Home 2017 December

The Best of 2017: Product Reviews

To wrap up my “Best of 2017″ series, I’ll highlight the top product reviews I did at this site in the last year. Here they are:

1. Complete Sports Conditioning - This resource from Mike Boyle is top notch, and he does a great job of simplifying complex topics for up-and-coming strength and conditioning coaches. Since it was the most popular product I reviewed this year, I reached out to Mike to see if he'd be up for running a quick promo sale for my readers, and he kindly agreed. From now through January 3, you can get $100 off on the resource. No coupon code is needed; just head HERE.

2. American Sports Medicine Institute Injuries in Baseball Course - Mike Reinold compiled this great list of webinars from accomplished surgeons and rehabilitation specialists to create an excellent sports medicine resource for those in the baseball world.

3. L2 Fitness Summit Video Series - Dean Somerset and Dr. Mike Israetel released this video of a one-day seminar back in November, Dean offers a nice glimpse into some assessment components that go beyond typical movement screens, and Mike's presentation on hypertrophy mechanisms and strategies was insightful as well. These are some seemingly minimally-related topics, but they did a good job of pulling everything together.

Also in 2017, the Cressey Sports Performance team released CSP Innovations. This resource highlighted a collection of different topics from the CSP staff, so there's something for everyone at a price much cheaper than attending a seminar.

We're back to the regular EricCressey.com content this week. Thanks for all your support in 2017!

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The Best of 2017: Baseball Articles

With baseball athletes being the largest segment of the Cressey Sports Performance athletic clientele, it seems only fitting to devote a "Best of 2017" feature to the top baseball posts from last year. Check them out:

1. 6 Key Factors for Developing Pitchers - In this article, I look at some things I've learned from some of our peak performing pitchers at the MLB level - and how they can help up-and-coming players.

2. Are Pitching Mechanics Really That Repeatable? - We hear the phrase "repeat your mechanics" pretty often, but you'll be surprised at how hard (or impossible) that really is to do.

3. Sports Performance: Study the Majority, and Stop Cherrypicking Exceptions to the Rule - The baseball community loves to try to build theories off of small sample sizes when we all should be looking at the majority to see what works.

4. A Letter to This Year's MLB Draft Picks - There are lots of life lessons in here for more than just baseball players.

5. Overlooked Uses for a J-Band: Part 1 and Part 2 - Here are some innovative ways that we use this awesome piece of equipment.

We've got one last "Best of 2017" list running tomorrow, so stay tuned for the closer!

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The Best of 2017: Strength and Conditioning Features

I really enjoying creating features with multiple installments because it really allows me to dig deep into a topic that interests both me and my readers. It’s like writing a short book, with each post being a different chapter. That said, here were a few of my favorite features from 2017 at EricCressey.com:

1. Random Thoughts on Sports Performance Training

Installment 26
Installment 27
Installment 28
Installment 29

2. Random Thoughts on Long-Term Fitness Industry Success

Installment 5
Installment 6
Installment 7
Installment 8

3. Periodization for Teenage Athletes - I thought this three-part article from Cressey Sports Performance coach John O'Neil was outstanding. If you work with athletes, it's a must-read.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The Best of 2017 series is almost complete, but stayed tuned for a few more highlights!

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The Best of 2017: Guest Posts

I've already highlighted the top articles and videos I put out at EricCressey.com in 2017, so now it's time for the top guest posts of the year. Here goes…

1. Is a Calorie Really Just a Calorie? - Brian St. Pierre tackled this hot topic in the nutrition world and (unsurprisingly) it generated a lot of buzz.

2. Should You Even Stretch? - Dean Somerset always comes through with great content on the corrective exercise side of things.

3. 5 Tips for Improved Client Relationships - Brett Velon was one of the best interns we've ever had, and it had a lot to do with his amazing ability to build rapport with clients so quickly. He shares some of his tips here.

4. Are You Training Mobility or Just Mobilizing? - Frank Duffy takes a closer look at ways to improve your mobility training.

5. When Precision Tops Effort - John O'Neil discusses the importance of knowing that not all exercises need to be treated like PR deadlifts.

I'll be back soon with the top strength and conditioning features from 2017.

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The Best of 2017: Strength and Conditioning Videos

With my last post, I kicked off the "Best of 2017" series with my top articles of the year. Today, we'll highlight the top five videos of the year. These videos only include instructional videos, not quick exercise demonstrations.

1. Why I Don't Like Scap Push-ups - I used to use scap push-ups, but got away from them several years ago. This video details why.

2. Bench Press Technique, Shoulder Health, and Elbows Tucked vs. Flared - Elbows tucked vs. elbows flared: which is better for shoulder health? Check out this video to find out.

3. Should You "Balance" Pushes and Pulls? - I don't think it's as simple as balancing pushes and pulls in your training program. Here's why.

4. Making Sense of Serratus Anterior - I write and speak a lot about the importance of serratus anterior for shoulder health and performance. Here's what happens when it doesn't do its job.

5. Deadlift Technique: Set-up Tips - I've often said that the solution is in the set-up, and the deadlift is a perfect example.

I'll be back soon with the top guest posts of 2017!

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The Best of 2017: Strength and Conditioning Articles

With 2017 winding down, I'm using this last week of the year to direct you to some of the most popular content of the past 12 months at EricCressey.com, as this "series" has been quite popular over the past few years. Today, we start with the most popular articles of the year; these are the pieces that received the most traffic, according to my hosting statistics.

1. Less Sickness for Better Results - The most important training goal should always be consistency, and getting sick is a big roadblock to that consistent training effect.

2. 5 Reasons to Use "Fillers" in Your Training Programs - "Fillers" are an awesome way for getting in more quality work in your training sessions. This article details the "why" and "how" of their incorporation in strength and conditioning programs.

3. Making Sense of Exercise Contraindications - If we just looked at MRIs, we could find a reason to contraindicate just about every exercise for just about every person. We need to dig a lot deeper to figure out which exercises are right for each person, though.

4. Simplified Shoulder Solutions - Don't making keeping shoulders any more complex than it needs to be. This article discusses how to "dumb things down" on this front.

5. 10 More Important Notes on Assessments - This one just went up recently, but got a lot of love in the short time it's been available. I guess folks can never get enough on quality assessments.

I'll be back soon with another "Best of 2017" feature. Up next, the top videos of the year!

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Should We Really Contraindicate ALL Overhead Lifting?

At a seminar a few weeks ago, a college pitching coach said to me, "Well, I know that you don't like overhead lifting for pitchers, so what do you do instead?"

It's something that's falsely been attributed to me in the past, so let me go on the record by saying that I don't think all overhead lifting is created equal. Rather, I think there is a continuum we have to appreciate as we select exercises for our clients and athletes.

At the most aggressive end of the spectrum, we have overhead pressing with a barbell or dumbbells. They allow a lifter to take on the most load, and in the case of the barbell, they have the least freedom of movement (especially if we're talking about a Smith machine press). Moreover, they generally lead to the most significant compensatory movement, particularly at the lower back. I don't love these for baseball players, but don't have any problems with using them in healthy lifters from other walks of life.

However, in these more at-risk populations, we have some options as more shoulder friendly exercises that can deliver a great training effect. The bottoms-up kettlebell military press delivers a slightly different training effect more safely because more of the work is devoted to joint stability. And, I've found that the bottoms-up set-up helps the lifter to engage serratus anterior more to get the scapula "around" the rib cage.

Landmine presses are another good alternative, as I see them as a hybrid of horizontal and vertical pressing. The torso angle and "lean" into the bar help to optimize scapular upward rotation with less competing directly against gravity.

Bottoms-up carries and waiter's walks are also good options for driving overhead patterning without beating up on the joint. We use them all the time.

Regressing even further, something like a yoga push-up is technically an overhead lift because of the finish position.

So, the take-home message is that I'm not against overhead lifting; in fact, we do it all the time on a number of fronts. Moreover, these examples don't even take into account things like TRX Ys, pull-ups, and overhead medicine ball throw/stomp variations - all of which we incorporate on a daily basis with our athletes and general population clients. Not all overhead work is created equal!

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Strength and Conditioning Stuff You Should Read: 12/18/17

It's a short week on the content front, as I posted last week's recommended reading a few days late. We are still making things happen, though!

Eccentric Overload with Flywheel Training and Rehabilitation - This is an awesome article from the power couple, Jennifer Reiner-Marcello and Brandon Marcello. We've been using the Versapulley more and more in our training, and this delves into some of the mechanisms that make it so great.

Brian St. Pierre on the Fundamentals of High-Performance Nutrition - Brian has been a friend, employee, and trusted resource for over a decade - and podcasts like this show why that's the case. He delivers some excellent content.

11 Ways to Make an Exercise Harder - Earlier this week, on social media, I shared this old article of mine from T-Nation. It's a collection of important programming progressions and regressions that anyone writing strength training programs should understand.

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Checks and Balances in the Shoulder of the Throwing Athlete

For today's guest post, I've collaborated with physical therapist Eric Schoenberg, one of my co-presenters at the Elite Baseball Mentorship. Enjoy! -EC

The #1 reason why a player or team does not succeed in baseball is injury. Today, there is a surplus of information, but at the same time a lack of basic understanding of how to keep a baseball player healthy. When in doubt, you can never go wrong by understanding and relying upon anatomy and quality human movement.

One key principle to understand in this regard is that there is a tremendous system of checks and balances working at the shoulder girdle to make sure that we control both the big movements (osteokinematics) and subtle joint movements (arthrokinematics) in a small window for health and performance. If we look to anatomy, we can appreciate a very important concept by looking at the attachment points for the deltoid, latissimus dorsi, and pectoralist major: your three biggest prime movers in the upper extremity. You'll notice that all three attach on the shaft of the humerus, not the humeral head. Take a look at their attachment sites on this anatomical chart, and then compare them to where the rotator cuff (supraspinatus, subscapularis, teres major, and teres minor) attach further up on the humeral head.

Source: http://howtorelief.com/humerus-anatomy-bony-landmarks-muscle-attachment/

You can appreciate that all these big muscles attach on the anterior (front) aspect of the humerus, which means that they have powerful pulls into internal rotation that have to be counteracted by fewer, smaller muscles that attach on the posterior (back) aspect of the shoulder.

Here are three specific implications of these anatomical observations that relate to how you manage your throwing athletes:

1. The Deltoid is strong/active enough!

The deltoid works in conjunction with the supraspinatus to form a “force couple.”

Source: www.MikeReinold.com

If the strength, recruitment, or timing of the deltoid is greater than the supraspinatus, then the result will be superior migration of the humeral head in the glenoid. This results in superior humeral head stress (chondral defect), undersurface rotator cuff tear, labral pathology, among other structural injuries to the glenohumeral joint.

Tip: Be sure that athletes feel rotator cuff strengthening exercises in the cuff and not the deltoid or biceps.

2. The lat is strong/active enough!

The lat (as it acts on the scapula) is opposed by the serratus anterior, lower trapezius, and upper trapezius to control scapular rotation. Increased relative stiffness of the lat results in excessive scapular depression and downward rotation at rest.

Additionally, if you have decreased activation or muscle performance of the scapular upward rotators and elevators with overhead motion, the outcome will be inferior migration of the glenoid on the humeral head.

This results in superior humeral head stress (chondral defect), undersurface rotator cuff tear, labral pathology, among other structural injuries to the glenohumeral joint.

Tip: Be sure that the athlete’s programs have a good balance of overhead reaching tasks done with proper mechanics and timing of the glenohumeral and scapulothoracic joints.

3. The pecs are strong/active enough!

Pectoralis major's impact on the anterior glenohumeral joint is opposed by the rotator cuff to prevent anterior humeral glide. Effectively, the pec and lats want to pull the ball forward on the socket as the arm goes through gross movements, and the rotator cuff works hard to prevent this gliding at the joint level.

Dominance of pec major over the rotator cuff muscles (namely subscapularis) will play a role in an athlete presenting with anterior humeral glide. We often hear the athlete report “tightness” in the front of the shoulder and their first option is to "stretch it."

This can lead to anterior shoulder pain and potential structural pathology including anterior joint laxity, biceps tendon pathology, and labral pathology – all common injuries in throwing athletes.

Tip: Rather than trying to decrease the “tightness” in the front of the shoulder by aggressively stretching—instead, focus on improving static alignment, proprioceptive awareness, and recruitment of the cuff. If you couple this with some self-massage work, this approach will yield far more favorable results.

In closing, the shoulder joint is happiest when alignment is optimal. Injury will occur if preferred alignment is altered. Examples of altered alignment at rest or with movement are the humeral head is riding too high in the socket, the socket is riding too low on the humeral head, or the humerus is gliding too far forward. The resultant stress to the active or passive restraints of the shoulder leads to injury and loss of playing time. Do yourself (and the players that you work with) a favor and master the basics to help improve success on the field.

Looking to learn more about our unique approach to assessing and managing throwing athletes? Check out the upcoming Elite Baseball Mentorship Upper Extremity Course on January 14-16, 2018. For more information, click here.  The early-bird registration discount ends tonight at midnight.

About the Co-Author

Eric Schoenberg (@PTMomentum) is a physical therapist and strength coach located in Milford, MA where he is co-owner of Momentum Physical Therapy. Eric is addicted to baseball and plays a part in the Elite Baseball Mentorship Seminars at Cressey Sports Performance. He can be reached at eric@momentumpt.com.
 

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Strength and Conditioning Stuff You Should Read: 12/13/17

Happy Wednesday! Here are a few recommended reads to get you over Hump Day.

Get Up to Get Down: The Impact of Scapular Movement on Pitch Location - With tomorrow being the early bird registration discount deadlift on our January Elite Baseball Mentorship, I thought it'd be a good time to reincarnate this great guest post from Eric Schoenberg from the archives. You can learn more about the mentorship HERE.

9 Reasons Nutrition Can Feel So Confusing - This is a great video from Dr. John Berardi and his team at Precision Nutrition. They outline the problem, but just as importantly, get folks started on some strategies for improvement.

Gym Owner Musings - Installment 9 - My business partner, Pete Dupuis, always delivers some good thoughts in this random collection of reflections on what he's learned on the business side of fitness.

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