I received this email this weekend from a very satisfied female Maximum Strength customer. It should put to rest any doubts about whether or not this program works for females:
Dear Eric,
Hello, I'm Kelsey Doucette. I'm a 22 year old (female) powerlifter and aspiring Olympic lifter. I just finished your Maximum Strength program. I made splendid gains.
Beginning: End:
Body weight: 113 Body weight: 115
Squat- 200 Squat: 205
Deadlift: 265 Deadlift: 260
Bench: 115 Bench: 135
Pull-ups: 15 lbs extra Pull- ups: 25 lbs extra
Broad jump: > 5 ft Broad jump: 7.5 ft
You're probably wondering about the squat and deadlift numbers (and why I'm ecstatic about them). Allow me to explain. Right before I began your program, I just started physical therapy for my hips. Among a myriad of problems (I was considered "a train wreck" by the therapists) one was that I had weak adductors, hip flexors and poor (I mean REALLY poor) glute activation. I also had horrendous hip mobility. I started your program and noticed a difference within the first two weeks just from doing the mobility warm-ups and foam rolling. Not only did your program inspire me to lift like a real strength athlete (I am a former body builder. I decided I liked lifting better than posing) but also to aggressively attack my hip issues both with knowledge and actions.
It was about half way through your program when during a squat I felt my glutes activate. I was so excited I jumped up and down in jubilation once I finished my set. The same thing happened with deadlifts. So I guess you could say I squatted 205 and deadlifted 260 WITH glute activation, which I consider a major accomplishment from where I started.
My conclusion is that even though my numbers didn't change a whole lot (at least on the two lifts I really care about. I think i was just sick of benching less than a plate and that's why my bench went up so much) I feel like a much more efficient lifter. My muscles are firing in synchrony like they're supposed to and I'm now on my way to busting my former lifting plateaus. I also understand my body a lot more and I'm enthusiastically devouring as much knowledge about strength and conditioning as I can.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Kelsey Doucette
Pop quiz, hotshot. You need to add some plates to the bar and pack some meat on your bones. You've got precious few weeks to accomplish both, but only have four days per week to train. What do you do? What do you do?
I've asked this question to myself countless times and only recently have I come up with what I believe is the most effective method. Forget total-body training. Forget upper and lower splits. The trick is to, well...I'll get to that in a minute.
Continue Reading...
1. Roger "It Ain't Over 'Til I Turn in this Power Rangers T-Shirt and Reclaim my Man Card with a Thundercats Shirt" Lawson has his revenge!
Okay, so it was really only good for third place. It was, however, markedly improved from the previous effort, so we'll give him a thumbs-up (but not a high-five, Roger; that's just not how I roll). Thanks for all your hard work this summer!
2. Speaking of thumbs-up, here's a diet that would make it difficult to give that stamp of approval:
The Amputation Diet
Just in case you weren't catching the sarcasm in that post, please don't go and cut your hand off.
3. For those of you looking for a good read, I'd encourage you to check out Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.
Now, before you go and start telling everyone that Cressey's gone off the deep end and is now a distance running zealot, I liked this book because it talked a lot about the merits of barefoot training and how we've been royally screwed by modern shoe companies. If you're a runner who has ever had plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendon issues, you have to give this a read.
I actually listened to the book on tape during my commute to the facility. The unabridged version is about eleven hours long, and is very entertaining.
4. The first pro ball player off-season training session is in the book for Tuesday. A big gold star goes out to Blue Jays Double-A pitcher Tim Collins for officially kicking off the madness that is the life my life from now through the third Monday in March. Tim's season ends on Monday, and he's practically kicking the door down to come back and train.
With attitude like this, and 18 pro guys confirmed (and more still sorting out details), it's shaping up to be a great off-season at CP. I am fired up!
And then there was Roger "Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun" Lawson. He doesn't get a new nickname because in this second go-round, he still couldn't manage to get the entire medley into one clip because my memory card actually filled up. Consider yourself forewarned: this isn't pretty.
I'll give him some style points for the outfit, but the repeated spills and bellowing during the overhead keg lunge walks made me feel like I was watching a rhino give birth at the zoo - while standing on one leg.
The good news, however, is that Roger requested a chance at redemption, so we agreed to let him try to improve his time with a Thursday night effort. We'll post it tomorrow. Any predictions on what his next time will be (this one was 7:40).
It's time for another intern end-of-summer finale. Alex went the other night, but tonight, it was Phil "Gunzzzz for Hire" Gauthier's turn to work his mojo on this medley (his effort put him in second place, just behind Alex's time).
Phil also completed the Maximum Strength program with some big gains in size (over ten pounds) and strength while fixing up a bum shoulder this summer and turning himself into one heck of a coach. Some credit goes out to Phil for:
a) doing this circuit after he'd already trained lower body easlier in the day (including a HUGE front squat personal best)
b) rocking his high school colors (Go Maynard!) and NOT wearing a Power Rangers t-shirt and spandex (watch the video; you'll understand)
c) naming a professional hockey player as his emergency contact ("Sorry, Mom!")
d) doing better push-ups than in the first go-round
f) giving us an even better frame of reference from which to appreciate just how bad Roger got dominated later this afternoon (more on that in a future blog; stay tuned)...
So, without further ado...
Give our man a little love in the comments section! I know you're out there, Maynard!
Getting Geeky with AC Joint Injuries
Lately, I've gotten quite a few in-person evaluations and emails relating to acromioclavicular (AC) joint issues. As such, I figured I'd devote a newsletter to talking about why these injuries are such a pain in the butt, what to do to train around them, and how to prevent them in the first place (or address the issue once it's in place).
First off, there is a little bit about the joint that you ought to know. While the glenohumeral joint (ball-and-socket) is stabilized by a combination of ligamentous and muscular (rotator cuff) restraints, the AC joint doesn't really have the benefit of muscles directly crossing the joint to stabilize it. As such, it has to rely on ligaments almost exclusively to prevent against "shifting."
As you can imagine, then, a traumatic injury or a significant dysfunction that affects clavicle positioning can easily make that joint chronically hypermobile. This is why many significant traumatic injuries may require surgery. While almost all Grade 4-6 separations are treated surgically, Grades 1-2 separations are generally left alone to heal - with Grade 3 surgeries going in either direction.
In many cases, you'll actually see a "piano key sign," which occurs when the separation allows the clavicle to ride up higher relative to the acromion. Here's one I saw last year that was completely asymptomatic after conservative treatment. It won't win him any beauty contests, and it may become arthritic way down the road, but for now, it's no problem.
Now that I've grossed you out, let's talk about how an AC joint gets injured. First, we've got traumatic (contact) injuries, and we can also see it in people who bench like this:
Actually, that's probably a fractured sternum, but you can probably get the takeaway point: don't bounce the bar off your chest, you weenie. But I digress...
Insidious (gradual) onset injuries occur just as frequently, and even moreso in a lifting population. Most of the insidious onset AC joint problems I've encountered have been individuals with glaring scapular instability. With lower trapezius and serratus anterior weakness in combination with shortness of pec minor, the scapula anteriorly tilts and abducts (wings out) - and you'll see that this leads to a more inferior (lower) resting posture.
In the process, the interaction between the acromion (part of the scapula) and clavicle can go a little haywire. The acromion and clavicle can get pulled apart slightly, or the entire complex can get pulled downward a bit. In this latter situation, you can also see thoracic outlet syndrome (several important nerves track under the clavicle) and sternoclavicular joint issues in addition to the AC joint problems we're discussing.
As such, regardless of whether we're dealing with a chronic or insidious onset AC joint issue, it's imperative to implement a good scapular stabilization program focusing on lower trapezius and serratus anterior to get the acromion "back in line" with the clavicle. Likewise, soft tissue and flexibility work for the pec minor can also help the cause tremendously.
Anecdotally, a good chunk of the insidious onset AC joint problems I've seen have been individuals with significant glenohumeral internal rotation deficits (GIRD). The images below demonstrate a 34-degree GIRD on the right side.
It isn't hard to understand why, either; if you lack internal rotation, you'll substitute scapular anterior tilt and abduction as a compensation pattern - whether you're lifting heavy stuff or just reaching for something. And, as I discussed in the paragraph above, a scapular dyskinesis can definitely have a negative effect on the AC joint.
Lastly, you can't ever overlook the role of thoracic spine mobility. If your thoracic spine doesn't move, you'll get hypermobile at the scapulae as a compensation - and we already know that's not good. And, as Bill Hartman discussed previously, simply mobilizing the thoracic spine can actually improve glenohumeral rotation range-of-motion, particularly in internal rotation. Inside-Out is a fantastic resource in this regard - and is on sale this week, conveniently!
So, as you can see, everything is interconnected! In part 2 of this series, I'll discuss training modifications to work around acromioclavicular joint problems and progress back to more "normal" training programs.
New Blog ContentBirddogs, Continuing Education, and Terrible JournalismStuff You Should ReadExercise of the Week: Dumbbell Reverse LungeRandom Friday ThoughtsIt's All About Specialization
All the Best,
EC
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used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
Earlier this year, I left my camera on my desk while I was out of the office for the morning to speak at a seminar, and I returned to find this surprise video on it from Royals prospect Matt Morizio.
Well, as it turns out, it was just the very tip of the creativity iceberg for Matt. He and a teammate pulled together this hilarious little bit that had everyone in our office laughing so hard we couldn't talk; you've got to check it out.
Make sure you turn up the volume, and watch the entire thing; it picks up after the first 60s or so...
Earlier this year, I introduced you to the "before" videos of our summer interns. Needless to say, they weren't pretty.
The good news is that they've gotten a lot better over the past three months, and to prove my point, we'll be featuring each of them individually over the next few days. First up, we've got the guy who went from Alex "Nash and Burn" to Alex "Straight Nash, Homey." Over the summer, Alex added 12 pounds to his frame, and some serious poundages to all his lifts (don't have the numbers in front of me, but let's just say that we were all stunned to see him front squatting 300+ pounds the other day). He got 3/4 of the way through the Maximum Strength program.
Below, we've first featured his original video, and then the subsequent video from just a few days ago. First, I should mention that we put the cage/net back up in our facility, which effectively shortened the sled distance - so we just added some sledgehammer and kettlebell swings at the end. Second, you'll notice that the weights on the sled are on the front, and not the back; this subtle change in positioning makes the exercise exponentially harder (especially on the floor and not the turf). Third, you'll notice that his push-ups look a heck of a lot better, particularly with a ton of fatigue. Fourth, he doesn't look like a newborn horse when doing the overhead lunge walk with the keg. Fifth, he doesn't stop at all to rest; he just crushes it. Sixth, and most importantly, chicks want him, and dudes want to be him.
The Before: Alex "Nash and Burn"
The After: Alex "Straight Nash, Homey"
Alex has already moved back to Minnesota to start a new job; we're really proud of all he accomplished and wish him well. Give our boy some love in the comments section.
Tonight, the rest of the interns have their "final exams"...
As many of you know, Bill Hartman, Mike Robertson, and I are very close to releasing a new product. In fact, we spent the weekend going through edits on the footage and pulling together the tag-along manuals.
This new product includes a lot of our newer perspectives on assessment and corrective exercise. Many of the drills we outline actually piggyback on those we outlined with our previous DVDs, Magnificent Mobility and Inside-Out. There is even a bit of overlap where we discuss how the "older" drills fit into our up-to-date progressions.
So, while the MM and I/O DVDs might be a few years old, the good news is that the human body hasn't evolved dramatically since then - so these drills are still highly effective. However, with new products, older products sometimes get forgotten - and that's why we figured we'd throw out this opportunity to grab up these two previous products at a big discount.
Here's the deal...
30% off on Magnificent Mobility and Inside-Out from Monday, August 31 through Wednesday, September 2. All you need to do is head over to the RobertsonTrainingSystems.com Products Page and add the item(s) to your cart. At checkout, enter the coupon code "FALL09" (all caps, no quotation marks) and the discount will be applied.
Don't miss this last chance to get two great products at a great discount!
