Home 2010 March (Page 3)

Building the Elite Pitcher

Back in December, I was honored to be included as one of several speakers who presented at Ron Wolforth's 2009 Ultimate Pitching Coaches Bootcamp.  As was the case in previous years, it was a great event that brought together a lot of forward-thinking minds from various roles in the pitching world.  Today, I'm happy to announce that I've arranged for a sweet deal on the DVDs of the event for my readers only. Since I was a presenter and Ron's a good friend of mine, he agreed to let me make the DVDs available to my readers at $50 off the normal purchase price.  All you need to do is click through the following link, and the discount will automatically be applied at checkout: https://m130.infusionsoft.com/go/UPCBC2009/EC/ My presentation, Whip: What it is and how to get it, lasted 75 minutes and covered: -The stretch-shortening cycle: what it means to pitchers and how to get the most out of it -How different pitchers throw hard via different mechanical, flexibility, and strength/power factors -How to identify and address mobility and stability deficits in pitchers I also gave a 30-minute hands-on session on foam rolling for pitchers. In addition, there were several other fantastic, informative - and sometimes controversial - presentations from Phil Donley, Neiman Nix, Wes Johnson, Brent Strom, Flint Wallace, Aaron Weintraub, and, of course, Ron Wolforth.  I love the fact that this event always covers everything from physical therapy/injury prevention, to physical preparation, to mental preparation, to mechanics, to structuring practices, to pitch sequencing.

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Fortunately, the 150 coaches in attendance aren't the only ones who will get to experience this event, as the entire weekend was recorded. So, whether you coach, rehabilitate, or train baseball athletes, this is a great resource that you'll find yourself looking back to for years to come.  I know I put a ton of time into my presentation and did my best to load as much information into it as possible - so you have my word that it'll be worth it. Here's the link again: https://m130.infusionsoft.com/go/UPCBC2009/EC/
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Stuff You Should Read: 3/2/10

Here are a few recommendations for this week: East Coast Muscle - Recently, Men's Health Fitness Editor Adam Bornstein traveled all along the East Coast to check out several training facilities - one of which was Cressey Performance.  This blog post details his experiences and features a picture of one dead sexy guy named Cressey lifting heavy stuff. Five Resistance Training Myths in the Running World - This is one of my most popular articles of all-time, and with the number of crazy endurance folks getting ready for the Boston Marathon in 10-degree weather, it seemed like a fitting time to bring this piece to the forefront once again. Made to Stick - Someone mentioned this in conversation the other day, and it reminded me that it was one of my favorite books of the past five years.  It's a great read - whether you're a teacher, trainer, parent, or any of a number of other things!

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What Stupid Stuff Have You Seen in the Gym?

I recently came across a study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine that showed that over an 18-year period, an estimated 970,801 weight-training-related injuries presented in emergency rooms around the country.  That's an average of 53,934 injuries per year...nationwide.

Based on the market research from back when we wrote Maximum Strength, about 23 million Americans lift weights for exercise - meaning that one out of every 426 people who lifts weights actually gets jacked up enough during a training session that he/she has to to go the hospital.

Now, I'll be honest: while I have seen people do some INSANELY STUPID stuff in commercial gyms, I can't say that I've ever seen anything that warranted a trip to the hospital.  Obviously, I've lived a bit of a sheltered life in owning Cressey Performance for the past three years and working in either private training facilities or college weight rooms since 2003, but one would think that I could have come up with at least ONE gruesome story.  Alas, nothing comes to mind...not even a goofy laugh while benching.

So, I'm counting on you, my loyal and entertaining readers, to provide me with some good stories in the comment section below.  What outlandish stuff have you seen in gyms that has landed some schmuck in the emergency room?

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