Iron Tamer takes Manhattan (workshop review)

Ok
It’s been about 2 weeks since the aftermath of Dave “Iron Tamer” Whitley’s workshop over in Manhattan and now that the dust has settled and the smoke has cleared only the truth of the workhop shall remain…and the truth is that this workshop was EPIC!!!

So anyone that knows me personally and how I work professionally to put it bluntly even though I consider myself a student of the iron game…I know what’s up. A basic workshop wouldn’t impress me and even though Dave and I are friends if I didn’t like the workshop I wouldn’t give it a thumbs up… I would just keep quiet.

So when I go to a workshop, or buy info relating to training or nutrition it has to pass 2 different screens.

Is it applicable to my own training ie, will it make me stronger? Is it something I can use with my clients?

The answer to both questions in this case is “yes”. When it comes to the techniques of strength I like to consider my form pretty well dialed in so if someone is able to pick up something I didn’t, it can potentially be a game changer for both myself and my clients. This happened with both my swings, and my getups. My swings, I wasn’t floating enough. My getups, my stance was too wide which was making me disconnect from my chiseled abs (lol). What does that have to do with my clients? Well one thing that Dave also pointed out was that monkey see monkey do. If my clients are mimicking me then if I do something that’s not optimal, then so will they. It’s a method of training called ideomotor training and if they watch you and your form is good then it will make their form good too. If it’s bad then it will make your form bad too (and that’s another reason you shouldn’t watch the Biggest Loser…it’ll make you a $hittier trainer and athlete through ideomotor training) One thing I also noticed about my own movement was during the primal move stuff, I can’t crawl backwards without seriously thinking about it before hand. Something that came out with my rotary stability test from the FMS. Other things that we covered, using target swings for accurate measurement, using swings along with heart rate to train yourself to provide a panic stimulus in a controlled environment (translates directly to performing strongman stuff)

Now the people in the seminar, well it turns out one of my loyal blog readers was in attendance (yeah you know who you are), there were some advanced trainers some of whom I’m friends with on facebook, and there were some people who had never touched a kettlebell before in their life. Every single person there improved their technique and learned a whole bunch of cool stuff to apply to their own training programs as well as their clients.

The way the subject matter was presented…well I think it’s one of the reasons Dave and I are friends, this stuff is serious stuff but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with it. Dave teaches the stuff with just enough technical jargon to let you know that he’s not just some hick from the sticks that likes to pick up heavy stuff. He’s a very smart dude and it shows with his laid back teaching style. There is a reason he is recognized as a master instructor and for a long time was the most popularly reviewed kettlebell instructor in the former (and true) RKC. I would compare the quality of it to any of the dragondoor workshops that I’ve attended…which is saying A LOT. Dragondoor lost a great instructor there (a long with a lot of other ones including the Chief and yours truly when my time expires…I am strongfirst baby)

And to close off the workshop the two of us did a strongman performance for the attendees. We rolled up frying pans, bent steel bars, nails, horseshoes and I bent steel with my nose (something I save for special occasions only). It was special because it was the opportunity to perform next to the guy that pointed me down the path of the instructor, AND the path of the performing strongman. Strength and awesomeness in stereo.