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Money Makes the World Go Round? Or “Un-Round?”

According to a recent article, in light of the doubling of the obesity rate in Australia over the past 20 years, the Australian General Practice Network (AGPN) is encouraging the government to pay overweight Australians 170 dollars ($140 USD) to attend weight-loss programs. Yes, they’re actually considering paying people to lose body fat. Apparently, the prospects of looking and feeling great and living a long and healthy life just aren’t rewarding enough for some people. Here’s a wild idea… How about FINING people for being overweight? You see it all the time with offensive lineman in the NFL who come to camp overweight. I recall reading a while back that according to the collective bargaining agreement in the NFL in 2006, a team could fine an overweight player as much as $457 per extra pound per day. Even when guys are making millions, this adds up – especially when it’s hurting their playing time. It’s happened in the NBA, too. Human nature is such that people won’t always get motivated by money when you give them incentive to work on something. It’s the reason people don’t accept low-paying jobs (the reward doesn’t justify the effort, in their minds). However, separate someone from money that is already theirs, and they’ll get motivated FAST. Just as you don’t like to lose your wallet, offensive linemen don’t like to get fined or lose their starting jobs. Eric Cressey
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Studying for the Wrong Test

When I read this article about the FDA asking companies to consider using a system of symbols on packaging to denote whether foods were healthy or not, I immediately thought back to my trip last week to buy a new desk at IKEA. For those who don’t know, IKEA is a company of Swedish origin that just so happens to have a food court. That food court is world-renowned for – you guessed it – Swedish meatballs. And, given that the store is roughly the size of the entire state of Rhode Island, you can bet that my girlfriend and I were in there so long that we needed a nutritional intervention at the food court to avoid dying of starvation during what amounted to the Hundred Years War of furniture purchasing (for the record, we lost this war; the desk was sold out and I’m now typing this with my laptop on top of my bureau). Plus, I was anxious to show my girlfriend that I really know how to treat a lady to a fine meal (eat your heart out, ladies). But I digress… As we stood in line with two chicken caesar salads (dressing on the side), we (seemingly simultaneously) noticed the cafeteria tray of the woman in front of me. She was about 5-3, 200 pounds. I’d estimate that she had about 487 meatballs (or at least 15) on her plate, and it was tastefully arranged such that the add-on heap of macaroni and cheese offered such a delicate contrast of coloring that even Martha Stewart would have skipped a breath. Had Martha seen the accompanying chocolate and peanut butter torte, she might not have been able to get her breath back at all. It was 4,000 calories worth of trans-fatty grace. But it clearly wasn’t enough. Just in front of my fellow shopper was a stack of chocolate bars that caught her attention like a fart in church. She grabbed one of the bars, and glanced at the label (of course, so did I). It had 630 calories and 31 grams of fat. I couldn’t get a good view of the sugar content – as she had tossed it onto her tray before I could even read it. There was no hesitation at all. Chances are that she almost swallowed her hand minutes later in her attempt to eat it. What’s my point? Frankly, labels don’t mean much. Behavior modification goes a lot further than that. When you were ten, did you know to not drink the Draino because it had the little skull and crossbones on it, or did you know because it was hidden from plain view – and your mother had instilled in you early-on that drinking Draino wasn’t good for you? If we want to effect favorable societal changes in the way people eat, we need to spend more time educating kids and their parents about good food choices and – just as importantly – behavior modifications. Dr. John Berardi’s Precision Nutrition System has been wildly popular and successful. Why? Among other reasons, John focuses on behavior modification via his Seven Habits of Highly Effective Nutrition Programs. As much as I dislike the programs, Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig have worked for many people simply because they’ve encouraged behavior modification before the fact. In other words, in both cases, you pick what you’re going to eat ahead of time – not when you’re reading a label at the grocery store. That’s when you’re behind the eight-ball already. Eric Cressey
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The No Hitter

On Saturday night, my girlfriend and I finished setting up our new television – only to turn it on for the first time and see Clay Buchholz toss a no-hitter for the Boston Red Sox against the Baltimore Orioles. Like everyone, I was very impressed with his ability to change speeds effectively with his pitches and get ahead in the counts all night. I’m more impressed, however, with the overall athleticism that has helped him get to where he is so quickly. In multiple telecasts, Red Sox commentators have noted that he’s the fastest guy in the organization. Yes, that’s even faster the stud center field prospect Jacoby Ellsbury (Had David Wells still been with the Sox, I’m sure he would have won that race, for the record). It’s speculated that while Buchholz was taken as a pitcher in the first round of the draft, he could have been selected in the fifth round as a hitter as well. Pitching and sprinting: two athletic endeavors that – to the casual observer to exercise physiology – are loosely related at best. I however, am of the belief that you need to become a better athlete before you become a better pitcher, basketball player, tennis player, or even a bowler. There are right and wrong ways to move – and if you have general dysfunction, it’s going to carry over to specific movements. If you are efficient in a general sense, on the other hand, that efficiency will carry over to sporting movements provided that you practice them (delayed transformation, as per Vladimir Zatsiorsky’s writings). Toss in a pitching coach, knowledge of the game, the right psychological profile, some favorable biomechanics, and get a catcher that calls a great game (kudos to Jason Varitek), and you must just have the youngest guy to throw a no-hitter in Red Sox history. Interestingly, in an interview at SoxProspects.com, when asked about his off-season training regime from last year, Buchholz responded: “First of all I lived in Dallas with a couple of other guys that also play ball, and we all worked out together. So we all had a little advice for each other. My main goal this off-season was to be in shape and have gained weight. I gained just about 12 lbs and I was in pretty good shape. I have lived in Dallas the last two off seasons and the clear focus was to get stronger and go to camp in great shape so I could show the front office I was committed to getting to the big leagues. The schedule I have been on has been very successful and I don't expect that to change. So I would say that the off-season was a success.” Buchholz also commented: “I think my athleticism shows up as a pitcher in my ability to change on the go, make adjustments quickly, and certainly in my ability to cover the bunt in both directions.” Get efficient, improve multiple strength qualities, and in the case of an absolute power sport position (i.e., pitcher), slap on some muscle mass. Not exactly rocket science, is it? Eric Cressey
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The Good Side of Broke

I received this email from an online consulting client of mine (a marathon runner). He had been experiencing some unexplained glute pain last month, so we modified the training program considerably to work to correct it. Just yesterday, I received this email from him: Funny story. So, like I had mentioned last month, my right glute was killing me. I could tell it just wasn't firing properly, and the pain was fairly intense, radiating down my leg. Continued hurting all this month, which surprised me, because more mobility stuff and rolling usually solves those types of problems. I figured that maybe all the travel of last month had just really screwed me up. But then, a few days ago, I realized that I had started carrying a wallet in my back right pocket, which I haven't done in years. Stopped carrying/sitting on wallet, pain almost completely gone in like three days. Important things to learn from this? 1. Asymmetry is the single-most common cause of injury in sports, in the eyes of some really smart dudes in this "biz." 2. Remember the 23:1 rule. You can have a perfect hour in the gym each day, but that still leaves you 23 hours to screw it up at home and work! 3. Clean out your damn wallet and carry it in your front pocket! The 23/1 Rule Applies To Your Athletic Efficiency. Click Here and Get Started.
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Phases of The Off-Season

Your off-season manual is very addictive. You have really put together something special. I got the manual yesterday and proceeded to read 3/4ths of it before it was 1:00am and I had to be at work at 7:30 the next morning. You write well and down to earth. I think you have a lot of talent writing; keep it up! Thanks for your awesome feedback; I'm glad you liked it! On another note I wanted to tell you I was deeply surprised about the different phases of the off-season. It is now apparent that I should set my late off-season to four weeks out from August 23(school starts). My question to you while I'm still in the main chunk of the off-season is what should I right now after I have completed a bunch of running volume? (for example last week I ran 8x60yd sprints with 30s rest after 8xdifferent speed drills usually lasting 15yrds like fall forwards) One week won't throw you off too much. I would just focus on complete recovery between movement training sets for the next two weeks, and then move to your late off-season. Remember that as a quarterback, you're not going to need to be as metabolically conditioned as another position that does a lot more running (unless you're a Michael Vick type, of course - and I'm not referring to your criminal record). Finally I'm going to an intense camp where I throw close to 300 passes a day. I don't know if you remember my program but it has such an emphasis on lat strength I'm wondering if you might be able to help me modify my program to help balance out all the volume? Thanks for your thoughts, Will Your best bet is to do a ton of external rotations at various positions (arms below and above 90 degrees of elevation). Include some seated rows as well as some higher rep DB stability ball bench presses every third week (in place of max effort work). Keep up the good work! Eric Cressey Pick Up Your Copy and Make the Most of Your Off-Season
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Ask Eric: Runner’s Knee

Will the excercises on Magnificent Mobility help treat runner's knee, along with the tight IT bands and hamstrings? Are there different exercises which you would recommend for the knee/IT band problems? I haven't bought the dvd's yet, but if they'll help my knees I'd consider it.
Absolutely, Peter. Most knee issues arise from lack of mobility at the ankles and hips - so one goes to the knee (what should be a stable joint) and creates range of motion. We've had a lot of great feedback from people with bum knees who have seen great results with the DVD. Mike and I are more than happy to help you customize the drills to your needs. I'd also recommend that you pick up a foam roller to work on soft tissue quality in the ITB/TFL. You can read more about it here. I'd also recommend that you take a lacrosse ball to your calves and glutes to free up any restrictions that are there - very common in anterior and lateral knee pain.
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Defending the Deadlift

It’s been really busy up here with lots of projects and upcoming seminars on top of my normal workload, but fortunately, Myles Kantor recently interviewed me with a specific focus on the deadlift; the interview was just published by John Berardi at Precision Nutrition to give you some great content for this week. Check it out: Defending the Deadlift: An Interview with Coach and Powerlifter Eric Cressey
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Foam Rollers and Football

Q: Hey Eric, I've been a member of T-Nation for about three years now. I really enjoy your articles. And one caught my attention abouta year ago. The foam roller article. I bought one, asked my PT about it and he didnt know much so i kind of threw it aside. Well to make a long story short. I play high school football, its my senior year. I've been playing and training for seven years now. My ultimate goal of course is to get a scholarship to play some college ball. However the day before practice I pulled my hamstring doing sprints down the beach. I've been going to PT and seen about three doctors. Its not that serious of a pull id say a mild grade 2. I've been feeling alot of pressure from my coaches to get back on the field and have tried to comeback twice. Whenever i put any pressure on the thing it just tighens right up. But running on it seems to be fine. There is a pretty good size knot on the lower part of my left hamstring right above the back of the knee. So tonight i read your article again and busted out the foam roller. After the first 10 minutes of the hamstring it felt 100 times better. I've done it three times in the past three hours. I got a big game on friday that I have to play in and I'm doing as much as i possibly can to get this thing healthy. I know you guys dont diagnos over the internet or anything like that i just wanted to tell you thank you for the info on the foam roller. I'm gonna use this thing everyday before and after practice/games and hopefully i can get back to 100% as soon as possible. Thanks again for all the great info!
A: I'm glad to hear that the roller worked out for you. Just remember that work you do with the roller is just treating the symptoms (scar tissue). You have to get to the bottom of why your hamstrings are so knotted up if you want to fix the problem rather than just take one step forward and one step back. In most cases, the hamstrings get locked up because they're overactive - because the glutes aren't doing their job as hip extensors. It's one reason why after hamstrings go, you also see groin pulls (adductor magnus is a synergist to the glutes in hip extension) and piriformis strains (piriformis is a synergist in lateral rotation). Check out our Magnificent Mobility DVD; it would be a good investment. It's worked for a lot of guys w/their hamstrings problems, and provided that the right exercises are selected, you should see some great improvements. Eric Cressey
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Unstable Surface Training… For Golf!?

Q: I have received a golf fitness program designed specifically for my injury history. This program came from the - Insert Noteworthy Golf Performance Institute’s Name Here - I have concerns about this program.

Some of the exercises I am concerned about involve:

1. mimicking my golf swing on an unstable surface
2. performing one legged golf stance with my eyes closed
3. hollow my stomach for 30 second holds
4. upright rows

Correct me if I'm wrong but your advice on various T-Nation articles and your Newsletter go against these practices. Should I look elsewhere for my golf fitness program?

A: Where do I even begin? That's simply atrocious!

I've "fixed" a lot of golfers and trained some to high levels, and we've never done any of that namby-pamby junk. In a nutshell...

1. I did my Master's thesis on unstable surface training, and it will be featured in the August issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. I can’t release the results yet, but let’s just say that if the ground ever moves on YOU instead of you moving on the ground, you have bigger things to worry about than your golf conditioning; you’re in the middle of an earthquake!

2. There is considerable anecdotal evidence to support the assertion that attempting to replicate sporting tasks on unstable surfaces actually IMPAIRS the learning of the actual skill (think of competing motor learning demands). In a technical sport like golf, this is absolutely unacceptable.

3. Eyes closed, fine - but first show me that you can be stable with your eyes open! Most golfers are so hopelessly deconditioned that they can’t even brush their teeth on one foot (sadly, I’m not joking).

4. Abdominal hollowing is "five years ago" and has been completely debunked. Whoever wrote this program (or copied and pasted it from when they gave it to 5,000 other people) ought to read some of Stuart McGill's work - and actually start to train so that he/she gets a frame of reference.

I’m sorry to say that you got ripped off. The fact of the matter is the overwhelming majority of golfers are either too lazy to condition, or too scared that it’ll mess up their swing mechanics (might be the silliest assumption in the world of sports). So, said “Performance Institute” (and I use the word “performance” very loosely) puts out programs that won’t intimidate the Average Joe or his 80-year-old recreational golfer grandmother. For the record, Gram, I would never let you do this program, either (or Gramp, for that matter). On a semi-related note, Happy 85th Birthday, Gramp!

In short, I’m a firm believer in building the athlete first and the golfer later – and many golfers are so unathletic and untrained that it isn’t even funny. Do your mobility/activation to improve your efficiency, and then apply that efficiency and stability throughout a full range of motion to a solid strength training program that develops reactive ability, rate of force development, maximal strength, and speed-strength. Leave the BOSU ball squats, Body Blade frolicking, and four-exercise 3x10 band circuits for the suckers in the crowd.

Yours Cynically,

EC
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Quick Reference: Screwy Shoulder

I get asked quite a bit about what I look for when I see a screwy shoulder. Here you go! 1. Scapular stability 2. Thoracic spine range of motion 3. Cervical spine function 4. Breathing patterns 5. Mobility of the opposite hip 6. Mobility of the opposite ankle 7. Overall soft tissue quality (especially posterior capsule) 8. Glenohumeral (ball-and-socket joint) range of motion 9. Rotator cuff strength Rotator cuff function is lower down on the ladder simply because the rotator cuff is reflexive and you don't have to worry about firing it in everyday life. Nobody actively tightens up infraspinatus to pick up a suitcase - and you can more easily compensate for a lack of rotator cuff function with added scapular stability (as evidenced by the number of people with internal impingement - a hypermobility problem - who can get by without surgery). The thing I absolutely love about the Inside-Out DVD from Mike Robertson and Bill Hartman is that it covers the overwhelming majority of these problems. If you have a shoulder problem or want to prevent one, it's a great DVD to have on your shelf. Eric Cressey
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LEARN HOW TO DEADLIFT
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