Train Like A Girl Recap4
Posted In Seminar
Holy moly. This past weekend was by far, one of the best of my entire life.
In case you were hiding under a rock, we hosted a seminar at J&M last weekend called, “Train Like A Girl.” It was a seminar geared towards anyone who trains/coaches women, as well as women who just want to look and feel better. We had top notch speakers like Mike Robertson, Julia Ladewski, Kiefer, my business partner Jim Laird, and somehow I snuck into that lineup as well. 😉
It was a 2-day seminar, and the first day was all lecture, and the second day was one lecture, and the rest hands-on. Looking back now, we should have split up the lecture and hands-on so people didn’t have to sit so long, but you live and learn I guess.
Each presenter had a fantastic topic, and we kept getting the feedback, “I’ve never been to a seminar where I was excited to hear every single speaker!” That was awesome.
PRESENTATIONS
The audience listening attentively.
A quick run-down of the presentations:
Mike Robertson – Mike talked about the mobility and stability needs of female athletes. And by athlete, he means anyone training on a regular basis, in an effort to improve their physical performance. He touched on posture, positioning, diaphragmatic breathing and why it drives almost everything we do or don’t do, and much more. I’ve heard Mike speak almost a dozen times, and it never gets old!
Kiefer – Kiefer discussed the science of female fat loss. He talked about how women’s need for carbs is significantly lower than men’s, and how many women set themselves up for failure from the very beginning by waking up and having a huge, carb-laden breakfast. Very interesting stuff. It’s obvious Kiefer is a smart guy who gets great results.
Kiefer talking females and fat loss.
Jim Laird – Jim discussed how to get women to fall in love with weight training. In doing this, he discussed the best methods for training women, how to make sure they always progress, and how he might train them differently than he would train a man. If anyone knows training women, it’s Jim. Over the last 12 years, he’s gotten dozens of women incredible results in just 2 days a week of training, by “tricking” them into falling in love with lifting. In fact, he tricked me into it almost 10 years ago and I haven’t looked back since.
Jim clearly knows how to get ladies to love lifting heavy…
Julia Ladewski – Julia talked about training the young female athlete. Young female athletes are one of the most neglected demographics, which is crazy because it’s not only a huge group, but they need strength training so badly. Julia discussed what young female athletes needs to feel and perform their best, as well as discussing how they might respond differently to different coaching styles.
Julia presenting on the topic of training female athletes.
I discussed 6 mistakes females make when trying to lose body fat, and I touched on many topics from nutrition and training, to lifestyle and emotional aspects of losing body fat.
We finished each day with a Q&A Roundtable discussion, where attendees had 30-60 minutes to ask questions!
Roundtable Q&A Day 1. We missed Julia Ladewski but she was helping at the Learn to Train Seminar. She is in high demand!
HANDS-ON/PRACTICAL
A panoramic view of the coaches walking around working with everyone! So cool.
The hands-on section was positively amazing, and we brought in coaches from all over the country to help us out. We initially started out in one big group, with over a dozen coaches walking around and helping. Here is what was covered:
Dynamic Warm-up led by Mike Robertson
Diaphragmatic Breathing led by Yours Truly
Squat and Hinge Patterns led by Jim Laird
We did those stations in one large group with coaches walking around helping attendees.
Then we split up into the following stations:
Squat and Deadlift – coached by Jim Laird, Julia Ladewski, and Ryan Brown
Julia coaching the squat!
Turkish Getup – coached by Dave Randolph
Kettlebell Swing – coached by Kris Freeman and Ryan Patrick
Split Stance, Half Kneeling, and Core – coached by Lucy Hendricks and me
People were getting crushed by half kneeling and proper split squats!
Functional Movement Screen (FMS) – coached by James Escaloni, Jared Woolever, Steve Long, and Quinn Henoch
Steve Long and crew talking Functional Movement…
All of these coaches also helped with the big group coaching as well, in addition to my good friend Sarah Martin, who is an awesome coach as well.
Attendees had ~30 minutes at each station, and were coached by some of the best coaches in the industry.
In between presentations, we gave away raffle prizes like Mike Robertson’s Bulletproof Back and Knees, a Smart Group Training package, Bootcamp In A Box, Dave Randolph’s Action Movie Hero Workout Book, Kiefer’s Carb Backloading, and even some Lululemon gear, and a gorgeous watch! All in all, we gave away over $2,000 in prizes.
We also allowed lots of time for presenter/speaker/coach/attendee interaction, and many of the coaches stayed late to help the attendees. We also had a group dinner with all of the speakers and attendees on Saturday night. All in all, we wanted our attendees to feel incredibly special and valuable, and feel like they got 10x their money’s worth.
Hanging with Missy Neely at the group dinner Saturday night! It was awesome!
Based on the surveys they filled out at the end and the video testimonials they gave us, I think it was a success. Check out what they had to say:
“I really felt like I made a difference this weekend. I’ve been to a lot of seminars before where I can’t walk away and say that, so it was actually rewarding for me. Thanks again for having me!” – Presenter and Coach, Mike Robertson, President Robertson Training Systems, Co-Owner Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training
“I just wanted to say that I have never learned so much great material in my whole life. I just graduated from Purdue and I feel like just now, because of this weekend, I actually have the knowledge and experience to move forward. Thank you all so much!” – Alicia McKinley
“I just wanted to take a moment after starting to come down from the high of the weekend and say thank you to you both. I don’t honestly think I can really express how much the whole event impacted me. But I know this, I left different than when I came. I feel like last weekend was a defining point for me. I know you both know this, but what you are doing there in Lexington as well as via the web is so important and getting to be there and feeling that passion for helping others find health was beyond contagious. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” – Heather Verstat
“I wanted to thank you for a fabulous weekend. You have made me feel like I’m opening up to new things in fitness and in life, when I feel like I’ve been bored for a while. Thank you so much for taking a personal interest in me when I know you had so many other people to talk to. It’s made me re-think lots of things about my life that have needed to be questioned. Thanks again for an amazing weekend and an incredibly refreshing take on fitness. When you host another seminar consider me already signed up. Thanks again.” – Mallory Miller
The biggest question we have gotten so far is: When are you doing this again? We can’t say for sure, only that we definitely will! We are also turning this one into an information product available for purchase, so that will be awesome! Please visit our website and sign up at the bottom of the page so you will be on an email list for updates and early-bird discounts on the product and future seminars. This one sold out FAST, so if you sign up for the email list, you’ll be the first to know, as we will open up registration to you guys FIRST!
THANK YOU!
Like I said, it was an absolutely FANTASTIC weekend, and could not have been pulled off without the help of all of the presenters and coaches, an amazing camera and sound crew, a bevy of amazing volunteers and coordinators (THANK YOU ALL!), and last but not least, our own personal Ninja, Joann Lianekhammy. She is the Wizard behind the curtain, always.
I wish I could list every single person that helped, but inevitably I’d forget someone and then wouldn’t be able to sleep for 3 days. So please know that we are grateful to you, and grateful to our sponsors and supporters:
Dangerously Hardcore/Athlete.io
Rod Martin, Sound
Molly Galbraith is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Coach who has dabbled in both Figure and Powerlifting competitions. She is Co-Founder of Girls Gone Strong and J-M Strength.Her life's mission is to help women give themselves grace and compassion when it comes to their bodies so that they can discover and accept what their best body looks like.
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