Here is this week's list of recommended reading:
Final Phase Fat Loss - As a quick follow-up to our interview with John Romaniello earlier this week, just a reminder that today is the last day to get the low "Grand Opening" price on this great fat loss resource. It's among the best I've seen.
Good stuff from the past and present for this week's recommended reading:
The Law of Repetitive Motion Part 1 and Part 2 - These back-to-back newsletters from last June are, in my mind, must-reads if you're training clients and want to understand how injuries occur.
Thoracic Mobility is a Myth? - Bill Hartman answers a reader's question on thoracic spine mobility in great detail. It's definitely worth a read.
1. I'm headed to Florida later today to speak at a seminar and then get in a mini-vacation with my wife-to-be. So, I have lots of packing and programming to do before I take off, but thought I'd throw a little content and some videos up here to get you all through the weekend.
2. Check out this great post by Bill Hartman on thoracic mobility.
3. Speaking of Bill Hartman, our product, Assess and Correct, has been getting some great feedback from folks "in the know." Check out this latest testimonial:
"Assess and Correct may be the most comprehensive corrective exercise product on the market. I feel this DVD is a must have for anyone looking to make positive changes in their athletes' bodies - or their own.
The assessment section provides simple and detailed information for tests that can help anyone become more aware of their body's limitations while the correction progressions offer forward thinking solutions that guarantee optimal performance.
Eric, Bill and Mike have done it again!"
-Mike Irr - Head Strength & Conditioning Coach, Charlotte Bobcats
Check it out for yourself: Assess and Correct.
4. Random videos of pro baseball players training because I don't have time to give you more content:
Have a great weekend!
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used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
As you're reading this, I'm either watching a seminar in Arizona, or flying back from the trip. Luckily, I prepared this list of recommended reading for the week in advance:
Is the Seated 90/90 Stretch Safe? - This great Q&A with Bill Hartman emerged following a question from a reader after we released Assess and Correct. It's definitely worth a read.
The Best Exercise You're Not Doing - This was an excellent piece from Matthew Hertilus last week at T-Muscle. We use the Turkish Get-up quite a bit with our athletes, and this article does a fantastic job of teaching the lift - complete with video tutorials.
Returning to Deadlifting after a Back Injury - This newsletter from a while back was a popular one. If you've got poor deadlifting technique or you've had an injury performing the lift in the past, it's definitely worth a read.
Today's a really exciting day for Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, and I - and hopefully for you, too!
You see, after months of planning, filming, and editing, our new product, Assess and Correct, is now available at www.AssessAndCorrect.com. And, for the first week ONLY, we're making the product available for $30 off what will be the normal retail price.
Assess and Correct is the first resource that empowers you with not only a series of self-assessments to identify your own flexibility and stability limitations, but also exercise progressions to correct those inefficiencies. In the process, you'll take your athletic performance to all new levelsandprevent injuries from creeping up on you - whether you're a high-level athlete or someone who sits at a desk too much.
With 27 self-assessments and 78 corresponding exercises, you'll cover virtually everything you need to feel and perform well. And, you'll have plenty of variety to use for many years to come! And, while the DVDs alone are really comprehensive, the bonuses we've added to this really sweeten the deal. Included in this package are:
DVD #1:Your Comprehensive Guide to Self-Assessment
DVD #2:Your Individualized Corrective Exercise Progressions
Bonus #1:The Assess and Correct Assessment E-Manual, which is a guide to which you can refer to in conjunction with DVD #1.
Bonus #2:The Assess and Correct E-Manual, which includes written cues and photos for each recommended drill in DVD #2 so that you'll have a resource you can take to the gym with you.
Bonus #3: "The Great Eight Static Stretches" E-Manual, which shows you eight additional flexibility drills that we use on a regular basis in addition to the drills featured in the DVDs.
Bonus #4:The "Optimal Self Myofascial Release" E-Manual, which shows you the soft tissue methods and techniques we use with our clients and athletes.
Bonus #5: "Warm-ups for Every Body" E-Manual, which is a collection of two sample warm-up templates for 19 different sports/scenarios.
Again, this introductory offer will end next Sunday, November 1 at midnight EST. For now, though, I'd encourage you to head over to www.AssessAndCorrect.com to check out some of the sample videos from the DVDs - including the introduction in which we discuss our rationale for creating the product.
Here is this week's list of recommended reading for you:
The 2008 Indianapolis Performance Enhancement Seminar DVD Set - Right now, I'm working with Mike Robertson and Bill Hartman on a new product - and we're doing it through the same guy (James Simon) who filmed, edited, and produced this DVD set for them. All our email interactions got me to thinking about just how fantastic and thorough a resource it is. I reviewed it in detail a while back HERE, and would strongly recommend you check it out if you haven't already.
Okay, so I guess that last one was more about "viewing" than "reading," but you get the point...
Birthday Blogging: 28 Years, 28 Favorites - I published this blog post on my birthday back in May, and it touches on just about everything!
Getting Geeky with AC Joint Injuries
Lately, I've gotten quite a few in-person evaluations and emails relating to acromioclavicular (AC) joint issues. As such, I figured I'd devote a newsletter to talking about why these injuries are such a pain in the butt, what to do to train around them, and how to prevent them in the first place (or address the issue once it's in place).
First off, there is a little bit about the joint that you ought to know. While the glenohumeral joint (ball-and-socket) is stabilized by a combination of ligamentous and muscular (rotator cuff) restraints, the AC joint doesn't really have the benefit of muscles directly crossing the joint to stabilize it. As such, it has to rely on ligaments almost exclusively to prevent against "shifting."
As you can imagine, then, a traumatic injury or a significant dysfunction that affects clavicle positioning can easily make that joint chronically hypermobile. This is why many significant traumatic injuries may require surgery. While almost all Grade 4-6 separations are treated surgically, Grades 1-2 separations are generally left alone to heal - with Grade 3 surgeries going in either direction.
In many cases, you'll actually see a "piano key sign," which occurs when the separation allows the clavicle to ride up higher relative to the acromion. Here's one I saw last year that was completely asymptomatic after conservative treatment. It won't win him any beauty contests, and it may become arthritic way down the road, but for now, it's no problem.
Now that I've grossed you out, let's talk about how an AC joint gets injured. First, we've got traumatic (contact) injuries, and we can also see it in people who bench like this:
Actually, that's probably a fractured sternum, but you can probably get the takeaway point: don't bounce the bar off your chest, you weenie. But I digress...
Insidious (gradual) onset injuries occur just as frequently, and even moreso in a lifting population. Most of the insidious onset AC joint problems I've encountered have been individuals with glaring scapular instability. With lower trapezius and serratus anterior weakness in combination with shortness of pec minor, the scapula anteriorly tilts and abducts (wings out) - and you'll see that this leads to a more inferior (lower) resting posture.
In the process, the interaction between the acromion (part of the scapula) and clavicle can go a little haywire. The acromion and clavicle can get pulled apart slightly, or the entire complex can get pulled downward a bit. In this latter situation, you can also see thoracic outlet syndrome (several important nerves track under the clavicle) and sternoclavicular joint issues in addition to the AC joint problems we're discussing.
As such, regardless of whether we're dealing with a chronic or insidious onset AC joint issue, it's imperative to implement a good scapular stabilization program focusing on lower trapezius and serratus anterior to get the acromion "back in line" with the clavicle. Likewise, soft tissue and flexibility work for the pec minor can also help the cause tremendously.
Anecdotally, a good chunk of the insidious onset AC joint problems I've seen have been individuals with significant glenohumeral internal rotation deficits (GIRD). The images below demonstrate a 34-degree GIRD on the right side.
It isn't hard to understand why, either; if you lack internal rotation, you'll substitute scapular anterior tilt and abduction as a compensation pattern - whether you're lifting heavy stuff or just reaching for something. And, as I discussed in the paragraph above, a scapular dyskinesis can definitely have a negative effect on the AC joint.
Lastly, you can't ever overlook the role of thoracic spine mobility. If your thoracic spine doesn't move, you'll get hypermobile at the scapulae as a compensation - and we already know that's not good. And, as Bill Hartman discussed previously, simply mobilizing the thoracic spine can actually improve glenohumeral rotation range-of-motion, particularly in internal rotation. Inside-Out is a fantastic resource in this regard - and is on sale this week, conveniently!
So, as you can see, everything is interconnected! In part 2 of this series, I'll discuss training modifications to work around acromioclavicular joint problems and progress back to more "normal" training programs.
New Blog ContentBirddogs, Continuing Education, and Terrible JournalismStuff You Should ReadExercise of the Week: Dumbbell Reverse LungeRandom Friday ThoughtsIt's All About Specialization
All the Best,
EC
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used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
As many of you know, Bill Hartman, Mike Robertson, and I are very close to releasing a new product. In fact, we spent the weekend going through edits on the footage and pulling together the tag-along manuals.
This new product includes a lot of our newer perspectives on assessment and corrective exercise. Many of the drills we outline actually piggyback on those we outlined with our previous DVDs, Magnificent Mobility and Inside-Out. There is even a bit of overlap where we discuss how the "older" drills fit into our up-to-date progressions.
So, while the MM and I/O DVDs might be a few years old, the good news is that the human body hasn't evolved dramatically since then - so these drills are still highly effective. However, with new products, older products sometimes get forgotten - and that's why we figured we'd throw out this opportunity to grab up these two previous products at a big discount.
Here's the deal...
30% off on Magnificent Mobility and Inside-Out from Monday, August 31 through Wednesday, September 2. All you need to do is head over to the RobertsonTrainingSystems.com Products Page and add the item(s) to your cart. At checkout, enter the coupon code "FALL09" (all caps, no quotation marks) and the discount will be applied.
Don't miss this last chance to get two great products at a great discount!
This post marks the first of a new series where I'll give credit to a lot of the people who in one way or another have made me better at what I do. In most cases, they'll be quick tips that I've taken away and applied immediately into my existing methodology. Very few of them will require more than a few sentences to explain - and I'll usually give you some recommended reading at the end of the entry.
Today's tip was one I picked up from Bill Hartman on a recent trip to Indianapolis. Keep in mind that this is more along the lines of "knowledge for the sake of being smart," not because many of these provocative tests are ones that should be used by those who aren't trained as physical therapists.
Anyway, We were talking about the high frequency of lumbar spine disc herniations and bulges on MRIthat are not accompanied with any symptoms.
Taking it a step further, though, you'll also see people who have back pain plus these issues on diagnostic imaging, yet that doesn't necessarily mean that the imaging finding is clinical significant (the pain might be coming from something else). One classic test that's been used to test for neural tension in this regard is the slump test.
As is the case with most physical assessments, though, a good test should simulate the injury mechanism, and while the slump test gets things rolling in the right direction, Bill actually mentioned that he favors a McKenzie-influenced repeated flexion test (slump test only involves a single "bout" of flexion) - which essentially simulates how you'd herniate a disc in a laboratory setting. If someone has a one of these findings on the MRI, plus back pain, but this repeated flexion test doesn't provoke their symptoms, chances are that the pain is coming from somewhere else (muscular, etc.). If symptoms are exacerbated, it's probably related to the disc issue. Of course, repeated extension would apply to more posterior issue.
Of course, check with a qualified physical therapist for issues along these lines; you don't want to be self-diagnosing or provoking something on your own. However, the trainers and strength and conditioning coaches in the crowd can use this information attained by physical therapists to classify folks as extension-based or flexion-based back pain and program exercise accordingly alongside rehabilitation initiatives. I covered this in some detail in Lower Back Savers: Part I.
Recommended Reading:Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance, by Stuart McGill
