Home Blog It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year…

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year…

Written on March 16, 2009 at 6:09 am, by Eric Cressey

You might find it weird that I’m playing this song on March 16.

Then again, if you really know me, you know exactly what I mean.  Yes, folks, it’s the first day of the high school baseball season.  Loads of great kids busted their humps with us this off-season, and now we get to go out and watch them perform.  I’m also excited to take a few road trips to catch our pro guys in action.  I love it.

Meanwhile, we’ve been getting more and more variety around Cressey Performance.  While about 74% of our clients are baseball players, and we always had people from different disciplines, we’ve been getting a lot more hockey, football, basketball, and endurance athletes, plus adult fitness clients.  I love being a “baseball guy,” but variety is always great, too.

We’ve had a good run of weather in the Boston area, too.  Anytime you can get temperatures over 60 degrees F in Boston before St. Patrick’s Day, you’ve got to consider yourself pretty lucky.  A few of us have been sprinting stadiums over at Soldiers Field at Harvard for the past few weekends, and the weather’s been really cooperative.

I also get to travel a fair amount this time of year for seminars.  And, while I am not fond of sitting in airports, I love interacting with fitness professionals and strength and conditioning coaches at these events.  Everyone has a unique story to tell, and I enjoy getting questions that push me to be better at what I do.  It’s also a great chance to catch up with great friends and colleagues across the country who I may only see 2-3 times per year.

It’s also an extremely productive time for me as a writer.  My days at the facility start a bit later now, so I can focus a bit more on writing.  And, when I write at night, I know I can always listen to the online broadcast of one of our pro baseball guys playing anywhere from Portland, Oregon to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  If you have particular topics you’d like covered in blogs, newsletters, or articles, by all means, please offer some suggestions in the comments section below.  I’ve already got a new product in the works.

And, perhaps most significantly, this time of year is when I make my best gains in the gym.   It’s just my nature to put all our athletes’ needs way ahead of my own, and that usually manifests itself in the form of achy knees from spending long hours on the hard floor at CP. I’ve also been sick twice this winter, which is unheard of for me; I never get sick.  In fact, I lost my voice for both Friday and Saturday and was practically coaching in Morse code and “thumbs-up/thumbs-down” signs.  I’m feeling better now, though.

As a result, my training frequency and volume isn’t as high during the baseball off-season, but once things get going in March-May, we ramp it up.  Later this morning, I’m headed over to get a massage to get the ball rolling.

So, if you don’t have anything to smile about today, just smile on my behalf!

2 Responses to “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year…”

  1. Jake Says:

    First of all, thank you for the great articles & blog entries; I appreciate your Maximum Strength book immensely.
    Lately, there is a strong interest in “pump & run” events like the one held annually at the Arnold Fitness Expo. What is your take on this event, given that it caters to more of an endurance-related strength training regimen? And how would you recommend training for such an event without resulting in injury? Thanks in advance for your input!

  2. Ron Says:

    First want to say im a huge fan of your and your books and writings alone have helped me tremendously! I am a college basketball player gettn ready to tryout professionally! I have fought thru three different knee surgeries n with the help of u and Mike Robertson i am able to compete and feel better and stronger than ever! I own products magnificant mobility, precision nutrition, and halfway thru maximum strength wit great results! Ok for the question i have read from your writing prolonged aerobic exercise hinders your training as a basketball player, as was wondering what would be a sample anaerobic conditioning session or program for a professional level that wouldn’t intefere with the work in the weight room and wouldnt lead to overtraining! Thanks for your time n continue to inspire us athletes with valuable information!!!


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