Back in 2010, I got an email from Tim Ferriss asking if I'd be willing to help out a friend of his. Apparently, he met some dude from New Zealand while in a coffee shop in Argentina and they really hit it off. This guy happened to be a retired rugby player with an extensive history of shoulder problems. I happily obliged, and the friendly Kiwi made the trip to Massachusetts to train with us for about a month.
He got a healthy shoulder, and the Cresseys made a wonderful new friend in Chris Ashenden.
More specific to today's blog, though, is the fact that we were witnessing the beginning of an incredible brand. While there, Chris was preparing to launch Athletic Greens (now AG1).
As a brief background, Chris was working to overcome some significant G.I. issues, and had been really disappointed in the supplement industry as a whole as he had investigated various options to complement his dietary changes.
Companies often sourced garbage ingredients to keep their margins high, and there weren't products out there that allowed consumers to efficiently supplement. Rather, people had to take dozens of pills to try to derive comprehensive benefit, and even then, many of the compounds were low quality or competed with each other. The industry was expensive, inefficient, and ineffective - not to mention shockingly unregulated.
With Athletic Greens, he broke from that stereotype. AG1 was the first to put this much nutritional content into one product, at this quality. And, in doing so, AG1 took the opposite approach; a synergistic comprehensive approach that made it very easy to have the power of great daily foundational nutrition in one simple daily (and tasty) habit.
Pioneering the new and future way of getting and replacing a multivitamin, multimineral and nine other products in one including adaptogens, pre and probiotics for gut health, and specialized extracts to support cellular health and key bodily functions.
I have consistently used the product since its inception, and in adopting the approach of continual innovation, they continue to build on their reputation for quality and research and are currently on AG1’s 53rd iteration. Each iteration drives more innovation, value and quality back to the customer based on the latest research. This approach of consistently innovating and disrupting your own product and raising the bar is really hard to copy. As perhaps the best example, one large supplement company once asked Chris if they could take his formula and package it with their label on it. When they investigated the ingredients, they pulled out because the margins weren't high enough to make it worth their while. Sourcing such high quality raw materials wasn't good for their bottom line.
Nonetheless, AG1 has thrived. You'll find it as a NSF certified resource in loads of professional sports clubhouses, and on the recommendation lists of some of the health and human performance industries' most progressive people, including Dr. Peter Attia, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.
As perhaps my highest praise, my mom and wife both take it daily, and many of our athletes swear by it. I trust Chris and his company with my family's health.
If you're looking to make a similar investment in both your short and long-term health with AG1. I recommend you to head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today – 10 FREE travel packs – with your first purchase. I’d encourage you to give it a shot.
Further, with full disclosure, when AG1 took their first ever investment in 2021, Chris reached out to some of his longest supporters and customers, and offered us the ability to participate. It was a no-brainer to take the next step to support a product and company I believed in this much, so since 2021, I have been both an investor in and advisor to AG1.
We welcome Cressey Sports Performance - Florida Vice President and Co-Founder Shane Rye to the latest podcast for a detailed conversation on manual therapy. Shane speaks to his treatment approaches not only for baseball players at CSP-FL, but also in his work in the football realm as a manual therapist for the Miami Dolphins. We touch on various soft tissue methods, their potential mechanisms of action, and why having the right "treatment roadmap" is vital to the success of any manual therapy intervention.
A special thanks to this show’s sponsor, Athletic Greens. Head to http://www.athleticgreens.com/cressey and you’ll receive a free 10-pack of Athletic Greens travel packets with your first order.
This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. It’s an all-in-one superfood supplement with 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s nutrition needs across 5 critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. Head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today - 20 FREE travel packs (valued at $79) - with your first purchase. I use this product daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I'd encourage you to give it a shot, too - especially with this great offer.
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Cressey Sports Peformance - Florida is home to hundreds of pro baseball players from all over the world, at all different levels of play throughout the off-season. They move to FL to train and develop with our awesome team of coaches that collaborates to create the synergy players need to thrive. We're able to individualize the experience from start to finish, as we feel that is what makes athletes successful. Whether we’re working with a first-year minor leaguer or one of our Cy Young Award winners, the right “mix” is slightly different for everyone. It is this detailed individualization – along with our world-class facilities, coaches, and services – that we will bring to a first-of-its-kind summer program, The CSP Pro Experience.
Here's what this 10-week (6/5/23 - 8/12/23) program entails:
2 Movement Assessments (1 entrance and 1 exit)
2 Proteus Power Tests (1 entrance and 1 exit) and accompanying reports for targeted force-velocity profiling for rotational athletes
10 weeks of Individualized Strength & Conditioning Programs ALWAYS monitored by our team of coaches
All bullpens will take place on dirt mounds in cleats with supervision from our coaches – and applicable technology present.
Pitchers who need to get innings as part of their overall developmental plan can easily throw against live hitters on the showcase field adjacent to our facility.
Athletes participating in this program will begin and end by throwing a bullpen on Theia, our brand new biomechanical markerless motion capture system. Our system records the athlete using an 8-camera setup. The cameras give us the ability to upload the data collected and produce a 3-dimensional visual model of their bullpen session. Using the markerless motion capture system, we will be able to provide a service to athletes at arguably the best quality/accuracy in the country in a real life, on-field environment. That model will explain, in detail, what the athlete is doing on the mound with respect to biomechanics, and provide a number of visual tools that will help us better understand the pitcher’s delivery. We will use this to put together a report outlining what they do, how they do it, why they do it, and – most importantly – coaching interventions.
We will be capping this program to ensure exclusivity and to make sure each athlete gets the time and coaching they deserve. This program will sell out quickly, so delaying enrollment may restrict your ability to gain access. You can learn more by reaching out to CSPFlorida@gmail.com.
With the growth of our Palm Beach Gardens, FL facility, we are opening up position for the right candidate to join our team as a strength and conditioning coach.
To that end, we'll be hiring a strength and conditioning coach to join the CSP-FL team this spring (prior to the busy summer season). This position will primarily be involved with the strength and conditioning training of professional and amateur athletes (particularly in the baseball realm), but will also include daily work with general population clients and post-rehab cases.
Responsibilities for this position include:
Strength and conditioning coaching in both semi-private and personal training formats
Performing assessments
Writing programs
Participating in staff and intern educational in-services
Qualification Requirements:
Experience working with athletic populations, particularly baseball
Willingness and ability to collaborate with sports medicine professionals
Strong interpersonal skills
Proficiency in written communication and with Microsoft Excel
Familiarity with social media platforms
Nationally recognized certification
Desire to work as part of a team
Applicants can submit resumes and cover letters as a single PDF document to CareersatCSP@gmail.com. The deadline for applications is March 4, 2023.
Cressey Sports Performance is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will be considered regardless of race, gender, creed, sexual orientation, marital status, citizenship status, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected under local, state, or federal laws.
Registration is now open for the 2023 Cressey Sports Performance Collegiate Elite Baseball Development Program. This event takes place at our Hudson, MA facility, and runs from 6/5/23 through 8/11/23.
This will be the seventh year we’ve run the program, and each year, we’ve had pitchers move to Massachusetts from all around the country. This summer, we anticipate another awesome collection of motivated athletes who’ll push each other to get better in conjunction with the same training opportunities and expertise we provide to our professional athletes.
This program is a good fit for pitchers who need to prioritize development over just getting innings or exposure. In other words, it’s a suitable replacement for those who still need to throw, but also need to gain 20 pounds, learn a new pitch, sort out old aches and pains, or improve their mobility. The average ten-week velocity increase for participants over the last four years has ranged from 4.1 - 4.4mph.
Each athlete will begin with a thorough initial movement and pitching assessment that will set the stage for individualized strength and conditioning and throwing programs, respectively. Speed and power testing are integrated into the assessment process and tracked periodically throughout the summer to ensure that progress is being tracked consistently.
Your individualized programs will correspond to six days a week of training. Generally, four of the six training days per week are double sessions, with throwing in the morning and strength and conditioning in the afternoons.
A typical training week would look like the following:
MON: AM throwing, PM Strength and Conditioning
TUE: AM throwing, PM Strength and Conditioning
WED: Late AM throwing and movement training (at field)
THU: AM throwing, PM Strength and Conditioning
FRI: AM throwing, PM Strength and Conditioning
SAT: Optional AM Mobility Work and Recovery Session, AM Throwing and movement training
SUN: Off
In our throwing programs, we integrate weighted ball work, long toss, and bullpens (including video analysis). We’ll utilize detailed Trackman breakdowns and high-speed camera work in these bullpens as well. Pitchers also have opportunities to throw live to hitters, and we have historically placed a few arms in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League late in the summer in light of the improvements they’d made.
All the athletes will receive manual therapy with our licensed massage therapist or physical therapist, as well as nutritional guidance throughout the program. Also to help with recovery, athletes have access to MarcPro, Normatec, and red light therapy.
Last, but not least, we’ll incorporate regular educational components to educate the athletes on the “why” behind their training. Previously, this has consisted of not only staff presentations, but also conference calls and in-person meetings with Major League players and established coaches from around the country.
The best part is that it’ll take place in a motivating environment where athletes can push each other to be the best they can be. By optimizing the situation, you can help change the person.
Interested in learning more? Email cspmass@gmail.com – but don’t delay, as spaces are limited; this offering sold out in each of our pre-pandemic summers of years past, and we’ll be capping the group size again this time around.
We welcome Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Bryan Baker to the latest podcast. Bryan speaks to his multi-sport beginnings, unique mechanics, pitch selection adjustments, training discoveries, and recovery strategies.
A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Proteus Motion. They're changing the way we assess and train athletes with their 3D Resistance. Head to www.ProteusMotion.com/elite to learn more about this cutting-edge technology.
Proteus Motion has a patented technology that allows us to measure power for the overwhelming majority of human movements. Proteus software guides users through 4-minute physical assessments to arm trainers with unprecedented performance data and insights, creating an entirely new standard for personalized fitness and physical rehabilitation. All of this is enabled by a total reinvention of resistance training called 3D Resistance. Training power and acceleration with Proteus’ patented 3D Resistance can be safer, more efficient, and more effective than traditional resistance training tools in many cases. I’ve been a big fan of Proteus for the past few years. We have a unit in both Cressey Sports Performance facilities, and actually helped to develop the Cressey Power test for rotational athletes. The information we’ve gathered from this testing has been an absolute game-changer in helping us to more optimally program for our athletes. Additionally, as a training initiative, work on the Proteus has allowed us to train different points on the force-velocity curve in rotational patterns in ways that medicine ball work never could.
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
With 2022 winding down, I'm using this last week of the year to direct you to some of the most popular content of the past 12 months at EricCressey.com, as this "series" has been quite popular over the past few years. Today, we start with the most popular articles of the year; these are the pieces that received the most traffic, according to my hosting statistics.
1. Why We Shouldn't Compare Kids in Sports- One of the more concerning trends I’m seeing on the youth sports scene is the how often the youngest kids are compared to their peers. In this article, I dug in on the problems with this approach:
2.Positions vs. Pressures- About 15 years ago, I attended a two-day course with Dr. William Brady, a well respected chiropractor and manual therapist in the Boston area. During the event, he said, "Biomechanics is a combination of physics and biology. Put another way, it is the study of load applied to human tissue." It was the most succinct and encompassing definition of biomechanics that I'd heard, so I frantically scribbled it down in my notes - and I've had it in the back of my mind to this day each time I've evaluated movement. This article explains why.
3. Why You Can't Feel Your Serratus Anterior Working- I received an inquiry from a follower who asked why it's so hard to "feel" serratus anterior targeted exercises. There's a fair amount to unpack in this regard, so I recorded this video on the topic.
5. Exercise of the Week: Supported Elbow CARs - This was my New Year's Day 2022 post, and it stood the test of time as one of the most popular pieces of content for the year.
I'll be back soon with another "Best of 2022" feature. Up next, the top guest posts of the year!
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We welcome Oakland A's pitcher Jake Fishman to the latest podcast. Jake's rise to the big leagues is a tremendous example of persistence; his story touches on just how hard it is to make it to "the show," and how players have to be openminded to reinventing themselves and adjusting as the competition level increases. Jake also holds the distinction of being the only former Cressey Sports Performance intern to make it to the Major Leagues. CSP-MA Director of Performance John O’Neil takes the lead as a guest host as well.
This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. It’s a NSF-certified all-in-one superfood supplement with 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s nutrition needs across 5 critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. Head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today - 10 FREE travel packs - with your first purchase. I use this product daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I'd encourage you to give it a shot, too - especially with this great offer.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
We often use an anterior counterbalance to improve an athlete's ability to get depth, particularly on squat patterns. However, I've found that cueing a reach at the same time gets us even higher quality movement. A quality reach drives the scapula into rotation around the rib cage via the serratus anterior instead of just a dump into scapular anterior tilt. Think of it as the difference between an active and passive counterbalance. As you can see in the video on the right, adding a light band can help an athlete feel that reach better.
And while I've got your ear, don't forget about the current Black Friday/Cyber Monday 25% off deals we having going on right now. You can learn more HERE.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
Today's guest post comes from Cressey Sports Performance - Florida coach, Eduardo Valle.
Coaches and athletes often get fixated on power production and forget about force absorption, or deceleration. Deceleration is an important quality for athletes to possess, as it will help them stay within themselves when performing a task and lessen injury risk. A pitcher or a hitter that can't decelerate may spin wildly out of control. A rotator cuff that can't slow your arm action down is a recipe for an arm injury. A hitter that can't decelerate sufficiently can't check his swing. There are countless other examples - and this is why we take deceleration training quite seriously. With that in mind, here are five non-traditional drills to implement dynamic trunk deceleration into your training.
1. Anti-Rotation Landmine Windmill: With this drill, you are trying to control the weight on the way down without rotating through your hip, as this will promote trunk deceleration without hip involvement. This is also a good strengthening exercise as you have to then rotate back to the center and repeat to the other side. Choose your weight carefully, as this is an easy one to cheat.
2. Split Stance High to Low Aquabag Chop (over Front Leg): This is a more dynamic exercise overall and one that has immediate transfer to the field, as every baseball player throws and needs to be able to decelerate properly to avoid spinning out of control or missing their target. This will also help athletes to learn how to absorb force into that lead hip.
3. Pallof Press with Deceleration: This exercise is reactive in nature. You're going to set-up like a normal Pallof Press, and then you're going to let go and rapidly catch the handle again. This will challenge your core to quickly stop your trunk from going into excess rotation.
4. Proteus Straight Arm Anti-Rotations: This is a more dynamic progression from the landmine anti-rotation drill I demonstrated earlier. Here, we're rotating our upper body as fast as possible and coming to an immediate stop at end-range. This is extremely challenging because if you are unable to stop properly, you simply lose your balance and fall off to the side. We want to ensure that our trunk can stop itself independently from our hips so as to not put too much stress or rely too much on our hips when everything is working together.
5. Proteus Split Stance High to Low Chop (over Front Leg): Similar to the Aquabag chop, we are going through a modified throwing motion, trying to exert as much force as possible. If we are able to properly absorb our high output here, then we should be able to have more success on the mound maintaining good posture after a pitch instead of spinning uncontrollably.
The lighter/faster drills here typically work well as part of "pre-work." In other words, we'll integrate them after warm-ups and before we get to our lifting for the day. They pair well as fillers between medicine ball drills, too. Conversely, if the loads are heavier, they're best integrated as assistance exercises during strength training sessions.
About the Author
Eduardo Valle is a strength and conditioning coach at Cressey Sports Performance - Florida. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a BS.Ed in Kinesiology. A Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA, Eduardo also works as part of the UVA Sports Medicine Staff as an Athletic Training Student; this experience helped shape his view of exercise as medicine being an integral part of both mitigating injury and maximizing performance. He's currently in a Master's program at Florida Atlantic University for Exercise Science and Health Promotion. You can follow him on Instagram at @edu_valle2.
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