I'm extremely excited to announce a project that has been in the works for quite some time: Elite Baseball Mentorships at Cressey Performance. Folks have been requesting these for years, but I resisted the urge to go through with it until the time was right - and that time is now!
Working with me on these mentorships will be two awesome minds who play a big role in helping CP provide comprehensive, synergistic programs for baseball players. Matt Blake is the pitching coordinator at Cressey Performance, and Eric Schoenberg is a physical therapist who handles some of our toughest cases. The rest of the Cressey Performance staff will also be on-hand to assist with the practical portions of the event, and answer questions during the observation periods.
The first mentorship will take place January 6-8, 2013. Here are the specifics:
Cressey Performance Elite Baseball Mentorship
Phase 1: Understanding and Managing the Pitcher
Sunday, January 6
Morning Session: Lecture
8:30-9:00AM – Registration and Introduction (Eric Cressey) 9:00-10:00AM – Understanding the Status Quo: Why the Current System is Broken (Eric Schoenberg) 10:00-11:00AM – Functional Anatomy and Proper Movements of the Shoulder and Elbow (Eric Cressey) 11:00-11:15AM – Break 11:15AM-12:15PM – Common Injuries and their Mechanisms (Eric Schoenberg) 12:15-1:00PM – Lunch (provided)
Afternoon Session: Lecture and Video Analysis
1:00-2:00PM – Flawed Perceptions on "Specific" Pitching Assessments and Training Modalities (Eric Cressey) 2:00-3:15PM –Key Positions in the Pitching Delivery: Understanding How Physical Maturity and Athletic Ability Govern Mechanics (Matt Blake) 3:15-3:30PM – Break 3:30-4:45PM – Video Evaluation of Pitchers: Relationship of Mechanical Dysfunction to Injury Risk and Performance (Matt Blake) 4:45-5:30PM – Case Studies and Q&A
5:30PM Reception (Dinner Provided)
Monday, January 7
Morning Session: Practical
8:00AM-10:00AM – Physical Assessment of Pitchers: Static and Dynamic (Eric Cressey and Eric Schoenberg) 10:00-11:30AM – Prehabilitation/Rehabilitation Exercises for the Thrower (Eric Cressey and Eric Schoenberg) 11:30AM-12:00PM – Lunch (on your own)
Afternoon Session: Observation at Cressey Performance – 12PM-6PM*
Tuesday, January 8
Morning Session: Practical
8:00AM-9:00AM - Preparing for the Throwing Session: Optimal Warm-up Protocols for Different Arms (Eric Cressey and Eric Schoenberg) 9:00-10:15AM – Individualizing Drill Work to the Pitcher (Matt Blake) 10:15-11:30AM – Throwing Program Progressions (Matt Blake) 11:30AM-12:00PM – Lunch (on your own)
Afternoon Session: Observation at Cressey Performance – 12PM-6PM*
* The afternoon observation sessions on Monday and Tuesday will allow attendees to see in real-time the day-to-day operation of the comprehensive baseball training programs unique to Cressey Performance.
Observation of live training on the CP floor with our professional, college, and high school baseball players will allow you to experience firsthand our approaches to:
• Programming
• Proper coaching cues for optimal results
• Soft tissue techniques
• Activation and mobility drills
• Strength/power development
• Medicine ball work
• Multi-directional stability
• Metabolic conditioning
• Sprint/agility programs
• Base stealing technique
In addition, you will experience:
• Live throwing sessions
• Biomechanical video analysis using the Right View Pro system
• Movement evaluation
• Live case examples
Location:
Cressey Performance,
577 Main St.
Suite 310
Hudson, MA 01749
Cost:
$899 early-bird (before December 6), $999 regular. No sign-ups will be accepted on the day of the event.
Continuing Education:
NSCA CEU pending
Registration Information: SOLD OUT
Please note that space is extremely limited. We are keeping the size of this seminar small so that we can make it a far more productive educational experience. Additionally, this event will not be videotaped. As such, I’d encourage you to sign up as soon as possible.
Hope to see you there!
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I'm psyched to announce that on Sunday, October 28th, we'll be hosting our first annual fall seminar at Cressey Performance. This event will showcase both the brand new Cressey Performance, as well as the great staff I'm fortunate to have as part of my team, and our outstanding sponsor, New Balance. We want to make this an affordable event for everyone and create a great forum for industry professionals and fitness enthusiasts alike to interact, exchange ideas, and learn.
Here are the presentation topics:
Understanding and Managing Congenital Laxity - Presented by Eric Cressey
In this era of semi-private training, boot camps, and group exercise, it’s not uncommon for coaches and trainers to try to train all athletes and clients the same. This can quickly lead to injury in a population with significant congenital laxity. In this presentation, Eric will teach you how to assess for laxity and safely train with it to improve how people feel and move.
The Food Freakshow: What Will You Be Eating in the 21st Century? - Presented by Brian St. Pierre
Burgers grown from dinosaur DNA? Tomatoes carrying a delicious basil lemon gene? Red meat with the fatty acid profile of an avocado? Science is starting to change the way we look at food. And in the coming years our food will be very, very different. Want to know what you'll be eating? What your kids will be eating? What your grandkids will be eating? Let Brian untangle the mystery. In this talk he'll discuss what's on the horizon for those of us who like to eat, and like to eat healthy. Join him for a fascinating exploration of the future of food – and for useable, practical strategies you can put into action immediately.
Deep Squats: Are They Worth It? - Presented by Tony Gentilcore
In this presentation, Tony will highlight research on the squat under various conditions and discuss population-specific considerations one must take into account when programming squat variations. He’ll discuss improving the squat pattern, as well as exercise recommendations for those who should avoid squatting altogether in their programs.
“Out with the Old:” A new model for preventing injury and improving performance in the throwing athlete - Presented by Eric Schoenberg
The system is broken! Injury rates at all levels of baseball are alarming. Despite improvements in research, technology, and sports medicine principles, the numbers continue to rise. Each year, teams work tirelessly and spend millions to recruit, draft, and sign the best talent from all over the world. However, only a small percentage of that money is invested to keep these athletes healthy and allow them to showcase their talent on the field. This presentation will help to debunk some common myths, identify disturbing problems, and provide solutions to help keep athletes on the field and out of the training room.
How "Strong" Does An Athlete Need To Be? - Presented by Greg Robins
In this presentation, Greg will discuss how various strength qualities contribute to an athlete's power potential. Each sport requires a slightly different blend of these strength qualities to provide for high-level performance. Learn which qualities athletes need to improve and how to get the job done.
Current Trends in Manual and Manipulative Therapy - Presented by Nathaniel Tiplady
Nate will present a review of Active Release Technique, Graston Technique, Fascial Manipulation, and joint manipulation. He’ll cover what we know, what we don't know, and present his thoughts and experiences on the best methods to get people pain-free.
Program Design Considerations for the Young Athlete - Presented by Chris Howard
In this presentation, Chris will discuss important considerations one must take into account when designing and implementing programs for young athletes. Topics to be covered are exercise selection and progression, creation of a fun training environment, and the role of the strength coach in educating young athletes. He will stress the fact that young athletes can be trained similarly to adults, but that there are distinctions that need to be made.
Location:
Cressey Performance,
577 Main St.
Suite 310
Hudson, MA 01749
Cost:
Regular - $129 regular, $149 day of the event Student (must present current student ID at door) - $99 regular, $129 day of the event
Date/Time:
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Registration 8:30AM
Seminar 9AM-5:30PM
We're really excited about this event, and would love to have you join us! However, space is limited and each seminar we've hosted in the past has sold out in less than two weeks, so don't delay on signing up!
If you have additional questions, please direct them to cresseyperformance@gmail.com. Looking forward to seeing you there!
The pull-up is among the most sacred strength exercises in the history of weight training programs, ranking up there with squats, deadlifts, and bench and overhead presses. This is one reason why I expect there to be burning Eric Cressey effigies in various strength and conditioning circles after they read the following sentence:
Some people would be wise to leave out pull-ups - at least temporarily.
Before you rip me a new one, please give me a few minutes to explain.
First off, I get it: pull-ups train the lats, and the lats are huge players in athletic function and the quest to get strong and gain muscle. They're the biggest player in force transfer between the lower and upper body, and play key roles in core stability and breathing. Specific to my baseball work, lat recruitment is higher during acceleration in professional pitchers than amateurs, showing that reliance on this big muscle helps generate increase pitching velocity, too. I actually wrote an entire article back in 2006 about just how extensive the lat's role is, if you'd like to read more: Lats: Not Just for Pulldowns.
However, the "expansive" presence of the lats - running from the thoracolumbar fascia all the way up to the humerus - can make them a problem as much as they are a solution. To that end, here are four reasons you may want take a break from pull-ups/chin-ups/pulldowns in your strength training program:
1. Heavy pull-ups can make the elbows very cranky - This is really the shortest and least complex of my arguments, so I'll get it out of the way early. My personal best three-rep max chin-up is 321 pounds, at a body weight of about 188 pounds (so, the external load was 133 pounds). My best raw three-rep max bench press is about 330 pounds, but what you might find surprising is that going heavy on the bench press is dramatically easier on my joints (particularly my elbows) than pull-ups/chin-ups are. What gives?
First, when you bench press, you're doing a full-body movement. There is leg drive and loads of core stability involved on top of the upper extremity activity that's taking place - so the stress is more easily distributed. When you do a pull-up, your upper extremity is relatively isolated, so the stress is more concentrated.
Second, a pull-up is a traction exercise; it pulls the humeral head out of the socket, and essentially pulls the lower and upper arm apart at the top. When you lose bony congruence - one of the most important, yet overlooked components of joint stability - you have to pick up the slack with the active restraints (muscles/tendons) acting at the joint. Low-level traction can be tremendously helpful in situations like external impingement at the shoulder, or intervertebral disc issues. However, under extreme load, it can be pretty darn stressful to the soft tissue structures around the joint. Conversely, a bench press is an approximation exercise, so you can actually draw some stability from the joint alignment itself to take some of the stress off the soft tissue structures.
I remember Jason Ferruggia writing recently about how heavy chin-ups/pull-ups can really beat up on older lifters - and it's safe to say that the reason isn't so much tissue degeneration, but simply that it took time for them to build appreciable enough strength to get to the point where the overall stress was too much.
2. The lats overpower the lower traps - The overwhelming majority of the baseball athletes I see (and most extension/rotation sport athletes, in general) live in lordotic postures. The lat is a strong extensor of the spine - but it also attaches to the rib cage and scapula on the way to the upper extremity. The end result is that many lordotic athletes wind up with a very "gross" extension pattern.
The rib cage flairs up, and the lower traps do little to pull the shoulder blades back and down on the rib cage - because the lats have already gotten an athlete to the position he/she wants to be in via lumbar extension. You can see from the picture below that the line of pull of the two muscles is actually very comparable - but given cross sectional area and length, the lat will always have the upper hand, especially if it's constantly being prioritized in a strength training program due to exercise selection and faulty lifting technique.
Effectively, we need to learn to move our scapulae on our rib cage, as opposed to just moving our entire spine into extension. Interestingly, you'll find a lot of flexion-bias in the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) and Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) schools of thought because they clearly appreciate that getting folks out of "gross extension" is a way to get/keep people healthy. Having ultra short/stiff lats can cause issues ranging from extension-based back pain (e.g., spondylolysis) to shoulder pain (e.g., external or internal impingement). As I've written previously, too, this global dysfunction may also be the reason we're seeing more femoroacetabular impingement in athletes.
As another interesting aside, I see a lot of throwers with low right shoulders and incredibly short/stiff lats on that side.
This is secondary to faulty rib positioning and the scapular anterior tilt that ensues (as per the PRI school of thought), but one additional thing we've found (thanks to great feedback from physical therapist Eric Schoenberg) is that overhead shrugging variations on the low shoulder have helped these throwers to not only feel better, but minimize these asymmetries. Effectively, creating a bit more stiffness in the upper trapezius helps it to counterbalance the aggressive downward pull of the lat on the scapula.
These folks sit in scapular depression, and for that reason, we'll often leave out any exercises (e.g., deadlifts, dumbbell lunges) that involve holding heavy weights in the hand until scapular positioning is better controlled.
3. The humeral attachment portion of the lat is part of a significant zone of convergence at the posterior shoulder - The back of your shoulder is another one of those claustrophobic areas in your body. You've got tendons for the lat, teres major, teres minor, infraspinatus, long head of the triceps, and posterior deltoid all coming together in a very small area, creating friction over each other as their individual forces come together (regions like this are called "Zones of Convergence" by myofascial researcher Luigi Stecco.
The latissimus dorsi is, without a doubt, the largest and strongest of all the involved structures. It also has the longest tendon, which makes it the biggest candidate for nasty tissue quality in the region. The problem is that muscles/tendons don't deform evenly; rather, they move a lot where the tissue quality is good, and very little where it is dense. So, when you're super dense in the posterior shoulder and try to go do pull-ups, as I noted earlier, the entire shoulder girdle wants to move (humeral extension and internal rotation, and scapular depression) together, as opposed to a nice synergy of the humerus with the scapula on the rib cage. When some is stiff in the posterior shoulder and wants to use the lat for everything, a seated cable row looks like this. Notice how the elbow winds up behind the body, and the scapula anterior tilts - and also how old the video is; I look like I am 12 years old and weigh 120 lbs.
Rowing like this over time will eventually irritate the anterior shoulder. However, watch this standing one-arm cable row where the humeral head (ball) maintains a good alignment with the glenoid fossa (socket) as the shoulder blade moves on the rib cage. The humerus doesn't extend unless the scapula moves with it.
4. Overactive lats can decrease the subacromial space - The lat extends, adducts, and internally rotates the humerus. In order to get overhead the right way, we need flexion, abduction, and external rotation of the humerus. So, you can see that it's a direct antagonist to healthy, overhead movement. If you think about your biggest players for pain-free overhead movement, two of them have to be the posterior rotator cuff and lower trapezius. The lat overpowers both of them in a "gross" extension pattern.
Here's a test: position yourself supine, bend the knees, flatten the lower back, and then let your arms hang freely overhead. Then, have someone take a picture looking down at the top of your head. A "pass" would be full shoulder flexion with no arching of the back, and no shoulder pain along the way. A fail would be pain, or something that looks like this:
If your photo looks like this, you better hope that you have outstanding posterior rotator cuff and lower trapezius function (adequate stiffness) to overpower some very short lats if you intend to train overhead pain-free (especially with overhead pressing). Otherwise, your shoulder flexion will really just be lumbar extension and forward head posture substitutions (this one has a nice left rib flair, too).
In other words, you need adequate anterior core stability and good recruitment of the deep neck flexors, too, but those are blogs for another day.
Closing Thoughts
This post has gone on far too long, and to be honest, I've probably just used the last 1300+ words to piss a lot of you off. You'll be happy to know, however, that we still use a ton of pull-ups/chin-ups in our strength training programs at Cressey Performance. In fact, they're a mainstay. Here are some modifying factors, however:
1. The risk:reward ratio gets a little out of whack once you get very strong with pull-ups. You'd be better off adding sets and reps, as opposed to adding load - and you may want to push the heavy stuff less frequently than you would with compound exercises.
2. Get regular manual therapy at the posterior shoulder and entire elbow to stay on top of tissue quality. At the very least, make sure you're foam rolling a ton and using The Stick:
3. Strengthen the anterior core and deep neck flexors so that you don't substitute lumbar hyperextension and forward head posture, respectively, for shoulder flexion.
4. Strengthen the lower traps so that the lats can't overpower them. I like wall slides at 135 degrees abduction, as it allows one to work in the direct line of pull of the lower traps. Make sure to cue "glutes tight, core braced" so that folks can't substitute lumbar extension ("gross extension") for movement of the scapulae on the rib cage. Make sure there is no forward head posture, too.
Prone 1-arm trap raises off the table are also a popular one. Just make sure you continue to cue "glutes tight, core braced, and no forward head posture."
4. Maintain adequate length in the lats. In warm-ups, I like the bench t-spine mobilizations and side-lying internal external rotation as a means of getting some shoulder flexion.
In terms of static stretching, a lat stretch in the power rack is great.
If this gives you an impingement feeling, regress it a bit, stabilize the scapulae with the opposite hand, and gently dip into a wall lat stretch with stabilization.
Many folks will also benefit from this classic overhead stretch in order to reduce stiffness in the long head of the triceps, a synergist to the lats in humeral extension.
5. Make sure you're including plenty of horizontal pulling (rowing) strength exercises as well - and executing them with the correct form. This means moving humerus and scapula together on rib cage, not just yanking the humerus into extension on a fixed scapula.
6. If you have terrible shoulder flexion and can't get overhead without substituting forward head posture and lumbar hyperextension, spend some time addressing the underlying issues before you start cranking on pull-ups. We actually don't do any pull-ups/chin-ups with some of our professional baseball players for 4-8 weeks following the season, as we need to spend time building rotator cuff, lower trap, and anterior core strength. I like to use the back-to-wall shoulder flexion exercise as a "pass/fail test." If you can get the thumbs to the wall without losing the flat-back posture on the wall or bending your elbows, then you can probably start going to pull-ups.
7. Above all else, listen to your body, and hold back if pull-ups/chin-ups hurt.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this post and your experiences with heavy and/or high-volume pull-ups/chin-ups in the comments section below.
For more information on the role of the lats in upper extremity health and function, I'd encourage you to check out our Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD Set.
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In a recent presentation in front of a bunch of baseball coaches, I made the following statement - and it turned a lot of heads:
I think most people overtrain the rotator cuff nowadays, and they do so with the wrong exercises, anyway.
To illustrate my point, I'm going to ask a question:
Q: What is the most common complication you see in guys as they rehabilitate following a Tommy John Surgery?
A: Shoulder problems - generally right around the time they get up to 120 feet.
Huh? Shoulder pain is a post-operative complication of an elbow surgery? What gives?
First, I should make a very obvious point: many of these guys deal with shoulder stiffness as they get back to throwing simply because they've been shut down for months. That I completely expect - but remember that it's stiffness, and not pain. They always throw their way out of it.
The more pressing issue is what is taking place in their rehabilitation - and more specifically, what's taking place with the synergy between their rehabilitation and throwing program. Let me explain.
Rehabilitation following a UCL reconstruction is extensive. While different physical therapists certainly have different approaches, it will always be incredibly heavy on rotator cuff strength and timing, as well as adequate function of the scapular stabilizers. Guys always make huge strides on this front during rehab, but why do so many have shoulder pain when they get further out with their long tossing? The answer is very simple:
Most people don't appreciate that throwing a baseball IS rotator cuff training.
Your cuff is working tremendously hard to center the humeral head in the glenoid fossa. It controls excessive external rotation and anterior instability during lay-back.
It's fighting against distraction forces at ball release.
And, it's controlling internal rotation and horizontal adduction during follow-through.
Simultaneously, the scapular stabilizers are working incredibly hard to appropriately position and stabilize the scapula on the rib cage in various positions so that it can provide an ideal anchor point for those rotator cuff muscles to do their job.
A post-op Tommy John thrower - and really every player going through a throwing program - has all the same demands on his arm (even if he isn't on the mound, where stress is highest). And, as I wrote previously in a blog about why pitchers shouldn't throw year-round, every pitcher is always throwing with some degree of muscle damage at all times during the season (or a throwing program).
Keeping this in mind, think about the traditional Tommy John rehabilitation approach. It is intensive work for the cuff and scapular stabilizers three times a week with the physical therapists - plus many of the same exercises in a home program for off-days. They're already training these areas almost every day - and then they add in 3-6 throwing sessions a week. Wouldn't you almost expect shoulder problems? They are overusing it to the max! This is a conversation I recently had with physical therapist Eric Schoenberg, and he made another great point:
Most guys - especially at higher levels - don't have rotator cuff strength issues; they have rotator cuff timing issues.
In throwing - the single-fastest motion in all of sports - you're better off having a cuff that fires at the right time than a cuff that fires strong, but late. Very few rotator cuff exercise programs for healthy pitchers take that into account; rather, it's left to those doing rehabilitation. Likewise, most of the programs I see altogether ignore scapular stability and leave out other ways to train the cuff that are far more functional than just using bands.
Now, apply this example back to the everyday management of pitchers during the season. Pitchers are throwing much more aggressively: game appearances, bullpens, and long toss. They need to do some rotator cuff work, but it certainly doesn't need to be every day like so many people think.
I'll cover how much and what kind in Part 2. In the meantime, if you'd like to learn more about the evaluation and management of pitchers, check out Optimal Shoulder Performance.
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