Thursday is Major League Baseball Opening Day, an event that's always circled on the calendars of just about anyone in the baseball world. We're excited to see all our pro players back on the field in games that count!
To celebrate, I've put my resource, Sturdy Shoulder Solutions, on sale for $40 off through this upcoming Sunday (4/10) at midnight.
This has been one of my most popular resources of all time, and it's particularly useful if you work with baseball players. Don't miss out on this great chance to pick it up at an excellent discount. Just head to www.SturdyShoulders.com and enter the coupon code APRIL22 at checkout to get the discount.
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Today's guest post comes from the team at Examine.com, my top resource for cutting-edge research in health and performance. As a member, I get monthly updates/summaries on a variety of topics in this regard - and it's been invaluable for helping me to stay on top of what's new in my field.
This post is timely, as they have a 30% off sale to celebrate the 13th anniversary of their site launching (you can learn more HERE). In today's post, they touch on a popular - but often misunderstood- supplement: branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). Enjoy! -EC
Given the importance of protein for exercise, branched chain amino acids (BCAAs; isoleucine, leucine, and valine), which contribute heavily to muscle synthesis, are commonly marketed by supplement companies as being able to provide benefits for resistance training performance, recovery, and body composition. Are they effective, or a waste of money?
The Study
This systematic review of 12 randomized controlled trials assessed the effects of BCAA supplementation on physical performance, muscle damage, and body composition.
Studies that met the following criteria were included:
Assessed healthy people who were at least 18 years old, without chronic disease.
Utilized BCAA supplementation in isolation compared to a matched control group.
Assessed physical performance, muscle damage, or body composition as an outcome.
The sample size of the included studies ranged from 9 to 46, with an average of about 22 participants per study. The studies were published between 2008 to 2018, and study length varied from 1 day to 8 weeks. The average BCAA dose was 19.5 grams per day and was compared to either water, carbohydrate, artificial sweetener, or taurine (a non-essential amino acid). Ten of the studies recruited nonathlete participants, one recruited experienced runners, and one recruited soccer and rugby athletes.
Blood Parameters
Eight studies assessed the effects of BCAA supplementation on blood parameters associated with muscle damage. Seven of them assessed creatine kinase (CK), three assessed lactate dehydrogenase, two assessed lactate, two assessed aldolase, and one article assessed myoglobin and interleukin 6 (IL-6).
Of the seven studies assessing CK, three reported a decrease in CK in the BCAA group compared to placebo following an exercise protocol designed to induce muscle damage (24, 72–96, and 48 hours after exercise in each study, respectively).[4][11][12]
Of the three studies assessing lactate dehydrogenase and of the two studies assessing aldolase, one reported that both markers were lower 72 and 96 hours after an exercise protocol designed to induce muscle damage in a BCAA group, compared to placebo.[11]
Of the two studies assessing lactate, one found that it was lower in the BCAA group than the placebo group immediately after a cycling exercise protocol.[6]
The only study assessing myoglobin and IL-6 found no effect of BCAAs following an exercise protocol designed to induce muscle damage.[2]
Body Composition
Two studies evaluated participant body weight and lean mass. One of these studies found that BCAAs prevented body weight and lean mass loss during an 8-week calorie-restricted diet, compared to a control group consuming a carbohydrate supplement.[9] Notably, the supplement used in the study demonstrating an effect of BCAAs also contained 1,000 mg of citrulline malate and 2,500 mg of L-glutamine. The placebo was a standard electrolyte sports beverage.
Performance:
Repetitions performed: Three studies assessed repetitions performed, one of which reported that the BCAA group performed more squat exercise repetitions than a placebo group. The same study reported improvements in body composition.[9]
Total distance performed: Two studies assessed distanced performed, with no differences between groups in either study.
Strength: Five studies assessed strength, one of which reported a greater increase in 3RM strength on squats and bench press in the BCAA group, compared to the placebo group. The same study reported improvements in body composition.[9]
Vertical jump: Three studies assessed vertical jump performance, none of which found an effect of BCAAs.
Power: Three studies assessed power, none of which found an effect of BCAAs.
Perceived exertion: Two studies assessed perceived exertion, one of which found an improvement at 75 and 90 minutes during a cycling protocol in a group consuming BCAAs, compared to a group consuming a carbohydrate-based electrolyte beverage.[3]
Muscle soreness: Six studies assessed muscle soreness and pain, four of which found a reduction in subjective muscle pain in groups consuming BCAAs, compared to a placebo.[2][4][7][11] One reported an effect of BCAAs, as compared to an artificially-sweetened beverage 48 and 72 hours following an eccentric exercise protocol.[2] A second study reported that BCAAs reduced muscle soreness 24 and 48 hours after an exercise protocol designed to induce muscle damage, compared to an artificially-sweetened beverage.[4] A third study reported that consuming BCAAs with taurine reduced muscle soreness 48 hours after an exercise protocol designed to induce muscle damage as compared to a carbohydrate-based placebo,[7] and in another study, consuming BCAAs before an eccentric bicep curl protocol reduced muscle soreness at 72 and 96 hours, as compared to a starch-based placebo.[11]
Note
While several studies demonstrated positive effects of BCAAs, several points must be considered:
The background protein intake of the participants probably moderated the benefits of BCAAs. Since BCAAs are three essential amino acids, and therefore found in protein food sources, BCAAs might be less useful for individuals already consuming adequate protein. Of the eight studies reporting benefits of BCAAs, three did not utilize a dietary control or report participants’ total protein intake, only requiring that participants maintain their usual dietary habits, [4] [11][7] and another study did not control participants’ dietary intakes nor provide information on their intake.[6] In one study, participants maintained an overall protein intake of about 1.2 grams per kg of body weight per day (g/kg/day), which the authors noted was lower than the recommended range for resistance training individuals (1.4–2.0 g/kg/day).[12] Another study utilized a calorie and carbohydrate-restricted diet, providing 35–40% of calories from protein.[9] One study asked participants to maintain their habitual intake while assessing their calorie and macronutrient intake during the study, reporting that the BCAA group derived about 69% of total energy from carbohydrates, while information was not provided on fat or protein intake.[3] One study provided all food to participants, providing 1.5 g/kg/day of protein to both BCAA and placebo groups.[2]
None of the studies compared BCAAs to another source of amino acids (e.g., a protein supplement or protein from food) except for one study utilizing both taurine and starch in comparator groups.[7]
Even if BCAAs were to provide a small benefit on markers of muscle damage or soreness, using BCAAs for this purpose might become redundant if training volume is managed appropriately to avoid excessive muscle damage in the first place.
The Big Picture
Several other review papers have been published assessing the utility of BCAAs for resistance-trained individuals. Here are a few that were published recently:
A 2021 meta-analysis[13] previously reviewed in Study Summaries assessing the effects of BCAAs on muscle soreness and markers of muscle damage found that BCAA supplementation reduced CK levels at less than 24 hours after exercise, as well as 24 and 48 hours after exercise, while improving muscle soreness at less than 24 hours only. However, the observed effects were small.
A 2021 narrative review[14] assessing the effects of BCAAs on muscle strength and hypertrophy concluded that “... the proposed benefits of BCAA used in the marketing of supplements appears to be at odds with the overall state of the current literature, which does not support the efficacy of supplementation on muscle strength and hypertrophy."
A 2017 meta-analysis[15] assessing the effects of BCAAs on muscle soreness and markers of muscle damage, reported that BCAAs reduces CK at less than 24 hours and 24 hours after exercise compared to a placebo, with no effects on lactate dehydrogenase or muscle soreness.
In a 2017 systematic review[16] assessing the effects of BCAAs on markers of muscle damage, 6 of 11 studies reported a beneficial effect of BCAAs.
At the end of the day, limited evidence suggests that BCAAs might reduce muscle soreness and indirect markers of muscle damage in resistance-training people. However, studies demonstrating the benefits of BCAAs utilized non-protein comparator groups, and often failed to report information on participants’ total protein intake. BCAAs probably don’t have utility for people already consuming adequate protein and managing training volume appropriately.
Note: We'll link to the studies referenced in this article in the first comment below.
Wrap-up
If you're looking for more detailed reviews like this, I'd strongly encourage you to check out Examine.com. Their membership offering is second-to-none and is something I review every month to stay on top of the latest research. And, it's on sale for 30% off through Monday to celebrate their 13th anniversary. You can learn more HERE.
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Today's guest post comes from Cressey Sports Performance - Massachusetts coach, Josh Zall.
The 1-Leg Supine Bridge with Hamstrings Catch is an exercise we’ve been prescribing more frequently of late with a lot of our more advanced athletes at Cressey Sports Performance. A dynamic “drop-catch” offers an array of benefits for all athletes regardless of their chosen athletic endeavor.
Important Considerations:
When an athlete who is young, untrained, or generally hypermobile dives into this movement without the ability to adequately decelerate, it can be too challenging to drive a valuable adaptation. For an exercise that starts in a static position and quickly transitions into a dynamic movement that requires coordination, making sure the athlete is proficient in general hamstring strength and motor control is key.
The ability to get into and hold a single-leg bridge is the only true prerequisite for prescribing this movement in a program.
Benefits:
The exposure to a co-contraction is one of the biggest prizes of this movement. A co-contraction is a simultaneous contraction of the agonist and antagonist muscles to stabilize a joint against opposing forces, and the ability to create a co-contraction is a key for joint and connective tissue health for athletes. With hamstring strains plaguing athletes of all sports, having the ability to create a unilateral co-contraction and create concentric activity with the hamstring in a lengthened position is vital for lower limb health (think initial contact and take-off phase of a sprint; front foot strike in a pitcher’s delivery; or any side shuffles).
Something important to keep in mind is that co-contractions are not a central nervous system phenomenon, so exposing your body to situations where you need to co-contract while fatigued is important for connective tissue health. With that being said, this is an exercise that I typically program for an athlete as accessory work or in a movement (sprint/agility) day in their program - usually for 4-8 reps per set.
A simple way to regress to this movement would be to not allow for excessive knee extension on the catch. The opposite would be true when progressing this movement -- “catching” at end-range or close to end-range knee extension would increase the difficulty.
Enjoy!
About the Author
Josh Zall serves as a Strength and Conditioning coach at Cressey Sports Performance. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Sport and Movement Science at Salem State University, and has internship coaching experience from both CSP-MA and Saint John's Preparatory Academy in Danvers, MA.
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With my last post, I kicked off the "Best of 2021" series with my top articles of the year. Today, we'll highlight the top five videos of the year.
1. Cross-Behind 1-arm Cable Row with Alternate Arm Reach - Courtesy of the imagination of Cressey Sports Performance – Florida co-founder Shane Rye, the cross-behind 1-arm cable row is a new horizontal pulling variation we’ve been using quite a bit in 2021. I elaborated on why that's the case here.
2. Band-Assisted Vertical Jump - Drew Cobin authored a great guest post on where this can fit into a power training program; check it out here.
3. 1-arm, 1-leg Kettlebell Swing with Rack Assistance - Published just lack week with an assist from CSP coach Josh Kuester, this one became an instant hit. Learn more about it here.
4. Prone External Rotation End-Range Lift-off to Internal Rotation - Many rotator cuff exercises focus on building strength/motor control/timing in positions that aren’t specific to the throwing motion, but this one forces overhead athletes to be proficient in positions that really matter.
5. Understanding and Measuring Passive Range of Motion - Measuring passive range of motion is a crucial step in any thorough movement assessment. However, it’s often – both intentionally and unintentionally – measured inappropriately.
I'll be back soon with the top podcasts of 2021!
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With 2021 winding down, I'm using this last week of the year to direct you to some of the most popular content of the past 12 months at EricCressey.com, as this "series" has been quite popular over the past few years. Today, we start with the most popular articles of the year; these are the pieces that received the most traffic, according to my hosting statistics.
1. An Overlooked Function of Serratus Anterior- If you've followed my work for just about any length of time, you've probably quickly learned that I pay a lot of attention to serratus anterior for its profound impact on upper extremity function. And, this article was no exception.
3. 5 Lessons from a First-Round Draft Pick- In the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft, Cressey Sports Performance had 15 athletes selected – including three of the top 30 picks. Here are some important lessons you can learn from one of them.
5. Thinking Beyond Diagnostic Imaging - In the past, I've written about the need for both "Medical" and "Movement" diagnoses. In reality, there might be a middle ground that helps to unify the two - and I discuss it in this article.
I'll be back soon with another "Best of 2021" feature. Up next, the top videos of the year!
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Today's guest post comes from Cressey Sports Performance - Florida coach, Josh Kuester.
In some cases, baseball players (especially pitchers) are told that they are fragile, and consequently a heavy dose of “corrective exercises” are handed out. But throwing a baseball is the fastest motion in sports, and hitting a baseball might be the most challenging task in all of sports. Baseball players are not merely finesse athletes; they are power athletes. I love integrating exercises that challenge both of these ends of the spectrum to some degree, and the 1-arm, 1-leg Kettlebell Swing with Rack Assistance is a perfect example.
Here are four reasons why I like this exercises with some of my thoughts as to how I might implement this variation with athletes:
1. Beauty in Simplicity
For coaches who train large groups of athletes with limited time (and/or resources), you understand that there is beauty in simplicity. Additionally, for baseball players, I think simplicity in the weight room is really important because their sport is highly complex. For a long time, CSP has been implementing medicine ball training as a staple for power development. There are numerous benefits to medicine ball training: plane specific power, fascial system development, lower and upper half connection. However, one element that might be overlooked is that throwing a medicine ball is relatively simple, and simple exercises have higher intent. The learning curve on the 1-Arm, 1-Leg KB Swing with Rack Assistance is very low and allows athletes to move a moderate load on a single leg with high intensity.
2. Unilateral and Sagittal Power Development
While the 1-Arm, 1-Leg KB Swing with Rack Assistance is more of a sagittal plane exercise, it is a unilateral variation and baseball is a unilateral sport. Additionally, in the early to mid-off season, we are not aggressively going after large volumes of transverse plane power development. In many cases, we are re-establishing sagittal plane mechanics before progressing to more frontal and transverse plane power exercises later in the off-season.
3. Contrast Training
Contrast training is something that we use at CSP from time to time. In short, contrast training is using a variety of exercises (anywhere from 2-4) that hit different points on the force/velocity curve to potentiate the neuromuscular system to produce more force. I like this variation because it fits in the rather large gap between absolute strength and absolute speed on the force-velocity cure.
This variation will fit nicely in a contrast training cluster of:
1. Safety Squat Bar Split-Squat from Pins 2. 1-Arm, 1-Leg KB Swing with Rack Assistance
3. Split-Squat Cycle Jumps
4. Band-Assisted Split Squat Cycle Jumps
Or:
1. 1-Arm, 1-Leg KB Swing with Rack Assistance
2. 1-Leg Broad Jump with 2-Leg Stick
4. Heel Connection
Pitchers and hitters alike often discuss the concept of “heel connection” and wanting to feel the ground. Staying connected in the back hip allows for better sequencing of hip and thoracic rotation when throwing/hitting, which results in more efficient transfer of energy from back-side to front-side. If an athlete gets into the ball of their foot too early, it can influence the magnitude and direction in which they apply force. I love this variation because it forces the athlete to feel the ground, and because the load is moderate, it forces the athlete to have heel reference; otherwise they will lose balance.
Final Thoughts on Performing and Implementing this Exercise
1. This is an exercise that I would only use for an athlete with a moderate to high training
age.
2. Pick a weight that you would use for a single leg RDL.
3. The added stability of holding the rack allows for high intent/speed with a moderate load.
4. The stabilizing hand should be just above hip height.
5. I prefer to have athletes perform this barefoot or in minimalist sneakers so that the athlete can feel the ground.
About the Author
Josh Kuester serves as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at CSP-FL. He began his collegiate career playing baseball at DIII UW-Whitewater where he played middle infield. After an injury plagued freshman and sophomore season, he ended up pursuing his bachelors from the University of Wisconsin and his masters from UW-Stevens Point. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and a board-certified Athletic Trainer (ATC). He has been a strength coach at the high school and collegiate level. In addition, he has coached various ages of travel baseball for Impact Sports Academy, a club baseball program out of De Pere, Wisconsin. From the fall of 2020 to the spring 2021 he served as a Sports Medicine intern at Northwestern University where he primarily worked with the football team. You can follow him on Instagram at @JoshKuester.
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With December upon us, we've got some new designs available for holiday gifts with CSP logos. Specifically, our classic Elite Baseball Development Home Plate Logo t-shirt is now available in four colors: black, military green, navy, and sand. They're $24.99 + shipping/handling:
Finally, we recently introduced Cressey Sports Performance headbands. They're available in five different colors/styles (top to bottom, below): red camo, black/red blend, black camo, white, and black):
They are $15 each or five for $60.
Purchase Individually: Please note the style you'd like in the comments/special instructions box at checkout.
Bundle Purchase (5 for the price of four, so one of each color)
Just like everyone else on the planet, I'm offering some great Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. We're just going to kick it off a week early so you have time to sort through it all! From now through next Monday (11/29) at midnight, you can get 25% off the following resources by using the coupon code BF2021EC at checkout.
These eight resources can be purchased through my secure website:
Sturdy Shoulder Solutions- My most recent product release delves going into a ton of depth on some important topics with respect to upper extremity evaluation, programming, and training. Learn more HERE.
CSP Innovations - A collaborative effort by the Cressey Sports Performance staff about a variety of topics. Learn more HERE.
The Specialization Success Guide - A great resource for those looking to pursue strength gains on the big three (squat, bench press, deadlift). Learn more HERE.
The Ultimate Offseason Training Manual - This was the first book I wrote, and it's stood the test of time because of how much of the writing was based on principles that'll last forever. Learn more HERE.
After years of requests for them, we finally got around to making some Cressey Sports Performance headbands. They're available in five different colors/styles (top to bottom, below): red camo, black/red blend, black camo, white, and black):
They are $15 each or five for $60.
Purchase Individually: Please note the style you'd like in the comments/special instructions box at checkout.
Bundle Purchase (5 for the price of four, so one of each color)
3. Even less love as a posterior tilter of the scapula
4. Just about zero love for its impact on rib internal/external rotation.
Most importantly, you'll see that the upper fibers of the serratus anterior attach on the first rib - the very bone that's removed during thoracic outlet surgery.
Images by Anatomography - en:Anatomography (setting page of this image), CC BY-SA 2.1 jp, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27010000
When the serratus fires, it depresses the first rib and clears space under the clavicle for important nerve and vascular structures to pass.
If you take a second to think about it while looking at the anatomy charts below, you'll appreciate that this attachment effectively makes serratus anterior an antagonist to the scalenes and subclavius, which both elevate the first rib.
This is one reason why a lot of the thoracic outlet syndrome cases you'll encounter aren't your classic kyphotic (hunchback) posture, but actually a lot of flat thoracic spine, heavy scapular downward rotation/depression, and horizontal clavicle presentations.
Getting serratus anterior going favorably impacts scapular upward rotation (which brings the clavicle up), first rib positioning, and the ideal convex-concave relationship between the rib cage and scapula.
Fun fact: serratus anterior also indirectly impacts contralateral thoracic rotation, but that's a post for another day!
If you're looking to learn more about how I assess, coach, and program for the upper extremity, be sure to check out Sturdy Shoulder Solutions.
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