No piece of fitness equipment is a magic wand and no book, DVD, or workshop is a secret recipe. It doesn’t work that way. When you get a new piece of equipment, you have to use it a lot and use it well in order to get results. If it collects dust in your corner, then you only have yourself to blame. A DVD won’t help you get fit if you never watch it and do the workouts on it. Having a DVD or book sit on your shelf doesn’t get you in shape. Likewise, a workshop, seminar, or certification is only useful if you put in the time practicing what you learned and making it your own.
Before I went to the IKFF certification, I bought all of Steve Cotter’s DVDs and spent hours every day preparing for the cert. By the time I got there, I was ready for the challenges he threw at me and I was able to pick up even more because I was prepared.
After we brought Steve Maxwell over for his first certification last year, I also bought all of his DVDs because I was so impressed and then spent time doing his routines and exercising as he suggested. I did this in order to take his material and make it my own. You own the material by practicing it yourself and finding your own version of it.
Don’t blame the equipment, the DVD, or the seminar if you don’t do your homework. The producer has the responsibility to put out the best product they can. The rest of the responsibility rests on you.