Mike Robertson just brought to my attention that the Monday after Thanksgiving is known as Cyber Monday because it's the biggest day of the year for online sales. So, particularly with the economy the way it is, we decided to put most of our products up for sale for today ONLY.
For the fitness professionals in the crowd, keep in mind you can also purchase NSCA CEUs for the majority of these products, and those CEUs will come in handy at this time of year as you're up for renewal of your certification. The products with the asterisk after their names below are eligible.
Simply head on over to the Robertson Training Systems Products Page, add a product (or a bunch of products) to your shopping cart, and enter the coupon code CYBER at checkout to receive 15% off on your purchase. Eligible products include the Building the Efficient Athlete DVD Set*, Magnificent Mobility DVD*, Inside-Out DVD*, 2008 Indianapolis Performance Enhancement Seminar DVD Set*, and Bulletproof Knees Manual*.
Also, through my shopping cart, this same offer (same CYBER coupon code) is available for The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual and The Art of the Deload E-Book. You can purchase those on my Products Page.
Don't miss out on this great chance to purchase our stuff at an excellent discount just in time for the holidays!
I'm writing this blog on Tuesday night, as I'm pretty sure that my mind will be a bit hazy after the insulin-induced coma that follows my Thanksgiving feast.
1. While I've had a week-long argument with my new website set-up, I have to say that one of the cool features I now have is a really detailed analytic panel to look at hits, referring sites, and the keywords people used in their searches to find my site. Believe it or not, 6.8% of my readers can't spell my last name correctly in a web search. So, just to be clear, it's "CRESSEY," not "CRESSY." The extra "E" stands for excellence, in case anyone was wondering. Stop laughing.
2. I work with two pro ballplayers who were drafted out of Harvard, and the other day, we got to talking about how I had finally gotten DVR on my TV (mostly for my girlfriend, to be honest). They started talking about how it'd be nice to be able to fast-forward through the commercials, and I commented on how that parallels what I do with educational DVDs. You see, I just push fast-forward and listen to things in about half the time it would take to hear the entire thing. I still comprehend everything - kind of like this guy:
They were kind of floored that I could do that - although I'm really not sure why. I'd be willing to bet that there were a lot of students at Harvard who are a lot more cyborg-ish than I am.
3. For the record, this strategy comes in handy when listening to presenters with Midwestern and Southern accents. I employed it with great success when viewing the 2008 Indianapolis Performance Enhancement Seminar DVD Series, as that Robertson character is one........sloooooooowwwww......talker.
Kidding aside, this was a fantastic seminar; I'd highly recommend you pick up a copy. I actually reviewed it in detail in a previous blog entitled The Best Thing I've Seen All Year.
4. Eric Chessen has a new blog about Autism Fitness. Definitely check it out at www.Autism-Health.com if that's your cup of tea. Eric's at the head of his field in this regard.
5. I'm going to be writing a new article for T-Nation this weekend. And, while I have some ideas on what I am going to write, I'm always open to suggestions. If you have one, please post it as a comment on this blog and I'll see what I can do.
6. HERE is an interesting new study I just read that talks about performance decrements with subtle sleep deprivation. These results seem to suggest that if you're going to miss hours of sleep, it is better to do so by going to bed later than it is to do so by rising earlier. We always teach our athletes that one hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after midnight, so these results would seemingly fly in the face of our recommendations. However, these recommendations assume no sleep deprivation. In other words, I'd rather have an athlete sleep 11pm-7am than I would have him sleep 2am-10am.
Just a quick one this week in light of the holiday. Have a great weekend!
You've probably come across Nate Green's name over the past few years - either in my newsletter/blog or at T-Nation. He's established himself as a guy who knows his stuff, but also has a great writing style that is both entertaining and informative. And, most specific to the product in question, Nate looks a lot of issues that nobody else considers.
I was fortunate to get an advanced copy of his new book, Built for Show, and I really enjoyed it. The program itself is fantastic. Those of you who enjoyed my Maximum Strength book would like it as a follow-up program, particularly if you're interesting a bit more interested in the physique side of things than pure performance benefits. The program includes four unique training phases to keep your progress moving full-speed ahead.
And, for those of you who haven't picked up a woman since the Reagan administration, you'd be wise to take Nate's advice. Nate discusses the psychology of attraction quite a bit, and it's actually really interesting stuff. I will be the first to admit that I never had much (if any) game with the ladies, so I'll defer to the expert (Nate) to elaborate on this crucial point from the book:
Take a look at the current men's magazines and notices what's on the covers. You'll see a ton of references to biceps, ripped abs, and a bigger chest - but those are three body parts women don't really care about as much as you'd think. If you go back in time, you'll find that women are biologically programmed to be attracted to men who show more status and dominance. One way to show that dominance is to have an imposing, strong body. Take a look at your training and ask yourself why you're doing what you're doing. I know this might sound sacrilegious, but maybe your question for the ultimate six-pack, biggest guns, or becoming so big that you frighten small children aren't the greatest goals for you after all. If you want girls, and you want a capable, athletic, muscular body, then Built for Show was written for you.
Check it out, folks; at less than $14, you can't go wrong - at the very least for a very entertaining read:
Built for Show
I knocked off Gregg T. this week in fantasy football, 84-56, to bring my winning streak to three and catapult (yes, it was that dramatic) myself into a three-way tie for second place in our league at 7-5. It was pretty redeeming, as Gregg talked a lot of smack a few weeks ago when he heard that I was terrible at bowling.
You see, Gregg's bowled a few 800+ games (he defies conventional bowling scoring systems) and has enjoyed all the fame and fortune that goes along with dominating in a sport with so much international acclaim. In fact, each time he walked from the car to Cressey Performance to train, he was swarmed by adoring fans. He'd usually walk in the door, gather up all the women's underwear that had been thrown at him, sign a few autographs, and then get his lift on.
This week however, Gregg T. was outdone by Greg J - Jennings, that is. If you didn't see it, Jennings (a Green Bay WR who carried my team this week) put on a show last night in spite of his team getting beaten like a rented mule. And, he held on to this pass, where his helmet strap was permanently implanted in his cerebellum.
Fortunately, Gregg redeemed himself when he sent along this article to me for blog material:
Obese Have Right to 2 Airline Seats
Apparently, if you're "functionally disabled by obesity," you can get two airline seats for the price of one. Yes, you read that right: being heftier affords you extra luxuries (most notably, avoiding the possibility of ever having to sit next to another obese person, which is something that I think would convince anyone to lose weight).
It will be interesting to see if they go by Body Mass Index (BMI), which will probably rank every individuals who is actually dedicated to lifting weights as obese. At 5-8. 190-195, I am literally on the border between "overweight" and "obese." Forget First Class; I'm flying Fat A**!
Kidding aside (okay, not really; I'm never serious), this opens us up to a lot of dangerous precedents that could be the fallout from this court ruling:
1. Smelly people get two deodorants for the price of one.
2. Folks who are seven feet tall get to go on the amusement park rides twice because they're twice as tall as the minimum height.
3. People who are soft tissue nightmares get two massages for the price of one (as if massage therapists aren't burning out too fast already)
This list could go on and on. Dangerous precedent, indeed.
Thanks for the link, Gregg. Sorry I had to inflict such violent fantasy football dominance on you.
I don't watch a ton of TV, but when I do, it's almost always sports - be it football, baseball, basketball, or just regular ol' Sportscenter. Likewise, when I'm at working, I'm constantly coaching athletes from a variety of sports on everything from weight-training, to flexibility, to sprint mechanics, to medicine ball throwing techniques.
Everywhere you look, you'll see destabilizing torques. Maybe it's a running back trying to fend off a tackler; his feet are fixed while the destabilizing torque (the force applied to his body by that tackler) occurs further up the kinetic chain.
Or, maybe it's an athlete doing a suitcase deadlift. The load in his hand is a destabilizing torque that attempts to shift him into lateral flexion as contralateral core musculature fires to keep him erect. Again, the feet are on stable ground.
You're probably getting my point by now. Our lower extremities operate in predominantly closed-chain motion on stable surfaces in the real world - and the destabilizing torques we encounter further up the kinetic chain are truly functional instability training.
Conversely, when was the last time you saw the ground move on a fixed athlete? Perhaps the earthquake during the San Francisco-Oakland World Series in 1989? It's a long shot at best.
With that in mind, why are we universally accepting unstable surface training in the lower extremity? We know it has merit in the rehabilitation of functional ankle instability, but to assume that benefits would also be conferred on a healthy population is a dangerous. That's where we came in with my research back in 2005 - and it's why I've got a great frame of reference for writing a book that discusses true core stability training and the appropriate and inappropriate applications of unstable surface training. At risk of sounding overconfident, if you coach or rehabilitation athletes or regular fitness enthusiasts, The Truth About Unstable Surface Training is an important read for you.
1. This is my first post on the new blog, so apologies in advance if:
a) the font style or color is out-of-whack
b) it comes up in Portuguese (meaning that you’d have no idea what I am saying, anyway)
c) your computer freezes up on account of the complete and utter awesomeness that you’re beholding with the new site
Kidding aside, it’s been a royal pain in the butt thus far and I’m just anxious to have it done so that I can just go back to writing.
2. Believe it or not, as some of you probably have noticed, I haven’t blogged for a full week.There was just a ton of stuff to get gone for the new site as well as loads of other projects on my plate.
Interestingly, though, it was by far my best week of training since the spring.I had a great front squatting session on Tuesday, and although Wednesday was supposed to be a day off, I got antsy later in the day.So, I did a little sprint work – and it felt great.So, I figured what the heck: I might as well test my vertical jump and broad jump.I wound up jumping a personal best of 34.7 inches and then tying a personal best on the broad jump with 114 inches.As a cooldown, I wrestled a grizzly bear and then did walking lunges in the parking lot with an intern over each shoulder.Those whippersnappers will learn!
Random digressions aside, it’s very clear that this blog is completely counterproductive for my strength, power, and physique goals.In fact, I’d say that is roughly on-par with distance running as a competing demand for my attention and physiological recuperation.I’m going to take one for the team and keep writing, though; winners persevere.
(and in case you folks didn’t pick up on it, that was a joke)
Essentially, this is a survey of all the available research on the topic, and here is what they determined: “Only one trial was found that investigated the efficacy of PUFAs and antioxidants on tendinopathies. The findings suggest that some (low level) evidence exists to support the supplementation in the management of tendinopathies. Any conclusions based on this one article should be reached with caution. Subsequently, there is a distinct and clear need for well-planned randomized controlled trials that aim to investigate the efficacy of supplements in the management of tendinopathies including those of the rotator cuff.”
Meanwhile, we spend BILLIONS on NSAIDs, cortisone shots, and surgeries.Don’t you just love the medical model?While these options are certainly warranted in some situations, we’re studying for the wrong test by ignoring the role of PUFAs and antioxidants in the treatment of tendinopathies.
Chances are that the NIH won’t soon fund anything to look at this, though, as they are too busy doing the 38,736th study in history on creatine.
4. A good cartoon, in light of the week ahead:
5. Speaking of turducken, is anyone looking forward to listening to John Madden on Thanksgiving as much as I am? I mean, this is quite possibly the greatest broadcasting spectacle in football history, as Madden will be bouncing off the walls try to slip in as many Brett Favre references as possible - even if Favre and the Jets don't play until the following Sunday.
And, Frank Caliendo as Madden is awesome. They played this on the airplane on the ride back from Georgia a few weeks ago and everyone on board was laughing hysterically.
6. Another interesting study that ought to make you think:
Basically, the researchers found that college baseball players and swimmers were 3.23 and 2.95 times more likely (respectively) than their non-athlete counterparts to have disk degeneration.And, there was a clear association between disk degeneration and lower back pain.
Now, here is something to consider…I would be willing to bet that if you took these athletes and actually trained their “cores” the right way, they would be better off long-term than the nonathletes – in spite of the amount of disc degeneration that’s present already.I feel very strongly that multidirectional lumbar stability goes a long way in overcoming any structural flaws – from vertebral fractures (spondylolysis) to disc issues; there are a lot of structurally jacked up backs out there that are completely asymptomatic.
To me, it’s the folks who do nothing that are most at-risk of debilitating back pain long-term.When s**t hits the fan for them, they are playing behind the 8-ball, as they’re older and completely untrained.So, they are starting from scratch when it’s the hardest to start from scratch.Food for thought.
In the meantime, pick up a copy of Combat Core and save yourself.It’s the best “core training” program out there.
7. That last thought was pretty heavy with techy stuff, huh?Did it blow your mind?You know, kind of like it blew your mind when David Hasselhoff talked to that car – and the car actually talked back?
Yeah, that was crazy.
Anyway, that's all for this week. Did you miss me?
It's going to be a quick one today, as I've been down with the flu bug over the past few days and have a lot going on...
1. Tony's out of town and Pete's out of the office today, so I'm the lone captain of the Cressey Performance ship.
2. It looks like we're going to be making the big switch over to the new website this weekend. So, the next time you want to come back to read this blog, you'll be able to just do it at http://ecressey.wpengine.com. We will probably be down for at least one day this weekend. My fingers are crossed that it'll all go smoothly.
3. The good news is that the new site will be more aesthetically appealing and easy to navigate with a nice little search feature. There will also be a live mariachi band and balloon-tying clowns.
4. Congratulations to all the Cressey Performance athletes who signed letters of intent this week, plus two guys who just committed this past week: Justin Quinn (Rollins) and Kevin Brown (Bryant).
5. I'm not sure which is dumber: the man powered treadmill or the cheesy 1980s fruit aisle music in the background of this video.
6. Here is the second part of this week's newsletter.
That'll do it. Have a great weekend.
Q: I was just curious: why would surgeons have waited so long to repair Brady's ACL? It seems that it would be ideal to do the surgery as soon as possible after the injury to give him more time to rehab and come back.
A: It actually has less to do with the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and more to do with the associated injuries he (presumably) had. It's widely speculated that he ruptured both the ACL and medial collateral ligament (MCL).
A MCL will heal on its own, in most cases, so they'll give it 4-6 weeks to do so before going in to do the ACL reconstruction. Had he experienced a lateral meniscus tear, though (as is common in traumatic ACL injuries), they'd have gone in pretty quickly. ACL injuries that also include the lateral meniscus are typically much more serious and potentially career-threatening.
With all ACL ruptures, they'll usually have folks wait at least a few days to allow the swelling to go down. In some cases - particularly with really deconditioned individuals, they might opt for a period of physical therapy prior to the surgery to strengthen the surrounding musculature, reduce swelling, and ensure full knee extension ROM to improve post-op outcomes.
If you're interested in learning more about knee function and injuries, Mike Robertson has actually pulled together some great stuff with his Bulletproof Knees Manual. It's definitely worth checking out.
All that said, best wishes to Brady for a speedy recovery. Us Pats fans look forward to seeing him back on the field.
Going in to Monday night's game, I was trailing by 16 points with only my QB, Kurt Warner, still to go. He didn't disappoint, putting 25 points on the board with 328 yards passing and three touchdowns. After this, he had this to say about being a part of my fantasy football team (he refers to it as the "franchise" and the "organization"):
With Warner and God on my side, there's no stopping me. It doesn't quite explain my 5-5 record, but even deities have bye weeks.
And, for those who missed it, check out this week's newsletter. The follow-up on Thursday is going to be just as good.
I've gotten several emails over the past week from folks who read the following article in the New York Times:
Stretching: The Truth
You know what the questions were? I'll tell you (paraphrased):
"Didn't you already talk about this in your Magnificent Mobility DVD?"
Yes, as a matter of fact; we did. And, the MM DVD was filmed in November of 2005.
You know what else? With just a cursory glance at our references from peer-reviewed journals for MM, I found two separate studies supporting these facts from - believe it or not - 1999.
Sorry, folks; the New York Times is far from revolutionary. This news is at least nine years old - and even older when you consider that there were guys in the trenches experimenting with dynamic flexibility for decades before the research even came to fruition.
This same "delay" kicked in about a year ago when everyone went crazy when we finally "discovered" in the mainstream media that lactic acid was not the cause of muscular fatigue. I actually first heard this in 2004 back in a Muscle Physiology class in graduate school at the University of Connecticut. This review by Robergs et al. at the University of New Mexico was what opened a lot of people's eyes.
