With 2023 winding down, I'm using this last week of the year to direct you to some of the most popular content of the past 12 months at EricCressey.com. Today, we start with the most popular articles of the years. Admittedly, I've shifted away from long-form written content and more to videos over the years (so they aren't really articles), but content is content!
1. Exercise of the Week: Acumobility Ball on Quadratus Lumborum- I posted five years ago about how to use the Acumobility Ball for upper body health, so it seems long overdue for me to share one of the ways we’re using it a bit further down the chain: on quadratus lumborum (QL). Here’s a quick video tutorial, plus the rationale for it.
2.Our Favorite 3D Strap Drills- We use the 3D Strap a ton with our athletes, so Cressey Sports Performance – MA coach Ethan Dyer and I put our heads together to record a few of our top drills to share with a larger audience. Here are Part 1 and Part 2.
3. I Use This Every Single Day. - This is a cool story of the origins of AG1 (formerly Athletic Greens) - and it also speaks to some of the concerning trends in the supplement industry as a whole.
4. Elbow-Supported Dumbbell External Rotations: Do or Don’t? - The elbow-supported dumbbell external rotation is a pretty common exercise in strength and conditioning circles, but does it hold value for overhead throwing populations? In this video, I answer that question.
5. Hand Size, Anatomy, and Tissue Extensibility - The hands don't get nearly enough attention in the strength and conditioning and sports medicine worlds. Hopefully, this article helps to change that.
I'll be back soon with another "Best of 2023" feature. Up next, the top guest posts of the year!
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We welcome Houston Astros pitcher Bennett Sousa to the latest podcast. A Cressey Sports Performance athlete since his high school days, Bennett touches on how that experience impacted his development. He speaks to the importance of routine, and also delves into why the big leagues is so much different than pitching at any other level of baseball, yet the adjustment from high school to college is actually the biggest. There are some great pearls of wisdom for players, parents, and coaches who are looking to optimize their long-term development plans.
A special thanks to this show's sponsor, AG1. Head to https://www.DrinkAG1.com/cressey and you'll receive a free 10-pack of Athletic Greens travel packets with your first order.
Sponsor Reminder
This episode is brought to you by AG1. AG1 is your daily foundational nutrition; it has 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s foundational nutrition needs across five critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. It is the new and future way of getting a multivitamin, and a whole lot more. Head to www.DrinkAG1.com/cressey and claim my special offer today – 10 FREE travel packs – with your first purchase. I use AG1 daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I’d encourage you to give it a shot, too – especially with this great offer.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
It's time for another listener Q&A, so I cover three questions from our audience in this week's podcast:
What are your thoughts on high school students playing a winter sport? My son has played basketball and baseball since he was 4. He wants to play college baseball and decided as a sophomore he wants to quit all sports but baseball and focus on that. We think he is too young and should play basketball this winter and still attend his indoor baseball session (pitching). Thoughts?
Rotator cuff drills are a key part of rehabilitation and prevention programs, but I’m struggling to see where all the different kinds fit into my program. Do you have any ideas?
You previously talked about lessons learned in terms of Tommy John timelines. I know a lot of surgeons and rehab specialists have adjusted their approaches to surgeries and the associated timelines well. What are some of your key takeaways now that there have been some changes to the way elbow surgeries were approached in recent years?
A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Hawkin Dynamics, the premiere force plate on the market today. They're used all day, every day at Cressey Sports Performance and are a key component of both our performance and rehabilitation programs. Head towww.HawkinDynamics.com/cresseyto learn more about what a game changer their force plates can be for how you evaluate, program, and train athletes.
Sponsor Reminder
Today’s episode is brought to you by Hawkin Dynamics. In 2016, Hawkin engineered the world's first wireless force plate solution with a mobile app - making it the quickest, easiest to use, and most robust solution on the market for group testing. Today it is still the only fully validated wireless force plate solution that exists – something that is extremely important when evaluating marginal gains on the world's best athletes, monitoring readiness, or returning athletes back from an upper or lower extremity injury. It is trusted by all sport organizations large and small; as well as tactical, military, and rehabilitation environments around the globe. It's force testing in the palm of your hand with research-grade accuracy. We use Hawkin Dynamics force plates at Cressey Sports Performance and they’re a crucial part of our evaluation process, not to mention a vital resource for monitoring fatigue and evaluating the efficacy of our performance and rehabilitation programs. Whether it’s finding the sweet spot on the force velocity curve or keeping a close eye on asymmetries, these force plates are used all day, every day at CSP. Check them out at www.hawkindynamics.com/cressey to learn more.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
We welcome Oakland Athletics infielder Zack Gelof to the latest podcast. A Cressey Sports Performance athlete since his teenage years, Zack offers some awesome insights on chasing long-term athletic development; seeking out competition; visualizing goals; adapting training approaches; and improving defensive performance on the diamond.
A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Hawkin Dynamics, the premiere force plate on the market today. They're used all day, every day at Cressey Sports Performance and are a key component of both our performance and rehabilitation programs. Head towww.HawkinDynamics.com/cresseyto learn more about what a game changer their force plates can be for how you evaluate, program, and train athletes.
Sponsor Reminder
Today’s episode is brought to you by Hawkin Dynamics. In 2016, Hawkin engineered the world's first wireless force plate solution with a mobile app - making it the quickest, easiest to use, and most robust solution on the market for group testing. Today it is still the only fully validated wireless force plate solution that exists – something that is extremely important when evaluating marginal gains on the world's best athletes, monitoring readiness, or returning athletes back from an upper or lower extremity injury. It is trusted by all sport organizations large and small; as well as tactical, military, and rehabilitation environments around the globe. It's force testing in the palm of your hand with research-grade accuracy. We use Hawkin Dynamics force plates at Cressey Sports Performance and they’re a crucial part of our evaluation process, not to mention a vital resource for monitoring fatigue and evaluating the efficacy of our performance and rehabilitation programs. Whether it’s finding the sweet spot on the force velocity curve or keeping a close eye on asymmetries, these force plates are used all day, every day at CSP. Check them out at www.hawkindynamics.com/cressey to learn more.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
For this week's podcast, I'm tackling an important - but underappreciated - topic in the worlds of health and human performance: warm-ups. I shine some light on the goals of warm-ups, as well as the research on both injury reduction and performance benefits. Most importantly, I make some practical recommendations for how to structure an efficient, effective warm-up for not only baseball athletes, but a variety of other populations as well.
A special thanks to this show's sponsor, AG1. Head to https://www.DrinkAG1.com/cressey and you'll receive a free 10-pack of Athletic Greens travel packets with your first order.
Sponsor Reminder
This episode is brought to you by AG1. AG1 is your daily foundational nutrition; it has 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s foundational nutrition needs across five critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. It is the new and future way of getting a multivitamin, and a whole lot more. Head to www.DrinkAG1.com/cressey and claim my special offer today – 10 FREE travel packs – with your first purchase. I use AG1 daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I’d encourage you to give it a shot, too – especially with this great offer.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
For the first time in a few years, we've got a new model CSP baseball cap available. They're the popular Richardson Original 112 Trucker Model with an adjustable snapback, and go for $34.99 plus shipping and handling:
I've written and lectured often about the importance of understanding relative stiffness for both rehabilitation and fitness professionals. Relative stiffness - also known as regional interdependence and (indirectly) the "Joint-by-Joint Approach" is a vital concept that underpins all human movement (both functional and dysfunctional).
This excerpt from our popular resource, Functional Stability Training: Optimizing Movement, demonstrates that behind every successful coaching cue is a collection of important relative stiffness coaching principles:
These are super important coaching principles that I wish I'd fully grasped when I was first starting out in the strength and conditioning field, so I'd encourage you to share the video with any other coaches who you think would benefit.
Also, don't forget that the entire Functional Stability Training offering is on sale for 25% off through Monday at midnight using coupon code BF2023 att www.FunctionalStability.com. You can also learn about the rest of my 25% offering HERE.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
We welcome Chicago Cubs pitcher Julian Merryweather to the latest podcast. We talk about the advantages attending junior college afforded him; what factors were key to his velocity improvements; and the strategies he employed to have a career year in terms of performance and durability in 2023.
A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Marc Pro. Head towww.MarcPro.comand enter the coupon code CRESSEY at checkout to receive an exclusive discount on your order.
Sponsor Reminder
This episode is brought to you by Marc Pro, a cutting-edge EMS device that uses patented technology to create non-fatiguing muscle activation. Muscle activation with Marc Pro facilitates each stage of the body’s natural recovery process- similar to active recovery, but without the extra effort and muscle fatigue. Athletes can use it for as long as they need to ensure a more full and quick recovery in between training or games. With its portability and ease of use, players can use Marc Pro while traveling between games or while relaxing at home. Players and trainers from every MLB team - including over 200 pro pitchers - use Marc Pro. Put Marc Pro to the test for yourself and use promo code CRESSEY at checkout at www.MarcPro.com for an exclusive discount on your order.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
Just like everyone else on the planet, I'm offering some great Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. We're just going to kick it off a week early so you have time to sort through it all! From now through Monday (11/27) at midnight, you can get 25% off the following resources by using the coupon code BF2023 at checkout.
These eight resources can be purchased through my secure website:
Sturdy Shoulder Solutions- My most recent product release delves going into a ton of depth on some important topics with respect to upper extremity evaluation, programming, and training. Learn more HERE.
CSP Innovations - A collaborative effort by the Cressey Sports Performance staff about a variety of topics. Learn more HERE.
The Specialization Success Guide - A great resource for those looking to pursue strength gains on the big three (squat, bench press, deadlift). Learn more HERE.
The Ultimate Offseason Training Manual - This was the first book I wrote, and it's stood the test of time because of how much of the writing was based on principles that'll last forever. Learn more HERE.
We're excited to welcome Hawkin Dynamics Vice President of Performance and Brand Marketing Drake Berberet to the latest podcast for an in-depth discussion of how force plates can be used for both performance and rehabilitation. Drake's been a great resource to me, and in this podcast, he shares some insights that benefit both those who already use force plates, as well as those who are considering investing in them.
A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Marc Pro. Head towww.MarcPro.comand enter the coupon code CRESSEY at checkout to receive an exclusive discount on your order.
Sponsor Reminder
This episode is brought to you by Marc Pro, a cutting-edge EMS device that uses patented technology to create non-fatiguing muscle activation. Muscle activation with Marc Pro facilitates each stage of the body’s natural recovery process- similar to active recovery, but without the extra effort and muscle fatigue. Athletes can use it for as long as they need to ensure a more full and quick recovery in between training or games. With its portability and ease of use, players can use Marc Pro while traveling between games or while relaxing at home. Players and trainers from every MLB team - including over 200 pro pitchers - use Marc Pro. Put Marc Pro to the test for yourself and use promo code CRESSEY at checkout at www.MarcPro.com for an exclusive discount on your order.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!