I hope everyone had a great holiday. I am out of town visiting family, but in my absence, I thought you might be interested in checking out this article about Tim Collins and his training at Cressey Performance. Tim was recently named Toronto Blue Jays organizational Pitcher of the Year on MLB.com.
Tiny Tim No More
I'm a bit tied up with holiday preparation stuff on top of the regular CP goings-on, so I thought I'd use today to throw out some recommended reading for the week:
Cardio Strength Training - I just got my copy of Robert dos Remedios' new book in the mail. I was honored to have contributed to it, and it's an awesome resource with a ton of protocols and exercises that you can implement to make conditioning a lot more interesting. For those of you looking to drop some fat in the new year, this is a must-have.
Only One Body - This is an excellent post from Mike Boyle that really helps to put things in perspective. Quick read; check it out!
Medicine Ball Madness - This old newsletter talks a bit about how we attack medicine ball training with our baseball guys. In 2010, I'll be presenting on this concept in a lot more detail at my Perform Better appearances.
I get asked relatively frequently whether we use weighted baseballs with our pitchers, and if so, how they are incorporated. I figured it'd be worth a post to outline my thoughts. To answer these questions:
Do you use weighted baseballs?
Yes, with some of our pitchers. The asterisk that follows this statement is that they're only implemented with those who have built a decent foundation of strength and mastered the fundamental mechanics of throwing a regular (5oz) baseball. So, the athletes we have that may be utilizing weighted baseballs are some of our pro guys, college guys, and more advanced high school guys. It is NOT something I think coaches should just implement on a gross scale with unprepared 13-year-old kids.
But aren't weighted baseballs dangerous?
The first response that comes to mind is "Who decided a baseball should be 50z?" It's actually a very arbitrary number.
Quarterbacks throw 14-16oz footballs (140z is the dry weight; balls actually become heavier as they're used more). And, you could say that a lot of quarterbacks throw every day - and potentially even more than pitchers throw. Yet, they have far fewer elbow and shoulder problems than pitchers - and usually far less coaching on the mechanics of throwing than pitchers.
Granted, there are differences in the way that footballs are thrown, as compared to baseballs, but you have to consider that tripling the weight of the ball would increase arm stress, right? Wrong!
If you increase the weight of the implement, you slow down the arm action. In other words, you move further to the right on the absolute speed>>>>absolute strength continuum. In other words, weighted baseballs comprise a medium between traditional throwing drills (bullpens, long toss, flat ground drills) and what one encounters with medicine ball work and resistance training. If you slow down the arm action a bit, the deceleration demands drop - and it appears to be more arm-friendly.
How are weighted baseballs incorporated?
First, let me make two things abundantly clear:
1. You should never throw a weighted baseball off a mound (arm stress is higher when elevated) or with long-toss. We do all our weighted ball drills into a tarp/net from about 6-8 feet away.
2. You don't play catch with weighted baseballs. Someone will get hurt if you try. Throw the ball, then walk to pick it up.
We don't start throwing weighted baseballs until we've built guys up on their long tossing and the arm is 100% ready. In other words, weighted ball work starts up right around the time that bullpens start. As an example, most of our guys start throwing right after Thanksgiving, and pick up bullpens around January 10 after about 5-6 weeks of long-tossing and flat-ground drill work with the 5oz ball. The entire throwing program for them encompasses about 14 weeks (sometimes a bit longer or shorter, depending on the individual).
As an example, as I wrote previously, we used weighted balls with Oakland A's minor league prospect Shawn Haviland last off-season, and he made a nice velocity jump from 87-88 to 90-94 in a single off-season. Looking back at Shawn's program, his first session with weighted baseballs was January 11, and his last one was February 18th - so it wasn't something he was doing year-round or in-season.
We have, however, had scenarios where guys have used weighted baseballs to get ready for fall throwing appearances (for example, the World Wood Bat Tournament in Jupiter, FL every October). These guys push their winter throwing programs back because they accumulated mileage on their arms in the fall (one reason I don't love fall baseball, but it's part of the game as it's played nowadays).
When the time comes to implement the weighted baseball drills, they are either done as after long toss, after a bullpen, or as a stand-alone training session. They are never done before a bullpen, which comprises complete specificity with which you don't want to interfere.
All of our weighted baseball drills generally take place in the 7-11oz range. I do, however, know some very bright minds in the field who will go heavier.
We always bring the athlete back to the normal 5oz ball at the end of each set. So, it might be three throws at 7oz, three throws at 9oz, and then three throws at 5oz, then rest. Other coaches may build all the way up (five at 7oz, five at 9oz, and five at 11oz) and then work their way back down to 5oz at the end of the session. Personally, I prefer to keep the learning loop short and keep the athlete cognizant of the 5oz feel with repeated sets as opposed to one big one.
Matching the drill to the weight of the ball is absolutely imperative, too. As a general rule of thumb, I do not go above 8oz for any drill that has a considerable lay-back (as pictured below) component, as the stress on the elbow is already pretty high in this position.
We can go considerably heavier with drills that are more focused on what's happening out in front of the body, though.
A while back, I attended a seminar in Houston, and while the primary topic was how to improve pitching performance, one of my biggest takeaways was with respect to adolescent physiological development. Long-time Phillies rehabilitation consultant Phil Donley presented some excellent data on when bones actually become skeletally mature. The next day, another speaker made a what was, in my opinion, an uninformed comment about how kids shouldn't strength train at young ages because it would stunt their growth.
Let's start with Donley's very intriguing numbers (which have actually been available in the literature for over two decades now); we'll stick with the shoulder girdle just to keep things to-the-point. In a baseball population, the epiphysial plate most commonly injured from throwing at the shoulder is located at the proximal humerus (Little League Shoulder); this physis (growth plate) accounts for about 80% of humeral growth, and matures by age 19 in most folks.
We've seen a lot of kids come through our door with this issue because of throwing (internal rotation of the humerus during throwing is the fastest motion in sports) and even some traumatic falls - but I can honestly say that I've NEVER seen one from strength training. So, anecdotal evidence for me shows that strength training for kids is far from what could be considered "dangerous" for developing bones.
Now, here's where it gets more interesting: bone maturation isn't uniform across the body. While the proximal humeral growth plate might mature at 19, the distal (down by the elbow) physis is finished between ages 10 and 16. The proximal and distal radius plates might mature anywhere between 14 and 23. Meanwhile, the clavicle matures at ages 22-25, and the scapula generally matures by age 22. How many of you have ever heard of a college football being held out of weight training for all four years of his participation because all that bench pressing might stunt the growth of his clavicles and scapulae? It just doesn't happen! In reality, we know that the strength training benefits of increased muscle size and strength actually protect him from injury on the field.
In other words, violent (throwing) and traumatic (falling) events far exceed any stress on a young athlete's bones that we could possibly apply in a strength training setting, where the environment is controlled and overload is gradually and systematically increased over time as the athlete becomes more comfortable with it. I'd make the argument that a young athlete should start resistance training as early as his/her attention span allows for it; the emphasis, of course, would be on body weight exercises, technical improvement, and - most importantly - keeping things fun.
If you really think about it, an athlete is placing a ton of stress (4-6 times body weight in ground reaction forces, depending on who you ask) each time he/she strides during the sprinting motion. Kids jump out of trees all the time. They lug around insanely heavy backpacks relative to their body mass. Performance, general health, and self-esteem benefits aside, it's only right to give them a fighting chance in trying to avoid injury.
Also, another great point Phil made (although it was on an unrelated topic, it pertains to us) was that as an adolescent athlete grows, his center of gravity moves further up from the ground. This is a big part of the "lapse" in coordination we see in kids during their growth spurts. A little bit of strength goes a long way with respect to maintaining the center of gravity within the base of support, and makes an athlete more comfortable "playing low" (hip and knee flexion) to bring that center of gravity closer to the base of support.
All that said, appropriate resistance training is not only safe for kids; it's also tremendously beneficial. In a review just published by Faigenbaum and Myer, the authors concluded:
Current research indicates that resistance training can be a safe, effective and worthwhile activity for children and adolescents provided that qualified professionals supervise all training sessions and provide age-appropriate instruction on proper lifting procedures and safe training guidelines. Regular participation in a multifaceted resistance training program that begins during the preseason and includes instruction on movement biomechanics may reduce the risk of sports-related injuries in young athletes.
Dr. Avery Faigenbaum has actually published a ton of great research (including position stands for numerous organizations) on the topic of strength training for kids in recent years; you can find all of it by searching for his last name at www.pubmed.com.
In the meantime, I hope this blog can help to eliminate the gross misconception in the general population that resistance training can't be beneficial for children. When performed correctly and made fun, it is safe and provides tremendous benefits to kids in both the pre-adolescent and adolescent stages.
For more insights on the best approaches - and common mistakes - with training youth athletes, I'd encourage you to check out the Mike Boyle's resource, Complete Youth Training. After reviewing it, I told Mike that I enjoyed it not only as a strength and conditioning coach, but also as a parent of three daughters. I think the most compelling statement Mike made in the entire resource is that one of the most impactful things he's done with his daughter (an accomplished D1 hockey player) was to strength train a minimum of two days per week since she was 11 years old. When you've got strength at a young age - and you preserve/build it over the years - the rest of your training becomes that much more productive.
I'd strongly encourage you to check it out, whether you're a strength and conditioning professional, rehabilitation specialist, sport coach, or parent of a young athlete. There's some excellent information in there for everyone. You can learn more HERE - and it's on sale for $50 off through Sunday at midnight.
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As you read this, I'm presenting at the Ultimate Pitching Coaches Bootcamp in Houston, TX. As such, it seems fitting to devote today's blog to some pitching content.
A question I get pretty often is what I think of light band work for pitchers the day after pitching. The truth is that I'm pretty apathetic about the use of bands, but I am adamant about the inclusion of post-throwing stretching to regain lost flexibility. Research from Reinold et al. demonstrated that pitchers lose both elbow extension and shoulder internal rotation range of motion (ROM) over the course of a competitive season, and it's no surprise, given the huge eccentric (deceleration) stress those arms encounter during the throwing motion. Anecdotally, my experience has been that they also lose hip internal rotation and knee flexion on the front leg. So, you don't just want to take care of shoulder range of motion; you also want to attend to hip ROM.
Here's the side-lying cross-body stretch, one of my favorite self-stretches for improving shoulder internal rotation. I tend to use it more than the sleeper stretch nowadays because it's generally a lot tougher to butcher the form. It's important to stabilize the scapula down and back before the cross-body pull. This should not be an aggressive stretch! If you are gentle but consistent with it, the ROM will come around in time.
You can find more ways to both identify and address shoulder and hip rotational imbalances in Assess & Correct.
So, flexibility is a must, but light band work may have a place as well. There's a lot of muscular damage, and some very light bloodflow work may assist in rotator cuff recovery, as it tends to have a poor blood supply. I go into more detail on how we train our pitchers after an outing in A New Model for Training Between Starts: Part 2.
For more information, check out Optimal Shoulder Performance.
This is another excellent guest post from Matt Blake.
Now that fall sports are beginning to wrap up and the winter training season is upon us, I thought it might be timely to contribute some more information for the youth baseball development community.
Recently, I have been running some pitching clinics on the weekends for the 9-12 year old age group - and it got me thinking a lot about the importance of proper development for the youth baseball player. This is especially true in what has been traditionally considered a "dead period" or off-season for baseball players in the Northeast.
For better or worse, I believe this mentality is beginning to change a lot, as the greater population is forcing players to become more and more specialized at earlier ages. This may not be true across the board, but there are definitely some undertones driving this movement, such as showcases during the December/January months, where players are expected to show up to a workout and light-up a radar gun in order to impress college coaches or scouts. This thought alone might send shivers down Eric's spine and will probably hold its own as a blog topic in the near future.
To give you an idea, one study published by Olsen et al (2006) at the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, AL actually documented that injured baseball players (requiring elbow or shoulder surgery) went to four times as many showcases as those who were in the healthy control group!
Now, I certainly can't say I think specialization at a young age is a healthy thing with regard to developing baseball players, as there are tremendous demands placed on the body in the act of throwing a baseball overhead. But at the same time, if players and parents decide that is what they would like to do and it is in the best interest of the kid, there needs to be a safe way to approach development during this time period for this population.
When I say this population, I'm speaking to the baseball population as a whole, but when I say a "safe approach," there obviously needs to be some clarification on the intended goals and ambitions of the particular player.
Some of the major concerns that I believe need to be addressed before engaging a player in a throwing session include:
-How much has this player thrown over the last day/week/month/year? Has he taken any breaks in his development to rest his arm for at least three weeks (at the very minimum)?
- Has he complained of arm pain during practice or competition during this period? If so, where was the pain? How often did it occur and to what degree?
These are just a few of the important signs and indicators that need to be tracked throughout the year, specialized winter training or not. The study referenced above by Olsen et al identifies a host of other variables found in the injured population and should be a must read for anyone who is working with amateur baseball players.
Now there are obviously a lot of different ways to look at this, so I'll try to explain what I think "proper development" means for players depending on their age range, and the level of performance they desire to reach.
This winter alone, I will be aiding the development of pitchers ranging from the professional and collegiate baseball players taking part in Eric's Elite Baseball Development Program all the way down to the 9-12 year old population, where players are trying to figure out how to throw a baseball in the right direction.
Obviously, the pro players are extremely specialized and probably have been for awhile. A lot of their development has already occurred and their windows for adaptation are a lot smaller, so we're working more towards preparing them to handle the stress of a 140+ games than we are skill refinement.
On the other end of the spectrum, the 9-12 year olds one might be dealing with are incredibly raw and undeveloped with huge windows of adaptation ahead of them from pure maturation of their bodies to the development of their motor patterns. This time period is huge for kids to begin ironing out the proper motor patterns that they will use to refine their athletic skills in their teen years of development.
With this in mind, a substantial amount of throwing might not be in their best interest and maybe getting more athletic in general would be more beneficial in the long term. How can you expect a player to repeat his mechanics with any sense of consistency if he doesn't understand how his body even works? One way that I like to spend time with this type of player is to extend the warm-up and movement training portion of these clinics to really drive home the importance of being in good physical shape. We also use more group oriented video analysis sessions for the players and parents to point out what common mechanical faults look like in this age group, and what verbal cues the parent might be able to use to help correct when playing catch on their own.
I actually find this portion of the clinic to be the most beneficial for all involved, because when you think about it, you only get about 3 to 4 hours with these players in a clinic setting. In order to get the information to settle in for these players, it needs to be constantly reinforced as their mind and bodies continue to develop. This is where mom or dad need to be informed, because they are the ones who will do much of the reinforcing, whether or not they are qualified to teach their son to throw a baseball. The more information they can have at their disposal and the more teaching tools you can give them, the better off they will be at aiding their child's development in the backyard.
This is the main reason why Eric and I are holding a FREE clinic this coming Tuesday, Dec 8th at 7pm for parents and coaches in the area, who are interested in learning more about how to prepare and protect the amateur baseball player. We'll be discussing the current injury epidemic in youth baseball, how it stems from overuse in competition, and what some of the major developmental needs are for the youth baseball player. If you're interested in attending, please RSVP to CresseyPerformance@gmail.com. Hopefully we'll see some of you there!
Matt Blake can be reached at mablak07@gmail.com.
1. Okay, first and foremost, keep an eye out for Monday's blog, where Mike Reinold and I will officially open registration for our one-day, limited enrollment seminar. I'll have a special discount code in place for my readers to get $30 off the cost of registration for the first week only - but to be very honest, with the small size of the event, I can't imagine that it'll be a full week before it fills up. Keep an eye on this blog EARLY on Monday morning if you want to reserve your spot.
2.Here's another little teaser for you on the shoulder . I remember hearing in a seminar last year with Kevin Wilk that scapular retraction increases subacromial space by up to 200%. Those of you familiar with this stuff should know that the size of the subacromial space is a darn good predictor of shoulder pathology (check out my impingement series, part 1 and part 2 for details). It's not a large space in the first place, but if you have factors - including bone spurring, a type 3 acromion, or just terrible scapular positioning - you'll run into problems pretty quickly, particularly with overhead movements.
Now, think about the cornerstone of most traditional shoulder rehabilitation programs: rotator cuff strengthening. Now, while cuff strengthening is obviously super important, it really is only half (at most) of the equation. The cuff will help to preserve the subacromial space reasonably well because it (when healthy and strong) stabilizes the humeral head (shoulder "ball") in the glenoid fossa (shoulder "socket"). However, if the scapula is excessively protracted, that glenoid fossa won't be in the right place.
What puts the scapula in a good position? Loads of work for the lower trapezius and serratus anterior - and, further down the chain, improving thoracic spine mobility, core stability, and hip mobility. The cuff is just the tip of what is a very big iceberg...and that's why we're doing an entire seminar!
3. I'm writing about three blogs early this week because Cressey Performance's Brian St. Pierre is getting married on Saturday. Those of you who may be in attendance will be able to easily recognize Tony Gentilcore and I thanks to our keen fashion sense:
Kidding aside, Brian is a huge asset to our business, as he brings a unique skill-set to our methodology and is a big hit with all our clients. We're all really happy for him and his fiancee. Head on over to his blog and give him some love.
4. On Thursday, I put in some work to update the Baseball Content section of the website. It basically just compiles all the baseball-related writing I've done in one place. Check it out!
5. It's playoff time, so you know what that means: time for the wheels to come off for the Yankees (the commentary on this is great).
1. It's been a crazy week ever since Anna and I got engaged on Sunday. You never truly realize how many people you know until they all try to email/call/text you at once to say congratulations. With my cell phone and email inbox going crazy, I kind of felt like Jerry Maguire - minus the whole weird scientology and jumping on Oprah's couch stuff.
2. On Wednesday, I got out to watch two high school games where CP athletes pitched, and then headed to Fenway to watch the Sox beat the Twins. In Game 1, Weston High Sahil Bloom had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings before giving up a bloop single, and then Auburn High's Tyler Beede threw six innings.
3. Next week, I'll be publishing the first installment of a collection of nutrition articles from Eric Talmant. Eric has some very forward-thinking ideas to share, and it'll make a nice weekly addition to EricCressey.com. Be sure to check them out.
4. I'm getting really excited for this year's Perform Better Summits. I'll be speaking in Providence, RI and Long Beach, CA (there is also one in Chicago); I'd definitely encourage you to check the events out if you live in that neck of the woods. My presentations should question the "diagnostic norms" - in much the same way that I did with this week's newsletter.
5. Speaking of newsletters, I got several inquiries after I ran this one about the medicine ball training we do with our pitchers. In particular, folks were curious about the medicine ball we used in drills like this:
6. I've written quite a bit in the past about how a glenohumeral internal rotation deficit can be one contributing factor (among others) to medial elbow injuries in overhead throwing athletes. The other day, someone asked me if I had any scientific evidence to support this idea. The answer would be a resounding YES.
Very simply, if you lack internal rotation, you'll go to the elbow to "regain" that lost range-of-motion. It's the same reason that ankle mobility deficits can lead to knee pain, and hip mobility deficits can lead to knee and lower back pain.
7. I don't really "get" how this whole Delicious bookmarking thing works, but Jon Boyle (who helps out with the blog) recommended I start sending him recommendations of good stuff I've read. You can find some of my recommended reading/viewing off to the right-hand side of the page. If there are books you recommend I check out, by all means, please post suggestions in the comments to these blogs; I'm always looking for new reading material.
Hip pain - particularly of the anterior (front of the hip) variety - is a very common problem in the weight training population.
In her book, Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes, Shirley Sahrmann discusses Femoral Anterior Glide Syndrome in excellent detail. And, while it may seem like an obscure diagnosis, it's actually a really common inefficiency we see in a weight training population.
In order to understand this syndrome, you have to appreciate the attachment points and functions of the hamstrings and gluteus maximus. With the hamstrings, you'll notice that they attach to the ischial tuberosity of the pelvis (with the exception of the short head of the biceps femoris, which attaches on the femur), and then run down to a point inferior to (below) the knee. In other words, they are a two-joint muscle group. All of the hamstrings aid in knee flexion, and all but the short head of the biceps femoris also aid in hip extension.
Conversely, the glutes attach on the pelvis and the femur; they're a one-joint muscle - and this is why they can so directly impact hip health.
You see, when the hamstrings extend the hip (imagine the hip motion that happens when one comes out of the bottom of a squat), they do so in a "gross" fashion. In other words, the entire leg extends. In the process, there is little control over the movement of the femoral head ("ball" in the "ball-and-socket" hip joint) - and it tends to migrate forward during hip extension, giving you a femoral anterior glide syndrome. In the process, it can irritate the anterior joint capsule, and this irritation can give a sensation of tightness in the front of the hip.
Fortunately, the glutes can help prevent the problem. Thanks to their point of attachment on the superior aspect of the femur (closer to the hip), they have more direct control over the femur as it extends on the hip. As a result, they can posteriorly pull the femoral head during hip extension. So, in an ideal world, you get effective co-contraction of the hamstrings and glutes as one extends the hip; they are a system of checks and balances on one another. If you use the hamstrings too much in hip extension, you're just waiting to develop not only femoral anterior glide syndrome, but also hamstrings and adductor magnus (groin) strains and extension-based back pain.
As an aside, this hamstrings/glutes relationship is somewhat analogous to what you see at the shoulder with the subscapularis posteriorly pulling the humeral head as the infraspinatus and teres minor allow it to drift forward. That's another newsletter altogether, though!
Once the femoral anterior glide issue is in place, the first course of action is to stop aggressively stretching the hip flexors. While the issue gives a sensation of hip flexor "tightness," in reality, stretching the area only exacerbates the anterior hip pain. A better bet is to just ditch the stretching for a few days, and instead incorporate extra glute activation work. Eventually, though, one can reintegrate both static and dynamic hip flexor stretches.
Just as importantly, it's important to identify the causes. We'll see this issue in runners who have no glute function, but more commonly, I'll see it in a weight training population that doesn't understand how to complete hip extension. Here's what a hamstrings-dominant hip extension pattern would look like with squatting.
The final portion of hip extension is when the glutes are most active, so it's important to "pop the hips through" at lockout of deadlifts, squats, pull-throughs, and other exercises like these. In the same squat example, it's really just as simple as standing tall:
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to hip issues in athletes, but it's definitely something we see quite a bit. If you'd like to learn more, I'd highly recommend you check out our Functional Stability Training series, particularly the Lower Body and Optimizing Movement editions. They're on sale for 25% off through tonight (Cyber Monday) at midnight.
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Q: At what point do you think that muscle size affects one's range of motion? Just interested in your thoughts. I'm a golfer and my flexibility is important; there isn't much point for me to be really strong but not able to move properly.
A: Well, it would be joint- and population-specific. On the joint side of things, as an example, the elbow flexors (biceps, to the lay population) and knee flexors (hamstrings) can restrict elbow and knee flexion, respectively, if they get too big. Or, the pecs may inhibit horizontal adduction ROM. This list goes on and on.
I don't feel that simply making a muscle bigger means that you lose range-of-motion in that specific muscle, as the improvements are to cross-sectional area. If this was the case, the elbow flexors would be restricting us in extension, and the pecs would be restricting us in horizontal abduction, but as the examples above show, that's just not happening.
Provided that flexibility training is good, and structural balance is prioritized in programming, there is no reason to believe that you can't be big and flexible.
Now, it's important to consider the sporting population in question. A powerlifter isn't going to need as much mobility as, say, a baseball pitcher. One guy needs to be efficient in a short range of motion, while the other needs to be efficient through a larger range of motion.
In pitchers, external rotation ROM is a good predictive factor for velocity. On top of that, horizontal abduction at stride foot contact is huge, according to the research.
So, in order to have good pitching specific ROM, you need to have adequate length of the muscles that internally rotate and horizontally adduct the shoulders. And, the big muscle that does this is the pectoralis major. Bench until the cows come home, shorten it up, and then you'll lose that ROM.
Now, ask anyone who has ever trained baseball pitchers, and they'll tell you that pitcher gain external rotation over the course of a season simply from throwing. Guys who don't weight-train properly can certainly impede this velocity-aiding adaptation.
This, of course, is an example specific to baseball pitching, and demands would be different for golfers.
