The Derek Woodske and Mary-Pier Grau experience

The man is a giant! That was the first thing that came into my mind when I saw Derek Woodske. I know that Charles Poliquin likes big muscles and hanging out with muscular guys but I wasn’t expecting to have a guy that big turn up to teach the course. Derek’s physical presence was intimidating and I’m used to being with big guys in Rugby League. By his side was the petite Mary-Pier Gaudet whose athletic ability as a pocket dynamo has landed her work as a stunt actress as well as pro skater and figure competitor. Once I got over the shock of the size of Derek’s elbows and forearms and actually started listening I realised that I was in for a great week completing the Level 1 and Level 2 PICP courses.

Jumping the jump - photoshop?

Being a professional coach and head of a physical preparation program I felt a bit like the kid who’s repeated 3 grade twice. Why was I doing at a beginner’s course if I was already making a living and at least in my mind getting some great results with professional athletes at the top of their sport. Still I knew Charles Poliquin must have been taking things to another level in his coach education systems with the success he’s having. I’ve followed Charles’ writing and the growth of his profile through T-nation and now his own website enough to know it would be top quality.

Before I got to Southampton I’d been through the online education and theory component of the course and I have to say I skimmed a lot of it. I’d already seen Charles’ stuff and I’ve read lots of books, articles and journals on what he was talking about. I did what I needed to do without really buying into the material. What I was looking forward to most was being around quality coaches for a week and getting inspired to take my program at the Catalans Dragons to another level.

Enter Derek Woodske. He didn’t talk a lot about what he’d done but I always a feeling that he really knew what he was talking about even though he proved himself human with a few nervous maths errors to begin the Level 1. What I really liked was that when Derek’s opinion differed slightly to the manual or Charles he explained himself and added a lot of value to the course. Listening to someone of his calibre speak from personal experience as both a coach and athlete is worth the cost of the course alone! As a coach I can see the need to continually implement systems of evaluation not just in terms of 1-2 key performance indicators but also in terms of the bodies equilibrium.

I learned exercises that I’d never seen before and saw how they can be a direct trouble-shoot for some of my biggest trouble spots in my own training and with the team.

With Derek and Mary at the end of a great week

Some of my favourite ideas from the week were:

“Some guys you need to work at whatever they can get strong at,” Derek was talking about a guy who was using more than 200kg on the seated good-morning because it was the only movement that really suited his build!

“You need to stay with what works for the average guy. When you get a 1% guy you can do more stuff.” The system we’re presented with in Level 1 and 2 is a simple way to get above average results but Derek didn’t try to delude us into thinking those basics were going to break world records.

“If you do unnatural movement to create change, you’ll get unnatural change,” this one is a kick in the balls for a lot of physio therapists who want to see the gym turned into a cross between circus training and a medieval torture chamber. Keep that stuff on the table and stick close to movement patterns that you actually want to be good at in the gym. Dominating the GHR machine and respecting structural balance in the hamstrings is the best injury prevention for the hamstring group. Chains are great for loading the strong part of the movement in rehab. Bands need to be used with care because the elastic energy puts higher loads on connective tissue.

“If there is a kink in the hose then the water isn’t going to get through as well. If the water doesn’t get through performance suffers.” Spinal alignment and flow of CNS fluid matter!

Nutrition and supplementation will definitely play a role in improving flexibility and recovery from serious injury. I’ve thought this for a long time but it was good to have the idea reinforced and some protocol ideas from one of the world’s most qualified coaches.

Vertical jump is 80% posterior chain and body fat is a major factor along with genetics.

“Write a lot of workouts – accept the ones that fail and don’t get too excited about the ones that work.” Work high volume in rehab until you start getting enough neural drive and function to create muscle soreness.

youtubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoRJ3mnjh6o – Derek told us about this too.. fun!

“You’ll only get as high as your base is wide,” I’d heard this idea before but never really thought about it in the same way.The message that Derek drove home to me was that even powerlifters and hammer throwers were benefitting from the right kind of GPP. The prowler sled which is now all over the world of Strength and Conditioning came from guys who wear the tightest clothing in the world to move a weight the shortest distance they can get away with.

Derek Woodske started his pursuit of therapy through the doors of athletics as both an athlete having represented the Canadian national team on two occasions and as coach working in both the NCAA and the NFL In 2008 Derek Woodske a level 4 PICP coach and BioSig Practitioner returned to school to become a Licensed Massage and Neruomuscular Therapist. Since that time he has completed advanced training in Trigenics, Myofascial Release Techniques and Trigger Point Therapy. He most recently has undergone training to teach Fascial Abrasion Tool technique (FAT ™} on behalf of the Poliquin Strength Institute as well as Performance Taping. Derek’s coaching lineage is strong having worked directly under Charles Poliquin himself and Level 5 PICP coach Jud Logan. Derek is currently a master course conductor with the Poliquin Strength Institute. derekwoodske.blogspot.com

Mary-Pier Gaudet

Mary-Pier Gaudettalked us through exercise technique and never got tired of correcting our posture and movements as we tried out some new movements. She was great company and I can’t wait to see her again at the biosig in April!

Mary-Pier Gaudet

For more about Mary I recommend you check out this link on http://www.CharlesPoliuqin.com