Posted on Friday, 3rd July 2009 by Eric Cressey
PR this morning. Guess I ought to go for 700 soon, huh?
Have a great holiday weekend!
Tags: Deadlift
Posted in Blog | Comments (4)
Posted on Friday, 3rd July 2009 by Eric Cressey
1. First off, I want to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July! Of course, that doesn’t mean much for the 36% of this blog’s readers from other countries. So, to you, I’ll simply say “HA! You have to work today! Don’t you wish you were American?”
Oh, wait; I’m seeing 30+ athletes today before heading north for the holiday. I guess the joke is on me.
2. The wedding is set for October 3, 2010. I have put it on my calendar for my fiancee to remind me about it on October 1, 2010 in case I get preoccupied, as I’ve been known to do. Just kidding, honey!
3. THIS might be the coolest study I’ve ever seen. Basically, it said that male patient visits to the emergency room decline immediately prior to, during, and after major sporting events. And you thought being a soccer hooligan was bad for your health!
4. Keeping with the study theme, check out this study that looked at how fatigue impacted single-leg landings. Basically, researchers single-leg squatted athletes until the cows came home, inducing fatigue on ONE SIDE - which, obviously, negatively affected landing strategies. Interestingly, though, they noticed that landings on the OPPOSITE side were also negatively impacted. In other words, we aren’t just talking about muscular fatigue; central fatigue is also hugely important. Kind of makes you wonder why more people don’t drill landing mechanics hard on the UNINJURED side in post-ACL reconstruction patients, huh?
For more on testing with fatigue in mind, check out this blog post from Bill Hartman. And, for more on ACL injury prevention strategies, check out Bulletproof Knees.
5. Different project, but more filming next weekend. I’m going to enjoy the holiday and then get back to work…lots of work.
Have a great weekend!
Tags: ACL, Knee Pain
Posted in Blog | Comments (1)
Posted on Thursday, 2nd July 2009 by Eric Cressey
Check out this article on Cressey Performance athlete Danny O’Connor in today’s Boston Globe. Danny ran his professional boxing record to 7-0 this past weekend, and the story talks a bit about our work with him.
Punching his Ticket in the Pros
Tags: Add new tag, boxing, Cressey Performance, Danny O'Connor
Posted in Blog | Comments (1)
Posted on Wednesday, 1st July 2009 by Eric Cressey
Of course not - but, at least the title caught your attention!
Truthfully, as my fiancee can attest, I don’t understand much about women, but I do know a bit about training them. In fact, I devoted my entire 100th newsletter to this topic; you can check it out HERE. And, I’ve watched this scene at least 147 times, taking careful notes each time, so I think I have all the relevant anatomy covered.
At risk of digressing, though, the main purpose of this blog post is to give my local female readers a heads-up on a new offering at Cressey Performance: the CP Women’s Training Group. In case you find me to be boring in describing it, check out Tony Gentilcore’s blog from the other day, as he goes into more pertinent and impertinent detail. Here’s the basic idea:
1. Women gather at CP to commence training twice a week for 75 minutes per session (or however long it takes to achieve uber-awesome status for the day; we really aren’t that picky with time).
2. Prior to said training, women go through a series of flexibility and stability screens, and technique instruction - and are given individualized programming.
3. During said training, women not only get leaner, stronger, and healthier, but also get nutrition education - and generally, at least one or two rants from Tony on what the latest made-up media garbage is with respect to fitness.
4. Said women leave said training happy. They may even make new friends and opt to pose in front of the CP logo, engaged in a collective smile.
In addition to our previous female clients, we’ve already got several ladies started up, including some of the CP athlete Moms who thought we were all about only baseball training baseball players. Truth be told, they’re getting stronger, leaner, and healthier already, and pretty soon, they’ll be throwing dirty fastballs, too (okay, I’m kidding about the last part).
For more information on the group - including a cool one-time only start-up special, drop my business partner Pete an email at cresseyperformance@gmail.com, or give us a call in the office at 978-212-2688.
PS - If you’re still hesitant, check out what some current clients have to say about CP (for the record, they encouraged us to post their ages; we aren’t that insensitive):
“I have trained with the CP team for almost two years now, and I can honestly say they are my favorite people to be around and train with. They are all well educated in their fields of training, diet, and nutrition. I travel over 45 minutes to Hudson to every Saturday to get my dose of informed training, humor, and camaraderie. It’s a bit of a drive for me, but I do it because these guys are special. I have never regretted the day I walked into CP and started lifting. I would encourage any women out there, at any age, to do the same.”
Deb DiRocco, 50- Reading, MA
“When I began training at Cressey Performance my ultimate goal to was to “fit into my jeans.” A year and a half later I have not only surpassed my goal, but have also discovered a newfound appreciation for weight training. The staff at CP are always positive, energetic, and patient with every one of their clients (take my word for it!). “
Michelle Elwell, 32-Cambridge, MA
Again, that’s cresseyperformance@gmail.com, or 978-212-2688. Hope to see some of you at the facility!
Tags: Cressey Performance, Female Fitness, Female Weight Training
Posted in Blog | Comments (4)
Posted on Tuesday, 30th June 2009 by Eric Cressey
As many of you probably already know, I flew out to Indianapolis on Friday night to spend the weekend shooting a new DVD with Bill Hartman and Mike Robertson. Suffice it to say that we are all pleased with how it turned out and excited for the release. Basically, here’s what you’re looking at…
- 27 dynamic SELF-assessments (meaning that you can do them yourself - no partner needed)
- A Full-on Static Assessment Guide
- Approximately 78 corrective exercises for improving mobility and stability - based entirely on the results of the aforementioned assessments. In other words, you assess, and then you are pointed in a specific direction to correct these issues. You’ll learn how to integrate some of the exercises from Magnificent Mobility and Inside-Out in comprehensive progressions - plus loads of new drills along the way.
- A Written Collection of Warm-ups specific to certain athletic populations
- A Complete Guide to Self-Soft Tissue Work - and a rationale for it
- A Comprehensive Static Stretching Guide
You know the project is legit because of this picture of Lance, our demonstrator.
First, he’s exhausted, which means that there are loads of exercises. Second, he actually ended up with pit stains from the experience, so these aren’t just foo-foo exercises; they take things up a notch at the “top” of each progression (particularly if you do them for six hours, as Lance did on Saturday). Third, you just have to love a DVD set that uses a guy with deadlifting bruises on his shins as the model. Talk about attitude!
For more on the weekend, check out Lance’s Blog.
Needless to say, we’re stoked about this. There isn’t a definitive time-table on the product’s release, but you can be the first to find out about it by subscribing to my newsletter through the opt-in box on the right sidebar of this page.
Tags: Bill Hartman, Mike Robertson
Posted in Blog | Comments (8)
Posted on Monday, 29th June 2009 by Eric Cressey
Here’s this week’s list of great reads:
If We Know We Shouldn’t, Why Do We Still? - This blog post from Dr. Jason Harris is a fantastic commentary on the overuse of diagnostic imaging - particularly with lower back pain patients - and the negative impacts these diagnostic results can have on patient outcomes and ease of treatment. I learned about Dr. Harris’ blog through Mike Reinold and have been a regular reader every since; the information is fantastic (THIS was by far my favorite post; very good info).
The True Role of the Rhomboids - This is an old newsletter from some guy named Cressey. Not sure if he knows his arse from his elbow.
Five Pounds is Gold - I really liked this article from Myles Kantor. It’s short, but makes an outstanding point - using world-record deadlifter Andy Bolton as the example.
Tags: andy bolton, jason harris, Mike Reinold, Shoulder Pain
Posted in Blog | Comments (1)
Posted on Friday, 26th June 2009 by Eric Cressey
1. I’m writing this on Thursday night as Bill Hartman, Mike Robertson, and I collaborate across several states (them in IN, and me in MA) to finalize the plan of attack for the DVD we’ll be filming out in Indy on Saturday. We’re really struggling to decide which of the following two costumes we want Mike to wear.
I supposed we could just dress him up as a viking with tassels and get the best of both worlds. I guess you’ll just have to buy the DVD to find out for yourself.
2. I just read this week that researchers here in Boston are going to be looking into why girls hate guys who listen to techno the role of Vitamin D and fish oil in reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease, and strokes.
3. We are going to be revamping the Cressey Performance website pretty soon, so be sure to keep an eye on it in the weeks to come.
4. Speaking of CP, a huge congratulations goes out to Cressey Performance athletes Sahil Bloom and Justin Quinn, who were both named to the Spring 2009 Boston Globe All-Scholastic Team.
From the write-up: “Bloom was MVP of the Dual County League Small, posting a 6-0 record with 3 saves, a 0.90 ERA, and 61 strikeouts in 46‚ innings. He finished his career 22-6 with a 1.95 ERA.” And, “Quinn was MVP and won the batting title in the Dual County League Large, batting .488 with five home runs. The four-year starter finished his career with a .386 average and 20 home runs.” Nice job, fellas!
5. I absolutely LOVED Alwyn Cosgrove’s contribution to the latest Mythbusters article at T-Nation this week. If you are a treadmill-aholic or know someone who is, definitely give it a read.
6. If I get one more email this week from someone trying to sell me a supplement in a pyramiding scheme, I’m going to flip my s**t. If you need a pyramiding scheme to sell something, then it’s a crap product in the first place. And, if you have people who know NOTHING about the product they’re pushing, then you have an entirely crap business model, too.
Actually, now that I think about it, these supplement pitch emails are amusing. I might start posting them as blogs to discuss the commonalities of cheeseball supplement pimps - as I began to cover in item #13 HERE.
Off to Indy tonight. Hopefully those pleasant, patient Midwestern folks can calm me down. Have a great weekend!
Tags: Alwyn Cosgrove, Cressey Performance, Fish Oil, justin quinn, Sahil Bloom, Vitamin D
Posted in Blog | Comments (2)
Posted on Wednesday, 24th June 2009 by Eric Cressey
CP intern Roger Lawson is perhaps best known for his fish-flop into the net at the end of a intern hazing medley, but it turns out, he is also a world-class Rock, Paper, Scissors competitor. Check him out dominating at the World Championships (he is the one in the red shirt and American flag bandana). It’s no wonder that all the ladies throw themselves at Roger…
Posted in Blog | Comments (5)
Posted on Tuesday, 23rd June 2009 by Eric Cressey
I got this question the other day and thought I’d share my response:
Q: When significant improvements in flexibility are either desired or needed, do you have any general suggestions with regard to what method(s) and type of schedule set-up (frequency, duration of session, etc.) would help accomplish this in the most timely and efficient manner possible?
A: As always, my answer would be “it depends.” And, more specifically, it depends on whether you are talking about short or stiff tissue.
If a tissue is legitimately short - meaning that it has lost sarcomeres due to chronic immobilization - longer duration holds are ideal. Bill Hartman and Mike Robertson go into great detail in covering this in the Indianapolis Performance Enhancement DVD Set, as I noted HERE.
If you are dealing with someone with capsular issues (outside the scope of practice of the personal trainers and strength coaches out there, in most cases), then you might just leave them alone with 15 minutes of low-load passive stretching (e.g., theraband wrapped around a DB to hold the shoulder in external rotation after a period in a sling). Going back to our “loss of sarcomeres” scenario, if you’re dealing with something more muscular-only issues, the least you’ll want is five 30s holds throughout the day, in my experience. Or, if feeling bold, you can have people set up for 3×5min holds or 1×15min hold. In both cases, total duration over the course of the day is likely more important than duration per stretch.
If it’s stiff, in order to get it to relax, you likely need to train an adjacent tissue that acts as a synergist. A good example would be strengthening the lower traps to take the stress off chronically overused upper traps and the stiff neck that follows. Or, we have activating the glutes to take the stress off the lumbar erectors and/or hamstrings and adductor magnus. Here is a great blog post from Bill Hartman that closely illustrates the point that you don’t necessarily have to stretch a muscle to reduce its stiffness.
Of course, you can never go wrong with integrating a good dynamic warm-up program prior to exercise, as this option challenges both range-of-motion and stability to provide a comprehensive training effect in a matter of minutes.
So, in the end, it’s different strokes for different folks - at different times, with different issues. Keep an eye out for an upcoming project from Bill, Mike, and I that really delves into this in great detail. It’ll be the most comprehensive resource out there for self-assessment and corrective exercise.
Tags: Back Pain, Bill Hartman, Flexibility, Mike Robertson, Neck Pain, Shoulder Pain, Stretching, tight hamstrings
Posted in Blog | Comments (0)
Posted on Monday, 22nd June 2009 by Eric Cressey
Just a quick blog announcement today for those of you who are in New England - or are motivated enough to travel to watch some good boxing.
CP athlete Danny O’Connor looks to take his professional record to 7-0 this Saturday night at The Roxy in Boston when he fights on a great card. There will be loads of CP athletes in attendance, and I’d encourage you to check it out and show Danny some love. For more information, check out Cappiello Promotions.
Tags: boxing, Danny O'Connor
Posted in Blog | Comments (0)
