Muscle Imbalances Revealed, Rotator Cuff Exercises, and Kids (and Puppies) Making it Big

About the Author: Eric Cressey

1. First, I wanted to give you a quick heads-up that Rick Kaselj just released Muscle Imbalances Revealed 2.0 – and it’s on sale through tonight (Friday, 11/12) at midnight. Many of you probably already know that I raved about this product in a review when it was initially launched, as it provided an awesome resource that compiled expertise from some really bright folks in our industry.

Well, based on customer feedback, Rick tinkered with the product, added some sweet new content, including over 50 new corrective exercises for the lower body, a second presentation on fascial anatomy and its impact on spine function/back pain, and a detailed write-up on barefoot running – all in addition to the great content that was available in the first place.  I’d highly encourage you to check it out and take advantage of this great introductory offer by the end of the day today.

For more information, check out Muscle Imbalances Revealed 2.0.

*Also, as an added bonus, this product is available for CEU/CEC for the fitness professionals out there – and I didn’t even realize it until just now.  So, I guess you could just call these credits “gravy” on a product that would have been well worth it anyway!

2. While on the topic of muscle imbalances,  here’s a quick study to check out, as it highlights the overwhelming importance of scapular positioning (secondary to adequate strength of the scapular stabilizers) with respect to rotator cuff function.  This study saw reduced pain and increased rotator cuff strength following a program to restore strength of the peri-scapular muscles.  While the study in question was a chronic intervention (3- and 6-month follow-ups), the truth is that these benefits can be seen transiently as well – just by positioning the scapula correctly during rotator cuff exercises.  You’ll notice that in both the following videos, regardless of the amount of abduction present, the scapula remains retracted and depressed to allow for optimal performance of rotator cuff exercises:

For this reason, whenever anyone ever says that an external rotation drill causes shoulder pain (particularly the front), the first thing I do is reposition their scapula into posterior tilt and retraction.  In almost all cases, this will eliminate their shoulder pain instantly and they’ll start to feel rotator cuff exercises in the posterior shoulder musculature (where they should).  This is also one reason why many people will instantly go from painful shoulder movement to pain-free movement just by having soft tissue treatments on the pec minor; by getting some length in this muscle, the scapula can posteriorly tilt, which not only gives the rotator cuff tendons room to “breath” (less shoulder impingement), but also puts them in a more mechanically advantageous position to stabilize the humeral head (via the length-tension relationship).

3. If you’re like me, you could have used a good laugh to brighten your day yesterday – and that’s why we have puppies.  Here’s Tank’s weekly cameo (make sure you turn up the volume):

Speaking of Tank, thanks to several minor league baseball players at Cressey Performance who have too much time on their hands, you can now follow him on Twitter – and I must say that these tweets have been very entertaining thus far.  Check him out at https://www.Twitter.com/TankNasty.

4. Speaking of Twitter, you might notice the new addition to my blogs where you can tweet if you like what you read (and the same thing goes for clicking the “like” button for Facebook).  These little icons are located at the top of each blog.  If you enjoy a particular post and think others would benefit from reading, I’d appreciate it if you could help spread the word with just a quick click.  Thanks in advance!

5. Last, but certainly not least, a few people forwarded me this link of our old friend – who apparently actually has a name (Keenan Cahill):

It just goes to show how awesome he is that he can make 50 Cent look like a JV player just by showing up….no bling or flat-billed cap needed to be a real high roller.

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