Home Posts tagged "Sahil Bloom"

CSP Elite Baseball Development Podcast: Baseball Hindsight with Sahil Bloom

We're excited to welcome retired Stanford Baseball pitcher Sahil Bloom for a somewhat non-traditional podcast. In this episode, Sahil reflects on lessons learned over a baseball career - both in terms of training and competition - and highlights the important benefits he derived from the process of preparing for college baseball and competing in the PAC 12. There are lessons for everyone, but particularly for young players and parents as they undertake this process.

A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Athletic Greens. Head to http://www.athleticgreens.com/cressey and you'll receive a free 10-pack of Athletic Greens travel packets with your first order.

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This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. It’s an all-in-one superfood supplement with 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s nutrition needs across 5 critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. Head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today - 10 FREE travel packs - with your first purchase. I use this product daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I'd encourage you to give it a shot, too - especially with this great offer.

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If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.

And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.

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29 Reasons to Smile

I turn 29 today. And, while a lot of people look at birthdays as a reason to feel badly about getting old, I like to think of them as a reason to reflect on the cool stuff that's happened in the past year.  Or, at the very least, I look at a birthday as good blog content!  So, without further ado, here are 29 reasons I'm smiling on my 29th birthday. 1. I'm still not as old as Tony! (okay, that was wrong). 2.  Several of our high school athletes have gone off to college and been among the strongest (if not the strongest) in the weight room.  The really rewarding aspect of it, though, is that they have an appreciation for the fact that it isn't just about strength; it's about combining that strength with a host of other factors - flexibility, soft tissue quality, etc. - to stay healthy.  I just love that they are informed consumers and advocates for themselves. 3. Lincoln-Sudbury Baseball has been #1 in the state, according to the Boston Globe Rankings. We train over 30 players who are currently in the LS program, plus quite a few younger guys and LS alumni. 4. Along those lines, LS junior Carl Anderson was batting .500 with 6HR and 21 RBIs through the first 11 games.  He was also 4-0 with a 0.78 ERA and 25K in 18 innings pitched. 5.

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Enough said.

6. A reader sent me a great article in response to my Is Pitching Velocity Really that Important? Blog: Change-up has become Great Equalizer.  Awesome article! 7. CP athlete and Toronto Blue Jays prospect Tim Collins has 32 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched.  Opponents are hitting just .206 against him.  He also made a surprise cameo in the office at CP the other day on his only off-day of the month and hung out for the whole afternoon.  Tim, one of our college prospects, and I all went over to watch a high school game in which a lot of our guys were playing.  It's pretty cool to see pro and college ballplayers coming back to watch high school kids' games when it's usually the other way around!  It makes me really proud of the camaraderie we've built among all our clients at Cressey Performance. 8. A buddy of mine is involved with Humblecock clothing (www.humblecock.com), so he sent me some free goodies.  I like this stuff!  I passed out a few samples to my pro guys and they loved it. 9. Brian St. Pierre, our first employee at Cressey Performance, is unfortunately leaving us at the end of this week as he returns to school to do his master's degree.  While we're really bummed to be losing him, I can say that I'm really proud of how tremendous a job he's done for us since early 2008, when we first hired him.  He's improved tremendously as a coach and really turned himself into an industry leader (actually just had his first article published at T-Muscle HERE).  It's funny how good things happen for great people who work hard.  Check him out at BrianStPierreTraining.com. 10. Recently, a local scout informed me that the Massachusetts baseball class of 2011 was ranked as the 5th best in the country.  In other words, our juniors here in little ol' Massachusetts are competing with the likes of Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina - where the populations are not only bigger, but they can also play baseball year-round.  Whoever said that early sports specialization was necessary to compete with these big dogs doesn't understand development at all.  While the Southern boys are having Tommy Johns and labral repairs in the winter, our guys are training their butts off and attacking things with a specific plan. The results?  At Cressey Performance alone, we have eight juniors verbally committed to play for Division 1 baseball programs - including Virginia, Vanderbilt, Boston College, and UCONN.  And, there should be at least a half-dozen more on that list by the time everyone signs national letters of intent this fall. 11. Head over to Amazon.com and check out the reviews on Maximum Strength HERE.  This sucker is getting more stars than an astronomy textbook!

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12. It gets even better than that.  In the next few months, I'll release a new product that'll blow the doors off of what I did with Maximum Strength.  If you liked Maximum Strength, you'll LOVE this one.  Subscribe to my newsletter at the right of this screen to be among the first notified. 13. Awesome!

By the way, when I was watching this video on YouTube, one of the recommended videos was Will Ferrell's 2003 Harvard Commencement speech.  It is absolutely hilarious; talk about a way to make a graduation actually interesting!

14. In the past few months, I've gotten invitations to present in both St. Thomas and South Africa.  For those of you who prefer visual representations of how sweet this is, please take note (respectively):

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We still have to plan our honeymoon soon as well, so it's going to be a very sunny year for a couple of Bostonians!

15. It's getting to be that time of year when pitchers come in and act all surprised that they are hitting homeruns now.  It just goes to show you that when you get more athletic, a lot of things fall into place - and not just in terms of pitching!  Rotational power is rotational power; the hitting just requires more hand-eye coordination. 16. I've got my own office now!  Unfortunately, it's still buried under boxes and clutter from the move, but it is nice to know that I have a little bit more organization coming to my life soon!

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17. I am pretty darn proud of the Cressey Performance website.  It's a huge improvement from our old one, and I'm psyched to have an online presence that reflects how much hard work we put into making CP a special place to train. 18. CP athlete and San Diego Padres prospect Will Inman has a 3.03 ERA through 38.2 innings pitched in AAA.  Opponents are hitting just .221 against him.  For those who aren't familiar with the Pacific Coast League, this is the single-hardest league in which one can pitch at any level of professional baseball.  There are small ballparks and insane winds that turn pop-ups into 450-foot HRs.  Will is doing awesome and we're all really happy for him; it's a lot of hard work rewarded. 19. This one really cracks me up.  We uploaded this video of CP athlete Sahil Bloom back in October of 2007, and it's become the second most popular of all-time.  The funniest part is all the 13-year-olds arguing in the comments section about how this is "just good for football players" and how they all throw 97mph at age 13.

The funniest part is that Sahil is now pitching consistently over 90mph - and doing so at Stanford.  He's 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA through six outings in his freshman year. It's amazing that he's had this success just "training for football!"

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20. The past year has brought some collaborative efforts for me that have been absolutely tremendous in not only enhancing my productivity, but also educating me (and my readers/customers).  Matt Blake has brought a great new dimension to Cressey Performance with his pitching instruction and video analysis, and to EricCressey.com with his blog contributions.  Nate Tiplady has been a huge addition to our programs with the Graston and ART services he provides to our clients.  It was also great to collaborate with both Mike Reinold and Bill Hartman on projects for the first time, with Optimal Shoulder Performance and Assess & Correct, respectively. At the end of the day, you are only as strong as your network, so I'd encourage you all to seek out collaborative efforts with other professionals who complement your skill set as well. 21. Slacker.com.  This thing is an awesome source for music; I listen to it all the time when I'm at the computer writing programs. 22. Just got this feedback from a very happy Optimal Shoulder Performance customer: "Awesome job on the Optimal Shoulder Performance DVDs with Reinold. I just finished watching them this past weekend (I need to get a life) and I found them extremely educational and helpful. I really thought the information you both provided complimented each other well. There were some variations to some movements that I will definitely be implementing into some of my programs." While the financial side of things with product sales is nice, the thing that I actually enjoy the most is knowing that the information we're putting out is helping people to improve their bodies and stay out of pain.  It's even better when I know it is helping a fellow fitness professional or some rehabilitation specialist, as it means that they're taking that knowledge to help more people beyond just themselves.  At the end of my career, I really want to be known most for the always putting my athletes first and always doing my best to contribute to the body of knowledge.

Click here for more information on Optimal Shoulder Performance.

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23. On Tuesday morning, I had an absolutely terrible training session.  I felt weak the entire time, and couldn't even stomach a shake post-training.  About an hour later, every joint in my body hurt and I had a raging headache.  That night, I was in bed early and was pouring sweat in my sleep. I almost never get sick.  We are taking once every 3-4 years.  My attendance is so good at work that my business partner, Pete, has to force me to take days off.  Surely, there is something to the idea that regular exercise and proper diet reduces one's likelihood of getting sick - and this is certainly demonstrated in the reduced absenteeism Wednesday morning, I woke up feeling a ton better.  It turned out to be a really productive day.  This little experience reminds me that taking care of your body doesn't just prevent you from getting sick; it also helps you to bounce back quickly when the unavoidable illness happens. 24. CP athlete Danny O'Connor looks to run his professional boxing record to 12-0 this weekend at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.  A huge CP contingent will be out to support him.  Danny works his butt off five days a week at CP in addition to all his boxing training, and deserves all the success that comes to him.

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25. Chris Howard is the newest addition to the Cressey Performance staff, and we're excited to have him on board.  A former CP intern, Chris went on to massage therapy school and is now a LMT - on top of his CSCS and master's degree in nutrition.  Needless to say, we're lucky to have a guy who brings so much versatility to our facility. I especially like Chris right now because he's motivated me to brush up on my anatomy knowledge since he just retook it all in school! 26. Bill Hartman is in town for a seminar at Northeastern this weekend, so it'll be a nice birthday present to catch up with him.  He's joining us at CP today for the day.  His blog is always full of good stuff, but chatting with him in person is even better! 27. Tony Gentilcore wrote a great two-part series called "It All Starts in the Kitchen."  There are some great tips in there for those of you who might struggle on the diet side of things.   Check out Part 1 and Part 2. 28. One of our pro baseball guys told me to check out the "Baseball Made Easy" series on YouTube, and it's absolutely hilarious.  Check a few of them out:

29. I already knew I had the greatest girl in the world, but when she took me to a Sox game last night for my birthday for the third year in a row, I was reminded once again!  Here we were last year - when I had more hair.

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Random Friday Thoughts: 6/26/09

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.

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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!

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Not a bad Sunday (or Saturday) at all…

It was a great Sunday all around yesterday. First, my fiancee officially became a doctor.  Yep, I picked a good one. Second, Cressey Performance athlete Dede Griesbauer won Ironman-Brazil, setting a course record by ten minutes in the process.  Congratulations, Dede! Third, Lincoln-Sudbury came from behind to win their D1 second round playoff game, 8-7.  CP athletes Justin Quinn, Derek Lowe, and Erik Watkins all hit homeruns for LS, and Watkins won it with a single with two outs in the ninth inning.

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Fourth, CP athlete Sahil Bloom got a win and a save in Weston's D3 playoff win yesterday.  Sahil struck out nine and walked none in 6.2 innings of work - and went 3-4 at the plate. Fifth, on Saturday, Wayland upset the #3 seed to advanced to the second round of the D2 state baseball tournament. Sixth, Tyler Beede pitched a shutout in his team's opening round win in the D2 state tournament on Saturday. The week gets off to a good start today, as I'm picking up my new car, and a host of the college guys start training today as the New England Collegiate Baseball League kicks off.  And, we've got two CP athletes (who also happen to be good buddies and off-season roommates) going head-to-head in a AAA match-up.  Will Inman (Portland/Padres) will be facing Steve Hammond (Fresno/Giants) in Fresno tonight; I will be pulling for both to go eight innings of shutout ball and get no-decisions!
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Random Friday Thoughts: 5/22/09

Let's get right to it. 1. First up, a few quick congratulations are in order for some Cressey Performance ballplayers.  Justin Quinn (Lincoln-Sudbury) and Sahil Bloom (Weston) were named Dual County League Large and Small Players of the Year, respectively.  They are also two of the three finalists for the MA Gatorade Player of the Year award.  LS won the DCL Large, and Weston won the DCL - thanks in large part to the efforts of these two guys.  Both were selected as league all-stars, as were CP athletes Garrett Moore (LS), Ryan Wood (LS), Derek Lowe (LS), Chris Conlon (Weston), Reed Chapman (Weston), Alex Hill (Wayland), and Scott Lueders (Newton-South).  Congratulations, guys! 2. Padres prospect and CP athlete Will Inman jumped up to AAA from AA on Wednesday.  If you're anywhere near Portland, OR, get out to watch him make his first start tonight (Friday) at 7PM.  Will is 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA in eight starts on the year, having given up only 33 hits and eight walks in 44.1 innings pitched. Congratulations to Will on taking the next step in his baseball journey.

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3. Check out this great video content today from Dr. John Berardi about The Key to Accidental Fitness.  I can tell you that this is 100% spot on from my own experiences - and the thousands of clients and athletes I've seen over the years. 4. I got a question the other day about who I thought were the most important individuals to add to one's network in the field of strength and conditioning.  My first response was "anyone who is smart, openminded, and willing to share ideas." That said, I realize this individual was probably looking for a list of occupations in this regard, so here goes: doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, athletic trainers, other strength coaches/trainers, radiologists, sports coaches, researchers, sports psychologists, equipment manufacturers/distributors, and loads others that I have probably forgotten.  Basically, you're just trying to find people who have different areas of specialization to either add to, refute, or confirm your existing knowledge. 5. Had some car and computer issues earlier this week, so I got a bit sidetracked on the writing side of things this week.  I submitted the third installment of Lower Back Savers a bit late, so it didn't run this week.  For those who missed Parts 1 and 2, you can check them out HERE and HERE. 6. Just finished up my powerpoint for the Distinguished Lecture Series in Sports Medicine at Northeastern on June 5-6.  This is an awesome event featuring guys like Dr. Stuart McGill, Mike Boyle, Dr. David Tiberio, and others (including some schmuck named Cressey).  It's very affordable, and I can tell you that the last two years have been fantastic.  Check it out HERE for more details.

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7. Can we please get over this swine flu stuff, people? They are closing schools left and right in Boston - and as a result, ASYMPTOMATIC kids are having to FORFEIT games/matches - and now, potentially playoff games. 8. I'm most likely getting a new car tonight.  I've never been a "car guy," so it's more of a chore than anything.  Let's hear some of your favorite strategies for bargaining with car dealers (particularly when you've got a trade-in)...
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Random Friday Thoughts: 4/24/09

1. It's been a crazy week ever since Anna and I got engaged on Sunday.  You never truly realize how many people you know until they all try to email/call/text you at once to say congratulations.  With my cell phone and email inbox going crazy, I kind of felt like Jerry Maguire - minus the whole weird scientology and jumping on Oprah's couch stuff. 2. On Wednesday, I got out to watch two high school games where CP athletes pitched, and then headed to Fenway to watch the Sox beat the Twins.  In Game 1, Weston High Sahil Bloom had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings before giving up a bloop single, and then Auburn High's Tyler Beede threw six innings. 3. Next week, I'll be publishing the first installment of a collection of nutrition articles from Eric Talmant.  Eric has some very forward-thinking ideas to share, and it'll make a nice weekly addition to EricCressey.com.  Be sure to check them out. 4. I'm getting really excited for this year's Perform Better Summits.  I'll be speaking in Providence, RI and Long Beach, CA (there is also one in Chicago); I'd definitely encourage you to check the events out if you live in that neck of the woods.  My presentations should question the "diagnostic norms" - in much the same way that I did with this week's newsletter. 5. Speaking of newsletters, I got several inquiries after I ran this one about the medicine ball training we do with our pitchers. In particular, folks were curious about the medicine ball we used in drills like this:

The medicine balls in question can be found HERE.

6. I've written quite a bit in the past about how a glenohumeral internal rotation deficit can be one contributing factor (among others) to medial elbow injuries in overhead throwing athletes.  The other day, someone asked me if I had any scientific evidence to support this idea.  The answer would be a resounding YES.

Very simply, if you lack internal rotation, you'll go to the elbow to "regain" that lost range-of-motion.  It's the same reason that ankle mobility deficits can lead to knee pain, and hip mobility deficits can lead to knee and lower back pain.

7. I don't really "get" how this whole Delicious bookmarking thing works, but Jon Boyle (who helps out with the blog) recommended I start sending him recommendations of good stuff I've read.  You can find some of my recommended reading/viewing off to the right-hand side of the page.  If there are books you recommend I check out, by all means, please post suggestions in the comments to these blogs; I'm always looking for new reading material.

Have a great weekend!

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Random Friday Thoughts: 4/17/09

1. Tonight, my girlfriend and I are headed up to Maine for the weekend.  I am giving two presentations tomorrow at the NSCA Maine Symposium.  Lucky for me, both presentations are on topics that have been big interests to me: training for overhead throwing athletes, and instability training (this is closely related to the content of my e-book, The Truth About Unstable Surface Training.

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2.Speaking of instability training, in the book, I outline several progressions to increase the stability challenge (to, in turn, train balancing proficiency).  One of these methods is to simply raise the center of gravity.  It could be simply moving from a dumbbell forward lunge to a barbell forward lunge, or you could make it even tougher by bringing the barbell overhead.

The higher up the center of gravity goes, the tougher it is to stabilize. 3. On the topic of new new projects,I'm working on what I think will be one of the best series I've ever written - right up there with the Shoulder Savers Series.  So far, it's looking like a three-parter, but if I keep rolling like I am right now, it might have 857 installments.  Keep an eye out for it, as Part 1 will be the next thing I submit to T-Nation. 3. Here's an interesting compilation of the healthiest fast food choices out there.  To be honest, I don't think the grading scale was tough enough on them.  If Wendy's, Taco Bell, and McDonald's all get a B+, I shiver to think what warrants a C, D, or F... 4. I often gets questions about what we look for in an ideal Cressey Performance intern. While I could probably list off about 50 qualities I like to see in someone, without a doubt, the first prerequisite is to actually get your application in on time.  We have received over five applications in the WEEKS following our March 15 deadline for summer internship applications.  They not only lost out because we'd already picked our interns, but also because it tells me that they probably wouldn't have done very well with respect to following directions anyway! 5. Speaking of ways to "stand out" in your field, the up-and-comers in the crowd definitely ought to check out this great blog post from Mike Reinold. 6. Nice first outing yesterday for Weston pitcher and CP athlete Sahil Bloom.  Our boy took a no-hitter into the final inning, and ended up with 14K.  Congrats to Lincoln-Sudbury on moving to 4-0 this week, too. That'll do it for today.  I should be back with some cool news on Monday, so keep an eye out for the blog and newsletter.  Have a great weekend!

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For High School Pitchers, No Grace Period

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
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Cressey Performance Athlete Commits to Stanford

Cressey Performance athlete and Weston High pitcher Sahil Bloom committed late last week to Stanford. Here's a great article from the Boston Globe on his signing and training with us. Weston High pitcher buffing up his body as well as his scores Congratulations, Sahil!
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