Trainer Coffee Talk

If you were able to muscle through my take on nutrition you would have picked up on the fact that I am a coffee drinker.

However, I don't feel that calling myself a coffee drinker or coffee consumer does nearly enough to give this magical hot beverage the recognition it deserves.

I really really like coffee. If I am travelling I am seeking out the best possible local brew I can get my hands on.When I am home I am seeking out good beans and ways to extract their nectar. Sometimes there are less than stellar coffee experiences but its all good knowing that even when it isn't that good it is still pretty damn good.
 

A Marvel In Japanese Engineering

As great as it is to overconsume coffee on the road or within the comfort of my own home there is still just something that can't match parking down in the friendly neighborhood coffee shop with a couple of like minded partners in crime.

I find it kind of unfair that coffee takes the negative monetary analogies that it does take when it comes to unnecessary spending but I do have to say if all you're looking for out of the coffee shop is a cup of medium roast that is all you're going to get.

For me it is a chance to sit down with not only a few good friends with a few guys who know very well on a professional and personal level that we are in it together when it comes to being the best we can be.
 

As you can see too many 5am starts can leave us looking a little rough around the edges but despite the haircuts and my amigo Chris' purple track suit we tend to engage in some fantastic conversation. Not to mention it's all over the charts. Whether it be talking shop, our own training, music, cars, girls, books or life it is the type of conversation that no matter what the topic I feel is something that makes me better on multiple levels.

Well worth the price of admission as well as worth the risk of not having some change saved for me to afford something substantial when I am nintey-three.

Add to it I flat out enjoy sitting down and having coffee with other trainers. Obviously they would be the biggest slice in my social circle due to the fact that training is what I spend most of my time doing.

However, I strongly consider fitness pros who are hungry in this industry and hungry for the right reasons at the forefront of passion, creativity, fulfillment, free thinking, creativity, heart, hustle, and having fun while doing it.

For that reason I suggest you seek out these people and these characteristics certainly are not limited to trainers nor are the enlightening conversations. It just so happens that most of the conversations below have happened while chatting with other trainers so of course I have my biases.

Uncertainty

Like so many of you I was told a very similar message of the importance of finding security professionally. Like so many of you I failed to get the message and it appears that the rate of message delivery failure is growing.

I have learned to love the rush of knowing that there are no guarantees. No guarantees in exercise selection, no guarantees of a steady paycheque and as a result of these types of circumstances it is tough to say that there are guarantees in emotion, confidence, and the future.

Despite the ups and downs I cannot argue with the character that it develops. The ups are great as it seems as if everything that you execute in a day almost becomes efforless and it's a beautiful feeling. However the downs bring out your true character and while it took me a while to embrace that notion I now know that climbing to the top it may require some crawling through the dirt.

Collaboration

Going back to being in it for the right reasons I have to say that arguably the biggest component of that is relentlessly educating yourself on your craft.

However I also believe there also comes a point where you need some good old fashioned discussion to express, defend, challenge, and question what you know. There happens to be something special about the coffee shop setting for these very discussions. Thoughts get produced, beliefs are both challenged and reaffirmed and magically a long list of fresh thoughts and ideas appear after hashing it out while slamming back a good medium roast.

Movement

This topic could drift off into many arguements but the subject of movement that has been passed around in the Calgary cafe circuit has been the importance of skill acquisition when prescribing it.

The amount of progress in exercise science even in my short time in this industry has been insane and for all the right reasons. We are now coming out with equipment, programming, and research that is providing amazing results.

However it still boils down to how it is being expressed.

We have the technology to send a text message across the world and have it received within seconds. All the while overlooking the idea that we encounter people with eyes, ears, mouths, and emotions on a daily basis.

I think we have the same tendancies with exercise at times as well that amidst all of the advances we have in training they are still only as good as the human brain and human body that is putting it all together.
It is not only about putting together workouts it's about taking something out of them.

Have A Little Fun

Or at least start with a little.

The one thing that hanging out with trainers reminds you of is that the real world we exist in is a lot different from the one that was taught to us in school. From what I gather I don't think it was ever meant to be this fun. More importantly I don't think I was ever taught that it was meant to be this fulfilling either.

Amidst the crazy schedule, the high output, and the constant questioning of what lies ahead is a career path that has provided me with an ability to travel, constantly learn, and experience fulfillment on a level that my high school guidance counsellor never told me about.

The coffee talk constantly reminds me that bad days are better than a lot of people's good ones and has me thinking that retirement isn't a light at the end of the tunnel when you're trying to bring the light on a daily basis.

Whether it's letting the conversation run wild or just sitting in silence and letting your brain take over I have to say there is just a vibe present when it involves hanging out and sinking a cup of joe.

In fact, welcome to my Friday morning window down at my favorite caffiene fueled hole in the wall.
 

I also wanted to mention that it is one week from the Edmonton Performance Summit. If you happen to be in the are I have to say that this one will be worth checking out. If not I have to say take a look at the bodies of work being put together by John Sinclair, Kevin Murray, andDerrick Price.

These three guys are doing some incredible things to educate both their clients as well as aspiring and current fitness professionals. They are taking their game all over the world these days and in recent events I have had the pleasure of sitting back and getting my world rocked by what they know. To be at a point of sharing collaborating with them as an educator is a huge honor and I have to say that I am beyond excited to be a part of it.
 

-Jeff