Home 2008 January (Page 10)

Gourmet Nutrition Cookbook

Treats

One of the biggest perks of being in this business is that I get a lot of free stuff sent to me. I’m not going to lie: a lot of it is absolute garbage that is so bad that I can’t read or view the whole thing. I look at some fitness gimmicks and can’t help but think “why?” I’ve actually got an entire section on my bookshelf of stuff I’ve received that’s just flat-out bad.

Why do I even mention this to you? Well, for one, so that you’ll know that if something gets a thumbs-up in my newsletter or blog, it’s legit. Second, and more importantly, I’ve grown to see patterns – and one such pattern is that everything that John Berardi has sent me is pretty much gold. The newly introduced Gourmet Nutrition Cookbook (version 2.0) is no exception.

I received my copy on Monday night, and was impressed not only with the presentation of the book (well organized and easy to read), but obviously the content itself. There is an excellent and diverse selection of recipes, and I can’t wait to try them out.

One of my pitchers was in the office when it arrived, and I he asked if he could see it. That night, he made some of the bars and said that they came out great. Young athletes are a great measure of how good a nutrition product is; they’re impressionable, yet very stubborn. If something isn’t good, they’ll call BS or just ignore it altogether. Only two nutrition products have gotten my guys going; this one and the nutrition component of Jason Ferruggia’s Muscle Gaining Secrets.

Check it out for yourself: Gourmet Nutrition Cookbook 2.0.

Travel

The seminar I’ll be doing in Ireland on March 15-16 has now been confirmed. For more information, please email Kieran Dolan at one2onetraining@eircom.net.

Tirades (or something like that; it began with a “T,” so cut me some slack)

For whatever reason, within the fitness industry (at least in its online capacity), there’s been a lot of talk about the book, The 4-Hour Workweek. While it’s an excellent book, I feel like some folks from our industry have taken it out of context.

My good friend Alwyn Cosgrove has written and spoken about how less than 0.5% of personal trainers are financially independent. In other words, America doesn’t feel that their services are worth spending money – and this is in spite of the fact that the weight loss industry – including products, diets, surgery, and training – will exceeded an estimated $100 billion in 2006.  It's not surprising that trainers aren't perceived as worthwhile due to the lack of preparedness in the industry, as I wrote in a blog a while back - and I verified in a subsequent blog based on a reader's response.

While this number is staggering it itself, our industry’s response to it has been even more shocking: we need to work less. Scary. Great idea, guys; you recognize that you suck at what you do, and in turn decide to come out guns a-blazin’ and devalue yourselves even more!

My question to the fitness industry is: do you want to be remembered as someone who did just enough to get by, or do you want to be remembered as someone who did something special?

How many hours do you think Oprah Winfrey works each week? She’s got her show, book club, magazine, website, online community, African leadership academy for young girls, and a host of other things that I’m forgetting. Just last night, I heard she was starting her own television network. I’ve never heard her advocating The Four-Hour Work Week in her book club.

On Sunday, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg surprised a lot of people during his appearance on 60 Minutes. At age 23, he’s worth an estimated $3 billion and has over 400 employees working for him in multiple locations across the country. Meanwhile, he dresses like he shops at the Gap, and works at a regular desk alongside everyone else. For all intents and purposes, he looks and acts like another employee. How do you think his 400+ employees would feel if he decided to cut back to four hours a week?

How about Donald Trump? In 2004, he was already worth $2.5 billion, according to Forbes. Since then, he’s introduced a wildly popular television show, his own celebrity vodka (interestingly enough, the CEO is a former client of mine from when I was in CT), and about 15,000 new buildings that are earning him a lot of money.

These people make a lot of money and impact a lot of lives because they understand how to work more efficiently, not work less.

I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that Oprah doesn’t mow her own lawn, Zuckerberg doesn’t do his own laundry, and Trump doesn’t vacuum his own office. They outsource the less important tasks and leverage their abilities better with the meat and potatoes stuff – and time that’s left over is dedicated to getting better at what they do. How many 4-hour fitness professionals are using that leftover time to read the latest research, call other coaches/trainers, or attend seminars?

If you ever get good enough to be able to afford to work only four hours a week in the fitness industry, chances are that you’re someone who has learned to genuinely love what you do.

I can guarantee you that if Mike Boyle didn’t have a wife and kids to keep him sane, he’d still be sleeping in his office at the BU hockey arena on occasion like he did 25 years ago – and I bet he’s still working 60+ hours a week right now on top of seminar travel, etc. He loves what he does.

I had lunch with Chris Doyle (University of Iowa football S&C coach) late last spring. He was back in Boston on vacation to visit family, and he stopped off to see me and exchange ideas – in between stops to see his old high school football coach and Mike Boyle. He was working while on vacation – but I can guarantee that he didn’t see it like that. Chris is a big reason why walk-ons (Dallas Clark, among others) at Iowa get drafted almost every year, and NFL guys flock back to Iowa in the off-season to train with him. Chris, obviously, loves what he does, too.

This little rant came about on Saturday while I was downloading a video we had shot at the facility. On the surface, it’s just me being a goofball and doing stupid jumping stuff that I’d never let my athletes do.

50-inch Box Jump w/Approach

However, I thought about it in a little more depth. It was my seventh consecutive day at the facility – with another 13 more to go before I took a day off. We had already seen over 30 athletes that day, but I was still as anxious as a little kid on Christmas to jump in the action. I routinely work over 80 hours a week, and play host to my athletes from out of town for about 6-8 weeks per year. If I didn’t like what I do, they wouldn’t be sleeping on my sofa bed.

Holding the box is Cressey Performance’s newest employee, Brian St. Pierre. He had been up at 5:45AM to cover sprint work for the New England Ruffnecks, an AAU baseball program with which we’re affiliated, at the Harvard track from 7-9AM. Brian was at the facility by 10AM and coached right through until 3PM (when this video was taken) without any semblance of complaining over the fact that he’d worked more than four hours on Saturday alone. He also got a lift in with me right after this video was taken. Brian is a really bright guy who knows his stuff, but to be honest, we hired him for his passion first and foremost.

Doing glute-ham raises in the background is a stud catcher from the Class of 2010 who is already getting big-time D1 interest. He’d already caught for four hours before coming out to lift, and he’s routinely someone who needs to be held back from overdoing it. Isn’t it funny how the most enthusiastic kids who love training the most are the ones who seemed the most destined for long-term success in athletics and in life?

You won’t make it far in any industry if you hate your job so much that you only want to be involved with it four hours per week. The 4-Hour Workweek makes some great points on time management, eliminating unnecessary tasks, saving money, and a host of other value lessons. I’m just concerned that the fitness industry as a whole is studying calculus when it ought to be mastering algebra first.

Food for thought.  I'm off to the gym. EC
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Training and Children with Autism

It’s been a while since my last newsletter, but it’s good to be back on track. My girlfriend and I took a few extra days down in Fort Lauderdale after the New Year to clear our heads going into what will be a busy three months until all my baseball guys are back in season. Believe it or not, it didn’t break 70°F during our five days down there, and neither of us came even close to a tan. Fortunately, we had lifting heavy stuff as a way to fill our time. Anyway, let’s get to what’s new for 2008… CEUs Now Available It took Mike Robertson a ton of paperwork, but most of our products are now accredited by the NSCA for continuing education units. While many certifying bodies are charging anywhere from $13-$15 per contact hour, all of our CEU’s are available for $10 or less per contact hour. Those products included:

-Building the Efficient Athlete: 1.2 CEUs for $60, or $4.16/CEU

-Magnificent Mobility: 0.1 for $10 -Inside-Out: 0.2 for $18, or $9/CEU -Bulletproof Knees: 0.4 for $30, or $7.50/CEU If you purchased your product directly from us, you should have already received an email about this. If, however, you purchased one of these products through one of our vendors (T-Nation, EliteFTS, Perform Better, or London Kettlebells), please just drop us an email at mike@robertsontrainingsystems.com with the subject line: CEUs. New Article For those of you who missed it, It Looked Good on Paper was published at T-Nation at the end of December. Beyond Boundaries: An interview with Eric Chessen I thought it would be great to kick off the new year on the right foot by looking at a friend and colleague of mine who is doing something very special. I recognize that this particular topic might not appeal to everyone on our newsletter list, but I would love for you to check it out nonetheless, as chances are that you know someone who it could help tremendously. Eric has made a world of difference in the lives of many kids who have autism, and given a lot of parents hope amidst a lot of struggles with their autistic children. If you know someone who could benefit from this, please pass along the link to this interview.

Eric Chessen is a fitness therapist and consultant working exclusively with the young autism population. The founder of Theraplay-NY and creator of the DVD Beyond Boundaries: Fitness for the Young Autism Population, Eric has made it his mission to bring fitness into the lives of individuals on the autism spectrum.

Cressey: I know you, but our readers don’t; can you tell us a bit about your background?

Chessen: Well, I am a fitness therapist and consultant working exclusively with young individuals on the autism spectrum. In addition to being a fitness professional, I am currently completing my Master’s in exercise physiology and working to obtain certification as a behavior analyst.

Cressey: How did you get involved in all that?

Chessen: I had been working in a commercial gym for a short while with a general population clientele. At the time, this was around seven years ago, I was not quite sure where I wanted to be from a career perspective. I had a classmate who worked in an educational program for young adults with autism. She knew of my fitness background and asked if I would be interested in working with some of the students. At the time I did have some experience working with the special needs and autism populations. I worked in various summer camp programs for individuals with developmental disabilities, and always found the experiences both challenging and quite fascinating. I began working with the program in NYC, a satellite education program originating from Johns Hopkins, and five years later I am still with them.

Cressey: Many people have heard of autism, but don’t necessarily understand the specifics of the disorder; can you tell us a little bit more about it?

Chessen: Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that affects an estimated 1 in 155 children in the U.S. While individuals with autism vary in their functional capacity, the core features of the disorder include poor social skills, deficits in verbal and non-verbal communication, and inhibited play and leisure skills.

Autism is often referred to as a “spectrum disorder” because there is such a wide range of functioning between diagnosed individuals. Some individuals with high-functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome may be indistinguishable from normally functioning peers the vast majority of the time, but have some difficulty reading social cues or interacting with others. Individuals on the low functioning end of the spectrum may be non-verbal, have severe cognitive deficits, and self-injurious or aggressive towards others. Fortunately, advocacy groups such as the Autism Society of America and Autism Speaks, among many others, are beginning to erode the stereotype of all individuals with autism “being like Rain Man.”

Cressey: Where does exercise come into the equation?

Chessen: As we know in the fitness profession, exercise and physical health are not exclusive concept applicable to only one group. Exercise benefits every human being. In addition to cognitive and social deficits, there is a wealth of research suggesting that a gross motor deficit exists in many young individuals with autism. In fact, the authors of a recently published study suggested that apparent deficits in gross motor patterning are not included in the diagnosis of autism simply because no conclusive definition for “gross motor deficit” has been established.

The benefits for the autism population are not only corrective, but can have so much impact on their ability to socialize, to master daily living skills, to develop self-esteem, and for future goal-setting. Similar to what has happened with normal-functioning youth in the U.S., fitness for individuals with developmental disorders has been largely ignored. That is why I’ve devoted my career, in addition to working with my athletes, to educating parents, teachers, and therapists about the importance of incorporating exercise into the lives of these kids.

Cressey: How do you even begin an exercise program with a kid on the autism spectrum?

Chessen: The methodology that I’ve been developing combines exercise with Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). ABA is, in short, a teaching and therapy strategy based on the work of B.F. Skinner, who pioneered behaviorism. ABA teaches concrete associations between behaviors or actions and consequences. For examples, you get the answers correct on a test, you get a good grade. You practice your deadlift technique, and your deadlift goes up. ABA has been a very successful strategy for modifying maladaptive behaviors and teaching everything from life skills to, in my case, exercise, to individuals with autism. Essentially, I break whole movements down into smaller, easier to learn skills and gradually the athlete learns to complete the movement correctly and independently.

Cressey: What you’re doing is obviously very specialized; you don’t hear about many fitness experts in the autism community. Are there any other fitness groups currently working with the autism population?

Chessen: Very few, if any. It is interesting when you consider that whenever a fitness certification group or course covers “special populations” they are typically referring to the triumvirate of clients with diabetes, heart conditions, and the elderly. I’ve yet to see a certification group cover fitness issues pertaining to individuals with developmental disabilities. Of course, you do not see too many young individuals with autism in commercial gyms or even youth programs. They current fitness culture in the country is relatively exclusive in that respect.

Cressey: And this is where you come in! Tell us about the DVD you recently released.

Chessen: Yes. My goal right now is to create as much awareness about the importance of exercise and physical fitness for individuals with autism as I can. In addition to writing for several of the leading autism publications, a radio show on Autismone.org, and presenting at conferences around the country, I wanted parents and educators to have the ability to create and implement exercise programs at home and in the classroom.

These efforts led to the creation of my first DVD, Beyond Boundaries: Fitness for the Young Autism Population. Because individuals with autism vary in their abilities so greatly, I did not produce the DVD as a follow-along type of program. Rather, I introduce the exercise in sequence, and show the viewer how they can be taught safely, correctly, and with individual mastery in mind.

Cressey: Where can people go for more info on the DVD and the rest of your work?

Chessen: The DVD is available now at BBFITDVD.com. I can also be reached via email at eric@theraplay-ny.com. That’ll do it for this week. We’ll be back next week with plenty of new content. All the Best, EC
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9 Tips from Cassandra Forsythe

Sentimental Mumbo-Jumbo…

Last night, my girlfriend and I had our Christmas, and tomorrow, I’ll be doing an early Christmas with my brother’s family and my grandparents. Then, it’s up to Maine (or, what we call “God’s Country”) for a few days to see my folks and the girlfriend’s family. December 24-27 will be the first consecutive four-day period I’ve had off since 2003.

With all these events in the planner and a facility to run, time is at a premium – but I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to wish all my newsletter subscribers Happy Holidays. Also, thank you very much for all your support in 2008.

Seminar Updates

Spaces are filling up fast for the January 5th Fort Lauderdale seminar, so don’t delay on signing u; email jonboyle@mac.com for details. Additionally, I’ve confirmed multiple dates for 2008; you can find information on those events on my SCHEDULE page.

Nine Tips from Cassandra Forsythe

It seems only fitting that I feature Cassandra Forsythe’s expertise in the holiday installment of my newsletter, as Cass has been like a sister to me for many years – even spending one Christmas with my family in Maine. Cass is absolutely brilliant – and I’m thrilled that this holiday season, she’ll stop flying below the radar in the lay population and get to display her knowledge with the introduction of two books in two days.

On December 26th, Cass’ solo project, the Women’s Health Perfect Body Diet, will be released.

Then, on December 27th, will be the release of The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift like a Man, Look like a Goddess, a collaboration with Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove. I was fortunate to get advanced copies of both, and they’re absolutely fantastic – both as gifts to the women in your life and to those who train female clients and athletes. Both are affordably-priced (you can get both for $33.60 with free shipping) and well worth the investment. You can pre-order them now.

Without further ado, here is a little sample of what Cass has to offer.

1. Women always underestimate their strength. I've never once walked into a gym or weight room and seen a woman lifting to her full potential. If I do, however, her body composition reflects the hard work: she's lean, attractively muscular, and still very feminine.

2. Most women avoid lifting weights because they don't know how. You don't need anyone to show you how to use a cross-trainer or a treadmill, but it's a good idea to learn how to properly lift. Men usually learn from their buddies or their favorite magazine, but a woman has to learn either by following her boyfriend around the gym or reading a non-female magazine (because most female magazines are worthless). The better way is to seek a good personal trainer: one who won't just promote bicep curls and only lifting weights less than 10 lbs dumbbells. Women have to stop using the excuse that they don't know how to weight train because weight training is the best way to achieve the body that they've always desired.

3. Women do not need to train differently than men. Period.

4. Protein is still the most misrepresented macronutrient in the diets of most women. Women still think that low-fat, low-protein diets will make them lose more weight, when in fact, an equal balance of high-quality protein, fat and plant-source carbohydrates is the best way to positively influence body composition. Have fish, poultry, eggs, beef, pork, cottage cheese, ricotta, or whey protein every time you eat a meal.

5. Arachidonic acid, the n-6 polyunsaturated fat, in plasma membranes is good. Free arachidonic acid in the circulation is bad. There's a difference. True, arachidonic acid may lead to pro-inflammatory eicosanoids if released from the membrane, but if you eat a diet that reduces oxidative stress (i.e. with antioxidant foods, no trans fats, low sugar) arachidonic acid will stay in the membrane and serve its positive role as a polyunsaturated fat.

6. It's harder for women to lose weight than men with exercise and diet. Mostly this occurs because women gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously while training which causes their body weight to stay the same. Also, psychologically, women tend to believe that they need to severely under-eat in order to lose weight. This often leads to failure with any diet plan because it's not providing enough calories to allow her to workout or to function normally throughout the day. Therefore, women first need to not judge themselves by a number on the scale to determine if they're body composition is changing and secondly, they need eat enough food to give them energy to exercise effectively and to not force them to abandon the food protocol to which they've committed.

7. If you hold your body fat in your abdominal region then you should reduce the amount of carbohydrates in your diet and increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids (from fish, walnuts, and flax). A large waist circumference is positively correlated with insulin resistance, which means your ability to process carbohydrates is limited. Several lines of recent research have showed that low carbohydrate diets containing less than 30% calories as carbohydrate are most effective for battling belly fat. They also increase insulin sensitivity. Omega-3 fatty acids (especially the fats in fish oil) are also well-researched for their ability to promote increased fat burning and improve carbohydrate processing.

8. If a woman loses her menstrual period and is actually eating enough calories to sustain her metabolic demands, then it's likely an overactive stress response that is inhibiting her reproductive hormones. In this situation, she should evaluate her stressors and look for ways to promote relaxation. Sometimes this may mean time off from working out, time away from work on the weekends, and spending more time with people who make you happy. Losing your period not only has negative consequences for long-term bone health, but also depresses the immune system and makes it harder to reach a desired body fat level.

9. Women use fat for fuel better than men and need more protein to promote muscle protein synthesis. This means that fat and protein are definitely macronutrients that should not be limited in any woman's diet.

About Cassandra

Cassandra Forsythe is a PhD candidate at the University of Connecticut studying exercise science and nutrition. She received her MS in Human Nutrition and Metabolism and her BSc in Nutrition and Food Science from the University of Alberta. At UCONN, Cassandra’s research is focused on the effects of low carbohydrate ketogenic diets and resistance exercise on risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and weight loss. She's responsible for leading the ketogenic research projects, analyzing data and interpreting the results. Cassandra also works as a nutritional educator and weight loss coach and assists with exercise training and testing. She can be reached through her website, www.CassandraForsythe.com.

That wraps it up.  We'll be back next week with our last newsletter of 2007.  Until then, hafe a safe and happy holiday season. All the Best, EC
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The End of MLB Season

Last Chance to Save

Our holiday sale ends at the end of the day on Wednesday, December 12. As a reminder, here’s what you:

By entering the coupon code HOLIDAY2007 at checkout, you’ll get 15% off on each of the following products:

Building the Efficient Athlete

Magnificent Mobility Inside-Out

Bulletproof Knees

You can also get 30% off on The Ultimate Off-Season Manual (discount automatically applied).

Florida Seminar Update

Just a reminder: the early registration deadline for my Fort Lauderdale seminar on January 5th is December 15th, so don’t delay in getting your registration forms in. For more information, contact Jon Boyle at jonboyle@mac.com.

Q&A…or just an excuse for me to rant about baseball now that the MLB season is over...

Q: I recently read on an online forum that a long-time pitching authority was quoted as saying:

"Training will not teach you how to apply more force...only mechanics can do that. And pitching is not about applying more effort into a pitch but is about producing more skilled movements from better timing of all the parts. That will help produce more force. "No matter how hard you try, you will not get that from your strength training program...no matter who designed it, how much they have promised you it would or your hope that it will be the secret for you.”

I know you work with a lot pitchers and are a big believer in strength and conditioning for them, so what’s your take on this?

A: I’ll start with the positive: I agree with him that pitching is all about producing skilled movements secondary to appropriate timing of all the involved “parts.” I’ve very lucky to work hand-in-hand with some skilled pitching coaches who really know their stuff – and trust in me to do my job to complement the coaching they provide.

With that said, however, I disagree that you can’t gain (or lose) velocity based exclusively on your strength and conditioning program. On countless occasions, I’ve seen guys gain velocity without making any changes to their throwing programs or mechanics. A perfect example came this past weekend, when one of our high school juniors, Sahil Bloom, had a fantastic showing at a big-time scouting event in Florida – where scouts clocked him as high as 92 mph on the radar gun.

I started working with Sahil in late July – at which time he had never been above 82 mph. None of the pitching coaches with whom he’s worked have made dramatic changes to his mechanics; he’s just added more horsepower to the engine instead of screwing around with the fuzzy dice in the mirror and chrome hubcaps. His strength is up significantly and he’s added 18 pounds to his frame while getting leaner. In the first two months alone, his vertical jump and broad jump went up by 4 and 17 inches, respectively. And, three full months still remain in his off-season.

I know what many of the devil’s advocates in the crowd are thinking: “that’s just one isolated incident!” Actually, the truth is that we’ve got dozens of these guys kicking around our facility right now – and should have 5-10 high school guys throwing over 90 mph this spring.

And, if that’s not enough, how about we just go to the research?

From:

Derenne C, Ho KW, Murphy JC. Effects of general, special, and specific resistance training on throwing velocity in baseball: a brief review. J Strength Cond Res. 2001 Feb;15(1):148-56.

[Note from EC: Yes, it’s pathetic that this REVIEW has been out almost seven years and people who are supposedly “in the know” still haven’t come across ANY of the studies to which it alludes.]

Practical Applications

Throwing velocity can be increased by resistance training. A rationale for general, special, and specific resistance training to increase throwing velocity has been presented. The following findings and recommendations relevant to strength and conditioning specialists and pitching coaches can be useful from the review of literature.

Specific studies they referenced:

Bagonzi, J.A. The effects of graded weighted baseballs, free weight training, and simulative isometric exercise on the velocity of a thrown baseball. Master's thesis, Indiana University. 1978. Brose, D.E., and D.L. Hanson. Effects of overload training on velocity and accuracy of throwing. Res. Q. 38:528–533. 1967. Jackson, J.B. The effects of weight training on the velocity of a thrown baseball. Master's thesis, Central Michigan University,. 1994. Lachowetz, T., J. Evon, and J. Pastiglione. The effects of an upper-body strength program on intercollegiate baseball throwing velocity. J. Strength Cond. Res. 12:116–119. 1998. Logan, G.A., W.C. McKinney, and W. Rowe. Effect of resistance through a throwing range of motion on the velocity of a baseball. Percept. Motor Skills. 25:55–58. 1966. Newton, R.U., and K.P. McEvoy. Baseball throwing velocity: A comparison of medicine ball training and weight training. J. Strength Cond. Res. 8:198–203. 1994. Potteiger, J.A., H.N. Williford, D.L. Blessing, and J. Smidt. Effect of two training methods on improving baseball performance variables. J. Appl. Sport Sci. Res. 6:2–6. 1992. Sullivan, J.W. The effects of three experimental training factors upon baseball throwing velocity and selected strength measures. Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University,. 1970. Swangard, T.M. The effect of isotonic weight training programs on the development of bat swinging, throwing, and running ability of college baseball players. Master's thesis, University of Oregon,. 1965. Thompson, C.W., and E.T. Martin. Weight training and baseball throwing speed. J. Assoc. Phys. Mental Rehabil. 19:194–196. 1965. They also have a table that summarizes 26 studies that examined the effect of different strength protocols on throwing velocity, and 22 of the 26 showed increases over controls who just threw. In other words, throwing and strength training is better than throwing alone for improving velocity – independent of optimization of mechanics from outside coaching.

The saddest part is that the training programs referenced in this review were nothing short of foo-foo garbage. We’re talking 3x10-12 light dumbbell drills and mind-numbing, rubber tubing blasphemy. If archaic stuff works, just imagine what happens when pitchers actually train the right way – and have pitching coaches to help them out?

Oh yeah, 10 mph gains in 4.5 months happen – and D1 college coaches and pro scouts start salivating over kids who are barely old enough to drive.

With that rant aside, I’d like to embark on another one: what about the indirect gains associated with strength training? Namely, what about the fact that it keeps guys healthy?

We know that pitchers (compared to position players) have less scapular upward rotation at 60 and 90 degrees of abduction:

Laudner KG, Stanek JM, Meister K. Differences in Scapular Upward Rotation Between Baseball Pitchers and Position Players. Am J Sports Med. 2007 Aug 8. BACKGROUND: Baseball pitchers have been reported to have an increased prevalence of shoulder injury compared with position players such as infielders and outfielders. Furthermore, insufficient scapular upward rotation has been empirically linked with several of these shoulder disorders. However, the difference in scapular upward rotation between pitchers and position players is not known. HYPOTHESIS: Pitchers will have decreased scapular upward rotation of their dominant shoulders compared with position players. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive laboratory study. METHODS: Dominant shoulder scapular upward rotation was measured with the arm at rest and at 60 degrees , 90 degrees , and 120 degrees of humeral elevation among 15 professional baseball pitchers and 15 position players with no recent history of upper extremity injury. RESULTS: Independent t tests showed pitchers have significantly less scapular upward rotation at 60 degrees (3.9 degrees , P = .011) and 90 degrees (4.4 degrees , P = .009) of humeral elevation compared with position players. CONCLUSION: Baseball pitchers have less scapular upward rotation than do position players, specifically at humeral elevation angles of 60 degrees and 90 degrees . CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This decrease in scapular upward rotation may compromise the integrity of the glenohumeral joint and place pitchers at an increased risk of developing shoulder injuries compared with position players. As such, pitchers may benefit from periscapular stretching and strengthening exercises to assist with increasing scapular upward rotation. [check the date: cutting-edge stuff...Cosgrove would be so proud]

You know what’s pretty interesting? Resistance training is the basis for modern physical therapy – which I’m pretty sure is aimed at restoring inappropriate movement patterns like this. Do you think that a good resistance training program could strengthen lower traps and serratus anterior to help alleviate this upward rotation problem?

And, last time I checked, strength and conditioning was about more than just being the “weights coach.” We do a lot of flexibility/mobility and soft tissue work – and it just so happens that such work does wonders on pec minor, levator scapulae, rhomboids, infraspinatus/teres minor, and a host of other muscles in pitchers.

I also like to tell jokes, do magic tricks, and make shadow puppets on the wall. Am I to assume that these don’t play a remarkable role in my athletes’ success? I beg to differ. Sure, banging out a set of 20 chin-ups because one of my athletes called me out might make me look like a stupid monkey when my elbows refuse to extend for the subsequent ten minutes, but I still think what we do plays a very important role in our athletes success; otherwise, they wouldn’t keep coming back. And, for the record, my shadow puppets are damn good for building camaraderie and bolstering spirits among the Cressey Performance troops – even if I’m just a “weights coach” or whatever.

This only encompasses a few of the seemingly countless examples I can come up with at a moment’s notice. Pitchers are an at-risk population; your number one job in working with a pitcher is to keep him healthy. And, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that a guy who is healthy and super-confident over his monster legs and butt is going to throw a lot harder than a guy who is in pain and as skinny as an Olsen twin because his stubborn pitching coach said strength training doesn’t work. You’ve got to train ass to throw gas!

Just two weeks ago, I began working with a pro ball player whose velocity is down from 94 to 88 – not just because he recently wrapped up a long season (and Arizona Fall League), but also because he’s had lower back issues that have prevented him from training. In other words, he counts on strength training to keep his velocity up – and he’s going to use it to get healthy, too.

So, to answer your original question, I guess this an exception to the rule that most coaches agree on the 90% and disagree on the 10%. In this case, it’s the other way around.

Until next time, train hard and have fun – and be leery of people who say strength training isn’t important. Everyone – from endurance athletes to grandmothers – needs it!

EC

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Prehabilitation and Deloading

New Article

I had a new article published on Tuesday at T-Nation; be sure to check out The Prehab Deload.

You can never get enough Hartman…

Earlier this week, Bill Hartman provided us with seven great tips; here are eight more than certainly won’t disappoint!

8. Unilateral lower body training is well accepted, but unilateral upper body training is no less valuable and gets ignored by most trainers and coaches. It’s not uncommon for strength and conditioning coaches to recommend unilateral lower body exercises in an effort to maintain functional relationships in the trunk and hips. There are equally if not more important relationships between the upper extremity, the trunk, and the hips. Consider working toward developing the ability to perform a single-arm push-up as much as you develop your single-leg strength. It will go a long way toward maintaining your shoulder health and improve your performance.

9. It is a rare occasion that athletes needs complex training programs. Most athletes, regardless of level, are not well-trained strength athletes. Just as many HATE supplementary strength/performance training and don’t understand the value that it provides by allowing them to perform at their highest levels of performance. They would rather just play their sport. The exceptions are those athletes who have spent 3 to 4 years in a progressive, controlled, and properly designed strength program. Being advanced in a particular sport does not mean they are advanced in regard to supplementary training. When in doubt simplify.

10. If you choose to emphasize bench pressing in your training program, you need to spend more time strengthening your lower trapezius and rotator cuff.

The lower trapezius tends to be the weak point in your ability to stabilize the scapula and the rotator cuff is the big stabilizer for the glenohumeral joint. It is the ability to stabilize these areas that allows the larger prime movers to lift big weights. If these muscles don’t keep pace, your bench press will stall and you will most likely get injured.

11. Stand more and sit less. If you’re sitting on your ass, you’re not using it. If you’re not using it, you’ll forget how to use it when you train or play a sport. This can result in lower back pain, hip pain, or pain anywhere down the kinetic chain. You’ll also go a long way to prevent the loss of hip motion that will increase joint wear and tear and rob you of your athleticism at a premature age.

12. I recommend four recovery/restoration tools for everyone: sleep, food, soft-tissue work, and ice because they work for everyone.

I know a lot of things that have been used as recovery tools with world-class athletes. Most people are not world-class athletes and I question the value of many restorative tools. I’ve never been able to identify a measurable effect from something like a contrast shower other than shrinkage (you know what I mean). However, the four tools I recommend will apply to everyone.

Sleep is essential. The nervous system needs sleep to function at top efficiency. Food provides energy, reparative materials, and nutrient-based recovery. Soft-tissue work, whether it be massage, foam rolling, ART, or whatever, will maintain a more optimal condition of the soft-tissues. Trigger point, adhesions, and scar tissue affects mobility, tissue extensibility, and the ability to produce strength. An ounce of prevention goes a long way to assure optimal functional relationship between and within muscles and groups of muscles. Ice is under utilized by just about everyone. It is inexpensive and will go a long way to preserve your joint surface. Fifteen minutes of ice to heavily trained joints has been shown to have a preservation effect on joint cartilage.

13. Make your icing more effective by periodically moving the joint or muscle to which you’re applying ice. It promotes a more uniform application of the cold to the affected area. After you remove the ice, limit the motion of the affected area to preserve the cooling effect, as movement will increase rewarming.

14. Hip mobility affects more than you think. A lack of hip mobility will promote overuse of the lumbar spine to compensate for the lack of mobility. In patients with unilateral shoulder instability, almost half of those patients also showed poor hip mobility on the opposite side.

15. There are “money muscles” in almost every type of injury that when treated or activated immediately improve function. For shoulders, it’s the subscapularis. The subscapularis prevents the humeral head from moving forward and upward into the acromion in cases of impingement. Many times it’s overused due to repetitive movement, heavy loading, or both. Get it functioning again (ART does wonders) immediately restores shoulder function in a majority of cases.

For lower back pain, it’s the psoas. If someone has trouble forward flexing AND extending the spine (you can also see that they limit hip extension when they walk) check the psoas for spasm or adhesions. Restoring normal psoas function immediately restores spinal range of motion.

For lower back pain, it’s the psoas. If someone has trouble forward flexing AND extending the spine (you can also see that they limit hip extension when they walk) check the psoas for spasm or adhesions. Restoring normal psoas function immediately restores spinal range of motion.

For the knee, it’s the popliteus. Many times when rehabbing an athlete or patient with a knee injury, there’s sense of residual instability. Rather than going for the wobble board, consider checking the function of the popliteus. The popliteus assists in rotatory control of the knee. Restoring the popliteus function with soft-tissue work and a little strengthening often restores stability in no time.

About Bill Bill Hartman is a physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach in the Indianapolis area.  Bill is the co-creator of Inside-Out: The Ultimate Upper-Body Warm-up and a contributing author to Men's Health Magazine.  He is also the creator of Your Golf Fitness Coach's Video Library, available at www.yourgolffitnesscoach.com.  You can contact Bill directly via www.billhartman.net.

I’m off to Maine to lift some heavy stuff and see the family. Have a great weekend, everyone!

All the Best,

EC

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Tips from Bill Hartman

On top of dropping a 45-pound plate on my (now broken) toe on Thursday night and having a pro baseball player staying at my condo, it was the busiest week ever at Cressey Performance. There is, however, a silver lining to this cloud. I don't need healthy toes to deadlift at my meet next weekend, and you're going to get an even better holiday sale as a result of my high tolerance for pain and propensity for clumsy self-destruction. To atone, I’m going to offer a big discount – to the tune of 30% off – on my Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual. Just click HERE and the discount will automatically be applied at checkout. This discount will be in place through December 12, too.

Talking Shop with Bill Hartman

Bill Hartman is a smart dude. Really smart. A lot of you think I’m a bright guy when it comes to kinesiology, biomechanics, and corrective exercise. Let’s put it this way: Bill is the guy I email or call when I’m stumped. Were it not for his sense of humor, I might actually believe that he’s a robot designed to know everything about the human body. He co-created Inside-Out, a great DVD and manual set that I feel is the best shoulder-health-specific product on the market. This week, however, Bill is extra special because he provided some kick-butt content for my newsletter when life was crazy. In a sense, he’s like the cheerleader who does your homework, but he’s much smarter, more masculine, and doesn’t wear a skirt (at least not in public). Here are tips 1-7 from Bill: 1. Making true postural corrections and improvement in mobility is a 24-7 endeavor. Your daily postures and repetitive activities have a far greater effect on your mobility and posture. The body will adapt to what you do most often. If you spend all day in a chair, your body will adapt to that posture. If you perform activities for extended periods of time in a limited range of joint motion, you body will adapt to that limited range of motion. You can use the same premise to make a correction. For instance, if you’re trying to improve your shoulder girdle posture, practice holding it in better alignment for extended periods of time (up to 20 minutes) to promote actual changes in the length and stiffness of tissues. 2. Static stretching as it is typically performed (1-3 reps of 20-30 seconds or whatever) has a very limited benefit. This type of stretching functions more on the basis of increasing your tolerance to the stretch, therefore range of motion will improve temporarily. I tend to use it for its acute benefits. For instance, if you’re trying to improve glute max activation, stretch the hip flexors first. Range of motion into hip extension will improve and allow greater glute max activation. As far as long-term, relatively permanent changes in range of motion, tissues need to adapt (see number 1) and the nervous system needs to be involved in the changes. This makes strength training a great way to improve range of motion. Emphasize getting strong at the end range of motion with a muscle in the stretched position. Examples would be performing ISO holds at the bottom of a Bulgarian split squat, push-up, RDL, or pullover at the end of your workouts. 3. Exercise tempo matters Bar speed will affect what type of training effect will result from training. A very fast tempo will increase contribution of the spring-like effect from a tendon much like plyometrics. Slower training tempos will reduce this effect and promote more muscular adaptations. Determining where you lack function, either in the elastic component of the tendon or more of the muscular contributions, will allow you to target training to significant improvements in performance in a very short time. 4. When in doubt, simplify your programming Most trainees who are training diligently, attending to nutritional issues adequately, but lack progress are typically training at least one level of complexity (or more) above where they should. Reduce either the frequency, the training volume, or the complexity of the periodization scheme or all of the above. Look back in your training journal (you DO have one right?) to where you made your best progress. Start there for clues on how you should progress. Then read #5. 5. Your body can’t differentiate between stressors Most periodization programs work for a very limited group of people. Any programming recommendations based on professional or Olympic athletes rarely works for the real-world population. Those athletes lived in controlled environments where outside stressors were limited or didn’t exist. We live in a world where we are frequently sleep deprived, have money issues, family and relationship issues. All these stressors are cumulative in respect to how your body reacts to them. Training is also a stressor and is most often the only one we can control. When you feel good, go for the extra weight or reps. When you’re not feeling your best, back it off. 6. Warm-up first before you decide you’re going to have a bad workout The daily grind can wear on you and many times you don’t feel like training. Your attitude will affect the outcome of you workout. Many times the simple activation of your nervous system with a dynamic warm-up and few warm-up sets will reset your attitude. Warm-up before you allow your brain to get in the way of what may be the best workout of your life. 7. Develop a group of “Go-to” people It was a bitter pill to swallow, but I’ve learned that I can’t learn everything. There are always others who specialize in certain area of life or training or whatever who have a deeper understanding of certain things. Make friends with them. Take advantage of their specialized knowledge. Share what you know and learn what they know. About Bill Bill Hartman is a physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach in the Indianapolis area. Bill is the co-creator of Inside-Out: The Ultimate Upper-Body Warm-up and a contributing author to Men's Health Magazine. He is also the creator of Your Golf Fitness Coach's Video Library, available at www.yourgolffitnesscoach.com. You can contact Bill directly via www.billhartman.net. We’ll be back with tips 8-15 from Bill later this week. All the Best, EC
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The Neural Fatigue of CNS Demanding Workouts

Q: Why is it that training that is very CNS demanding requires such long recovery periods between workouts. I understand the need for long recoveries between sets, but not between workouts. So why is it that many coaches recommend training things like depth jumps, or speed and agility drills only 1-2 times per week?

A: The truth is that we really don't understand neural fatigue to the extent that we'd like simply because it isn't as easy to quantify or observe. With muscular damage, we can use biopsies in the lab and blood measures (creatine kinase, for instance). Neural fatigue is really only truly assessed by performance measures; it's why "a decline in performance" is about the only true definition of non-volume-induced overtraining.

Here's a very cool read on this front.

Some guys can train at a high-intensity more frequently, while others have to take more time between efforts. This is where it’s as much a science of interpretation as it is of experimentation and application; you’ve got to respond to how each athlete recovers a bit differently.

Eric Cressey
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The Sturdy Shoulder Seminar Recap

A few weekends ago, I made the trek up to Waltham, MA to attend Eric Cressey’s Sturdy Shoulder Seminar. Continue Reading... - Jim Smith

shoulder-performance-dvdcover

Click here to purchase the most comprehensive shoulder resource available today: Optimal Shoulder Performance - From Rehabilitation to High Performance.
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A Diesel Crew Interview with Eric Cressey

With a Diesel interview, you'll not only learn from the leaders in the industry about current trends and their strategies about performance enhancement, you'll also learn something about them on a personal level. Eric Cressey, a top 100 Powerlifting USA athlete, has hit the ground running in 2006. Unveiling Magnificent Mobility (with Mike Robertson) and his latest solo venture, The Ultimate Off Season Manual to the masses, this prominent strength coach has already made a huge impact and there is no limit in sight. Continue Reading...
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What To Do In Miami With No Sun

Anna and I have probably already told most of you about the poor weather on our trip to Florida, but I'd say that this video confirms just how desperate we were to keep our minds off the lack of sunshine!

Check this out (from impackfitness.com):

"Prowler/Farmer's Walk Finisher that took place featuring San Francisco Giants Right Fielder Eddy Martenez-Estve and World Renowned Strength Coach Eric Cressey and girlfriend. Needless to say I’ve heard how Boston cats get down but now I now first hand…"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1IRVKtiwLU

Anna and I got in a lift with Matt Pack, a great strength coach and buddy of mine who trains strongman out of his garage down there. Martenez was the first round pick out of Florida State back in 2004.

They didn't get any footage of the tire flipping, sledgehammer work, sandbag carries, or rope climbing - but we definitely did it all!

And it once again reiterates that I have the coolest girlfriend ever!

Eric Cressey
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