing that many of my guys haven't gone anywhere. Now, I know with some of them that they don't train hard enough or frequently enough or eat enough or hydrate but it's been something of an issue.

It will take us some time to get efficient with the new WU I created based on what we went over on the Hungarian series though I was coupling it with tumbl-trak bounces and basics.

In 3 hours we basically got to no events and then it was time for the Embedded Static workout and some stall bar stretching. I will probably scale back some of the volume of basic strength as far as time constraints perhaps.

To note, while we are used to taking rest periods in the dynamic pull/push WOD's after rounds, the competitive guys don't seem to. Erik and I tried this once and it was very grueling. Well, I guess there is some rest from station to station. It made me beg for 1-2 or 3-5m of rest. They do use the standard rest protocols for max or dynamic strength.

I much prefer swinging to running shuttle runs!

That team monster WOD looked killer. Erik said it sounded fun, though. I think I may have to uninstall and reinstall our stall bars as they may have been put in backwards (and which is why they kill the shoulders).

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Carmen Amara

As a rookie in this wonderful seminar, all I can say is that Coach Sommer has such a profound devotion to his career. I was taken by storm with all the plethora of information. I highly recommend the seminars because being physically present adds a unique dimension in grasping all concepts and exercises. His athletes, Jeff, Dillon and Allan were amazing to watch. They were very helpful in demonstrating the exercises and really cared that we were executing them it correctly. The other people who attended were wonderful and talented. I look forward in going back to the next one.

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Joshua Naterman
Wow that sounds really awesome! Its always so much better to have contact with a Coach/teacher who can see you and address your particular issues. In this case it sounds really valuable.

2 questions-

Did you attend all three seminars? On the site it looks like they are intended for different levels, but its OK and worth it to do all three in the same weekend?

Is there a minimal skill/strength level one should be at to make it worthwhile or is more a matter of just go wherever you're at if you are into this?

Ok and were there any hints about how far along the awaited books are?

I attended all three days, and I honestly think it is 100% worth it. In fact, I'll go so far as to say you are cheating yourself if you do not go to all three days! There was one guy who decided he was only going to do the first day, but I think that was the wrong decision. He decided this because he felt like he didn't understand a lot about the training, and felt like he learned so much the first day that the rest of the weekend would just be too much. He missed out on pretty much all of the joint prep, which is pretty much the most basic thing you need. Seriously. In my opinion, that was not a well-informed decision.

There is definitely no minimum strength level required. The only requirement is that you want to learn more!

Go to all three sessions. They flow from one to the next. Nothing is THAT out of reach, and you will be able to clear things up the second and third days. You'll also write excellent notes like I did if you want to, and you will be able to answer many of your own questions, or at least know exactly what to ask Coach. I can't imagine anyone who has read the book and either followed the WODS for at least a month or trained GB-style for a few months being lost or unable to understand what is being taught.

No hints about future volume progress other than that the more we help out here the faster Coach can get them done!

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Sliz and I were there all 3 days. Most people were.

Do as much as you can, the September seminars will be even better!

No. Just go, for me as a Coach or anyone as a trainer, it's important to just get the knowledge and information and scale up and down as necessary. It didn't matter because after day 2, I had to bow out from a lot of stuff as my (previously injured) right shoulder was hurting bad.

No hints, honestly don't ask and don't worry about as they will be out when they are out. Right, Sliz? :mrgreen:

Erik really liked the stall bar flexibility drills today. I told him we might not have to do any more partner stretching (as I'm not sure we have been getting any results, anyways) and he was pretty happy about that. Partner PNF, not fun...at all, ever.

He also loved the shoulder stretches and we didn't even get to any of the mobility series. I need to teach him those so he can do them on his own.

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As well, it sounds like that Dillon may be available in the future to come out and run an impromptu GB seminar on weekends. No details are out yet or have been determined but it is something to think about if the September or May do not work out in your schedules. If you had a group of athletes or trainers, it would probably save you a lot on lodging and travel to have him come out versus all traveling out there.

Currently he is training for La Reve besides going to school and coaching little guys. He knows my pain. They know V-ups from what I hear. The boys said they would rather do burpees.

By the way Sliz, I have never seen someone as big as you walking in a HS. It was impressive and I found it funny. There was a big guy who made the wrestling mats over basketball shake years ago in back tumbling series but I don't think he was nearly as big as you.

We shoulda got some video of the bloopers. This boys is your coach doing the basic tumbling pass of cartwheel skip cartwheel in the compulsory routines. Epic Fail.

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Alex Dienaar

Ack! All of this sounded extremely awesome, you guys should spill some more of your notes to be honest or at least give us a little bit of a teaser! xD

Tons of questions pop to mind : How big is Slizz exactly, what's the hungarian routine etc etc xD And the most important one ;; When's the next seminar ? :D

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Did anyone record any videos? Not as 'teaching material' but I'd love to get a glimpse of the atmosphere :D too bad I live in Europe but I might plan a trip to The States around the time of a seminar one or two years from now.

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Neal Winkler

September? Ouch, very little chance I will be able to put together $1000 dollars by then. Maybe Coach will have another one of those contests for a free winner. :lol:

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I had my camera, as functional as it barely is (damaged LCD in viewscreen) but we didn't get any bloopers real.

I had meant to do an arabian timer into pit but didn't. And there was some epic falls from the cartwheel skip cartwheels. As well there was one nearby accident that would have been great to film. Heheh.

Liz is like 6'3 230 or so. It was important to keep him fed. Actually, I'd be willing to take him on an eating challenge any day though. Things to do at InNOut.

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Thanks for the replies gentlemen! Gotta find a way to get there! :?: :!: :idea:

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Neal Winkler

After the days seminar, did all of the attendees go out together for food and drink? Or did you all just go back to your hotels, exhausted, and sleep?

I think it may be time to sell all my baseball cards, hockey cards, and comic books.

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Cards yes...comic books-eee, gads.

Well, I think we were all just hungry as only a small handful of us went to get burgers.

After each day, I just went back with my ride and did rolling on a bowling ball or hung out at my friend's.

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Definately going once I get to the states for college! If I can scrape together enough money.

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Neal Winkler

Is the September seminar going to cover something different, or you just feel that the info is so dense that it would be worth it to do again?

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Richard Duelley

September, hmmmm. . . I wonder if my parents would go for that as a graduation gift :mrgreen: They didn’t like me asking for a $800 optic for my rifle lol :wink:

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Triangle, there is going to be some additional material I think based on the feedback and just tweaking the course curricula; I think. How, I don't know really but Coach Sommer did say he was going to tweak things a bit.

Jeff, can you remind me who you were? I'm horrible with names, typically as I only remember Slizzardman's and Carmen's, I think besides the coaching staff and of course, Aush. I can't remember if CFST stands for CrossFit.

The next one will definitely be a blast.

The seminar is probably a lot like the book was for me. The first time I recieved I read through it in one sitting but didn't realize that I missed certain details every time I read it again. New things dawn on you and make sense whereas they were not apparent before.

This is similar to a lot of the notes I took early in my coaching career. I can go back and read them and get a new understanding of them versus 3 or 5 or 7 years ago.

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Joshua Naterman
Hey Gents,

The Seminar was a blast! I originally signed up for the first day in fear that the materials would be far beyond my novice abilities by day 2, but ended up staying for all 3 days and am glad I did so. The progressions will get over your head no matter who you are but the way coach and his staff have it set up I just worked though what my strength, joint prep and flexibility will allow and once I got to a point were I struggled the staff(about a 2:1 ration) gave me a ton of feedback working me thought what I thought I had no chance of doing before.The training was very much a custom fit, coach and his staff made sure to address every individual's particular needs. The 3 days of hands on training is great, having someone with an eye as sharp as coach's watching form and offering bespoke options probably saved me a years worth of mistakes. I would say I have a far better understanding of this discipline. I will undoubtedly be back for September's seminar. There was a ton of information put out during the course almost too much to list.

This is a great review. Jeff runs a gym up in Washington State and definitely had doubts about whether or not he should stay. He did and you can read for yourselves why he made that decision!

The seminars can seem intimidating when you read about them on the internet, but the reality is that most of us have all only been training for 1-2 years, not nearly enough time to be into the advanced part of even basic strength. Once you get there and realize the attendees are not supermen who can do everything in the book, staying for all three days becomes a much more approachable idea.

Coach and his athletes are constantly watching and helping us to make sure that we are doing things correctly. The physical ability of the group will certainly affect what gets covered to some degree, because you can't go over really advanced stuff that no one is ready for. People will try it and get hurt, we've already seen that just with the static progressions. Can you imagine if our propensity for reaching beyond our ability was combined with knowledge of advanced drills? We as a group are getting wrecked enough just by what we know from BtGB!

Coach's dream scenario is that those of us going to the seminars keep coming back and advancing, so that each time he is able to cover more and more without fear of us getting hurt or trying to reach beyond what we are ready for. We didn't even get through 40% of what Coach had originally planned to cover (I might have that backwards, we might have gotten through 60%) and that original curriculum was still fairly low level stuff compared to what his competitive athletes can do. As time goes on and some of us move beyond what the first time seminar attendees can do we will be able to receive more advanced instruction on the side from one of Coach's athletes while he handles the main seminar. There will not be a point at which it is no longer worth going to.

In case you guys don't know, there is a sliding scale for the seminars. The first time is full price, second time is half price, third time and beyond is 25%, and at some point for frequent attendees Coach may stop charging at all. More than anything he wants a passionate community of knowledgeable and self-motivated people.

You have to keep in mind that it takes Coach around 5 years to train a talented kid into what he considers a decent competitive gymnast. We have absolutely no reason to think we can move any faster. From what I gathered talking to Dillon and the others it takes 2-3 years just to build up the biceps tendon. That's with proper progressions and everything! That's the real roadblock to more advanced stuff, and if the time isn't taken to properly build them up then you will never achieve advanced gymnastic strength even if you train your whole life.

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