Newsletter #25

Written on January 8, 2008 at 5:21 pm, by Eric Cressey

This week’s newsletter is going to be right to the point, as I’ll be headed out on Friday for Ryan Lee’s Bootcamp in Stamford, CT.  Fortunately, my crazy summer/fall traveling schedule is winding down, so you can plan on seeing a lot more from me in the online and information product realm in the months and weeks to come.

Newsletter Update: IMPORTANT!!!!!

After some frustrations with our current newsletter set-up, I’ve decided to host EricCressey.com updates from a different provider.  As such, as much as I hate to have to do this, we’re going to need everyone on our list to resubscribe with the new set-up; due to opt-in laws, we can’t just transfer your subscription without having you confirm it.

Fortunately, though, this is a tremendously easy process.  Later this week, I’ll import all your addresses into the new system.  You’ll receive an opt-in email to confirm your subscription; please just click through the provided link, and you’ll be golden.  You can, however, make the process easier by going HERE to re-subscribe now, or by sending an email to ecressey-178309@autocontactor.com (no opt-in is necessary with the email option).

IMPORTANT NOTE: In many cases, your junk mail filter will send the opt-in notification to your junk mail folder, so be sure to check there if you don’t get it.  Also, be sure to mark us as “safe” so that you can receive future newsletters.

If you have any concerns that you haven’t been subscribed, drop us an email at ec@ericcressey.com and we’ll take care of you.  Thank you very much for your patience and understanding as we work to make this newsletter experience even better.

The Sturdy Shoulder Seminar: October 28th in Waltham, MA

Sign-ups are rolling in for our first seminar at Excel; don’t miss out!  NSCA CEUs are available, and we have student discounts in place.  Please email ec@ericcressey.com for more info.

Tip of the Week

Don’t be so linear and forward in your energy systems work.

Got to any gym, and you’ll see loads of people doing cardio at varying intensities, with different machines, listening to different music, and wearing different exercise sneakers.  While they each appear unique, the reality is that they’re all stuck in linear movements that always have them moving forward.  Take any of these people off their precious ellipticals, treadmills, and recumbent bikes, and you’ll find that they lack frontal and transverse plane stability and carry their weight anteriorly.  The solution is pretty simple; get them moving in different ways!

The first step is to include some single-leg work in all exercise programming.  This does NOT include unilateral leg presses and Smith machine lunges; you should actually be doing some of the stabilization work!

Second, make sure that you’re training movements that require full hip flexion (knees get above 90 degrees) and hip extension (glutes fire to complete hip extension).  Sprinting meets these guidelines very easy, but cardio equipment that limits range of motion will always fall short.  I’m not saying that they don’t have their place; I’m just saying that I’d rather have people outside doing sprints and multi-directional work instead.

Third, and most importantly incorporate more backwards and lateral movement in your energy systems work.  Here’s an example that I used with an online consulting client of mine recently:

Dynamic Flexibility Warm-up

The following should be performed in circuit fashion with the designated rest intervals from below incorporated between each drill.

A1) High Knee Run: 20 yards

A2) Butt Kicks: 20 yards

A3) Backpedal: 20 yards

A4) Carioca: 20 yards to the right

A5) Carioca: 20 yards to the left

A6) Side Shuffle: 20 yards to the right

A7) Side Shuffle: 20 yards to the left

A8) Backpedal: 20 yards

A9) Scap Push-up: 15 reps

A10) Sprint: 50 yards

Week 1: 3 times through, Rest interval: 15s between drills, two minutes between sets

Week 2: 3 times through, Rest interval: 10s between drills, two minutes between sets

Week 3: 4 times through, Rest interval: 10s between drills, two minutes between sets

Week 4: 2 times through, Rest interval: 5s between drills, two minutes between sets

EC on Superhuman Radio

I did an hour-long interview with Carl Lanore on Superhuman radio on Saturday.  We went into detail on a lot of the topics I cover in The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual, and there’s even a week-long discount code in place at www.SuperHumanRadio.com for those wanting to purchase the manual.  You can even download a few chapters free to check it out.  The audio interview is available in both Media Player and MP3 format.

That’ll do it for this week’s update.  Don’t forget to confirm your subscription so that you can continue receiving updates from EricCressey.com!

Have a great week,

EC