It’s time for the August installment of this popular series, and with the Olympics in full swing, MLB season in the home stretch, and the NFL season rapidly approaching, there’s plenty of material rattling around my brain. 

1. Don’t criticize what you don’t understand.

Maybe it’s just because all the aforementioned sporting events are taking simultaneously and we’re on sports social media overload right now, but it seems like a lot of people are ranting and raving about high-level athletes’ preparation. They’re cranky about Usain Bolt’s hamstrings issue and how it’s being managed. They’re shocked the Kerri Walsh Jennings has had so many shoulder surgeries. They’re flustered about Michael Phelps using cupping. They’re floored by Prince Fielder’s retirement after a second cervical fusion surgery. And they’re cranky because they’re confident that they can do a better job in spite of the fact that they have exactly ZERO knowledge of any of these situations.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from a lot of work with professional and Olympic athletes over the years, it’s that nothing is ever as simple as it seems. What you read in the media is usually a partial truth (if that). For instance, I know of pitchers who have gone on the disabled list with calf strains or neck stiffness when they just needed to iron out mechanics or rest up from a high workload. I’ve also known athletes whose performance has suffered tremendously as they tried to plow through nagging injuries. They’re getting blown up on Twitter when they should be getting commended for putting the team’s needs ahead of their own personal health.

The point is that if you don’t have any knowledge of the unique situations, blindly criticizing athletes and their sports medicine teams is a cheap shot. And, in my eyes, it makes you look incredibly unprofessional.

I’d also add that it’s important to remember that you never know who is reading your criticism. Burning that bridge because you “just had to get it off your chest” could interfere with future job possibilities, or even the opportunity to work with the athletes in question.

So, sit back, chill out, and just be a sports fan, but not a Monday Morning Quarterback. You can’t rehab someone on Twitter.

2. Use the bottoms-up get-up to remind hypermobile athletes to avoid elbow hyperextension – and cue “grabbing”the floor. 

I love using Turkish Get-ups with athletes for a host of reasons; this drill really trains whole-body mobility and stability and delivers a great training effect without insane external loading. That said, one thing you have to be really careful of with using get-ups is that hypermobile (loose jointed) individuals will often wind up with elbows hyperextended – both on the support and overhead arms.

With that in mind, I like the idea of using a bottoms-up Turkish get-up because it’s more grip intensive and strictly mandates a more neutral wrist position. This activation of the flexors of the fingers, wrist, and elbow gets the muscles that prevent elbow hyperextension a little more “pre-tensioned,” so it’s a lot harder to slip into bad patterns.

The bottom arm is a bit trickier, but I have had some success with the cue, “grab the floor as if you’re trying to palm a basketball.” That same activation of the flexors can help to keep a slight flex in the elbow.

3. A training effect prepares you, but an education sustains you.

This morning, I woke up to this article about Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel “reinventing himself” this past offseason. Part of that process involved getting started up with Cressey Sports Performance, and we’ve be really cheering him on as he’s put forth a career year to be a big part of the Cubs’ success. As the article details, one of Jason’s biggest struggles was fading in the second half of the season. This was something he and I discussed at length during his initial evaluation last November. Even though it was 8-9 months away, we started talking about in-season training approaches and how to sustain performance well into the second half of the long MLB season. Thus far, he’s done a great job of it; in five starts since the All-Star Break, he’s 5-0 with a 1.16 ERA.

I often tell our athletes that the training effects we deliver in the off-season gets them through the first half of the season, but it’s the education we impart that should sustain them through the second half of the year. The MLB calendar spans from mid-February (spring training) all the way to early October (and even longer if a team makes the playoffs). Nothing we can do in the offseason is guaranteed to last for eight months, but education certainly can. We need to work hard to help athletes understand what is unique about their bodies so that they can be advocates for themselves – and their own best coaches. 

Jason’s success has been a good reminder:

[bctt tweet=”Coaching isn’t just about building athleticism; it’s also about educating.”]

4. I still don’t like Olympic lifts for baseball players.

By this point, most of you have probably heard (or seen) an Armenia Olympic lifter end up with a gruesome elbow injury on the jerk portion of a clean and jerk. It was a combination valgus stress – elbow hyperextension injury – which just so happens to be the exact same kind of stresses that lead to most pitching injuries at the elbow. Keep in mind that this was on a jerk – and the valgus stress is actually magnified on a snatch because of the bar path and distance traveled prior to the attempted catch.

I’ve written previously at length on my feelings about the topic: Should Baseball Players Olympic Lift? I think there are much better ways to train power in a specific context and with less injury risk.

Some coaches will argue, “But this is a max attempt in the Olympics! Our technique is much better than this and we aren’t taking those kind of chances!” The truth is that video doesn’t lie; you see a lot of ugly Olympic lifting technique all over the ‘net. And, athletes will always want to push the limits and hit personal records. Moreover, baseball players have a lot more funky presentations (valgus carrying angle, medial elbow instability, and joint hypermobility) that muddy the waters further.

Perhaps more importantly, I know of very few high level arms who Olympic lift. We’ve demonstrated over and over again that you can build huge arm speed without snatches, jerks, and cleans, so why take the chance?

I should reiterate: I think the Olympic lifts are absolutely fantastic for other athletes. Baseball is just a different beast.

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