Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Why Cressey Performance is awesome

"Cressey Performance is a factory, man"
(Nick Tumminello, 2011).

When I first heard that, I didn't quite know what to expect, but after having spent my last 3 days at CP, I completely understand what he meant.

Cressey Performance is located in Hudson, MA and is described on their website as follows:
"A high-performance training facility designed by athletes for athletes, and those looking to make a serious commitment to their long-term health"
It is owned by Eric Cressey and was co-founded by Pete Dupuis and Tony Gentilcore. In addition, other coaches include Chris Howard, current intern Tyler Simmons and a nice chap called George (who I believe is the guy in the vest in this video and pretty much did this every time anyone went to lift heavy. He essentially was the gym's Terry Tate).




However, before I describe how awesome CP is, I must firstly describe it's one (and only) negative - it's location. Specifically, it's location if you're a foreigner with no wheels other than the ones on your suitcase.

Where I was staying was roughly 10 miles from the gym and there was ZERO public transport that could get me there. I could have got a bus to the nearest town, but only if I fancied walking 13 miles a day (I didn't).

In the end, I manned up, rented a car and got on with it (and took a picture of a reservoir and a liquor store on the way).


Bill gave me directions :)

Apparently you could catch a bus to the car rental from here. Another epic fail by Google maps.

Back on subject....

The clientele of CP consists of about 80% athletes, with about 80% of those being baseball players. As it's the summer, all the guys training were either high school or college level athletes. However, when they all go back to education, the professionals will come in. The fun never stops.

I spent my time watching the guys train, the coaches doing their job, taking notes, asking questions and generally trying not to get in the way.

As a frequent reader of Eric Cressey's and Tony Gentilcore's blogs, I had a fair idea of what to expect, but until you're there, you can't really appreciate it.

Without further ado, here is why CP is awesome, and why all gyms should aspire to be like it (I apologise if I repeat myself):

1) One of the first things I saw was a girl deadlifting.

I could stop right here, because that would probably be enough for most people. But I didn't take 20+ pages of notes for nothing.....

2) The athletes knew what they were doing. Kids of all ages were doing things like deadlifts, squats, speed work, by themselves and it looked extremely professional.

3) Most of the athletes had perfect technique on everything and if they didn't someone would be on them straight away to correct them

4) The coaches were able to keep an eye on everyone at all times and didn't let allow for anything sloppy

5) One of the most impressive things I saw was a guy who was deadlifting on his first session, with technique that would have made me leave the deadlift for another exercise. Tony saw this guy, walked over to him and proceeded to slap him in all the right places, thereby transforming his technique into something that was actually pretty decent.

6) The athletes were being educated whilst they trained

7) Every now and then, Tank (Eric's puppy) would have a wander through the gym keeping an eye on everyone

8) The athletes cleared up after themselves.

9) The dumbbells were always in the correct order

10) The dumbbells went from 5-100lbs. Most impressively, there were (and probably still are) 2 of each weight. I've not seen that before and is a nice touch to the gym.

11) There were no egos.

12) The athletes were training safely

13) There were some strong guys in there

14) The gym has used its space extremely well and there is plenty of room to accommodate a large number of guys at once

15) Every single piece of equipment was used. Nothing was collecting dust.

16) No time was being wasted. People were turning up and doing their thing.

17) Everyone put in hard work.

18) Guys got together and cheered each other on

19) I didn't see a single missed rep whilst I was there. Actually, the only missed reps were my own (but that's because I can't convert lbs to kg in my head yet)

20) Some of the more experienced athletes were helping out some of the newer guys when it came to technique

21) The collective knowledge of the staff is huge

22) Parents were with their kids during their assessments and the coaches did a great job of explaining to them what they were doing and what they were looking for.

23) There was a huge board of high school athlete records in the Front Squat, 3RM Chin-up, Broad Jump and Vertical Jump. Great motivation to keep training.

24) You regularly hear the sounds of chains. Nuff said.

25) The exercises are suited to the client. Most guys squatted, but the type of squat was dependent on their capabilities.

26) Females of all ages were doing pull-ups. Nice

27) The music is ideal for the gym environment. No Justin Beiber or Bill Bryson occasionally spilling out of the speakers.....

28) Chalk on the floor isn't considered a mess - it's attitude.

29) Every client has their own individual programme

30) If you go on youtube, you can watch videos of University strength and conditioning facilities - CP puts these places to shame in terms of exercise individualisation, exercise technique and programme design.

31) Females get stuck in. They weren't training any differently from the males.

32) They appear to have created over 100 different ways to throw a medicine ball.

33) One poor kid was sick after using the prowler. He was 'slow-clapped' on his return into the gym by about 15 guys (thanks to Eric).

34) There were young kids training and getting on with what their doing, and using perfect form - think how awesome they'll be when they're older.

35) Unlike every other gym in the world, the bench press stations were completely unused on Monday.

36) There was a huge amount of 'out of the box' thinking in terms of exercises.

37) Whenever the gym appears to be quietening down, another 4-5 guys were warming up - good flow of athletes during the day.

38) If you were a parent and took your kid to the facility, you couldn't not want them to train there. You'd see first hand A) your kid being fully assessed and be able to ask questions, B) watch them train during the first session, safely under supervision, C) you'd see all the other guys training and being awesome - pretty safe bet that your kid will be like that soon.

39) From the moment they walk in - every single athlete was acknowledged by first name.

40) One athlete attempted to skip a large chunk of their warm up. They were sent back to finish immediately!

41) I heard a dubstep remix of 'Seek and Destroy' by Metallica. I never knew such a thing could exist.

42) There are no mirrors. The athletes learn to 'feel' correct technique (I assume that anyway).

43) Other than number 40, no warm-up was rushed and a lot of time and care is taken by each of the guys when it comes to movement preparation.

44) Finally, and probably the number one reason why CP is awesome and something that ALL gyms should incorporate is this sign:


As a result, I didn't see a single mobile phone in the gym whilst I was there and that's the first time I've ever seen that in any gym.

The key point I learnt was that technique was drilled into the guys training from their first session onwards. They never had an opportunity to use poor form - and this is manifested in the guys who had been training there for a while.

The other point was that each client is assessed and then programmed to their capabilities, needs and availability. They are then reprogrammed at the end of each phase. How many other gyms can say that they actually do this with their clients?

As Alwyn Cosgrove said in his 'Death of Personal Training' webinar on Monday night, your facility needs to be an experience and a culture. Cressey Performance has done just that.

Big thanks to Eric, Tony, Pete, Chris, Tyler and George for letting me watch what you do best and teaching me a ton. I feel a better coach already!

1 comment:

  1. CP sounds awesome......'nuff said' (Will Davis, 2011)

    ReplyDelete