Home 2020 (Page 10)

Sandbag Training for Baseball Players

Today's guest post comes from Seattle-based physical therapist Dan Swinscoe. He's been a great resource (and friend) to me over the years, and this post will show you yet another reason why that's the case.

When I found out Dan was writing up this article, I asked the good folks at Ultimate Sandbag Training if they'd be up for doing a sale for my readers - and they kindly obliged. From now through next Sunday at midnight, you can get 10% off on both sandbag products and their educational resources. Just head HERE and enter the coupon code cressey10.

Enjoy! - EC

Power: it's one of the most highly coveted qualities in all of athletics. Be powerful and you can be dominant. In baseball, it’s fastball velocity for pitchers or exit velocity and HRs for the hitters. The powerful guys are the most feared and usually the highest paid.

How do you get powerful? First, you have to be strong. Strength is a prerequisite to power. You can be strong without being powerful, but cannot be powerful without being strong. So, if we’re talking rotational strength we need to strengthen our ability to move or resist movement in a rotational manner. But what tool do you use for developing these qualities? Dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, body weight and cables/bands are all viable options. However, a lesser known option that is often superior to the others is what I want to talk about today. It’s The Ultimate Sandbag (USB).

Keep in mind the actual weight of the sandbags you’ll see in these exercises is relatively low when compared to using iron. However, the WORK you have to do to move and control them is sky high. Even when working with college and pro guys, I haven’t needed more than a 60-pound bag to challenge them effectively. I’ve blended this tool in with all the others and I encourage you to do the same. Keep reading and you’ll appreciate why that’s the case.

Here are three of my favorite ways to use the USB for rotational strength. In all three videos, the athlete would be cued to “crush” the handles to irradiate tension higher in the chain (see Sherrington’s law) and to try and “tear the bag.” By trying to tear the handles apart you create tension in the lats, thus better connecting them into the glutes. (see serape effect)

Chop and Lift: The chop and lift patterns have been around for decades. Coming from the rehab world, it’s a movement where you diagonally pull down or lift up. This movement pattern takes advantage of the natural anatomic alignment of our tissues referred to as the serape effect.

In the first video, we begin on the ground in a single leg bridge position, challenging rotational strength by preventing the rotation that gravity is trying to impart. It is especially difficult when chopping down towards the unsupported side. Notice both elbows stay straight the whole time. Once the elbows bend, you lose the lat and start using triceps. We want the lat connection.

It can also be advanced to an upright posture. The next video advances the exercise into ½ kneeling and a static split stance referred to as “hover.” This can be modified further by the width of the stance. Need more challenge? Stand on a line. Remember to breathe.

MAX Lunge: The name refers to using multiple axes. It used to be called a rotational lunge. You can see why. The challenge from this drill is that the player has to lunge and maintain posture and lower extremity alignment in all three planes despite the momentum of the bag trying to knock him over. I also love the strong eccentric nature of this exercise. The biggest challenge is to decelerate with control. This mimics the challenge a pitcher has coming down the mound; an unstable front leg is bad news for a pitcher. This is an outstanding way to train that need for front leg stability with additional challenge to the core more proximally. The first example uses the “suitcase” handle, while the second one uses the standard “clean” handles. Finally, the third example increases the challenge by elevating the center of gravity using a “front load” position of the USB. When in front loaded position, the “tear the bag apart” cue is executed with the forearms. They all feel different.

Hinging with Rotation: Deadlifts and good mornings are staples in many strength training programs, and rightfully so: the hinge is a motion that must be trained. But in sports and life, we typically move one leg at a time and in all three planes of motion. It’s tough to do that with a barbell. To me, the USB is the best way to make single leg rotational hinges feel challenging in a way that is also safe for the athlete. Athletes need to be able to train hard without feeling like they’re doing a circus trick.

In the rotational deadlift example below, the player should crush the handles and think of tearing the bag apart before even moving. He crosses the back leg behind the front leg to feel tension in the lateral hip rotators, then becomes stable before moving. The next move is performed by pushing forcefully into the ground and mimicking a step. He’ll then reset the start position and repeat. No one has to ask what muscles are being used; you feel it right away. But, more importantly, you are doing it in a way that you can expect to carryover to the field of play.

The second example is a good morning. It’s the same single-leg rotational hinge movement, but with the USB in a front load position. The movement is the same, but the challenge is different because of the elevated position of the USB. Again, tearing the bag apart is performed with forearms.

Now that we’ve got some ways to get rotational strength, let’s layer on the rotational power. Power refers to your ability to rapidly express the strength that you have. In baseball, medicine ball work is probably the most popular training stimulus to develop rotational power, and it’s awesome (and Eric’s YouTube and Instagram pages have plenty of options to review on this front). In my opinion, the USB is right there with it as a great tool to create this sport-specific skill.

Below are some of my favorite rotational power drills for baseball players.

Clean from Half-Kneeling: It emphasizes the concentric portion of lower body power transferring the load from the side of the body to the middle. As you can see, it can be progressed to single leg for additional stability challenge. The beginning position of the bag with the cue to tear it apart provides a strong connection between the glute of one side and the lat of the other…just like with running, hitting and throwing.

Inside-Out Clean: the bag starts “inside” the base of support and centered on the body; the athlete then creates rotational power so the catch happens on the side of the body. This skill – which is almost all concentric – is mastered before the “outside in” clean, where there is also a strong eccentric component. In other words, you work on creating power and then controlling power.

The MAX Lunge Static to Dynamic:  I described the MAX lunge using a forward step earlier in our rotational strength section. However, if you step backward, speed it up, and try to ballistically drive your foot into the ground as the bag goes from side to side, you have an absolutely intense challenge to create and control power in all three planes. I think of this as having all the benefits of a kettlebell swing, but with less risk of injury and more carryover to baseball because it’s one leg at a time and incorporates all three planes of motion. The player who has apprehension towards the KB swing will appreciate this alternative. And, the more you do it, the more it will grow on you. The reps are low because the demand is high, so I usually have players do 3-5 per side. If the reps go up, the effort goes down, which means we aren’t training power effectively.

These are a few of the many ways you can utilize The Ultimate Sandbag in your training for strength and power. It’s been a lot of fun for me to learn about them and use them with my clients/patients and in my own training. I hope you enjoy learning how to use them, too; the results will speak for themselves.

Note from EC: Don't forget about the great discount in place on sandbags and the associated educational resources at Ultimate Sandbag Training through next Sunday at midnight. You can get 10% off by heading HERE and enter the coupon code cressey10.

About the Author

Dan Swinscoe, MPT, CSCS is a physical therapist in Issaquah, WA. He owns Peak Sports and Spine Physical Therapy and teaches his own class, Kettlebells for Clinicians. You can follow him on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram (@danswinscoe) or email him at baseballrehab@gmail.com. 

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CSP Elite Baseball Development Podcast: Justin Dunn

We're excited to welcome Seattle Mariners pitcher Justin Dunn to this week's podcast. 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 Justin transformed from a 5-foot, 100-pound high school freshman into an MLB draft pick by his senior year
  • How being a late bloomer affected his college recruiting process
  • How developing size and strength took Justin from a 70 mph arm into the mid 90s arm he is today
  • How following a structured training program allowed Justin to make the most of his natural athleticism
  • Why Justin decided to attend Boston College instead of immediately entering pro ball out of high school
  • How Justin made the transition from closer to starter
  • Why Justin has always been a big proponent of long toss
  • How promoting athleticism in his throwing motion and remaining free and loose with his arm action through long toss has helped Justin
  • How Justin has learned to listen to his arm, manage his workload throughout his career, and make adjustments to his throwing routine whether throwing as a reliever or a starter
  • How Justin manages soreness and tightness following a day of heavy throwing
  • What differentiated Justin as a college junior that led him to be a first round draft pick out of BC
  • Why throwing a changeup gave Justin trouble as he progressed into his starting role at BC and how establishing a routine of throwing his change up in catch play allowed him to develop and master this pitch
  • How Justin initially learned to throw his slider and what his thought process is when throwing it nowadays to keep it consistent
  • How simplifying his process on the mound and mastering his secondary pitches have allowed him to become the big leaguer he is today
  • As a young big leaguer, what key competencies is Justin working to develop to ensure his longevity in the show
  • How becoming immersed in the daily routine of Major League Baseball and learning from the experienced players around him will help him become a mainstay in a big league rotation
  • What Justin’s pre-bullpen routine is and how he structures his bullpens
  • Who Justin loved to watch dominate as a pitcher growing up and who he likes to watch now

    You can follow Justin on Twitter at @Dunn_Deal19 and on Instagram at @Dunn_Deal35.

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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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.

Top Tweet of the Week

Top Instagram Post of the Week

 
 
 
 
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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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Email
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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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LEARN HOW TO DEADLIFT
  • Avoid the most common deadlifting mistakes
  • 9 - minute instructional video
  • 3 part follow up series