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On Saturday night, the Lincoln-Sudbury baseball team reminded me why I’ll absolutely never become one of those internet gurus who doesn’t train anyone in person. LS defeated Algonguin 3-2 to win the Massachusetts Division 1 state final in just its second year at the D-1 level.
The Final Pitch
Coach Kirk Fredericks on Kevin Scanlan’s Performance
The guys played their butts off and it was a complete honor knowing that I had something to do with what will probably be one of the greatest moments of their lives.
Shortstop Justin Quinn, catcher Eddie Bleiler, and pitcher Kevin Scanlan were the first three LS guys to take a chance on the “new guy in town” based solely on Carl Valle’s recommendation when I moved back to Boston last August. In less than a year, we’ve established a positive training culture that will undoubtedly lead to long-term success for years to come. We now have 18 LS guys planning to come in for training this off-season, and I have Carl and these three guys to thank for affording me the opportunity to succeed in what I do.
Perhaps the best indicator of the aforementioned culture is that three hours before game-time, I got a text message from LS’ fourth starting pitcher - a guy who knew he wouldn't play. He wanted to know if I had time to get him in for his first off-season lift on Sunday; he wanted to be in the gym regardless of whether they won or lost in the state championship game.
Congratulations to Coach Fredericks and the entire LS team for your accomplishments on the field – and your willingness to do what it takes in the off-season to set the stage for that success.
As for me, I couldn't be any more excited for this summer's training.
To kick off this off-season, I'm going to get the ball rolling with a 30% off sale on The Ultimate Off-Season Manual. This sale will run through Saturday, June 23rd.
Don't miss out on the opportunity to check out some of the planning, performance testing, and sample programs that I've implemented with my athletes. For more information, check out The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual.
Free Special Report
And, for those of you who haven't heard about it yet, check out this FREE special report from Leigh Peele.
Beyond the Norm: Advanced Questions from Advanced Trainers and Nutritionists
Contributors include Lou Schuler, Mike Robertson, Jonathan Fass, Alan Aragon, Tony Gentilcore, Geovanni Derice, John Izzo, Eric Cressey, Jimmy Smith, Robert dos Remedios, Bill Hartman, and Chris Mohr.
And, to all the fathers and grandfathers out there, Happy Father's Day!
EC |
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Congratulations are in order....again!
I just wanted to preface this newsletter with a few tips of the cap to some Cressey Performance athletes and colleagues who have had great weeks.
First, the #1-ranked Lincoln-Sudbury baseball team continued in its winning ways last night, beating Boston College High 7-1 to advance to the Division State finals this Saturday. In all, I have 17 LS baseball guys ready to go for this off-season; it speaks volumes for why they're now 24-1 on the season. Great job, guys!
Second, while many of you surely know that the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup last week, I highly doubt many of you know about a guy who is doing an awesome job behind the scenes as their strength and conditioning coach. Sean Skahan deserves a ton of credit; he's a really bright, passionate coach who really knows his stuff. They're lucky to have him, and it goes without saying that he's a huge part of their success in staying healthy and performing at high levels. Congratulations, Sean!
New Article
You can now find Part III of my "Mastering the Deadlift" series at T-Nation. Enjoy!
Z-Health at Excel: A Quick Recap
As many of you know, we held the first weekend of the R-Phase certification for Z-Health this past weekend. To say that I was impressed with the system would be an understatement. Generally, when I go to seminars, I'm looking to walk away with bits and pieces here and there that I can incorporate into my own philosophy - and Dr. Cobb and Kathy provided that and a whole lot more. A few highlights:
1. Z-Health offers some excellent ankle mobilizations and the best thoracic spine approaches I’ve seen to-date. I've already applied both with some excellent immediate effects - not universally, but definitely applicable in certain situations.
One athlete with stubborn ankles front squatted deep and clean for the first time after just five specific ankle mobilizations, and another basketball guy claimed that he actually felt taller after three reps of thoracic extension work. He’s a 6-2 shooting guard who needs to be 6-4 to take himself to the next level at that position as a prospect, so we’re moving in the right direction! I'm fortunate to have over 40 "guinea pigs" with whom I can work on a weekly basis, so I'll be experimenting more in the two months before weekend #2 in August.
2. By my own admission, I've been overlooking the relationship between the cervical spine and thoracic spine during T-Spine mobilizations. Whether I use the Z drills or not for a particular T-Spine mobilization, I'm going to be paying a lot more attention to keeping the C-spine in neutral. That alone could explain the incremental value of this modality over what I've seen.
3. I’d rather have a mobilization (self-imposed change) than a manipulation (someone else changing us in a non-functional context…i.e. on our backs on a table). This system offers a lot of value in that regard - and I wish more manual therapists would take note.
4. Z-Health offers some simple but effective elbow and wrist initiatives for those involved in grip-intensive sports. Given my smaller joint structure (very small wrists), my forearm musculature really takes a beating - and I compromise joint mobility by wearing wrist wraps with my heaviest benching. So, I'm excited to see what shakes free over the next few months. And, this doesn't even take into account all the problems people face simply from typing.
5. Dr. Cobb provided some excellent discussions of mechanoreceptors vs. nocioceptors and the differential responses to varying training stimuli. In short, training through pain is never a good idea; you can always look to different joints and different planes of motion to build to your "optimal" training approach. Sometimes, indirect is best (a theme that resounds with Z).
6. Perhaps most importantly, Kathy and Dr. Eric Cobb are highly professional and friendly. Unlike some fitness industry presenters, there are no swollen egos or "that's beyond the scope of this presentation, so you'll need to attend my five-day seminar and buy $2,000 worth of products to get the answers." They give you what you pay for and a whole lot more; it's definitely a very wise investment.
With all that said, you’d be wise to check them out in seminar. They’ll be doing R-Phase certifications in California, Texas, and North Carolina over the next few months – and returning to Boston for the second weekend of R-Phase in August. For more information, check them out at www.zhealth.net.
With the Off-Season upon us...
I thought you might be interested in some feedback I received about The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual:
“I just received your manual and opened it up to take what I thought would be a quick glance. ‘Suddenly,’ I found myself three hours later not wanting to put it down. The information you provided in this manual is absolutely fantastic. I've competed in two professional sports, getting only so far with each one; I can honestly say that the off-season training I did for both is really what ultimately got me there.
“This manual would have had a tremendous impact on my training. It would have taken the guessing and hoping out of my routines and instead given me the confidence needed to attack my training sessions. The routines provided are also extremely helpful, as they not only guide you in the beginning, but take you all the way through a legitimate off-season. I can't say enough how I wish I had something like this while in college and through out my professional athletic career. This is a must-have for athletes and coaches; I highly recommend it.”
Al Caslow
Elite Powerlifter, Former NFL Wide Receiver
www.sostrength.com
The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual
Until next week, train hard and have fun!
EC |
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Reminder: Cressey Performance Shirts Pre-Order Deadline
For those who missed the original announcement email, pre-orders for the first ever Cressey Performance shirts will end Wednesday at midnight. For more information, check out:
http://ecressey.wpengine.com/tshirtpreorders.html
EricCressey.com Exclusive Interview: Craig Ballantyne
Craig Ballantyne is one of the most widely published and successful guys in our industry – and for a good reason: he gets results. His Turbulence Training protocols have helped thousand of people get lean over the past few years, and with summer upon us, I figured it would be a great time to track Craig down for an interview.
EC: Let’s be honest: every Average Joe trainer under the sun has an e-book or 5-minute guide to sucker misinformed housewives into shelling out hundreds of dollars to learn the “hidden secret” of fat loss. Frankly, I’ve had hundreds of products along these lines cross my path in the past few years, and the only two that have withstood the test of time – and yielded outstanding results time-and-time again are yours and Cosgrove’s. I know about your programming, but let’s enlighten our readers a bit about what makes Turbulence Training so effective.
CB: I think there are a lot of other good ideas and programs out there; not a day goes by that I don't get a good idea from another trainer. Maybe Alwyn and I just claimed the catchiest names - or maybe it’s the Scottish last name.
What I've done over the years is take my experience in research, and in training athletes, and in working with busy people with minimal equipment, and rolled that up into a program that meets the needs of my readers.
I've adapted the program quite a bit over the years because users have demanded changes. For example, in the past, it used to focus on barbell exercises, but now includes only dumbbell and bodyweight exercises (with the exception of my more advanced "Fusion and Synergy" fat loss programs).
The principles remain the same, though. We use more intense strength training than traditional programs (lower reps, not as low as a powerlifter, but lower than 99% of fat loss programs recommended in the past - although this is changing as the approach becomes more popular).
Each workout uses supersets. This gets the workout done faster. I also use what I call "non-competing" supersets, basically referring to supersetting two exercises that don't use the same muscles - including grip strength.
So, a dumbbell split squat and a dumbbell chest press would be non-competing. A dumbbell reverse lunge and a dumbbell row would be competing, because they both demand intense grip work. So, I'd avoid the lunge-row combo.
And then we finish up each workout with interval training. This, too, has evolved over the years. I used to recommend basic 30-second intervals, with 60-second recovery, done on a bike or treadmill (or sprints outside). Now I'm using bodyweight circuits in place of intervals, or sometimes barbell complexes, or sometimes even high-rep dumbbell work.
These changes have all been based on feedback from users. For example, a lot of Turbulence Training readers work out at home with nothing but dumbbells and a bench; they don't have a machine for cardio. So, we use bodyweight circuits instead. These are great and can be adapted for any fitness level.
For the interval type circuits, I like to use six total bodyweight exercises, three lower body and three upper body. Then just alternate between upper and lower in a 6-exercise circuit.
So bottom line, a Turbulence Training workout will run like this:
5-minute bodyweight warm-up
20-minutes superset strength training
18-minutes interval training
7-minutes stretching or mobility work
We do three hard workouts per week, yet I emphasize that everyday is an exercise day (that is, on the four days you don't do a hard Turbulence Training workout, you must still get 30 minutes of activity - preferably something you enjoy and enables you to spend time with family or friends).
EC: Along these same lines, where are most fat loss programs falling short? Where are people missing the boat?
CB: Mostly in nutrition, to be frank.
But as for the workout component, relying solely on long, slow cardio exercise to build the body of your dreams is only going to lead to pain and frustration from a lack of results.
It is simply not an efficient way to exercise for fat loss. If you only have 45 minutes to exercise, and you spend 40 of those minutes on a cardio machine, then you have no hope of building the body you want.
The cardio mindset is all about breaking down the body, burning calories, and looking negatively at food (i.e. how much exercise can I do to punish myself for eating this brownie?). It's that 1980s aerobic-high carbohydrate mentality that has literally ruined people's lives by leading them down the wrong physical path.
The Turbulence Training fat loss mindset is positive, and is focused on building the body, boosting the metabolism, and developing positive nutrition rituals that fuel your body for mental and physical performance.
Another mistake of fat loss programs is focusing on the "calories burned". Just like the nutrition industry is slowly starting to recognize that a "calorie isn't always a calorie", we need to accept that the number of calories burned in a workout is not the main determinant of fat loss success.
First, machine calorie counters are notoriously inaccurate. Second, you can wipe out all the calories you just burned in about 30 seconds with a Starbucks summer drink. And finally, we need to look at the bigger question - and that is how does your workout affect your daily metabolism?
I believe a high-intensity workout - like Turbulence Training - leads to better results because it focuses on boosting your metabolism. So while you won't burn as many calories during the workout - according to the machine - you end up burning more fat over the course of the day and week. And that's the bottom line.
EC: Memorial Day weekend was the unofficial start to summer, meaning that millions of people are scrambling to get as lean as possible as fast as possible. If you had to give them three bits of advice, what would they be?
CB: First, your nutrition is going to give you the majority of your results. Find a time when you can go to the grocery store and prepare your meals for the week. Stick to that. Give yourself a little reward each week, but don't go overboard.
Find out how many calories you eat now. Then cut back on your calories AND try to improve the quality of your nutrition. Take baby steps, and don't move too quickly. For example, tomorrow, make sure you eat one additional fruit. The day after, add one extra serving of vegetables. The third day, cut out all sugary beverages. And so on.
Second, get social support. Whether you find kindred fat loss spirits on the Internet, at work, in the gym, or at home with a family member, make sure you have someone that you can be accountable to (get a trainer once a week), and that will support you (if your family isn't supportive, find someone on a good internet forum or a buddy at work).
Social support will keep you out of the wrong eating situations and will always be there to help you hit new personal bests in your workouts. Don't underestimate what a helping hand can do for your fat loss.
Third, if you really want to succeed, then be prepared to suck it up for a few weeks. After all, what's eight weeks of discipline over the course of a lifetime? It's nothing. Just think about the last eight weeks of your life...doesn't it seem like that time just flew by?
So, if you get serious about your nutrition and consistent with an intense program of strength training and interval training, you can make dramatic changes in four weeks, eight weeks, or whatever is left this summer.
Find a time when you know you can stick to your workout. Don't let anything get in the way.
And after eight weeks of consistent effort, you'll have a better body, and this is where it gets good...
You'll find its much easier to maintain a great body, AND you'll have built so many healthy habits in those eight weeks that you won't feel like going back to the old way of living where you ate - and felt - like crap all the time. Plus, you'll have a consistent exercise habit. It's a win-win situation to put yourself through an eight-week intensive regimen.
EC: This interview comes at an opportune time for our readers, as you’re making Turbulence Training available at a special offer; what’s the scoop?
CB: This is the one-year anniversary of my program's relaunch at TurbulenceTraining.com. Over the past year, we've helped thousands of people lose fat in less time than ever, and we want to help even more this year.
So I twisted a few arms and rounded up some excellent bonuses that are available for the next 3 days during our birthday sale. They are...
1) Meal Plans for Men & Women by Dr. Chris Mohr (Value $99)
2) How to Measure Your Body Fat by Dr. John Berardi (Value $29.97)
3) High-Octane, Fat Burning Recipes by Mike Roussell (Value $19.99)
4) How Hormones Affect Your Fat Loss: A Special Report from Dr. Holly Lucille & Jon Benson (Value $19.99)
5) A One-Month Bonus Trial at Global-Fitness (Value $9.95)
6) The Turbulence Training Hardcore Fat Loss 4-Week Program by Craig Ballantyne (Value $19.99)
7) A Three-Month Basic Level Membership to the Turbulence Training Discussion Forums & Other Exclusive Fat Loss Info (Value $59.85)
Total Value of these extra bonuses is $259.73 – but we’re offering them free for the 72 between Monday, June 4 and Wednesday, June 6. If readers are curious, they can check them out at TurbulenceTraining.com.
EC: Thanks for your time, Craig; great material. We'll have to do it again soon. |
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"A" is for Article
I had Parts I and II of a three-part series published at T-Nation since our last newsletter; it could be everything you ever wanted to know about deadlifts, and Part III is still to come!
Mastering the Deadlift: Part I
Mastering the Deadlift: Part II
"B" is for Bulletproof Knees
I'm going to let you in on a little secret: the Magnificent Mobility DVD and Building the Efficient Athlete DVD set were both originally MY ideas. I say this not to boast, but to clearly demonstrate that I approached Mike Robertson with the ideas because I firmly believed that his abilities were an outstanding complement to my own; they made the products better. In particular, Mike's knowledge of lower extremity functional anatomy, pathology, and exercise programming is among the best in the business.
In addition to working in the corrective exercise realm with hundreds of knee injuries, Mike has had knee surgery himself and formerly competed in two sports - basketball and volleyball - notorious for knee pathologies. Combine these experiences with his various educational pursuits, and you have a guy that knows knees REALLY well.
To that end - whether you're a weekend warrior looking to avoid or bounce back from a knee injury, or a fitness professional looking to help clients in these situations - I wholeheartedly endorse Mike's new Bulletproof Knees manual. Perhaps my favorite part of this resource is that it enables you to be proactive instead of reactive in dealing with knee problems. Mike shows you how to prevent the problem in the first place, and work around it/correct it if the problem has already reached threshold. You won't find many resources that can be so versatile, but then again, you won't find many people that know knees like Mike Robertson.
Check it out for yourself: Bulletproof Knees
"C" is for Congratulations
I want to send out a big congratulations to Dede Griesbauer on her second place finish at the Ironman Brazil this weekend with a time of 9:18:18. In doing so, Dede qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii on October 13. Great job, Dede!
As a random aside, I did the math on this, and assuming five seconds per attempt at a powerlifting meet (nine total lifts), I would need to compete in 745 meets to do the same duration of exercise as Dede from this past weekend. Just a fun fact I'll be pondering over our next 4.5 months of training...
Additionally, congratulations and good luck to the Lincoln-Sudbury baseball team, which enters the state playoffs as the #1 ranked team in Massachusetts with a record of 18-1.
"D" is for Designs
I can't let the cat out of the bag just yet, but within the next 48 hours, we'll be unveiling the new Cressey Performance logos - and the shirts on which they'll be found. Stay tuned for a chance to pre-order...
I'll be attending the First Annual Northeastern University Distinguished Lecture Seminar in Sports Medicine on Friday, so if you're in attendance, be sure to say hello and introduce yourself.
Oh, I want to wish a happy belated birthday to Bill Hartman. I hope it was a good one, buddy.
All the Best,
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7 in 2007
I wanted to start this newsletter off with a big congratulations to Coach Kirk Fredericks and the entire Lincoln-Sudbury High School baseball team on their seventh consecutive Dual County League baseball title. Since I arrived here in Boston, I’ve become somewhat of a feeder program for L-S baseball from a strength and conditioning standpoint, and it’s been a blast to play a part in their success – which includes a #2 ranking and best record in the state of Massachusetts right now.
In particular, I want to recognize Justin Quinn, Eddie Bleiler, and Kevin Scanlan, the three guys who got this entire tradition started almost overnight.
Justin, a sophomore shortstop, went 3-for-3 with two home runs, a triple, and six RBI in the title-clinching game earlier this week. He’ll be playing ball this summer in Georgia’s highly competitive East Cobb baseball league.
Eddie, a senior catcher headed to the College of the Holy Cross next year, hasn’t allowed a stolen base all year – and is hitting .482 at the #3 spot.
Kevin, a senior pitcher headed to the University of Maine next year, is 7-0 with a 0.16 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings – and two no-hitters to his credit. He’s also hitting clean-up and playing first base on days he doesn’t pitch.
For a little more detail about their conditioning work with me, check out Going Batty at L-S, which ran in last Sunday’s Boston Globe.
Best of luck the rest of this season, guys.
For more detail on some of the assessments and training protocols we used with these guys this past off-season, check out The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual.
An Interview with EC: Part II
Part II of Erik Ledin’s interview with me is now available: HERE. In case you missed it, you can check out Part I HERE.
We've also had several blog updates since our last newsletter, so be sure to check it out!
Before we go, I just want to take a second to congratulate all our college and high school athletes on their recent (or upcoming) graduations. Amidst all the heavy lifting, jumping, sprinting, and mobility work, we often lose sight of the fact that young athletes have a lot of competing demands - and you all deserve to be applauded for putting an emphasis on academics without losing sight of your training goals.
All the Best,
EC |
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Building a Trainer Referral Network
As you can probably imagine, I am frequently contacted by individuals all over the country (and sometimes internationally) who are looking for qualified professionals in their neck of the woods. While I do have a pretty extensive network of trainers to whom I can refer, I’m always looking to expand that network. Often times, I’ll look directly to my database to see who on my newsletter subscriber list is located near the area in question. The simple fact that someone is subscribed to my newsletter and reading my articles tells me that they’re doing a lot of things right as a trainer (namely, continuing education), so chances are that they’re one of the best in their geographic areas.
So, with that in mind, if you’d like to be considered for this, please send an email with your location to ec@ericcressey.com and we’ll get you updated in our database. This tool is also useful for keeping our subscribers aware of seminars that might be taking place in their regions, so it’s certainly open to everyone.
New Article
Weight Room Movements for Cyclists: Part II is now available at Active.com; check it out!
Have a great week!
EC |
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Seminar Stories
I wanted to start this newsletter off with a thank you to everyone who came out last weekend for the John Berardi seminar here in Boston. Dr. Berardi put on a great show, and the feedback has been fantastic. If you ever have the chance to see JB speak, don’t hesitate to jump at the opportunity.
Naked Nutrition
A few months ago, Mike Roussell sent me the preliminary version of his new project, The Naked Nutrition Guide. Mike went out of his way to contact several industry notables to go over this manual with a critical eye, and this feedback – combined with Mike’s outstanding knowledge of nutritional sciences – resulted in a fantastic finished product. There are bonus training programs from Alwyn Cosgrove, Nate Green, and Jimmy Smith. Check it out for yourself:
The Naked Nutrition Guide
Female Fitness
Last week, Erik Ledin of Lean Bodies Consulting published Part I of an interview he did with me on female training. Check it out:
EL: First off, thanks for agreeing to the interview. We've known each other for a number of years now. I used to always refer to you as the "Anatomy Guy." You then became know for being "The Shoulder Guy" and have since garnered another title, "The Mobility Guy." Who is Eric Cressey?
EC: Good question. As you implied, it's the nature of this industry to try to pigeonhole guys into certain professional "diagnoses." Personally, even though I specialize in athletic performance enhancement and corrective exercise, I pride myself on being pretty well-versed in a variety of areas - endocrinology, endurance training, body recomposition, nutrition, supplementation, recovery/regeneration, and a host of other facets of our industry. To some degree, I think it's a good thing to be a bit all over the place in this "biz," as it helps you to see the relationships among a host of different factors. Ultimately, I'd like to be considered a guy who is equal parts athlete, coach, and scholar/researcher.
All that said, for the more "traditional answer," readers can check out my bio.
EL: What are the three most underrated and underused exercises? Does it differ across gender?
EC: Well, I'm not sure that the basics - squats, deadlifts, various presses, pull-ups, and rows - can ever be considered overrated or overappreciated in both a male and female population.
Still, I think that single-leg exercises are tremendously beneficial, but are ignored by far too many trainers and lifters. Variations of lunges, step-ups, split squats, and single-leg RDLs play key roles in injury prevention and development of a great lower body.
Specific to females, we know that we need a ton of posterior chain work and correctly performed single-leg work to counteract several biomechanical and physiological differences. Namely, we're talking about quad dominance/posterior chain weakness and an increased Q-angle. Increasing glute and hamstrings strength and optimizing frontal plane stability is crucial for resisting knock-knee tendencies and preventing ACL tears. If more women could do glute-ham raises, the world would be a much better place!
EL: What common issues do you see with female trainees in terms of muscular or postural imbalances that may predispose them to some kind of injury if not corrected? How would you suggest they be corrected or prevented?
EC:
1. A lack of overall lower body strength, specifically in the glutes and hamstrings; these shortcomings resolve when you get in more deadlifts, glute-ham raises, box squats, single-leg movements, etc.
2. Poor soft-tissue quality all over; this can be corrected with plenty of foam rolling and lacrosse/tennis ball work.
3. Poor core stability (as much as I hate that word); the best solution is to can all the "turn your lumbar spine into a pretzel" movements and focus on pure stability at the lower back while mobilizing the hips and thoracic spine.
4. General weakness in the upper body, specifically with respect to the postural muscles of the upper back; we'd see much fewer shoulder problems in females if they would just do a LOT more rowing.
EL: You've mentioned to me in the past the issues with the ever popular Nike Shox training shoe as well as high heels in women. What's are the potential problems?
EC: When you elevate the heels chronically - via certain sneakers, high-heels, or any other footwear - you lose range of motion in dorsiflexion (think toe-to-shin range of motion). When you lack mobility at a joint, your body tries to compensate by looking anywhere it can to find range of motion. In the case of restricted ankle mobility, you turn the foot outward and internally rotate your lower and upper legs to make up for the deficit. This occurs as torque is "converted" through subtalar joint pronation.
As the leg rotates inward (think of the upper leg swiveling in your hip joint socket), you lose range of motion in external rotation at your hip. This is one of several reasons why females have a tendency to let their knees fall inward when they squat, lunge, deadlift, etc. And, it can relate to anterior/lateral knee pain (think of the term patellofemoral pain ... you've got restriction on things pulling on the patella, and on the things controlling the femur ... it's no wonder that they're out of whack relative to one another). And, by tightening up at the ankle and the hip, you've taken a joint (knee) that should be stable (it's just a hinge) and made it mobile/unstable. You can also get problems at the hip and lower back because ...
Just as losing range of motion at the ankle messes with how your leg is aligned, losing range of motion at your hip - both in external rotation and hip extension - leads to extra range of motion at your lumbar spine (lower back). We want our lower back to be completely stable so that it can transfer force from our lower body to our upper body and vice versa; if you have a lot of range of motion at your lower back, you don't transfer force effectively, and the vertebrae themselves can get irritated. This can lead to bone problems (think stress fractures in gymnasts), nerve issues (vertebrae impinge on discs/nerve roots), or muscular troubles (basic strains).
So, the take-home message is that crappy ankle mobility - as caused by high-top shoes, excessive ankle taping, poor footwear (heel lifts) - can cause any of a number of problems further up the kinetic chain. Sure, we see plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinosis, and shin splints, but that's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what can happen.
How do we fix the problems? First, get out of the bad footwear and pick up a shoe that puts you closer in contact with the ground. Second, go barefoot more often (we do it for all our dynamic flexibility warm-ups and about 50% of the volume of our lifting sessions). Third, incorporate specific ankle (and hip) mobility drills - as featured in our Magnificent Mobility DVD.
Oh, I should mention that elevating the heels in women is also problematic simply because it shifts the weight so far forward. If we're dealing with a population that needs to increase recruitment of the glutes and hamstrings, why are we throwing more stress on the quads?
Stay tuned for Part II - available in our next newsletter.
Have a great week, everyone!
EC |
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No-Hitters
First off, a big congratulations goes out to Lincoln-Sudbury’s Kevin Scanlan, a Cressey Performance athlete who pitched his first career no-hitter last week. With a 3-0 record, 0.35 earned-run average, and 40 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched, Kevin is the top-ranked pitcher in the competitive Dual-County League here in Massachusetts – en route to pitching for the University of Maine next year. Kevin is also batting almost .500 at the clean-up spot and playing first base when he isn’t pitching. Great job, Kevin!
Cressey Performance has become somewhat of a breeding ground for the 7-1 Lincoln-Sudbury baseball team, with seven of the athletes training with me. Stay tuned for more of the same success in the months and years to come!
Nipples
As you may have heard, there was a great feature article in the Boston Globe about Stephanie Holland-Brodney, one of my clients who ran the marathon. And, needless to say, the picture that accompanied the article served as great blog material:
The School of Hard Nipples
Self-deprecating humor is the best kind, right?
With the help of Jon Boyle, we’ve really upped the content considerably on the blog over the last few weeks. Be sure to check it out at www.EricCressey.com on the homepage - and by all means, please spread the word. The more popular it gets, the more content we’ll pack into it each day. In the meantime, here are a few of the more popular ones from the past few weeks:
The 315 Deadlift Fiasco
Lifestyle Checklists
Lower Back Pain and the Fitness Professional
Until next week, train hard and have fun!
All the Best,
EC |
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More Stellar Feedback for Building the Efficient Athlete
When we made the Building the Efficient Athlete 8-DVD set, Mike Robertson and I – by our own admission and intentions – barbecued some sacred cows in in the fitness industry with some of our non-traditional ideas. Moreover, given that Mike and I interact with a ton of physical therapists, doctors, athletic trainers, and other health care professionals – and do a lot of writing with respect to corrective exercise – it’s safe to say that this DVD set has turned some heads in the medical community as well. I thought you might be interested in the following testimonial sent to us by Hector Lopez on behalf of Physicians Pioneering Performance, LLC:
“Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson’s BTEA raises the bar and sets a new standard for applying functional anatomy, biomechanical assessment, and corrective exercise to athletes at all levels. Congratulations on fine work that addresses many limiting factors of human performance, while enabling the athlete/client to progress and experience a training effect. Just one pass through this DVD set, and it stands to make us all more critical and active in thinking through the patient/client/athlete’s pain, dysfunction, impairments and inefficiencies.
“A fantastic resource that we (Physicians Pioneering Performance) would recommend without reservation, not only for athletes, strength coaches and fitness professionals, but also for musculoskeletal/sports medicine practitioners and many of their patients."
Hector Lopez, MD, CSCS
Co-Founder, Physicians Pioneering Performance, LLC
Northwestern University – Feinberg School of Medicine
Pick up your copy of the DVD set at www.BuildingTheEfficientAthlete.com.
New Article
I just had a new article posted yesterday at T-Nation; check it out:
Are You Doing Stupid Stuff in the Gym?
All the Best,
EC |
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This week, we've got Part 2 of the Alwyn Cosgrove fat loss interview along with a few quick announcements.
Just a quick note, first: I had my first article published at Active.com just recently. Check it out:
Must-Have Weight Room Movements for Cyclists: Part 1
EricCressey.com Exclusive Interview with Alwyn Cosgrove: Part 2
Last week, Alwyn tossed out a ton of great information with respect to fat loss programming, but he's not done yet! Without further ado, let's get to it...
EC: As a mobility geek, I was intrigued when I heard you mention that you felt that corrective exercise - especially in the form of mobility and activation work - had merits with respect to utilizing compound movements to create a metabolic disturbance. Could you elaborate?
AC: If you think about the fiber recruitment potential, the answer is pretty obvious. Even if you're using compound movements to create that metabolic disturbance, if your muscles were not activated like they should be, you still are not creating as big as a disturbance as you could.
For example, squats and deadlifts will give you more bang for your buck if your glutes are active than if they aren't. Many of the movements from your Magnificent Mobility DVD - supine bridges and birddogs, for example, with respect to the glutes - are great pairings for more of these compound lifts if you're looking to create more of a metabolic disturbances. In the upper body, you might pair chin-ups with scap pushups, or bench presses with scapular wall slides.
And, to add on the above points, you can ignore the value of that mobility and activation work when it comes to preventing injury. Many times, form will start to break down with some of the longer time-under-tension prescriptions in more metabolically demanding resistance training protocols. When you get things firing the way they should, you immediately make these complexes and circuits safer.
EC: Great points. Now, you bust my chops for being a guy that reads the research on a regular basis, but we both know that you’re as much of a “research bloodhound” as I am. As such, I know that you’ve got some ideas on the “next big thing” when it comes to fat loss. Where do you feel the industry will be going along these lines in the years to come? Here’s your chance to make a bold prediction, you cocky bastard.
AC: Ok – you’re putting me on the spot here.
If you don’t drink water – what happens? Your body immediately tries to maintain homeostasis by retaining water – doing the opposite.
Does weight training build muscle? No. It destroys muscle and the body adapts by growing new muscle. The body adapts by homeostasis – trying to regain balance by doing the opposite.
If we look at aerobic training – and look at fat oxidation – we can see that fat oxidation increases at 63% V02 max. We burn fat during the activity. How does that EXACT SAME BODY respond? Hmmmm...
What cavemen survived the famine in the winters? The cavemen that stored bodyfat efficiently. We have evolved into a race of fat storing machines.
We are aerobic all day. If aerobic training worked – then we wouldn’t need to work harder would we? When we work harder we see a trend – we lose fat – but is it because we are moving towards anaerobics?
My prediction is that as we understand more and more about the science of losing fat (which in reality we haven’t really studied in any depth) I think we’ll find that excessive aerobic training may retard fat loss in some way.
I’ve been saying for years that I don’t think it helps much. And the studies support that. I’m now starting to feel that it may hurt.
How many more studies have to come out that show NO effect of aerobic training to a fat loss program before we’ll recognize it?
DISCLAIMER – I work with endurance athletes. I work with fighters. I am recovering from an autologous stem cell transplant and high dose chemotherapy. I think aerobic training is extremely helpful. But not as a fat loss tool.
EC: Excellent stuff as always, Alwyn. Thanks for taking the time.
I can't say enough great things the fat loss resources Alwyn has pulled together; I would strongly encourage you all to check them out: Afterburn.
All the Best,
EC |
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LEARN
HOW TO
DEADLIFT
- Avoid the most common deadlifting mistakes
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