Home Posts tagged "Increasing Throwing Velocity" (Page 11)

I try to be a nice guy…

and help one of my athletes get an up-front angle on his bullpen session, and this is what I get.

Take your own damn videos from now on, Steve.

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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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Pressing and the Overhead Athlete

Many of you are going to hate me for what I’m about to say. I don’t let my overhead throwing athletes overhead press or bench press with a straight bar. There. I said it. Call me all the names you’d like but ask yourself this: “Am I cursing Eric’s name because I think that the cost-to-benefit ratio of overhead pressing and straight bar bench pressing justifies their use, or is it because I feel naked without these options? I have to bench press. I can’t start an upper body day with any other exercise.” Continue Reading... 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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SB: 10 Plates + Tony Sled Push

Step 1: Train hard and eat big, putting on 16 pounds in ten weeks while adding four inches to your vertical jump. Step 2: Load ten plates on a sled. Step 3: Load a 210-pound Gentilcore on that sled. Step 4: Push!
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Baseball: Shoulder Strengthening

Q: I have a client who is 38 and plays league baseball. After playing for a few years when he finished high school, his career took a hit due to shoulder, elbow and knee injuries/over use. So, he left baseball, started his own business and after 15 years started playing in two leagues again…and the same old injuries flared up and now I have him. Can you recommend some elbow strengtheners I can prescribe for him?
A: First, make sure it's not just a matter of too much, too soon. He should have progressed his throwing routine gradually from Day 1. Good thing to save... 1. Throw on a two-on, one off schedule. 2. Start with 25 throws at 25 feet per day. 3. Increase throws at 25 feet to 50 before extending the distance and breaking the volume down between distances (25 at 25, 25 at 50) and so on. 4. From a recent article I wrote: Incorporate posterior capsule stretching in overhead throwing athletes. There is considerable research demonstrating that glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD) is highly correlated with shoulder injuries in overhead throwing athletes. Incorporating a very simple "sleeper" stretch daily can dramatically reduce the risk of shoulder problems in such athletes; if you aren't including this stretch in your program, you shouldn't be allowed to train overhead athletes! I also like cross-body mobilizations, as this approach has proven more effective than the sleeper stretch for improving internal rotation range-of-motion. Sleeper stretches are preferred for those with shoulder problems, but if you're only dealing with an elbow issue, you'll be fine with the cross-body version. You’ll also want to include some prone internal rotations - really important for subscap function. You'll also want to beat up on his posterior shoulder girdle with a tennis/lacrosse ball. Start with the soft tissue work, then move to the sleeper stretch, and then go to prone internal rotations. This assumes that we're dealing with medial elbow pain. Lateral elbow pain could be related (generally seen early-on, especially in younger athletes), but it's often more related to myofascial restrictions in the forearm with older athletes, in my experience. Eric Cressey

shoulder-performance-dvdcover

Click here to purchase the most comprehensive shoulder resource available today: Optimal Shoulder Performance - From Rehabilitation to High Performance.
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