Monday morning at 1:30 am I pulled into my driveway after spending the last five days on the road.

I was in Iceland. It was a fantastic journey that started last Wednesday with a flight to Boston then an all night flight into Iceland. I arrived at 6:30 am and my first seminar was that night from 7 to 10 pm. The very next day I started at 9 am and went to 5 pm, virtually the same on Saturday, then culminated with an energizing seminar with 70 participants on Olympic lifting.

It was simply amazing for me to spend such quality time with so many wonderful Icelandic coaches, trainers, and therapist.

What I loved most is how they helped me grow. Being challenged on my own intellectual parameters is humbling. Because the attendees want to learn and improve they ask great questions. These questions are what make me a better teacher.

I have to dig deep and be ready to support their questions with either great answers or a simple “I don’t know, but I will find out for you.”

Seminars like this enlighten me on what others are thinking. When I get questions regarding my program design principles for sports speed it helps me understand people’s needs and their thought processes. It’s truly a gift to me, to be so challenged and forced to dig deep; just the way it should be.

The first four days I worked with an eager group wishing to learn more about being better at their trade and how to network with others to become stronger in business and associations. It was a wonderful experience. My Iceland friends want to be better- just like all of us. They will be fantastic at what they do because they care.

I also spoke on program design as it relates to athletic performance and training fitness clients. During these sessions, my entire goal was to teach the attendees the importance of goals when designing a program. These goals should follow principles of movement, strength, mobility, speed and quickness. If they can understand that a program should be built on these principles which are directed by the goal then they have most of the battle won.

On the final day, as I mentioned, we spent five hours diving into the technical aspect of how to build the foundation of Olympic lifting for their clients and athletes. These participants were focused and motivated. They made my job easy. They were willing to do the reps and the motor programming to groove a pattern of lifting. Certainly they were not going to be perfect in a day, but they created a foundation to build on so someday they can be excellent at teaching, demonstrating, and implementing the progressions.

My entire trip to Iceland, although exhausting, was inspiring. I made many new friends, gained knowledge, and shared what I have learned from so many other great professionals over the years.

Thanks Iceland!