As I sat down to write this blog, I recalled a quote I heard some time ago, but only with a quick Google search did I discover that it came from Pete Seeger:
"Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't."
Seeger might be in his 90s and done singing, this quote definitely still resounds - and will continue to do so - in the field of strength and conditioning, even if that wasn't his intention.
I think one of the reasons it gets us thinking so much is that there really isn't a lot of fine print to read; the strength and conditioning field is still in its infancy, especially since there was very little research in this area before the 1980s. And, just when we think we learn something and publish it in the textbook, we discover that it's completely false (the lactic acid debacle was a great example). Moreover, we're dealing with constantly changing demographics; as examples, obesity is rising dramatically, and early youth sports specialization is destroying kids' bodies and fundamentally changing the way that they develop (examples here and here).
So, it's hard to learn how to do things the right way (or at least head in that direction) when the information wasn't available - and the population to which it applies is constantly changing. It's like trying to change the tire on a moving car - and doing so without having instructions on how to use the jack in the first place.
Moreover, even when the information is out there, we appreciate that no two people respond to the same stimulus in the same way - and my experiences with baseball players with elbow pain serves as a great example. I've seen dozens of post Tommy John surgery athletes in my career. Some start throwing before the three-month mark, and others aren't throwing until six months post-op. Everyone heals differently - and even once they get back to throwing, every guy is unique. Some have more shoulder stiffness than elbow stiffness after the long layoff, where it might be vice versa for other guys. Additionally, many post ulnar nerve transposition pitchers have a lot of elbow stiffness when they return to throwing at 6-12 weeks post-op, while others have absolutely zero complications with their return-to-throwing progression.
If the game is changing, and we never really knew what the game was in the first place - and each person is unique, what do we do?
The only thing we can do is draw on personal experience and the lessons that it's provided to us.
To that end, if you're an up-and-comer in the field, you have to look at continuing education as a multi-pronged approach. You've got to read the textbooks and stay on top of the most up-to-date research, but you also have to be "in the trenches" to test-drive concepts and see how they work.
If you're not in the industry - but want to make sure that you're getting the best possible strength and conditioning programs - you need to seek out expert advice from someone who has "been there, done that." Honestly would you want to be on the table for a surgeon's first surgery? I know I wouldn't.
A final option, at the very least, is to educate yourself fully on how to write your own workout routines. That's one reason why I created two free webinars for you: The #1 Reason You Are Not Making Progress and How to Create a Real Strength and Conditioning Program.
You can check them both out HERE at absolutely no charge. I'd just ask that you help spread the word with a Facebook "like" or comment or "Tweet" if you enjoyed what you saw.
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I'm proud to announce that I'm officially part of the 21st century, as I figured out how to make webinars! To celebrate this momentous achievement (for me, at least), I've got two free ones for you today:
1. The #1 Reason You're Not Getting Better
2. How to Create a Real Strength and Conditioning Program
Click HERE to access these webinars - and if you like what you see, I'd really appreciate it if you could spread the word with "Likes" on Facebook and "Tweets" on Twitter. I'd love for this educational approach to become a mainstay for EricCressey.com moving forward, so it'd be great to hear your thoughts on it and receive some support of it if you think it's something we should do more of moving forward!
Again, here's the link to get you started with the first webinar: The #1 Reason You're Not Getting Better.
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Because Alex Maroko is a good buddy of mine, I decided to make this webinar available to you at absolutely no cost. If you want to learn about the thought process behind each strength and conditioning program I write - for athletes that range from baseball players, to basketball stars, to professional boxers, to Olympic bobsledders - then look no further.
If You Read Alex's Daily Emails, Use His Special Show and Go Half-Off Discount Link Below Today for Big Savings!
Today's guest blog comes from Brian Grasso.
The Youth Fitness and Sports Training explosion has happened.
More than $4 billion are pumped into the niches of personalized training and coaching for young people every year in the United States alone (Wall Street Journal, November 2004) and roughly 1 million kids and teens hired a Personal Trainer in 2006 (msnbc.com).
Given those stats and the enormity of both the problems (youth obesity and sports-related injuries) as well as the market size (see above) you'd think that we, as a profession, would have a relatively good working knowledge of how young people need to be trained and guided through a physical education process.
Unfortunately, this is as far from the truth as it gets.
I won't bloviate or preach.
I won't reveal my thoughts regarding how ineffectual we choose to be when working with this demographic.
And I certainly won't use any sardonic overtones about the role of responsibility we should employ when opting to work with such a sensitive and cherished client base.
I will simply appeal to your sense of logic and intelligence.
For the purposes of this article, let me say this:
"Kids" is a term I will use to encompass everyone who inhabits the ages of 6 - 18.
Athletes and Non-Athletes alike.
Miniature superstars, bench-warmers and the overweight, will all be lumped under the same umbrella.
And simply stated, I do this because the development parameters of physical stimulus needed for ALL "kids" is the same - at very least in the beginning phases of training spectrum.
Training stimulus with this demographic is guided, primarily, by physiology.
You train to the organism, not the apparent needs of the young athlete or any potential concerns - for example, increasing the speed of an 8 year old running back or arm strength of a 10 year old pitcher would amount to "apparent needs" of a young athlete. Attacking measures of calorie restriction and "fat loss" protocol would be examples of "potential concerns."
Instead, your focus must be on the organism itself.
What a young organism needs to experience in the way of physical stimulus can largely be deduced by chronological age. Certainly biological age (relative body maturation), emotional age (psychological maturation) and even personality (temperament) can all be factored into the equation, but I have found in my 13-year career that chronological age determents can be successfully applied in 90% of the cases. The remaining 10% can be accounted for through proper coaching and identification.
Having said all that, the following is a brief rundown of the physical needs of 'kids' based on chronological age:
6 - 9 Years Old:
Guided Discovery - implying that Coaches and Trainers must create games and exercises that involve a variety of movement and guidelines in terms of execution, but allow the 'kids' to explore on their own. This phase is terribly critical for establishing "Athletic Intelligence" and sets the seeds for increased complexity of training in the future
Outcome-Based Coaching - Coaches and Trainers must restrict their commentary and praise to that of "outcome" oriented verbiage. For example, when asking a 7 year old to pick up a medicine ball and throw it forward using a chest-pass motion, provide praise on that and that alone with respect to successful execution. Comments pertaining to form are not required and can impede the natural development of "kids" with respect to establishing "Athletic Intelligence."
10 - 13 Years Old:
Learning Exploration - Not dissimilar to Guided Discovery, "kids" must still be encouraged to discover what proper execution feels like on their own. However, as emotional maturation increases (and while neural plasticity or adaptability is still high) it is also critical to start teaching the essence of primal patterns. Educating "kids" on how to produce and resist force, create angles or accelerate/decelerate becomes an increasingly important part of the training process.
This is a rough overview. I admit it.
But learning exactly how to work with "kids" in a training environment is a process of education unto itself.
Just know this for starters:
It's not about Sets & Reps - it's about instructing technique through a developmental process.
There's more, MUCH more I need to cover... And fortunately will be able to.
Next month I'll be back with another installment.
Until then, re-read the above.
The "kids" are worth our best effort.
Brian Grasso has trained more than 15,000 young athletes worldwide over the past decade. He is the Founder and CEO of the International Youth Conditioning Association - the only youth-based certification organization in the entire industry. For more information, visit www.IYCA.orgRelated PostsThe Truth About Kids and Resistance TrainingDeveloping Young Pitchers the Safe WayPreventing Injuries in Young Athletes
Males and Females: Similar, but Different
During my weekly Pubmed scan, I came across this study the other day:
The Core and Hip in Soccer Athletes Compared by Gender
It seemed like a good fit for this week's newsletter for a few reasons.
First, we always hear that men and women should train exactly the same. While there are certainly a lot of similarities between how I personally approach the training of men and women, as I noted in a previous newsletter, there are also a lot of important considerations specific to females. This study highlights on such consideration: increased hip internal rotation as compared with their male counterparts.
Ask anyone who has ever trained male soccer or hockey players or powerlifters, and if they know anything about assessment, they'll tell you that a hip internal rotation deficit (HIRD) is a huge problem. It can lead to knee, hip, or lower back pain and have a markedly negative impact on movement. Improving length of the hip external rotators - with flexibility drills like the knee-to-knee stretch - is of paramount importance.
Well, those exact same drills would actually increase the typical female's injury risk. Excessive hip internal rotation and knee valgus are just a few of the many reasons (also including the hip abductor and core control weaknesses outlined in this study) that most females have more anterior cruciate ligament injuries than males.
The lesson could end there - but it won't. Why?
I had a female distance runner in for an evaluation on Saturday, and she had very poor hip internal rotation. A flexibility drill that would be inappropriate for the female "masses" is a great fit for her. Cases like this make it very clear that it's important to assess and not just assume.
This is why I'm so excited about the impending release of our new product, which outlines a series of self-assessments and corrective exercises one can use to pinpoint these issues and address them in a targeted fashion. Keep an eye out for an announcement on its release in the weeks to come.
Feedback on Maximum Strength
"This program took me to the next level of performance with my lifting. After using a variety of programs focusing on fat-loss and hypertrophy and having limited results from them it was great to see such solid increases in strength and physique changes from the program. In addition, the program focus on dynamic flexibility and foam rolling has resulted in an injury free training cycle and major flexibility and posture improvements. I would highly recommend this program and book to anyone wanting to make real progress with strength, performance and body composition."
Dan Hibbert - Calgary, AlbertaIncreased body weight by 14 pounds, broad jump by seven inches, box squat by 80 pounds, bench press by 30 pounds, deadlift by 70 pounds, and 3-rep max chin-up by 27.5 pounds.
Today is the fourth part of a guest blog series from Eric Talmant. In case you missed them, check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
Building Vibrant Health: Part 4
By: Eric Talmant
There are several options for getting started with Bill Wolcott's Metabolic Typing®. The first option, what I would refer to as the "Entry Level" option, is to buy The Metabolic Typing® Diet. This involves taking the self-test, which allows the reader to identify his or her general Metabolic Type® category and follow the appropriate Metabolic Type® dietary recommendations. It also provides additional self-tests to further customize the diet.
The advantage to this option is that it involves a minor financial commitment, and it is certainly much better for you in terms of following a diet plan rather than just arbitrarily eating 'healthy foods'. I feel so strongly about this that I believe there really is no reason every single person should not know their general Metabolic Type®. Once you know your general type, it is very much like turning on a flashlight in a dark room. Since you know what foods you should generally be eating to push body chemistry in the proper direction, you can actually begin to build health. The very first thing you will notice is improvement in energy levels; followed shortly by the disappearance of food cravings. For a cost of probably $10 or less for a used copy, it just does not make any sense to me NOT to at least take this basic first step.
The second option is to take the Advanced Metabolic Typing® Test from a certified Metabolic Typing® advisor. You are certainly welcome to take the test from me, or if you feel more comfortable working with a local Metabolic Typing® advisor, then visit this link for a list of advisors in your area.
The Metabolic Typing® Test offered by Certified Metabolic Typing® Advisors is the most specific test you can take to determine your Metabolic Type®.
The HealthExcel System of Metabolic Typing® analyzes 11 Fundamental Homeostatic Controls (FHC) to determine and define one's Metabolic Type®. These FHCs are:
1. Autonomic Nervous System (NeuroEndocrine-Sympathetic/Balanced/Parasympathetic)
2. CarboOxidative (Fast/Slow/Mixed Oxidation)
3. Steroidal Hormone Balance (Pregnenolone/DHEA/Androgens/Estrogens/Progesterone/Cortisol)
4. Neurotransmitter Balance (Excitatory/Inhibitory)
5. LipoOxidative (Anabolic/Catabolic)
6. Electrolyte (Stress/Insufficiency)
7. Acid/Alkaline (6 different kinds of imbalances)
8. Endocrine Type
9. Blood Type
10. Constitutional Type
11. Prostaglandin Balance
The Metabolic Typing® Test is the most accurate method of determining Metabolic Types® available in the world today. It is the result of an evolutionary process spanning nearly 30 years, and is based on the input of thousands of practitioners around the world and hundreds of thousands of users.
This online test contains a series of questions about physical traits, diet-related traits, and psychological traits that will identify your dominance and sub-dominance, as well as your endocrine type. There are 9 possible Metabolic Type® combinations involving the pairing of the Autonomic and Oxidative systems. Within each type, one Fundamental Homeostatic Control will be dominant and dictates how nutrients behave in your body.
Knowing your dominance and sub-dominance will guide you in choosing the best foods for your type. The endocrine system plays a role in shaping external physical features and therefore should be considered as you select the best foods for you from the approved food list. Consulting with your Certified Metabolic Typing® Advisor will help you fine-tune your meals for optimal health.
(Example of Part of one Metabolic Type's® Food List that you would get with the Advanced Test)
If you do not have access to a computer, the test can be mailed to you and returned to your advisor for data entry.
Services with the Metabolic Typing® Test often include:
The most specific, up-to-date color coded diet plan that Metabolic Typing® has for each type, that clearly shows which foods are ideal, neutral, least desirable, and to be avoided for your particular Metabolic Type®,
Many more documents on how to integrate the Metabolic Typing® lifestyle into your own,
Sample menus for your type
These resources are extremely helpful in putting you on the right path to a Metabolic Typing® lifestyle. Consultation sessions are also available with the Metabolic Typing® Program, so contact you advisor to find out their rates. In my practice, I have found that it is not uncommon for someone to take the test and put all of the pieces together for a relatively inexpensive initial investment (on my site this whole package is only $50). However, when it comes to fine tuning one's diet and supplements, a Metabolic Typing® advisor sometimes can make all of the difference. Try the program out for yourself at first and see how comfortable you are with the whole thing. Then, decide whether working with an advisor would be right for you.
Finally, if you would like to really get serious about building and maintaining vibrant health, then most Metabolic Typing ® advisors offer what can be referred to as a "Comprehensive" Metabolic Typing® program. Comprised of the Metabolic Typing® Program, in addition to the Signet MRT food sensitivity blood test, the BioHealth 205 saliva functional adrenal stress profile, the BioHealth 101 urine metabolic assessment profile, a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis from Trace Elements, Inc. and if necessary Neurotransmitter testing for the brain. This program analyzes all 11 Fundamental Homeostatic Controls and makes appropriate the Metabolic Type® diet, Metabolic Type® supplementation and detoxification, exercise, and lifestyle recommendations.
The Comprehensive Metabolic Typing® Program is designed as a complete lifestyle and advanced health-building program. It is intended as an "optimum health-building program" to help your body rebuild and regain its health, if you've lost it, or maximize your potential and keep your good health, if you already have it.The program typically includes the following components:
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis from Trace Elements, Inc.
All lab fees for the MRT, 205, 101, and HTMA
Neurotransmitter testing for the brain (if necessary)
Analysis and interpretation of all test results
Customized food list
2 months of email and telephonic MTA support
This is absolutely the most individualized and advanced program for building health that caters to your unique biochemistry that you will find anywhere.
Now that you all have a basic understanding of the three main options for getting started in the Metabolic Typing® lifestyle, I encourage you to go out and do some more research on your own and perhaps contact a local advisor. Begin by asking questions about their services. Then, describe to them where you currently are with your health and diet including your level of commitment. Your advisor will be able to recommend the best options for you.
In Part 5, I will discuss some of the tests mentioned in the Comprehensive Metabolic Typing® program, describe what each one "does", and discuss why they are important pieces in the puzzle of building and maintaining vibrant health.
About the Author
Eric Talmant is a top lightweight powerlifter and has a "passion for all things nutrition." A 1996 graduate of the University of Evansville, Eric is a certified Metabolic Typing® advisor. Talmant is certified to offer the Advanced Metabolic Typing® Test as well as order blood work (the Signet MRT Test, U.S. BioTek ELISA IgG allergy test, the High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein heart health test); as well as the BioHealth Diagnostics Adrenal and Hormone saliva test Profiles.
Eric has competed in the ADFPA, NASA, AAPF, APF, APA, the WPO, and the Raw Unity Meet. He holds the APF Florida state men's open equipped squat record of 678 pounds. He has been ranked in the top in the 75K class among all raw lifters in the United States for the past two years and he was a top equipped lifter in the two years before that.
His best equipped lifts are a 683 pound squat, 391 pound bench press, and a 650 pound deadlift in the 75K weight class. His best raw lifts to date are 485 pound squat without knee wraps, 290 pound bench press, and 635 pound deadlift.
He is also the founder and contest director of the Raw Unity Meet, which experienced great success in 2008 and 2009.
Talmant brings a unique skill set and 16 years of nutritional experience to his sponsors BMF Sports, Ultra Life, Inc., Critical Bench, and Titan Support Systems. He lives in rural Spring Hill, Florida, and can be reached through his web site at www.EricTalmant.com.
I have the normal weekly newsletter posted below, but first a quick announcement: Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, and I just filmed a new DVD set! Those of you who have enjoyed all of our products individually can now see what happens when the three of us collaborate. For more information, check out today's blog post: A Sneak Peak at the New Project.
The Law of Repetitive Motion: Part 2
In last week's newsletter, I talked about the first three component of the law of repetitive motion: "I" (injury/insult), "N" (number of repetitions), and "F" (the force of each repetition, expressed as a percentage of maximal strength).
This week, I'll discuss the "A" and the "R" of this equation. To begin, amplitude, stated simply, is range of motion. If we spend our entire lives in limited ranges of motion, we run into problems.
Obviously, this refers to those who sit too often and too long - particularly in poor postures. I'm a big believer that the best posture is the one that is constantly changing, so I always encourage people to try to get up and move around every 20-30 minutes whenever possible. If not, I love the idea of simply "shuffling" positions at your computer. Complement this constant fluctuation of posture with some good training to open up the hips and thoracic spine, and strengthen the upper back and glutes, and you'll find that being stuck in a job with a small amplitude is a "manageable" problem.
Amplitude can also refer to only doing certain exercises in the gym, particularly those who exercise through a partial range of motion. It might be people who simply press too often and pull too infrequently, or those who perform a lot of bilateral exercises, but nothing unilateral. We aren't just talking about ranges of motion at the joints; we are also talking about the muscles recruited and type of muscle action - concentric, eccentric, isometric - that takes place.
Lastly, working at a specific task for extended periods of time can be a huge issue for some. Just ask musicians, factory line workers, and even baseball pitchers. These issues can all impose huge asymmetries that must be addressed both directly (soft tissue work, flexibility training) and indirectly (training the contralateral side, or just exposing the individual to a broader excursion of movement outside this specific task).
So, all that in mind, improving amplitude is all about increasing range of motion in one's daily life. Of course, this must be specific range of motion. You wouldn't, for instance, want to increase lumbar spine range of motion in most back pain patients, but you would want to optimize hip and thoracic spine mobility.
Rest, the "R" in our equation, is pretty straight-forward: if a tissue is angry, you need to give it time to settle down. However, just stopping all exercise isn't always the best bet.
Often, it's simply a matter of keeping the stress on the tissue below its capacity for loading. As a great example, a lot of manual therapists with whom I've worked actually like people to go out and lightly load tissues that have just been worked in order to teach the tissue to "deform" properly. For instance, I got a little "Graston Loving" on my biceps a while back, and spent the rest of the day lightly loading the tissues and doing some prolonged stretching sets. It worked like a charm.
Taking it a step further, though, much of the time, it's about redistributing stress. For instance, someone with anterior knee pain may not be able to do a more quad-dominant squat, but instructing that same lifter to sit back into the glutes and hamstrings more can markedly take down the stress on the anterior knee. Sure, it changes the muscular recruitment of the exercise, but the lifter derives great benefit and keeps the loading on the affected tissues below capacity. And, in this particular case, he's strengthening the posterior chain muscles that almost always help to prevent anterior knee pain in the first place.
That wraps up our look at the law of repetitive motion. It's certainly not an exhaustive review, but my hope is that it got you thinking just enough to consider how this law applies to the issues you see on a daily basis, as well as those you want to prevent from ever reaching threshold. For more information, check out the Building the Efficient Athlete DVD Set.
