After a lil over two hours with my group 3 lifters it was 1pm, lunch time! Now here in NC we like to eat country food and eat big. No gluten free, low carb, sugar free and no macro counting here. Just good ol southern eating. We served up fried chicken, potato wedges, macaroni and cheese, butter milk biscuits, banana pudding, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, apple pie and sweet tea. I never seen so much food disappear so quick!
The weather outside was great. My Nebo girls set up the tables, chairs and the food table. Everyone had worked up and appetite and it was evident! Melissa made some of her secret receipt banana pudding and it was immediately gone. Matt Goodwin can attest to its greatness! Everyone enjoyed the food and time to talk and discuss lifting. There was a buzz the entire time we ate. So many folks taking the moment all in and enjoying the conversing with so many folks like themselves. It was awesome! My daughter looked at me ad said, "Daddy you did good." I about had a moment but I held it in and smiled and gave her a hug.
Lunch was done. My Nebo girls and teens cleaned up and put up everything away in a snap and it was back to the gym we all went. Eating like that can really put you in a spell of like, its time to take a nap but everyone went to their stations and got ready to rock for the last stretch of the day.
Group 2 came to me very enthusiastic and ready to bench-press. This group had my good friend and elitefts Teammate Jeff Guller - who is 74 years old by the way and is one of the coolest cats you will ever meet. Jeff is a warrior. I hope to be not only alive at 74 but as vibrant, knowledgeable and well rounded as this man is. Here is a little info on Jeff: is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill 1963 and UNC Law School 1966. He practiced law in Gastonia for about 40 years. Thereafter he was an adjunct professor of Criminal Law at Wingate Univ where he also worked with the football team’s strength program. He presently works as a physical trainer and power lifting coach. He presently holds 4 world records in the IPA and has broken or established 5 national records in the IPF in his... age group and weight class. Team Elitefts Columnist with 27 published articles. Awesome? Yes? You damn right. I love this guy. Jeff killed it today benching up to 185 pounds raw before shutting it down! Amazing.
We also had our only female lifter of the seminar in this group, Daire Resse who just oozes the meaning of awesome, beautiful and just lovable. Daire is an ex lifter of mine that moved off but wanted to take part in this event and spend time with her family. We are sure glad you did! Another lifter in this group was Jordan Owens out of Kentucky. Jordan had a few issues that we got tightened up and once he got a hang of what I wa saying and having him do his bench-press dramatically increased! The entire group was blown away what he looked like at the start then two hours later. Very proud of you my friend. You came with a fantastic crew out of Kentucky. Our 4th lifter of the group 19 year old Damian Wright who is one of my current lifters with oodles and oodles of potential. Once he decides to dedicate himself fully the sky is the limit. Each one of these lifters hit a PR bench and had a great time learning and dialing in their techniques. Another group of PR lifts on the bench-press. Another group of fantastic folks that I was honored to train with.
The time is now 4pm and all the groups are finishing up. The excitement from everyone is high. Donnie tells everyone that is wanting to stay a little longer that he is going to do a Body Tempering demonstration and talk shop for a few. This was not a planned event but I was very excited that he was going to do this for the entire group! Donnie went on to talk about a lot of things, his products, his thoughts and how body tempering works. He demonstrated several things on himself then rolled a few lifters to show us all different techniques and how to's.
I actually went to one of his Body Tempering Seminars this summer and it was very interesting to learn this stuff. Each and everyone there in the gym were getting a bonus treat of material to take home with them for free. Donnie did this for over an hour. Donnie and Travis both are what this sport is truly about. Giving back. Helping other people. Teaching folks gained wisdom through years of trial and era. Don't be fooled by the trolls and social media folks. There are several people just like them out there. I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by greats like them through my entire lifting career and it has helped me tremendously. Watching them coach/teach today was amazing. Each of them giving every lifter there decades of knowledge and information to help each of them hone their craft. I cant say enough how thankful I am they came today and shared their wisdom.
It seemed like the entire day flew by. 10 hours later and it only seemed like we had been there for 2 or 3. I thanked everyone that came, all of my Team for helping out, Donnie and Travis for coaching and Josh and Cori coming down from CN. Everyone was taking pictures, saying their good byes and well wishes. This was a great event. I'm not just saying that because it was our event. The feed back has been great and the seminar ran super smooth. We will have another seminar next year and hope to improve upon this 1st one. There is always things that can be done better and tweaked some. I hope any of you reading this that was not able to make it can come next year.
Thank you go out to:
Team Nebobarbell:
Katelyn
Melissa
Shelly
Shelby
Kasey
Sam
Jonathan
Rick
Snow
Jesse
David
Dayday
Sammy
Corbin
Tim
Kim
Mike
Andrea
Amy
Ryan
Lifters/Attendees:
Ken Hancock
Steve Ramage
Shane Everage
Derrick Miller
Jordan Owens
Jason Carver
Ian McKay
Jeff Guller
Caleb Goforth
Damian Wright
Daire Reese
Jacob Anderson
Tyler Stockton
Chris Twitty
Donations:
David/Traci Tate
Joshua
Cori
Coaches:
Donnie
Travis
Jordan Owens:
"This past weekend was one of the greatest experiences in my short time powerlifting. I enjoyed talking with, and getting tips from everyone who attended the nebo barbell seminar, especially the coaches. The atmosphere was amazing, and provided me with the positive support I needed to encourage me in my pursuit to become a stronger individual.Donnie Thompson, Joey Smith, and Travis Gardner all provided invaluable knowledge. Events like this are why I love this sport."
Daire Reese:
"Thanks to the fam for putting together and pulling off such a wonderful seminar yesterday!! It was amazing to take part in it! Love y'all!!!
Jason Carver:
"I wish I could write down everything I learned yesterday at the nebo barbell seminar but it would take hours. Getting to rub elbows with legends in the sport like Joey smith Donnie Thompson Travis Gardner and mike neese was worth the price alone. I learned a great deal on form of the movements, how to execute them safely and properly and more effective to maximize full power. But more importantly was the atmosphere and the support from everyone, from the coaches and the spotters everyone was there for everyone. Joey, Donnie and Travis all talked to us like they'd known us for years they coached they laughed they cut up they were serious they corrected us to make us better. They were treating us like teammates and i believe everyone walked away a better lifter but more importantly everyone walked away a better person and with a few more friends. Powerlifting can get drug through the mud on social media ALOT and it can leave a negative taste in the mouth of those who don't know it in full detail but with events like today and people like Joey Donnie and Travis, powerlifting and the support of our fellow lifters and each other today left a positive impact on powerlifting. I will be going back next year and if you don't go then you're really robbing yourself of probably the most beneficial thing you can do to step up your powerlifting game. Yesterday added weight to my PRs but also restored my love for powerlifting!! Thanks again Joey! Great work!"
Corbin Hester:
"Today showed me how lucky I am to train in such a great environment. With people coming from surrounding states to train at our gym and to learn from some of the best in the sport. It just shows you how lucky you are to be in that environment everyday you train! I love my team!"
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