I’m back from a weekend in Stamford, CT for the Ryan Lee Bootcamp, so it’s time to get back at it with this week’s update.

Re-Opt-in

Reminder I just want to remind you all once again that if you haven’t re-opted-in, we’ll need you to do so as soon as possible. As I mentioned last week, we’re switching our newsletter over to a new set-up, and this requires us to do the opt-in again with the new sign-up. The simplest way to do things is to send an email with the subject line “SUBSCRIBE” to ecressey-178309@autocontactor.com. Doing so will ensure that you’ll receive all the newsletters when we officially make the switch in a few weeks.

Thanks for your patience with us as we go through this annoying but necessary process!

FANTASTIC New Product from Robertson and Hartman

Over the past few years, I’ve become known as the “Shoulder Guy.” I probably get two dozen emails each week from readers who have shoulder problems due to poor training programming, incorrect technique, congenital factors, or traumatic injury. To say that it occupies a lot of my time would be an understatement!

While I make a point of answering all email inquiries as thoroughly as I can, it goes without saying that I can only do so much without being “there” to coach someone. It’s not just about what you do; it’s also about how you do it. This is just one of several reasons I’m absolutely thrilled to recommend the Inside-Out DVD and Manual, a new resource that was just introduced by my friends and brilliant colleagues, Mike Robertson and Bill Hartman.

This resource will not only save me a lot of time; it’ll also give me a product to which I can send those with chronic and acute shoulder pain – and those looking to avoid it in the first place. Mike and Bill go into great detail on the seven key components that need to be included in an effective upper-body warm-up program to protect against injuries, optimize performance, and correct existing imbalances. I was fortunate to preview the DVD and manual for Mike and Bill, and I immediately sent them a unsolicited testimonial for them to use after watching it. It really is THAT good; this will be a valuable resource for years to come.

Do your shoulders a favor and pick up this DVD and manual today; you’ll be thanking me immediately and in the years to come.

Inside-Out

New Article

Last week, I had a new article published at T-Nation; check out 13 Tips for Mighty Elbows and Wrists.

Ryan Lee Bootcamp Recap

Ryan Lee once again put on one of the fitness industry’s premier events. This year’s Bootcamp provided an outstanding blend of training information and practical business information for fitness professionals. Things are crazy busy for me after a weekend on the road, so I don’t have the time to write up a full review. I can, however, give you a quick list of some of the take-home points from the seminar for me personally. Some of these are related to the speakers themselves, and some are simple my take-away thoughts/impressions:

1. Mike Boyle is without a doubt one of the most forward-thinking guys in the industry. If you don’t believe me, see below.

2. Jeremy Boone outlined some intriguing ACL prevention testing strategies that may come to light in the next few years. I have some questions about the accuracy and precision of one-half of the test, but I definitely thing that the idea is great and has a lot of potential.

3. If you haven’t read Brian Grasso’s stuff, you need to do so IMMEDIATELY – especially if you deal at all with young athletes. Brian is a brilliant coach, speaker, and leader in the fitness industry; in fact, he’s everything that is right about the fitness industry. If you haven’t looked into the International Youth Conditioning Association (www.IYCA.org), I would strongly encourage you do so right away. I don’t make a penny off endorsing the organization; I just feel strongly that this group is going to be doing even more incredible things in the years to come – especially with a guy like Brian at its head. If you haven’t seen him speak, seek him out.

4. Steve Cotter can do some really impressive stuff!

5. Jimmy Smith is one helluva’ Stamford tour guide. Thanks, Jimmy!

6. At any event, the opportunities in the hotel lobby, hallway, and at the networking socials are just as valuable as the speakers themselves. If you aren’t interacting with your colleagues at these events, you’re missing out. Be proactive!

7. If you want to be a great coach, don’t just focus on learning on new exercises. Focus on learning how to effectively implement the exercises in your training arsenal and making people better instead of just more tired. This is what separated the brightest attendees from the mediocre ones, in my opinion.

8. This kettlebell thing has really gotten out of hand, people. I admire your enthusiasm and motivation to help others succeed, but it’s just one tool in your toolbox.

9. There is absolutely no substitute for enthusiasm and hard work – regardless of your progression.

10. As always, you should be reading at least an hour per day. Every successful fitness professional at this conference was putting in this minimal amount of time – and often a whole lot more.

Tip of the Week

Reconsider how you approach single-leg training.

I get a lot of questions about whether single-leg exercises are quad-dominant or hip dominant and where to place them in training programs. After chatting more with Mike Boyle and considering how I’ve approached it in the past, I’ve realized that if you categorize things the way Mike does, you have a lot of “wiggle room” with your programming to fit more of it in. Mike separates his single-leg work into three categories:

1. Static Unsupported – 1-leg squats (Pistols), 1-leg SLDLs

2. Static Supported – Bulgarian Split Squats

3. Dynamic – Lunges, Step-ups

From there, you can also divide single-leg movements into decelerative (forward lunging) and accelerative (slideboard work, reverse lunges). I’ve found that accelerative movements are most effective early progressions after lower extremity injuries (less stress on the knee joint).

I think that it’s ideal for everyone to aim to get at least one of each of the three options in each week. If one needed to be sacrificed, it would be static supported. Because static unsupported aren’t generally loaded as heavily and don’t cause as much delayed onset muscle soreness, they can often be thrown in on upper body days. Here are some sample splits you might want to try:

3-day

M – Include static supported (50/50 upper/lower exercise selection)

W – Include static unsupported (only lower body exercise)

F – Include dynamic (50/50 upper/lower exercise selection)

Notice how the most stressful/DOMS-inducing option is placed prior to the longest recovery period (the weekend of rest).

4-day

M – Include static supported in lower-body training session.

W – Include static unsupported (only lower body exercise in otherwise upper body session)

F – Include dynamic in lower-body training session

Sa – Upper body workout, no single-leg work outside of warm-up and unloaded prehab work

Be sure to switch exercises and rotate decelerative/accelerative every four weeks.

For those of you who haven’t seen it already, definitely check out Mike’s Functional Strength Coach DVD set; it’ll make you a better coach and lifter immediately and force you to rethink a lot of the things you’re doing. His Designing Strength Training Programs and Facilities manual is also fantastic.

That does it for this week. We’ll be back next week with some great new content that I GUARANTEE you’ll really enjoy – but you’ll need to take care of the re-opt-in process I outlined above. Just send an email with the subject line “SUBSCRIBE” to ecressey-178309@autocontactor.com, and you’ll be all set.

All the Best,

EC