At Cressey Sports Performance, we manage a ton of baseball players throughout the year. In doing so, we often notice trends - both good and bad - that emerge in the things they start applying on their own. Here are three warm-up mistakes I commonly see players making before they pick up a ball to throw:
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We all know that folks don't tend to do well in terms of health, movement quality, or performance when they spend their entire lives in the sagittal plane. They aren't as well prepared for life's surprises (e.g., slipping on the ice) or life's challenges (beer league softball fly balls to the gap). They often lack adductor length and have poor hip rotation, and compensate with injurious movement compensation strategies at the knee and lower back. This knowledge gave rise to a central tenet of the functional training era: multi-planar training.
Unfortunately, it's just just as simple as telling folks to train in all three planes, as there is a progression one must go through to stay healthy while reaping the benefits of these new exercises. I thought I'd outline my start-to-finish progression strategy.
1. Single-leg Exercises
To the naked eye, lunges, split squats, and step-ups are sagittal plane exercises. However, what you have to appreciate is that while you're training in the sagittal plane, you're actually doing a lot of stabilization in the frontal and transverse planes. It's important that you master these drills in the sagittal plane before you start experimenting with strength work in the frontal and transverse planes.
Progressions from basic dumbbell-at-the-side movements would be to raise the center of mass by using barbells or holding weights overhead. You could also wrap a band around the lower thigh and pull the knee into adduction and internal rotation to increase the challenge in the frontal and transverse planes.
2. Alternating Lateral Lunge with Overhead Reach
At the most basic level, you can work unloaded lateral lunge variations into your warm-up. They might be in place, or alternating. As soon as folks can handle them, though, I like to progress to including an overhead reach in order to challenge anterior core stability and raise the center of mass up away from the base of support a bit. This also gives folks a chance to work on their shoulder mobility and scapulohumeral rhythm.
For more variety on the warm-up front, check out the Assess and Correct DVD set; there are over 75 drills in there to take your mobility to a new level.
3. Plate-Loaded Slideboard Lateral Lunge
I like this as a starter progression because the plate out in front serves as a great counterbalance to allow folks to work on their hip hinge. Plus, there isn't a big deceleration challenge on the leg that's going through the most abduction range of motion; rather, the load is predominantly on the fixed leg, which is resisting excessive adduction (knee in).
Worthy of note: I never load this beyond 10 pounds, as folks tend to become kyphotic if the counterbalance is too heavy. You're better off loading with #3...
3. Dumbbell or Kettlebell Goblet Slideboard Lateral Lunge
By keeping the weight closer to the axis of rotation (hips) and minimizing the load the arms have to take on, we can load this up a bit without unfavorable compensations.
4. 1-arm Kettlebell Slideboard Lateral Lunges
This exercise builds on our previous example by adding an element of rotary stability. You'd hold it in the rack position (or go bottoms-up, if you want variety and an increased stability challenge at the shoulder girdle). I've tried this with the KB held on both sides, and it's a trivial difference in terms of the challenge created - so you can just use rotate them for variety.
5. Dumbbell (or Kettlebell) Goblet Lateral Lunge
You can load this sucker up pretty well once you're good at it. Just be cognizant of not getting too rounded over at the upper back.
6. In-Place Lateral Lunge with Band Overload
This is variation that we've just started implementing. The band increases eccentric overload in the frontal (and, to a lesser degree, transverse) plane, effectively pulling you "into" the hip. You have to fight against excessive adduction and internal rotation, and then "get out" of the hip against resistance. This is something every athlete encounters, whether it's in rotational power development or basic change-of-direction work.
As an added bonus, using a band actually provides an accommodating resistance scenario. Assuming the partner stays in the same position throughout the drill, the tension on the band is lightest when you're the weakest, and it's more challenging where you're stronger.
7. Side Sled Drags
Side sled drags are a great option for integrating some work outside the sagittal plane for folks who either a) aren't coordinated enough for lateral lunge variations or b) have some knee or hip issues that don't handle deceleration stress well. As you can see, the exercise is pretty much purely concentric. We'll usually use it as a third exercise on a lower body strength training day - and as you can see, it can offer some metabolic conditioning benefits as well.
Keep in mind that these are just strength development progressions; we use a different collection of exercises for training power in comparable positions. In our more advanced athletes, these drills will take place toward the end of a lower body training session - after we've already trained for strength in the sagittal plane, where we can load folks up better. That said, if an individual is new to lateral lunge variations, you may want to introduce them early on in the strength training session when they're fresh.
Have some fun with these exercise variations; I think you'll find them to be challenging in ways you haven't previously experienced. And, the soreness you'll experience will be all the proof you need!
If you need more direction in how to apply them in your strength and conditioning programs, be sure to check out The High Performance Handbook; they're included in all four phases of the programs.
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Courtesy of Greg Robins, here are this week's tips to make your nutrition strength and conditioning programs a bit more awesome.
1. Try some back extension isometric holds on the glute-ham raise.
2. Invest in a PVC dowel for your training.
Too often people break the bank to buy flashy gym equipment in their efforts to get results. Even more disappointing is the mass amounts of money gym owners spend on this equipment to lure people in. If you have visited CP before, then you probably noticed that we do just fine without a ton of flashy equipment. The truth is that you can meet all your goals with very little equipment. The missing ingredient is often YOU; the accessories don’t need to be fancy. For example, a PVC dowel will run you less than a few bucks!
So what can you do with this sucker? Take a look at this video where I will break down a sequence movements in less than three minutes that will have tremendous benefits to your health and fitness. In addition to these drills, a PVC dowel is something everyone should have at their disposal when teaching newcomers basic barbell lifts. It is a much better option (due to its weight) than starting off with an unloaded bar.
3. Consider breaking the mold when setting up intervals for fat loss.
If you ask most people how to set up rest to work intervals in a fat loss geared program, a common answer would be as follows: Beginners will need a ratio where they work less than they rest, and more advanced trainees will need the opposite. In many cases, this may be true. Surely people with longer training histories will be better conditioned. I want to challenge the norm in this scenario.
Often times, I try to see where I can pull principals from the more “Strength and Conditioning” side of the spectrum and apply them to the general population. You see, I am in a unique spot where I wear two hats: both programming for many athletes and for adult boot camp classes. There is a saying in the S&C community that goes: “It’s much easier to get someone who is fast in shape, than it is to make someone who is in shape, fast.” Without getting into too much detail, here is how we can use this concept to alter our interval set up.
Many times the general fitness trainee will not understand or have the ability to push himself. Furthermore, he won’t be capable of very high outputs. Therefore, setting up an interval scheme where the work interval is 1/3 or more of the rest interval will be less productive in my experience than something closer to even or less. Yes, you can make the argument that we would be training completely different energy systems, but I can assure you that following an inverted approach to the norm will get you better results. So how would this break down?
Beginners: Work equal or more than they rest: this way they move more, work harder, and build work capacity. Their outputs are generally low and they need a base of “conditioning.” Moving more will be more productive for fat loss at this time.
Advanced: Work less than they rest: at this point they’re capable of higher outputs and you will get better efforts each work interval when you allow them to recover. Fostering better quality work intervals will be more productive for fat loss at this time.
Intermediate: A combination of both: switch the intervals from a more “advanced” set up to a more “beginner” template during the same training session. Additionally, place an emphasis on coaching them to work harder in short work interval scenarios.
Obviously this doesn’t pan out for every population, and can’t be viewed as a rule of thumb, by any means. For those of you running group classes, or wondering how to set up your own training, this approach will work very well.
4. Try these two great eccentric-less “pulling” conditioning options.
In past posts, I have talked about the benefits of using exercise choices that are eccentric-less. They are especially useful on “off” days where you may be performing supplemental conditioning work. Unfortunately, many of the staple exercise choices (e.g., med ball throws and sled pushes) would be considered “pushes.” Here are two ways I incorporate pulling variations into my conditioning workouts while minimizing eccentric stress.
5. Use coconut butter as a binder when making low carb protein bars.
If you have attempted to make non-bake protein bars, then I know you have struggled with two big problems. One, the binders for which they call - honey, agave nectar, etc. - for are high in carbohydrates. Two, they don't bind well! Often, they lose their shape and mostly fall apart.
Recently, I stumbled upon a great solution. Here's the short story. I start every day off with a short fast. When I break the fast, I tend to begin the day with a healthy fat, fish oil, greens powder, and vitamin D. For the longest time, my fat of choice was coconut oil. Lately, I have been using coconut butter instead. It tastes better, and I like the consistency. In the morning, I will warm up the jar, mix the butter and separated oil back together and place two TBSP in a tiny tupperware container. By the time I go to eat it, the butter has fully hardened, and I can pop it out of the tupperware and eat it like a piece of white chocolate (which is also awesome!). This led me to try the following and it works great!
a. Place 3TBSP of coconut butter (warm and liquified) into a "mini bread" or protein bar sized dish (you can make one from tin foil if needed).
b. Mix in a little bit of protein powder and some finely chopped nuts.
c. Place in fridge until hardened
d. Unwrap, and EAT!
It's seriously that easy. You can add things like oats, berries, cocoa nibs, etc. The coconut butter binder works perfectly as long as you keep the bars in a cool dry place.
On a related note, if you're looking for additional protein bar recipes, I'd strongly recommend you check out Anabolic Cooking by Dave Ruel; he has several that are fantastic.
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I wrote my first “What I Learned in” feature at T-Nation back in 2006. A lot has happened in over the past seven years, too. I’m not longer the young whippersnapper picking fights on the T-Nation forum anymore. Rather, I’ve morphed into an old man with a receding hairline – and I prefer to yell at the television and complain about the damn kids who walk on my lawn, rather than arguing with folks on the internet.
If you're looking to improve your deadlift technique, don't overlook this crucial set-up cue that takes place right before you initiate the pull. Some folks call it "taking the slack out of the bar," while I call it "taking the tension out of the bar" (and into your body). Regardless, you need to do it!
You can see this technique in action on my recent 600x3 PR set; you'll notice that the bar is already bending slightly before I actually put force into the floor.
Looking for even more coaching cues for your deadlift technique? Definitely check out The Specialization Success Guide, a new resource from Greg Robins and me. In addition to including comprehensive programs for the squat, bench press, and deadlift, it also comes with detailed video tutorials on all three of these "Big 3" lifts. And, it's on sale at the introductory $30 off price until tonight at midnight. Check it out HERE.
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Here's a list of recommended strength and conditioning reads to kick off your week on the right foot:
Omega-6 vs. Omega-3: Who Cares? - The Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio is a topic that's been scrutinized heavily in analyzing the typical American diet, but if you're someone who is already good about picking healthy food options, you may be making things far too complex. Dr. Mike Roussell clarifies in this article.
Is Metabolic Resistance Training Right for Everyone? - This was a guest post I published from Joe Dowdell back in 2011, and a conversation I had about progressions in beginners made me think of it. This is a "must-read" for up-and-coming trainers who deal with deconditioned folks in the general population.
Will Your College Go Out of Business Before You Graduate? - I thought this was a tremendously interesting post from Mark Cuban. While it might not seem related to the fitness industry at first glance, I suspect that our field could be among the first ones affected if a scenario like this emerged. With such a low barrier to entry in this industry, it's not unreasonable to think that folks will shun the $250,000 (or more) exercise science degree and just go right to the trenches. I touched on this a little bit a while back in my blog posts, Is An Exercise Science Degree Really Worth it? - Part 1 and Part 2.
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Here are this week's strength and conditioning tips, courtesy of Greg Robins.
1. Stress the “Hip Shift” with rotational med ball drills.
In this video I would like to detail the most important factor when using medicine ball exercisess to improve rotational power. Additionally, I have included a couple drills to help athletes with shifting from one hip to the other.
2. Consider adding work before you take away rest.
Often, you will set up your training sessions based on work to rest ratios. For example:
5 sets of 5 with one minute of rest.
OR
30 seconds of work with 30 seconds of rest.
Whether we are working to improve an athlete’s work capacity, or programming for a fat loss client, the idea is that we are calling for consistent high output efforts with incomplete rest intervals.
My suggestion is that you add repetitions or small increases in time BEFORE you take away rest. Why? The answer is simple: if you want high outputs, you are more likely to get them when you have more rest, albeit incomplete rest. Over the course of a program, use a progression where you add work first, then go back to where you started and take away rest the second go around. This way you are more likely to get better outputs.
Using our first example:
The first month would include adding 1 rep per workout or adding a few seconds while keeping the 1 minute, or 30 seconds of rest, respectively. In the following month, you can keep the work at 5 reps or 30 seconds and take away small amounts of rest each workout. In the months to follow you can start to combine elements of each.
3. Know when to buy organic produce when you’re on a budget.
I have never been in a situation where I didn’t need to count my pennies when it came to buying food for the week. That being said, I have filled my head with too much information not be informed when it comes to the safety of the food I buy. Therefore, I have to be consider how I can stay smart with my food choices and my finances. One of the best pieces of advice I received a while back had to do with when to buy organic produce. As a rule of thumb, I buy organic fruits and veggies when I plan on eating the skin, and I don’t when I plan on removing the skin.
For example, when it comes to berries, apples, and leafy greens, I always go organic. When I buy bananas, pineapple, or spaghetti squash, I just buy the cheapest I can find. Keeping this in mind, I also tend to buy fruits and veggies that fit my budget at the time in respect to my rule of thumb. Give it a try and save some dough!
4. Try this variation of the reverse crunch.
5. Consider this study when developing your strength and conditioning programs.
Earlier this year, I presented at our first annual Cressey Performance Fall Seminar. I spoke on the various qualities of “strength” an athlete may acquire and display. A large part of what I stressed was the relationship between strength qualities and how some exercises (and improvement of said exercises) share a more direct relationship with increased performance in an athlete’s sport of choice.
Recently, I came across this study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The researchers examined how various field related strength and performance tests correlate to a golfer’s club head speed (CHS). Not surprisingly, it was found that better rotational medicine ball throw outputs and squat jump outputs correlated with better CHS.
The study describes the finding as “movements that are more concentrically dominant in nature may display stronger relationships with CHS.”
The take away is that we must make sure that our athletes have great absolute strength (which can be measured eccentrically), but also the ability to call upon that strength quickly and use it concentrically. If there is a major deficit between their ability to use their strength against a very sub maximal load (such as a golf club, baseball, or their body), then we are missing the mark in making them more productive on the field. Be sure to test and improve not only maximal strength numbers, but also power outputs in time dependent situations. These can include testing and programming various jumps, sprints, and throws.
On March 31, 2011, Cressey Performance athlete Tim Collins made his major league debut on opening day for the Kansas City Royals. As one of the shortest players in Major League Baseball, Tim made for a great story, especially considering he was an undrafted free agent sign who never received interest from any college baseball programs, let alone Division 1 schools. In light of this unlikely ascent to baseball's biggest stage, Tim's story was featured on Yahoo Sports, MLB.com, and Men's Health, and I also wrote up this post, which was among my most popular of all time. By the end of the day, Tim was trending worldwide on Twitter when my business partner and I went out to dinner with Tim and his folks to celebrate his big-league debut - even though nobody in downtown Kansas City recognized him outside of his uniform.
Not surprisingly, Tim's phone was bombarded by text messages and phone calls all that afternoon and evening. However, I never could have imagined that we, too, would get bombarded with requests after Tim got to the show. Since that date, we've received hundreds of emails (in addition to some phone calls to the office, one of whom asked to speak with Tim - in the middle of July while he was in-season) that all essentially go like this (this is copied and pasted):
"Hi, I am a 5-7 lefty pitcher that also weights 170lb but only throws 80 mph. I read the articles about Tim Collins and was wondering if you could send me the workouts that he does in the off-season with you because I'm just like him. What leg exercises/lifts did he perform. Also did he just focus on legs, core and light upper body. If I lifted upper body I get really stiff because I have a similar stature like Collins, so did he basically avoid upper body lifts or did he just perform light lifts on the upper body. Finally after I lift I have been running a mile after that to loosen up my muscle to stay flexible, is that a good or bad idea. Thanks."
Now, don't get me wrong; I think it's absolutely awesome that Tim's story has inspired guys to want to work hard to achieve their goals in spite of their stature - and we've certainly received loads of comments from folks who always put a smile on my face in this regard. However, it frustrates (and entertains) me to think that some guys assume that they are just a program (actually, five year worth of programs) away from throwing 97mph and pitching in the big leagues. Programs are just a bunch of words and numbers typed into Microsoft Excel and printed out; it's how they're carried out that really matters. Additionally, there is a lot more to long-term baseball success than just following a strength and conditioning program; you also have to prepare on the baseball side of things and attain a skill set that differentiates you. To that end, I thought I'd take this time to highlight 21 reasons you're not Tim Collins.
1. You don't have Tim's training partners.
Tim's had some of the same training partners since back in 2007, and in addition to pushing him in the gym, they've also served as a network for him to share ideas and solicit feedback. If you just do "his programs" in a commercial gym by yourself (with obnoxious Nicky Minaj music in the background), you're not going to get the same outcome. True story: in the fall of 2009, Tim trained alongside Paul Bunyan. This experience gave him the size, strength, and courage needed to grow a beard that would become a beacon for humanity in Kansas City and beyond.
2. Your beard is not this good.
Everyone knows that beards improve the likelihood of baseball success, not to mention all-around happiness in the rest of one's life. I can't send you a strength and conditioning program that will make your facial hair grow.
3. You don't put calories in the right place like Tim does.
Tim can eat a ton of food and a LOT more of it goes to muscle than fat. Just because you're 5-7, 150 pounds and left-handed doesn't mean you won't become a fat slob if you crush 8,000 calories a day. Sorry.
4. You don't have Tim's awesome support network.
Tim is fortunate to have a great family, from his parents, to his sisters, to his fiance. This is especially important for an undrafted free agent who didn't get much of a signing bonus. His parents put a roof over his head and fed him while he worked his way through the minor leagues.
More significantly, though, people don't realize that the foundation of becoming a big leaguer doesn't come from a training program; it comes from the values that are instilled in you by those around you when you're young. As a perfect example, Tim's father, Larry, is one of the hardest-working guys you'll ever meet. He teaches, has a painting business, and even just accepted a prestigious award for outstanding community service in the Worcester area. A few sheets of paper with exercises, sets, and reps written on them won't foster the kind of habits that will get you to "the show."
5. You probably don't enjoy the process like Tim does.
Tim likes training. In fact, all of our clients knew Tim well before he made it to the big leagues, as he was always at the gym. He has been putting in eight hour days of hanging around the office (on top of his training) for five years now. If you don't enjoy training, you probably around going to become a gym rat. And, if you don't teach yourself to enjoy the training process, your chance of getting to your ideal destination will surely be diminished. This was taken at 7pm on a Tuesday night, as a frame of reference:
6. You might not have Tim's luck.
Then Blue Jays general manager JP Ricciardi "discovered" Tim by accident when he was out to scout another player. How many of you have GMs just "pop in" to your Legion games - and conveniently do it on a day when you strike out 12 straight guys?
7. Your name isn't Matt O'Connor.
Meet Matt O'Connor, Cressey Performance athlete and student at Emory University. He is sometimes mistaken for Tim when he's at CP.
If we were going to pick anyone to be "just like Tim Collins," it would be Matt - purely for efficiency's sake.
8. You might not have a switch you can flip on and off.
One of the things most folks don't know about many high level lifters is that they joke around all the time during training sessions. When I was lifting at one of the best powerlifting gyms in the world, guys were always busting each other's chops between sets. However, when the time comes to move weights, they get very serious very quickly. They know how to flip the switch on at will.
However, they also know how to turn the switch off when they don't need it. This is true of a lot of the most successful baseball players I've encountered; they leave work at work. The guys who are constantly "on" and let the game consume their lives often have bad relationships with teammates and stress themselves into bad results.
I think part of what has made Tim successful - especially as a relief pitcher - is that he can turn his brain and his body on at a moment's notice, but knows how to go back to "normal Tim" when the time is right.
9. You probably don't even have a bulldog, and if you do, I guarantee you that his underbite isn't this awesome.
10. You don't have Tim's curveball.
I actually remember reading somewhere that Tim's curveball had more top-to-bottom depth than any other curveball in Major League Baseball, and I spoke to one MLB advanced scout who said he rated it as an 80. Keep in mind that average fastball velocity is higher in Low A than it is in the big leagues. Tim's velocity improvements might have been a big part of him advancing through the minor leagues, but he doesn't even get his first opportunity unless he has a great curveball. And, no, I don't have his "curveball program" to send you.
11. You don't have Tim's change-up.
If Tim's curveball is what got him to the big leagues, it was his change-up that has kept him there. Interesting fact: he threw two change-ups in the 2010 season - and both led to home runs. It took a lot of work to develop the change-up he has now. But you just need his programs. Riiiight.
12. You can't ride a unicycle.
I don't know of the correlation between unicycling ability and pitching success, but there has to be something there.
13. You might not respond to success like Tim has.
I often see one of two things happens when guys are successful in pro sports, and everyone comes out of the woodwork asking for something. They either a) trust everybody or b) trust nobody. I think Tim's done a great job of finding a happy medium. He puts his trust in others and doesn't second guess them, but still guards his network carefully.
14. You might not be as willing to make sacrifices as he is.
This might come as a surprise, but Hudson, MA really isn't that beautiful in the winter. Most pro guys move to Arizona, Florida, or California in the off-season, but Tim sacrifices that lifestyle to train with us and be close to the support network I mentioned earlier. Asking to just have a program (actually, 50+ programs) emailed to you means that you aren't willing to make sacrifices on that level, which leads to...
15. You wouldn't be doing your program in the same training environment.
I know a lot of pro guys who struggle to find a throwing partner in the off-season. If that's an issue, it's a safe assumption that they don't exactly have many (if any) training partners or a good training environment in which to execute the program, either. You don't just need the right people; you need quite a few of them, with the right equipment at your fingertips. At risk of sounding arrogant, I think we've done a great job of creating that at CP.
16. You don't have just the right amount of laxity.
Congenital laxity is a big consideration in training throwing athletes. Some guys have naturally looser joints, while others tend to be very stiff. The really "loose" guys need more stability training and little to not flexibility work, while the tight guys need a hearty dose of mobility drills. Generally speaking, the best place to be (in my opinion, at least) is middle-of-the-road. Tim falls right there, with a small tendency toward being a bit more loose, which favors his aggressive delivery.
17. You don't throw to a left-handed catcher in the off-season.
And, even if you do, your left-handed catcher probably doesn't have a mitt with his name on it. It's definitely a crucial part of the Tim Collins developmental experience.
18. You probably can't score a 21 on the Functional Movement Screen.
Many of you are probably familiar with Gray Cook's Functional Movement Screen, a seven-part assessment approach used in a number of fitness and strength and conditioning settings nowadays. A perfect score is a 21, but you don't see it very often - usually because everyone gets dominated by the rotary stability test, where a perfect score (3) is essentially a same-sided birddog. The first time I saw Tim drop to the floor and do this effortlessly, my jaw just about hit the floor. Luckily, he can repeat it on command like it's nothing, so I snapped a video (this was the first try, with no warm-up).
He's scored a 21 on this two spring trainings in a row - and that implies that he actually moves quite well. Most people don't need his program, as they have a lot more movement quality issues to address.
19. You ice after you throw.
Tim iced after pitching one time, and hated it; he'll never do it again. Not everyone is the same, though; some guys swear by it. You might be one of those guys.
20. You've never personal trained a nine-week old puppy.
21. You "muscle" everything.
One of the traits you'll see in a lot of elite athletes is that they don't get overly tense when they don't have to do so. If you're squatting 500 pounds, you want to establish a lot more rigidity, but if you're participating in the vast majority of athletic endeavors, you want effortless, fluid movement - almost as if you aren't trying. If you just tense up and try to muscle everything, it becomes harder to take advantage of the stretch-shortening cycle. Teaching an athlete to relax is challenging - but I never had to even address it with Tim; it was something he just "had."
There's a saying in the strength and conditioning world that "it's easier to make a fast guy strong than it is to make a strong guy fast." I think this quote applies perfectly to Tim's development. Not everyone has that natural reactive ability from the get-go, so different training approaches are needed for different individuals.
Again, in closing, I should emphasize that it's great that Tim has become an inspiration to shorter pitchers to pursue their dreams. However, as is always the case, young athletes simply following the exact training programs of professional athletes is a bad idea, as these programs may not be appropriate for their bodies or point on the athletic development continuum. To that end, I encourage all young athletes to educate themselves on how they are unique - and find the right people and programs to pursue their dreams in accordance with those findings. And, for the record, Tim agrees!
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This past weekend, I spoke at a baseball conference that featured an outstanding lineup. Sharing the stage were:
Lloyd McClendon (former MLB player and current Detroit Tigers hitting coach)
Jerry Weinstein (Colorado Rockies catching coach)
Gary Gilmore (Coastal Carolina head Coach)
Rich Maloney (Ball State head coach)
Shaun Cole (University of Arizona pitching coach)
Gary Picone (former Lewis & Clark head coach)
I picked up some great insights over the weekend, but the two themes that seemed to resound with me over and over again were that all of these guys emphasized simplicity and individualization.
On the simplicity side of things, all of these coaches emphasized not making things more elaborate than they needed to be. Paraphrasing Hall-of-Fame shortstop Barry Larkin, Coach Maloney hammered home "making the routine play routinely." This really hit home with me, as many baseball players I encounter are looking for the latest and greatest throwing program, supplement, or training gadget to take them to the next level. Meanwhile, the simple answer is just that they need train a little harder, eat a little better, and be a little more patient and attentive.
On the individualization side of things, McClendon, for instance, emphasized that while all great hitters get to the same important positions, many of them start at different positions. And, they each require different drills to "get right," and different players do better with shorter sessions in the cage than others.
In one way or another, every single speaker touched on - and, in most cases, specifically mentioned - keeping things simple and individualized. To that end, I thought I'd post five random thoughts on both of these factors:
Simplifying Baseball Strength and Conditioning Programs
1. Magical things happen when you get stronger. Learn to put more force into the ground and you will throw harder, swing faster, jump higher, and run faster.
2. Don't miss sessions. The off-season is never as long as you want it to be, and it's your time to "put money in the bank" from a training adaptation standpoint. And, in-season, it's easy to put things off until tomorrow - but that doesn't mean that you should, as there is a tomorrow for tomorrow, too, and that's a slippery slope.
3. Do what you need, not just what you're good at doing. If you throw hard, but can't throw strikes, do more bullpen work. If you throw strikes, but can't throw hard, do more velocity drills: long toss, weighted ball work, etc.
4. Don't add more volume without taking something away. You can't do high volume strength training, high volume medicine ball work, high volume throwing, high volume hitting, and high volume sprint work all at once. If you add something new, take something away.
5. Don't power through bad technique or pain. If you can't do something with good technique, slow it down and practice it at an easier pace. If that still doesn't work, regress the drill/exercise.
Individualizing Baseball Strength and Conditioning Programs
1. Coach the same exercises differently. Different players respond to different cues, but they often mandate different cues as well. For instance, a wall slide with overhead shrug would be cued differently for someone with scapular depression and anterior tilt than in someone with scapular elevation and adduction. The goal is to make the movement look right, but there are different roads to get to this point.
2. Assess for congenital laxity. If someone has crazy loose joints, don't stretch them. If they're stiff as a board, include more mobility drills and static stretching.
3. Inquire about innings pitched. The more innings a pitcher has thrown, the more down-time he'll need and the longer it'll take to get his rotator cuff and scapular control back to a suitable level in the off-season.
4. Master the sagittal plane first. If you can't do a body weight squat or lunge, then you probably aren't going to have the rotary stability necessary to do aggressive rotational medicine ball throws or plyos in the frontal plane.
5. Appreciate each player's injury history and find out where they usually get soreness/pain. Simply asking these questions and reviewing a health history can tell you a lot about where a player might break down moving forward. If you aren't asking or assessing, you're just guessing.
These five thoughts on individualization might seem obvious, but it never ceases to amaze me just how many people in the industry simply throw a one-size-fits-all program up on the dry erase board and expect everyone to do it exactly the same. Some folks might thrive, but others might wind up injured or regressing in their fitness levels in some capacity. This is where we begin to appreciate the incredibly essential interaction between individualization and simplicity. Nothing is more simple than this:
Determine an athlete's unique needs, and then write a program and provide coaching cues to address them.
There is nothing more basic and simple than a needs evaluation. You can't determine that something is too complex if you have no idea where an athlete stands in the first place!
Why then, do we have entire teams doing the same program with the same coaching cues? Usually, it's because it makes someone's job easier, or it allows them to get more athletes through the babysitting service to make more money. That's not how you keep athletes healthy, win games, or educate athletes about how their bodies are unique.
So with all that in mind, remember to keep things simple - and that begins with an assessment so that you can create an individualized training experience.
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CP Coach Greg Robins and I just pulled together the following tips to improve your nutrition and strength and conditioning programs. Enjoy!
1. Improve the learning curve on core stability exercises with this tip:
2. Improve your grip with some easy changes.
Grip strength is an important quality to train in your program. It is beneficial if you plan on moving some heavy loads, or excelling at sports that rely heavily on the lower arm. I am by no means an expert in advanced grip work; however, I can offer some quick ways to start including it in your strength training program by making a few easy changes.
a. Start using a double overhand grip as long as possible with your deadlift technique. Too often, I see people instantly utilize a mixed grip when pulling. Even some more advanced lifters I have trained with do not try to improve their double overhand grip. Generally, they just have a number in mind where they switch from overhand to mixed, and it’s been the same even as their lift has improved hundreds of pounds over the past few years.
b. Make at least 1/3 of the exercise variations that rely heavily on elbow flexion (i.e. curls, rows, chin-ups) more grip intensive. Do so by using towels around the handle or something like Fat Gripz. Additionally, use different implements - such as softball grip and ropes - for rows and chin-ups.
c. Lastly, pick up a new “grip specific” exercise to work on, and change it every four weeks. These can include, grip crushers, plate pinches. Guys like John Brookfield and Jedd Johnson put out tons of innovative exercises to make your handshake something people fear.
3. Soup up your bench seat with just a few bands.
This is a nice little trick for those of you who might find the bench at your gym a little “slick.” My good friend and former CP intern Angel Jimenez, showed this to me originally. I believe the credit goes back to bench guru Dave Tate, though. While I can’t take the credit, I will share the info!
4. Pause more, lift more.
How often do you miss reps near the top? I am willing to bet that it’s not often. Furthermore, I bet 90% of the people reading this who say they do, really just have no pop out of the bottom of a lift and it catches up to them at lockout. You don’t need to work on strength at lockout as much as you do as strength at the bottom. That being said, when I look at most people’s strength training programs, the assistance work involves board presses, rack pulls, and high box squats. I was guilty of it too. The fact is, you like those variations because they are easier and allow you to lift more weight. The truth is you need to take the load down and start working the bottom portion of the range of motion more.
Enter the pause. Start working in paused squats in the hole, start pausing bench presses on the chest, and finally start making sure rep work on the deadlift is done to a complete stop (and, in my opinion, a complete reset, too).
5. Add some Olympic lifts to your training without missing out on your meat and potatoes.
The Olympic lifts can be a great addition to a comprehensive strength training program for those who can perform them safely. However, it goes without saying that there can be a very steep learning curve for picking up the exercises. For that very reason, earlier this week, I published a guest blog from Wil Fleming on clean and jerk technique fixes - a great compliment to his new DVD, Complete Olympic Lifting (on sale at a ridiculously low price until Friday at midnight, by the way).
One of the biggest concerns many folks have is that the learning curve will be so steep that they may miss out on a lot of actual training as they work their way through the fundamentals of Olympic lifting with light weights. This is a very real concern, too, as even working at a lighter weight for a lot of practice reps can take a lot out of you. In fact, I've had a lot of inquiries from folks who wanted to include Olympic lifting in Show and Go, but weren't sure how to do so. My suggestions to them are very simple:
a. Pick one lift or the other (clean or snatch) to practice in each of your lower body sessions each week. If you want to work on jerks, you can plug it in at the start of an upper body day.
b. Do it at the start of your training session (right after your warm-up), and promise yourself that you won't go for more than thirty minutes.
c. Drop one set from each of the rest of the lower body exercises in the session to make up for the volume you've added.
You won't become wildly proficient in a matter of a few days with this approach, but slow and steady can win the race - even when it comes to lifts with high power output. An hour of practice per week will effectively allow you to ride a few horses (learning while maintaining a training effect) with one saddle (your limited time, energy, and recovery capacity).
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