Over the course of my lifetime, there have been some memorable moments of stupidity.
We watched schools outlaw dodgeball because it was too violent.
We just saw four Somalian pirates think that they can take on the most powerful Navy in the world without even a single eye patch, peg-leg, or parrot in their possession.
We even listened to these enlightened folks talk about leprechauns.
However, none of these poor confused souls can possibly rival the idiocy I saw in an article in the New York Times the other day: doga. Yes, folks, people are not only bringing their dogs along to yoga; they're involving them.
While I think there are certainly some benefits to specific movements within the various disciplines of yoga, I've written previously about some of my concerns with respect to yoga as it's practiced in a general sense. To take this a step further, a few months ago, I was speaking with a brilliant manual therapist who has spent over 15 years treating individuals of all ages and activity levels, and he remarked the of the patients he'd seen, yoga instructors had some of the worst spines he'd ever seen. Well, apparently, a few of them (certainly not a representative sample of the entire discipline) also have also had some serious blunt trauma to the head along the way as well, because this is a flat-out stupid idea.
I feel somewhat qualified to comment on this, as Cressey Performance just so happens to be located right next door to a dog-training facility. Sure, they do regular ol' behavioral classes, but they also train all-out badass pups that do cool stuff like this:
One thing you'll notice in our building is the big wall between our business and theirs. We train people; they train dogs. Our clients use the restrooms inside; theirs crap outside. Our clients are rewarded for their hard work with scholarships, state championships, and big-league debuts; theirs are rewarded with rawhide chewies. Post-workout shakes taste a lot different than Milk Bones. There is no door in the wall between our businesses, and there certainly isn't a doggy door.
I can understand wanting to spend time with your dog, but isn't taking him for a walk/run or to play fetch good enough? I mean, what's going to happen when 120-pound rottweilers start demanding to drink $7 Starbucks mocha lattes and watch Desperate Housewives?
And, for every ten schnauzers that go soft, there is going to be one Boston Terrier that refuses to put up with that crap and decides to bit off an ear - or ten. You saw what happened this past weekend when that crazy German lady tried to "be one" with the polar bears, didn't you?
Just imagine how pissed they would have been if she'd tried to convince them to do "poga" (polar bear yoga). If you think crazy cat (and polar bear) ladies are weird, then just wait until this doga propaganda spreads among the whack-job villagers near you.
Seriously, consider the logic behind this. The picture in the article alone says it all. If end-range lumbar hyperextension is bad, then the only logical way to make it harder is to load it with a 19-pound shih tzu. However, the crappy training effect doesn't just apply to you; it also extends to your dog.
As I outlined in my e-book, The Truth About Unstable Surface Training, there may be some serious long-term ramifications to replacing even as little as 2-3% of total training volume with unstable surface training. Because canine activities occur almost exclusively in closed-chain motion, having a dog train on top of a human (unstable surface) undermines the crucial concept of specificity. I'm no veterinarian, but I have to assume that dogs pronate, and this could lead to too much of it. And, there is nothing more ferocious than a dog with achilles tendinosis.
What would I know, though? I only train people.
Hip pain - particularly of the anterior (front of the hip) variety - is a very common problem in the weight training population.
In her book, Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes, Shirley Sahrmann discusses Femoral Anterior Glide Syndrome in excellent detail. And, while it may seem like an obscure diagnosis, it's actually a really common inefficiency we see in a weight training population.
In order to understand this syndrome, you have to appreciate the attachment points and functions of the hamstrings and gluteus maximus. With the hamstrings, you'll notice that they attach to the ischial tuberosity of the pelvis (with the exception of the short head of the biceps femoris, which attaches on the femur), and then run down to a point inferior to (below) the knee. In other words, they are a two-joint muscle group. All of the hamstrings aid in knee flexion, and all but the short head of the biceps femoris also aid in hip extension.
Conversely, the glutes attach on the pelvis and the femur; they're a one-joint muscle - and this is why they can so directly impact hip health.
You see, when the hamstrings extend the hip (imagine the hip motion that happens when one comes out of the bottom of a squat), they do so in a "gross" fashion. In other words, the entire leg extends. In the process, there is little control over the movement of the femoral head ("ball" in the "ball-and-socket" hip joint) - and it tends to migrate forward during hip extension, giving you a femoral anterior glide syndrome. In the process, it can irritate the anterior joint capsule, and this irritation can give a sensation of tightness in the front of the hip.
Fortunately, the glutes can help prevent the problem. Thanks to their point of attachment on the superior aspect of the femur (closer to the hip), they have more direct control over the femur as it extends on the hip. As a result, they can posteriorly pull the femoral head during hip extension. So, in an ideal world, you get effective co-contraction of the hamstrings and glutes as one extends the hip; they are a system of checks and balances on one another. If you use the hamstrings too much in hip extension, you're just waiting to develop not only femoral anterior glide syndrome, but also hamstrings and adductor magnus (groin) strains and extension-based back pain.
As an aside, this hamstrings/glutes relationship is somewhat analogous to what you see at the shoulder with the subscapularis posteriorly pulling the humeral head as the infraspinatus and teres minor allow it to drift forward. That's another newsletter altogether, though!
Once the femoral anterior glide issue is in place, the first course of action is to stop aggressively stretching the hip flexors. While the issue gives a sensation of hip flexor "tightness," in reality, stretching the area only exacerbates the anterior hip pain. A better bet is to just ditch the stretching for a few days, and instead incorporate extra glute activation work. Eventually, though, one can reintegrate both static and dynamic hip flexor stretches.
Just as importantly, it's important to identify the causes. We'll see this issue in runners who have no glute function, but more commonly, I'll see it in a weight training population that doesn't understand how to complete hip extension. Here's what a hamstrings-dominant hip extension pattern would look like with squatting.
The final portion of hip extension is when the glutes are most active, so it's important to "pop the hips through" at lockout of deadlifts, squats, pull-throughs, and other exercises like these. In the same squat example, it's really just as simple as standing tall:
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to hip issues in athletes, but it's definitely something we see quite a bit. If you'd like to learn more, I'd highly recommend you check out our Functional Stability Training series, particularly the Lower Body and Optimizing Movement editions. They're on sale for 25% off through tonight (Cyber Monday) at midnight.
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Hey Gang,
It's a busy day around here as I try to catch up from the holiday weekend and finalize tax stuff, but luckily, I have a little content for you. This article from Brendan Hall in the Boston Globe features several Cressey Performance Athletes; check it out!
For High School Pitchers, No Grace Period
I'll be back soon with more blog content. Additionally, you might want to check out something new Joel Marion has up his sleeve. Joel's methods are definitely non-traditional, but it is hard to argue with results, and he has gotten them consistently for years with loads of clients. Check it out HERE.
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
EC
1. On Monday, pretty much every baseball game in the state of Massachusetts was rained out. To our delight, we had three of our high school baseball player show up at 2:30PM (they had the last period of school free) race in to get in training sessions before they headed to their 4:30PM indoor practice (in lieu of the game).
These guys actually thought that the game was going to be played the next day, so they were planning on having lighter days in the gym. When I informed them that the game had actually been pushed back to May, one of them looked up at me and said, "So that means I can just go crazy today?"
That, folks, is how you make a strength coach smile. And, it's also how you inspire a Random Friday Thoughts blog on "Things You Can Say to Make a Strength Coach Smile."
a. "I think cottage cheese tastes like poo, but I'm going to eat it anyway, because it'll make me diesel."
b. "I know that distance running is destroying my body, so I'm going to stop for real this time - unlike the last three times I promised to give it up forever." (cough, Steph, cough)
c. "Can you tell Tony to turn this techno crap off?"
2. John Berardi just ran a feature on Howie Clark, from the Toronto Blue Jays system. I just started to work with Howie about two months ago on his in-season training program, and this interview talks a lot about the interaction of his training and nutrition. Check it out HERE.
3. On a related note, here's a cool local article where I got a shout-out recently:
Pitch Count an Inexact Science
4. It wouldn't be baseball season in Boston without a drunk dude busting a move in the stands at Fenway. My girlfriend and I watched it live on Wednesday night and knew it was sure-fire blog material:
5. Here's a little compilation of where Cressey Performance pro baseball guys are starting out this season. If you live in the neighborhood of their ballparks, go check out our guys!
Chad Rodgers (Braves, LHP) - Myrtle Beach, SC
Will Inman (Padres, RHP) - San Antonio, TX
Tim Collins (Blue Jays, LHP) - Dunedin, FL
Shawn Haviland (A's, RHP) - Kane County, IL
Steffan Wilson (Brewers, 1B/3B) - Brevard County (Viera), FL
Steve Hammond (Giants, LHP) - Fresno, CA
CJ Retherford (White Sox, 2B/3B) - Birmingham, AL
Matt Morizio (Royals, C) - Wilmington, DE
Howie Clark (Blue Jays, utility) - Las Vegas, NV
Andy D'Alessio (Giants, 1B) - Norwich, CT
We've got a few more guys in extended spring training and independent ball who should find out their destinations shortly. If you know one of the guys above, though, get out and show 'em some love!
I just wanted to post a quick congratulatory blog for the UCONN women's basketball team, who won the NCAA championship on Tuesday night. And, in the process, they closed the doors on a perfect 39-0 season.
It was pretty darn special for me to watch because I was fortunate to have worked alongside strength and conditioning coach Chris West with the seniors on this squad during their freshmen year on campus in 2005. It's awesome to see how far girls like Renee Montgomery, Kalana Greene, Tahirah Williams, and Cassie Kearns have come.
And, on a more individual note, I'm thrilled that Chris West got his first national championship. Chris has been a great friend and mentor for me since 2003. He does an outstanding job with four teams - men's and women's basketball and soccer - that are perenially among the best in the country. With Chris' abilities and such a top-notch overall program, I'm sure it'll just be the first of many national championship teams with which he'll work.
Congratulations to all the players, coaches, and support staff!
Q: At what point do you think that muscle size affects one's range of motion? Just interested in your thoughts. I'm a golfer and my flexibility is important; there isn't much point for me to be really strong but not able to move properly.
A: Well, it would be joint- and population-specific. On the joint side of things, as an example, the elbow flexors (biceps, to the lay population) and knee flexors (hamstrings) can restrict elbow and knee flexion, respectively, if they get too big. Or, the pecs may inhibit horizontal adduction ROM. This list goes on and on.
I don't feel that simply making a muscle bigger means that you lose range-of-motion in that specific muscle, as the improvements are to cross-sectional area. If this was the case, the elbow flexors would be restricting us in extension, and the pecs would be restricting us in horizontal abduction, but as the examples above show, that's just not happening.
Provided that flexibility training is good, and structural balance is prioritized in programming, there is no reason to believe that you can't be big and flexible.
Now, it's important to consider the sporting population in question. A powerlifter isn't going to need as much mobility as, say, a baseball pitcher. One guy needs to be efficient in a short range of motion, while the other needs to be efficient through a larger range of motion.
In pitchers, external rotation ROM is a good predictive factor for velocity. On top of that, horizontal abduction at stride foot contact is huge, according to the research.
So, in order to have good pitching specific ROM, you need to have adequate length of the muscles that internally rotate and horizontally adduct the shoulders. And, the big muscle that does this is the pectoralis major. Bench until the cows come home, shorten it up, and then you'll lose that ROM.
Now, ask anyone who has ever trained baseball pitchers, and they'll tell you that pitcher gain external rotation over the course of a season simply from throwing. Guys who don't weight-train properly can certainly impede this velocity-aiding adaptation.
This, of course, is an example specific to baseball pitching, and demands would be different for golfers.
We see everything at Cressey Performance. While just about 70% of our clients are baseball players, we also have everything from Olympic bobsledders and boxers, to pro hockey players and triathletes, to 69-year-old men who bang out pull-ups like nobody's business.
Obviously, certain athletic populations have specific weaknesses that need to be addressed. Soccer and hockey players and powerlifters tend to have poor hip internal rotation. Basketball players don't have enough ankle mobility. Baseball pitchers need to pay more attention to scapular stability, posterior rotator cuff strength, and glenohumeral (shoulder) internal rotation range of motion.
Continue Reading...
This week's recommended reading:
LiftStrong- this compilation of writings from dozens of coaches and trainers is fantastic, and I was honored to contribute. Alwyn Cosgrove - a two-time cancer survivor - pulled this great resource together, and all proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. For a small price, you get over 800 pages of content on a CD, and help out a great cause.
Q: I recently came across an article by Nick Tumminello on tests for dynamic abdominal strength, and the primary focus was sit-ups and reverse crunches. Given your regard for training the core as an anti-rotator/resistor of lumbar hyperextension, do you have any thoughts on these testing protocols?
A: First off, Nick is a brilliant guy with some awesome ideas. For those who aren't familiar with him, check out his website, PerformanceU.net.
Moving on to your question, it is interesting that you would ask about this, as Bill Hartman and I had a good email exchange last week where we were talking about just how "functional" most tests are. And, more specifically, we were calling into question just how much particular assessments carry over to the real world of injury prevention and performance enhancement.
A study from Stanton et al. in 2004 is a great example of the divide between testing proficiency and performance. As I noted in my e-book, The Truth About Unstable Surface Training, researchers found that six weeks of stability ball training improved core stability in young athletes - as it was measured (in a manner consistent with the training itself). In other words, this is like saying that bench press training will make you better at bench pressing. Well, duh! The more important question, though, is whether or not that bench press performance will carry over to athletic performance.
And, this is where the intervention in the Stanton et al. study fell short. While their measure of "core stability" improved, it did not effect favorable changes in running economy or running posture, or modify EMG activity of the abdominal or erector spinae muscles. In other words, it didn't carry over.
A comparable result was seen in a study from Tse et al. in 2005. After eight weeks of stability ball training in collegiate rowers, while "core stability" (as they tested it) improved, the experimental (core training) group showed no performance improvements over those who did ZERO core training during this time. And, researcher tested several measures: "vertical jump, broad jump, shuttle run, 40-m sprint, overhead medicine ball throw, 2,000-m maximal rowing ergometer test."
So, with respect to your question, I think the question is: do those sit-up and reverse crunch progressions matter for an athlete who spends his/her life in the standing position? Wouldn't they have more predictive value with respect to performance in a mixed martial arts population that spends a significant amount of time in the supine position in competitive situations? Interestingly, Nick has extensive experience with mixed martial artists, and that is probably why he's seen such strong predictive value from those tests.
Additionally, these issues are worthy of consideration in an athletic population where fatigue is a big issue. Does an assessment in a rested state necessarily carry over to a situation where movements may change under fatigue? Bill wrote a great blog on this topic HERE.
Food for thought; never take anything at face value. As with almost everything you'll encounter in the world of fitness, the answer is "maybe" or "it depends." You have to know how to assess and program accordingly.
Maximum Strength Feedback
I just got the following feedback on the Maximum Strength program from a trainer who recently completed it:
"Body Weight 202--> 207
Bench 305--> 335
Broad Jump 99" --> 104"
Back Squat 315 --> 355
Deadlift 335 --> 370
Chin Ups 202+60=262 --> 207+90 = 297
I had two big 'uh-huh' moments when going through this program. (You have been preaching these forever, but it did not truly hit me until the third phase of the program)
1) Improving my ankle and hip mobility was the key to improving my squat and deadlift numbers.
2) Increasing my pulling power was the key to improving my bench press.
As a trainer, I had too much pride to ever follow anyone else's program. I am glad I finally decided to check my ego and follow your program."
Pick up your copy of Maximum StrengthHERE.
New Blog ContentIt's the Most Wonderful Time of the YearStatic Posture Assessment Mistakes: Part 2Pitchers vs. Quarterbacks vs. SwimmersRandom Friday Thoughts
All the Best,
EC
