Written on May 14, 2010 at 5:09 am, by Eric Cressey
1. It’s been a while since I published a Random Friday Thoughts blog, but in reality, it’s by design. You see, if I just publish every Friday, it isn’t very “random,” is it?
2. Pretty cool stuff: Cressey Performance and Lawrence Academy athlete Tyler Beede was featured on the cover of ESPN Rise magazine this month. Tyler’s headed to Vanderbilt on a baseball scholarship.
3. After seven years, I’m switching from Sprint to Verizon for my cell phone. I feel liberated…like an old man busting a move. That’s a random – but awesome – way to kickstart your weekend!
4. At the other end of the spectrum, you have THIS GUY, who was awarded (in a court of law) the title of “Worst Tennis Professional on the Planet.” I wonder if he gets a trophy for his mantle for that one….
5. Here’s a book recommendation for you that’s somewhat related to fitness: The 7 Rules of Achievement. It’s written by Tom Terwilliger, a former Mr. America. I met Tom at a seminar back in January, and his enthusiasm is absolutely contagious. He’s got a pretty cool story himself, but the real gold in this book is how he breaks things down step-by-step in helping people get to where they want to be in their professional and personal lives. It’s self-help stuff, but more entertaining and less preachy than anything else I’ve read in this regard.
6. In addition to my own article at T-Muscle last week (Favorite Supersets), I also contributed on a compilation by Nate Green, Your Training Split Sucks. Check ’em out, if you haven’t already.
8. In the past two weeks, I’ve had four people email me asking about a mentorship at Cressey Performance. If we were to do a 3-4 day mentorship consisting of lectures, hands-on teaching, and observing athletes in action, would you be interested? If so, shoot us an email at cresseyperformance@gmail.com. It would occur sometime between October and March. Nothing firm, but I thought I’d throw it out there to gauge interest.
9. I’m looking for some good recommendations for books on CD. I just finished up my last one, and always like to have a good one in my car for whenever I’m driving. The last three good ones have been What the Dog Saw, Switch, and Born to Run. I prefer non-fiction. Thanks in advance to anyone who has some suggestions to make in the comments section!
10. Finally, a big happy birthday goes out to CP pitching expert Matt Blake, who – as you can tell from the following video – turns 11 today.
I highly recommend the book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”, by Haruki Murakami. I also loved the other books you just finished, but this one blew me away. He obviously focuses on running, but his thoughts can easily be related to exercise in general. I think you would really enjoy it!
Here’s a link to purchase:
If you haven’t already, “The Brain That Changes Itself” was a cool read. Pretty interesting look into how little we really know about the nervous system and how it can adapt.
DRiVE by Daniel Pink. It breaks down the science of flow and work fulfilment in an easy to use manner. A great tool for anyone, but I think it helps me be a better trainer.
May 14th, 2010 at 5:57 am
I highly recommend the book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”, by Haruki Murakami. I also loved the other books you just finished, but this one blew me away. He obviously focuses on running, but his thoughts can easily be related to exercise in general. I think you would really enjoy it!
Here’s a link to purchase:
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@2112314470.1273838090@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccchadekgjiehllcefecekjdffidfji.0&productID=BK_BLAK_002702
May 14th, 2010 at 6:32 am
If you haven’t already, “The Brain That Changes Itself” was a cool read. Pretty interesting look into how little we really know about the nervous system and how it can adapt.
http://www.amazon.com/Brain-That-Changes-Itself-Frontiers/dp/1423368010/ref=tmm_abk_title_0
Also, I’d definitely be interested in the mentorship. Would love to see it happen!
May 14th, 2010 at 6:52 am
DRiVE by Daniel Pink. It breaks down the science of flow and work fulfilment in an easy to use manner. A great tool for anyone, but I think it helps me be a better trainer.
May 14th, 2010 at 6:54 am
Oops, here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/0143145088
May 14th, 2010 at 9:17 am
Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell:
May 14th, 2010 at 9:18 am
One of my top 10 favorite non-fiction is “A Long Walk To Freedom” (Nelson Mandela Autobiography), good inspirational read.
May 14th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Hilarious about the tennis player. Poor guy.
How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer is excellent.
http://www.amazon.com/How-We-Decide-Jonah-Lehrer/dp/0547247990/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273861646&sr=1-1
May 14th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
I loved “Linchpin” by Seth Godin. It just motivates you to take action and “ship”. No more listening to the “lizard brain”.
http://www.amazon.com/Linchpin-Are-Indispensable-Seth-Godin/dp/1591843162/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273887184&sr=8-1-spell
May 15th, 2010 at 4:58 am
I recently listened to Brain Rules by John Medina. It was a Charles Poliquin recommendation a while back.
May 19th, 2010 at 4:38 am
Just wondering if any of the CP guys have moves like the old boy in the video?
I agree with Jon Mulhollands recommendation about Murakami. It’s not the kind of book I normally read but I thought it was awesome. 5 Stars!