Home Posts tagged "Baseball Workouts" (Page 20)

Flexibility Deficits in Pitchers

Q: Eric, I know you see a ton of baseball pitchers, so I wanted to ask you if there are particular flexibility restrictions you notice. I am guessing that because it is such a "lopsided" sport that imbalances tend to be magnified. Thanks. A: Absolutely! The "money" flexibility issues we aim to address are: -Throwing shoulder glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD) -Lead leg hip internal rotation deficit (HIRD) -Lead leg hip extension deficit -Lead leg knee flexion deficit -Trailing leg hip flexion deficit (tight hamstrings) -Pec minor -Sternocleidomastoid -Long head of triceps -Throwing elbow extension deficit (secondary to length issues with brachialis and other elbow flexors) Some of these are attacked with more dynamic flexibility, while others are addressed with 30s static stretching and/or prolonged holds. We're also always working on thoracic mobility and ankle mobility, although I look at these issues more as gross mobility deficits than specific muscles that are short. Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
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Great Kids, Great Articles

Some good local press for a few Cressey Performance athletes recently: Kevin Brown: Brown Does It All for Post 234 Sam Finn and Ryan Wood: Sudbury Legion is Armed, Dangerous
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Random Friday Thoughts: 6/27/08

1. Congratulations to Cressey Performance athlete Ryan Wood on throwing a perfect game for Sudbury Legion on Wednesday night. 2. For those of you with injuries who still plan to go out and get tanked this weekend, give this study a read. In particular, pay attention to the section that says, “The development of alcoholic muscle disease, which affects both cardiac and skeletal muscle, leads to increased morbidity and mortality in patients who abuse alcohol. The disease pathology includes myocyte degeneration, loss of striations, and myofilament dissolution, which is consistent with alterations in structural and myofibrillar proteins.” Now, it has been too long since I took muscle physiology in my graduate school days, but I’m guessing that getting hammered tonight isn’t going to help your knee to feel better… 3. Rumor has it that Robertson and Cressey are brainstorming for a new project. And yes, you know it is Friday because I am referring to myself in the third person. 4. A lot of people are resorting to using video newsletters because they feel that they can interact with the reader better. To be honest, I’m typing this blog post in an old t-shirt with a serious case of bed-head – and as much as I like all of you, my living room isn’t all that exciting to view. If I decided to go the video route, I’d have to shower, get all decked out, and hang some nice paintings – but I’d rather just spend that time working on content. Hopefully, you aren’t too disappointed. 5. I’m speaking at Fenway for the Jimmy Fund’s Fantasy Day tomorrow. This is an awesome cause and they could definitely use your donations. 6. If you’ve got an extreme pronator or supinator, you can modify your ankle mobilizations accordingly. If they pronate, elevate the medial (inside) aspect of the foot with a five-pound plate to drive more supination. If they supinate, elevate the lateral aspect to drive more pronation. 7. The other day, I remarked that writing a marathon training program for an oft-injured runner is like being a drug dealer giving an addict her fix. To that, a great manual therapist with whom we work replied, “Eric, you’re only a drug dealer if you’re dealing drugs illegally. Be her pharmacist; she’s her own primary care physician with this one: much less accountability.” 8. Raspberry-Mint is the single worst flavor of chewing gum in history. I hope somebody got fired for thinking it up and having the idiocy for actually opting to market it. 9. I just realized that it’s been a long time since I gave Mel Siff a mention in my newsletter. Considering he might be the brightest guy in the history of exercise science, that’s unacceptable. So, if you’re an up-and-comer and want a great foundation, read Supertraining…and read it yesterday. 10. Here’s an interesting read about an NFL lineman who decided to powerlift in the off-season. Big guys need to be strong – but they also need to move well. Hopefully, he’s doing plenty of mobility work on the side and staying athletic. You can be strong and move like crap. Have a great weekend! EC
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Simple Asymmetry & Balance Fixes

In a 2007 study, Ellenbecker et al. compared hip internal and external rotation range-of-motion in elite baseball pitchers and elite tennis players. They noted the following: An analysis of the number of subjects in each group with a bilateral difference in hip rotation greater than 10 degrees identified 17% of the professional baseball pitchers with internal rotation differences and 42% with external rotation differences. Differences in the elite male tennis players occurred in only 15% of the players for internal rotation and 9% in external rotation. Female subjects had differences in 8% and 12% of the players for internal and external rotation, respectively. So, in other words, baseball pitchers were more likely to be asymmetrical than tennis players. While they both serve/pitch with one arm and push off the same-side leg. Tennis players, move a lot more in various directions. And, just as importantly, they hit backhands - so the asymmetries you see at the shoulder are less pronounced as well. Who would have thought: moving more and doing the opposite of what you normally do is a good way to stay healthy? Yes, I'm being sarcastic. Regardless of your sport, you need to get out of your comfort zone more often if you want to stay healthy. To learn more about the common asymmetries affecting overhead athletes and how to manage them, definitely check out the Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD set.

shoulder-performance-dvdcover

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Eccentric Exercise and Mobility

One of the things that we are constantly working to address with our baseball guys is the loss of range-of-motion following an extended period of throwing (i.e., a pitching appearance). There's some good research out there showing that the marked eccentric stress on the elbow flexors (biceps, etc) and glenohumeral external rotators (posterior rotator cuff) can lead to an acute (and potentially chronic) loss of elbow extension and humeral internal rotation range-of-motion. Pitching with a loss of ROM over the course of a competitive season is a recipe for disaster - both in terms of velocity reductions and risk of injury. Interestingly, previous research has shown that post-exercise ROM is reduced more with eccentric muscle actions than concentric muscle actions. Since virtually every resistance training sessions comprise some form of eccentric exercise, post-training stretching for the involved musculature is really valuable. And, if you're doing a lot of eccentrics in that training sessions, it's even more important. A lot of athletes get bored really quickly with static stretching, so one thing I've done a bit (especially with kids who really need to work on their mobility) is to simply repeat our dynamic flexibility warm-ups - but integrate a bit longer of a hold on each rep. Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
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Back Squats and Overhead Throwers

Q: You don't like back squats for overhead throwers, is this because of anterior instability or some other reason? A: In a word, yes; anterior stability is so crucial for a pitcher that I’m not tempted to push it. Then again, that’s the short version – and it also assumes that the lifter is using a closer-grip, which mandates more external rotation. So, to the casual observer, the solution to this would be to simply bring the hands out and squat with a wider grip, which requires less external rotation. Unfortunately, this logic is flawed, too, as you have to abduct (elevate) your humerus another 15-20 degrees to get to that position. In the process, you bring it further into the “classic” impingement zone. This not only compromises the rotator cuff, but perhaps more significantly, the long head of the biceps, which is an extremely common nuisance in both powerlifters and overhead throwing athletes. All that said, while I’d never do it with a pitcher, you can probably get away with it with position players because they have better upward rotation. I wouldn’t go near it if thoracic spine range of motion is subpar – or the athlete had a history of shoulder or elbow issues. Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
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Cressey Performance in the Boston Globe

Training for On-Field Rewards: Local Ballplayers Flock to Hudson Gym EDIT: It was actually a double-dip on publicity on Sunday, as it turns out: On Campus: Ostrander, Scanlan get northern exposure
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Athletes aren’t as smart as we think….

It never ceases to amaze me when we have an athlete do a 30-second isometric hold (such as a side bridge), and then they'll finish the set at 12 or 13 seconds and think that they're good to go. Apparently, I'm not the only one that noticed this phenomenon - and athletes will unintentionally go overboard as often as they'll underachieve. According to Wilk, Meister, and Andrews, when professional pitchers were asked to throw at 50% effort, the radar guns showed that they were actually throwing at 83% of peak velocity. And, at a requested 75%, they were popping 90% fastballs. Perhaps we should stop worrying about ascending oscillatory conjugated inverted periodization, and instead teach athletes how to count and follow the perceived exertion chart.
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Quad Pulls in Baseball

Q: There have been a few quadriceps pulls in MLB this year. Have you seen these before in baseball players? What gives? A: This is why I love baseball; it's probably one of the most at-risk sports you'll ever see (particularly in pitchers). Here's a little excerpt from a slide in a recent presentation I gave on training for overhead athletes: -Very Long Competitive Season >200 games as a pro? >100 College/HS? -Unilateral Dominance/Handedness Patterns Asymmetry is a big predictor of injury Switch hitters – but no “switch throwers!” -The best pitchers – with a few exceptions – are the tallest ones. The longer the spine, the tougher it is to stabilize. -Short off-season + Long in-season w/daily games = tough to build/maintain strength, power, flexibility, and optimal soft tissue quality Specific to the quad pulls, I'd add to this list that baseball guys rarely hit top speed; all of their sprint work is done in acceleration, where the quads are dominant. Factor in that they spend a lot of time sitting on airplanes/buses, and it's no surprise that they'd get tight anteriorly. It's why it's so important to really hammer on hip mobility in any population that sits a lot.

The stop and go nature of the sport also dictates that strains would be common, whether they are groins, hip flexors, hamstrings, or quads (likely rectus femoris, which is a hip flexor that can get overactive, particularly alongside poor psoas function). So, all that said, before anyone jumps to conclusions and tries to criticize some strength coach, it's important to consider: a) the certain amount of happenstance that occurs with any baseball player due to the nature of the game and the season b) what that athlete does on his own in the off-season In terms of "b," I’ve seen some pretty bad stuff, unfortunately. For many guys, it becomes a leg extensions and curls off-season if they're on their own - or they do nothing. I'd like to think that our success in working with baseball guys is not just in the fact that we've made the programming good, but also in the fact that we've changed the culture a bit in our guys: they appreciate what lifting is doing for them and look forward to getting after it in the gym. Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
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Cressey Athlete Finishes 10th at Ford Ironman World Championship

Cressey Performance Athlete, Dede Griesbauer Finishes 10th at Ford Ironman World Championship! This was Dede's second consecutive podium finish.  Awesome job, Dede!

EricCressey.com Subscriber-only Q&A

Q: Could you please explain the rationale for the wall triceps stretch you used in a previous blog post? A: Here’s a photo of that stretch, for those who missed it:

We find that this stretch can relieve shoulder issue in a lot of the guys who come to us with typical pitcher problems – particularly posterior/superior shoulder pain (and sometimes medial elbow pain – but no glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD). Posterior cuff/capsule stiffness will cause the humeral head to translate superiorly and posteriorly during the late cocking phase of throwing. And, this stiffness also has huge implications on humeral head position during the deceleration and follow-through phases of throwing.

Most throwers with shoulder problems will have the most pain at:

a. maximal external rotation/late cocking phase (usually the worst type of problems, SLAP 2 lesions, that warrant a great consideration of surgery)

or

b. follow-through/deceleration (usually something that’s more easily fixed with good posterior cuff/capsule stretching and good scapular stability work, so conservative treatment is the name of the game)

Of course, all this depends on symptoms, degree of mechanical pain, and what the MRI says. Sometimes, though, if the stiffness isn't present posteriorly, but you're still seeing these kind of symptoms, you have to look to the inferior capsule. The shoulder capsule is large and relatively “loose” to allow for the wide range of shoulder movements present. When tightness kicks in somewhere, you can see some noteworthy problems. So, the roundabout answer to your question is that the truth is that this is as much an inferior capsular mobilization/stretch as it is a triceps stretch. As a general rule of thumb, you always migrate opposite capsular tightness. Inferior tightness leads to superior migration. Inferior tightness is the big problem in regular ol' weekend warriors, and definitely moreso in those who have had surgery and been immobilized with the arm at the side As an aside to this, rarely will someone need JUST inferior capsule mobilizations; they usually need other attention to areas such as

thoracic spine mobility work.

Feedback on The Truth About Unstable Surface Training

Here’s a quote from Leigh Peele of avidityfitness.com on my new e-book,

The Truth About Unstable Surface Training:

“This e-book, regardless of if they have to break out a dictionary, is for every trainer/coach/physical therapist out there. Period. If you are a trainer or if you plan on being a trainer or physical therapist, then you need to own this manual. This isn’t just about doing things “right,” either; this puts you ahead of the pack. Your teams, clients, and patients will thank you for the increase of knowledge.

“I also feel that this e-book is for those who are really serious about training and applying the best methods to their program. If you don’t have a good coach and you need one, sometimes yourself is all you have. If that is the case, go to the education. Coach yourself. “In short, if you design programming, be it for yourself or for others, you should get this e-book for a learning resource.”

Click here to purchase The Truth About Unstable Surface Training.

Blog Updates

Detailed Feedback on Maximum Strength Random Friday Thoughts A Little Monday Update Random Friday Thoughts All the Best, EC Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!

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