Home 2020 January

Elite Baseball Development Podcast: Mobility Methods with Dana Santas

We're excited to welcome Dana Santas to this week's podcast to talk about how to fine-tune methods of improving mobility. A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Athletic Greens. Head to http://www.athleticgreens.com/cressey and you'll receive a free 20-pack of Athletic Greens travel packets with your first order.

Show Outline

  • How Dana first became interested in mobility through yoga and why she grew to appreciate this practice for its emphasis on breathing and the opportunity it gave her to sit in silence and relax
  • Why Dana chose to leave her job in corporate America to pursue her passion for yoga as a yoga instructor
  • How a chance meeting on a business trip opened her eyes to the lack of mobility training in professional sports
  • How Dana scrapped her original plan of opening her own yoga studio and instead turned her attention to bringing yoga to professional sports organizations
  • How she went about establishing credibility in the athletic performance industry by creating a platform for her work and marketing her expertise as a yoga instructor
  • How writing her first book and mailing individualized letters to influential players on every sports team in all major American sports got her foot in the door of professional sports
  • How Dana managed the challenges of being one of the first female coaches to work in professional sports
  • How coaching with humility, being confident in her skillset, and having “feel” allowed Dana to build impactful relationships with her athletes and fellow coaches and excel as a coach in professional sports
  • How Dana has modified her traditional yoga background to fit the movement needs of her athletic population
  • What key competencies and professional exposure do coaches and instructors need in order to develop a well rounded movement approach like Dana
  • How Gray Cook and his work gave reason and explanation to the movement value Dana saw in yoga
  • Why Dana is so cautious when prescribing stretches to her athletes and how she has found more effective methods to restore range of motion
  • What cmovement challenges Dana sees in the baseball population and how she attacks them
  • What common mistakes Dana sees individuals making as they perform yoga
  • Why having context allows yoga instructors to better prescribe exercises, challenge clients without putting them in harm's way, and more effectively lead individuals through training
  • What positions and poses yoga instructors should avoid implementing when working with clients, especially in group settings
  • Why yoga instructors shouldn’t stray far from the basics and learn to appreciate quality movement over finding the most challenging pose to try with their classes
  • What should people look for when searching to work with credible and reliable mobility experts
  • What is next for Dana professionally and what valuable projects is she currently working on
  • You can follow Dana on Twitter at @MobilityMaker and on Instagram at @MobilityMaker. And, you can check out her website at www.MobilityMaker.com.

Sponsor Reminder

This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. It’s an all-in-one superfood supplement with 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s nutrition needs across 5 critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. Head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today - 20 FREE travel packs (valued at $79) - with your first purchase. I use this product daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I'd encourage you to give it a shot, too - especially with this great offer.

Podcast Feedback

If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.

And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!

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Now Available: Minimus Prevail CSP Training Sneaker!

All the way back in 2011, I wrote up a detailed article about the New Balance Minimus, a shoe that had just been released and really caught my attention as the best option in a sea of minimalist sneakers that had flooded the market. That review - alongside my work with professional baseball players - actually led to a consulting deal with New Balance, and it's been a great partnership for the past nine years.

One of the biggest initiatives as part of that collaborative relationship was to find ways to continually improve the Minimus. Over the years, Cressey Sports Performance's staff and athletes have provided regular feedback to New Balance to fine-tune the designs. Those collaborations led to the release of the limited edition Minimus 20v6 Cressey Trainer in 2017. It sold out in a matter of days - and we've had people asked for a new CSP Minimus every day for years.

Well, we're happy to announce that we've come through for you. The Minimus Prevail CSP is now available for sale:

 

This is a very limited edition shoe; only about 1,000 pairs were produced. With that in mind, if you'd like to pick up a pair, don't delay! You can check them out at the following links:

In the United States: https://www.newbalance.com/pd/minimus-prevail-csp/MXMPV1-32159-M.html#style=MXMPCSP&width=D

In Canada, they'll be available at http://www.NewBalance.ca and in select Canadian New Balance stores on February 1, so keep an eye out.

We hope you like them! Thanks for your continued support of Cressey Sports Performance!

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Strength and Conditioning Stuff You Should Read: 1/26/20

Here's a little recommended reading and listening from around the 'Net:

How to Talk to Your Clients About the Latest Netflix Nutrition Documentary - Julia Malacoff wrote up this excellent article for Precision Nutrition. It's a topic that has come up quite a bit around our facility of late, so I was glad to see PN cover it in great detail.

3 Reasons Why I Choose to Treat PT Clients in the Midst of a Busy Gym - This was a guest post from Andrew Millett, who works as a physical therapist at our Massachusetts facility.

Physical Preparation Podcast with Radley Haddad - Radley Haddad is the Major League Coaching Assistant and Bullpen Catcher for the New York Yankees, and a retired CSP athlete who also trained with Mike at IFAST. I especially liked his insights on the transition from playing to coaching, and the importance of using data not just to help athletes learn how they can better, but verify why they performed successfully.

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Now that it’s official, let me start by saying that I’m really excited for this opportunity with the Yankees as part of their sports medicine/performance team. It’s an honor to work for such a storied franchise. I should note: I’ll remain heavily involved at @cresseysportsperformance. This role does not limit me or CSP in our work with professional players. I’m especially grateful to my wife, @annacressey, for her patience with me taking on new challenges with a young family at home. I’m also thankful for my CSP business partners and our great staff, as their hard work has been integral to me receiving opportunities like this. And, I’m ecstatic to work with the excellent professionals also listed in this announcement. We are already hard at work in chasing championship #28 for Yankees fans. Thanks to everyone for the kind words, emails, posts, and texts over the past few weeks.

A post shared by Eric Cressey (@ericcressey) on

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Kansas City Seminar Announcement: August 22, 2020

I just wanted to give you a heads-up on one-day seminar with me in Kansas City Saturday, August 22, 2020. Important note: this is a reschedule of the event that was originally planned for April 18.

Cressey scapula

We’ll be spending the day geeking out on shoulders, as the event will cover Shoulder Assessment, Corrective Exercise, and Programming.  The event will be geared toward personal trainers, strength and conditioning professionals, rehabilitation specialists, and fitness enthusiasts alike.

Agenda

9:00AM-9:30AM – Inefficiency vs. Pathology (Lecture)
9:30AM-10:15AM – Understanding Common Shoulder Injuries and Conditions (Lecture)
10:15AM-10:30AM – Break
10:30AM-12:30PM – Upper Extremity Assessment (Lab)
12:30PM-1:30PM – Lunch
1:30PM-3:30PM – Upper Extremity Mobility/Activation/Strength Drills (Lab)
3:30PM-3:45PM – Break
3:45PM-4:45PM – Upper Extremity Strength and Conditioning Programming: What Really Is Appropriate? (Lecture)
4:45PM-5:00PM – Q&A to Wrap Up

Location

Elite Sports Mall
2115 East Kansas City Road
Olathe, KS

Continuing Education Credits

This event has  been approved for 0.7 CEUs (7 contact hours) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Cost: $149.99 Early Bird (through July 22), $199 Regular (after July 22)

Note: we'll be capping the number of participants to ensure that there is a lot of presenter/attendee interaction - particularly during the hands-on workshop portion - so be sure to register early, as previous offerings of this evan have sold out well in advance of the early-bird registration deadline.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Questions? Please email ec@ericcressey.com.

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Elite Baseball Development Podcast: Optimizing Rotational Power with Dr. Greg Rose

We're excited to welcome Dr. Greg Rose to this week's podcast to talk about evaluating and training rotational power across multiple sports. A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Athletic Greens. Head to http://www.athleticgreens.com/cressey and you'll receive a free 10-pack of Athletic Greens travel packets with your first order.

 

Show Outline

  • How Greg’s professional journey began as a young, aspiring engineer and how becoming involved in the world of golf persuaded him to leave engineering and become a doctor of chiropractic
  • How Greg became involved with Titleist and, in turn, the Titleist Performamce Institute
  • How Greg led the way for the incorporation of motion capture technology with athletes
  • How TPI has evolved to include other sport specific coaching tools like OnBaseU
  • How Greg’s interaction with Tom House evolved into a more comprehensive interaction with a variety of rotational athletes
  • What it really means to move efficiently as a rotational athlete
  • Why individuals need to be careful when analyzing movement from single still shot photo or snapshot of data and how professionals can apply a systematic approach for understanding and improving movement
  • How coaches can utilize all the tools in their toolbox to understand the what, how, and why a person moves a certain way
  • How collecting data should drive intervention rather than just being descriptive
  • How coaches can influence the learning experience for their athletes and how strategies like external vs internal coaching ques and random and blocked practice influence how an individual learns
  • What research says about the impact of external and internal coaching ques on performance and how coaches can better understand when to use each of these strategies with an athlete
  • How does considering a sport’s window to excel allow coaches to better prepare athletes for success
  • How to approach long term athletic development, with particular focus on critical windows for developing certain qualities
  • Why talent identification can’t be truly trusted until after a child’s growth spurt and how being a early or late bloomer influences an athletes athletic development
  • How Greg conceptualizes developing rotational skills with young athletes
  • What books anyone in the rotational sport world should read
  • You can follow Dr. Rose on Twitter at @OnBaseU and on Instagram at @OnBaseU.

Sponsor Reminder

This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. It’s an all-in-one superfood supplement with 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s nutrition needs across 5 critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. Head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today - 10 FREE travel packs (valued at $79) - with your first purchase. I use this product daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I'd encourage you to give it a shot, too - especially with this great offer.

Podcast Feedback

If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.

And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!

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CSP Elite Baseball Development Podcast: January 2020 Q&A with Eric Cressey

For this week's podcast, in lieu of a guest, I'm going to do a Q&A on a collection of baseball training questions that were submitted by listeners.

A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Rawlings. We've got an awesome new partnership in place between Rawlings and Cressey Sports Performance, and they've set up a 20% off discount code on select products for our listeners. Just head to www.Rawlings.com and enter coupon code CRESSEY20 and you'll receive 20% off on your order. Certain items are excluded, but there's still a ton of great baseball training gear to make you a better player and coach.

Show Outline

  • What the high-low model is and how can pitchers optimize their training on a 7-day rotation
  • What the specific considerations are when looking to implement blood flow restriction techniques into training and rehabilitating throwing athletes
  • What different demands sidearm and submarine pitchers impose on their body compared to more traditional, over-the-top pitchers, and how should these unique throwers adjust their training strategies to address these specific differences

Sponsor Reminder

This episode is brought to you by Rawlings. If you want to develop faster, and train better, you need the best gear. Well, we have some good news for you. The #1 baseball brand in the world, Rawlings, has partnered with Cressey Sports Performance to make getting the best training gear for you more affordable. Simply head to www.Rawlings.com and use the code, CRESSEY20, at checkout and you’ll save 20% off your order! This offer is only valid on select items, but there’s a ton of great gear you’ll save 20% on that will help you become a better player, so shop now!

Podcast Feedback

If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.

And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!

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2020 Cressey Sports Performance Collegiate Elite Baseball Development Program

Registration is now open for the 2020 Cressey Sports Performance Collegiate Elite Baseball Development Program. This event takes place at our Hudson, MA facility, and runs from 6/1/20 through 8/8/20.

This will be the fourth year we've run the program, and each year, we've had pitchers move to Massachusetts from all around the country. This summer, we anticipate another awesome collection of motivated athletes who'll push each other to get better in conjunction with the same training opportunities and expertise we provide to our professional athletes.

This program is a good fit for pitchers who need to prioritize development over just getting innings or exposure. In other words, it's a suitable replacement for those who still need to throw, but also need to gain 20 pounds, learn a new pitch, sort out old aches and pains, or improve their mobility.

Each athlete will begin with a thorough initial movement and pitching assessment that will set the stage for individualized strength and conditioning and throwing programs, respectively. These programs correspond to six days a week of training. Generally, four of the six training days per week are double sessions, with throwing in the morning and strength and conditioning in the afternoons. A typical training week would look like the following:

Monday: AM throwing, PM Strength and Conditioning
Tuesday: AM throwing, PM Strength and Conditioning
Wednesday: Late AM throwing and movement training (at field)
Thursday: AM throwing, PM Strength and Conditioning
Friday: AM throwing, PM Strength and Conditioning
Saturday: Optional AM Mobility Work and Recovery Session, AM Throwing and movement training
Sunday: Off

In our throwing programs, we integrate weighted ball work, long toss, and bullpens (including video analysis). We'll utilize detailed pitching analytics breakdowns (spin rates/efficienciencies/axes) and high-speed camera work in these bullpens as well. Pitchers also have opportunities to throw live to hitters, and we even placed a few arms in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League late in the summer in light of the improvements they'd made.

All the athletes will receive manual therapy with our licensed massage therapist or physical therapist, as well as nutritional guidance throughout the program. Also to help with recovery, athletes have access to MarcPro, Normatec, and red light therapy.

Last, but not least, we'll incorporate a regular educational components to educate the athletes on the "why" behind their training. Last year, this consisted of not only staff presentations, but also conference calls and meetings with Major League players and established coaches from around the country.

The best part is that it'll take place in a motivating environment where athletes can push each other to be the best they can be. By optimizing the situation, you can help change the person.

Interested in learning more? Email cspmass@gmail.com - but don't delay, as spaces are limited; this offering sold out last year, and we'll be capping the group size.

In the coming weeks, we'll be highlighting some case studies from last year's group that should give you a better feel for how the programs work. You might also like to hear a bit about the experience from our pitching coordinator, Kyle Driscoll, who spoke in depth about the ten-week training initiative at the conclusion of last year's event. He was a guest on the CSP Elite Baseball Development podcast:

Again, if you're interested in learning more, email cspmass@gmail.com today.

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CSP Elite Baseball Development Podcast: Brad Hand

We're excited to welcome Cleveland Indians pitcher Brad Hand to this week's podcast. A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Rawlings. We've got an awesome new partnership in place between Rawlings and Cressey Sports Performance, and they've set up a 20% off discount code on select products for our listeners. Just head to www.Rawlings.com and enter coupon code CRESSEY20 and you'll receive 20% off on your order. Certain items are excluded, but there's still a ton of great baseball training gear to make you a better player and coach.

Show Outline

  • How Brad grew up as a multi-sport athlete in Minnesota and why he chose to prioritize baseball despite being from a hockey state
  • How Brad navigated the challenges of the long Minnesota winters as he prepared for the season and gaining exposure as a young ball player
  • How Brad was surprisingly unaware of how coveted a prospect he was
  • What differentiated Brad as a pitcher and made him such a high draft pick in 2008
  • How Brad’s skills evolved as he progressed through MiLB and into the big leaguer he is today
  • How finding a simple approach to his mechanics on the mound allowed him to find a more repeatable delivery and develop more consistency as professional
  • Why Brad moved away from throwing curveballs as his secondary pitch and transitioned to throwing a slider
  • How Brad learned to throw his slider, and what his mindset is when throwing this pitch to make it consistently effective
  • Why Brad’s seemingly apathetic delivery makes him so hard to hit
  • How Brad specifically exploits tempo to facilitate late arm speed and create a delivery that hitters dread to face
  • How Brad transitioned from a starter to a reliever in 2015 and what adjustments he had to make to his throwing protocols to properly manage this new workload
  • How Brad approaches attacking hitters as a reliever
  • How Brad plans and performs his in season training to account for the fact he needs to be ready to throw on any given day
  • What Brad’s game day routine is
  • How Brad deals with the pressure of being a big league closer

Sponsor Reminder

This episode is brought to you by Rawlings. If you want to develop faster, and train better, you need the best gear. Well, we have some good news for you. The #1 baseball brand in the world, Rawlings, has partnered with Cressey Sports Performance to make getting the best training gear for you more affordable. Simply head to www.Rawlings.com and use the code, CRESSEY20, at checkout and you’ll save 20% off your order! This offer is only valid on select items, but there’s a ton of great gear you’ll save 20% on that will help you become a better player, so shop now!

Podcast Feedback

If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.

And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!

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Strength and Conditioning Stuff You Should Read: 1/7/20

Happy New Year! Here are a few good listens and reads to kick off 2020:

Eric Cressey: Fatherhood and Forward Thinking - I was a guest on the Art of Coaching podcast with Brett Bartholomew and really enjoyed it. Here's the finished product.

When and How Static Stretching Can Actually Work - Dean Somerset kicked off 2020 with an outstanding post that highlights just how challenging it can be to get static stretching to work for you. Hint: set aside a loooooooong time.

Power Moves - I just finished up this quick audiobook by Adam Grant, and it was outstanding. I'd highly recommend it regardless of the industry in which you work. It's only available as a listen, and I actually think it's better in this medium than as a book.

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