We're excited to welcome highly regarded pitching consultant Alan Jaeger to this week's podcast to discuss long toss and both performance and rehabilitation throwing programs. A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Athletic Greens. Head to http://www.athleticgreens.com/cressey and you'll receive a free 20-pack of Athletic Greens travel packets with your first order.
Show Outline
How Alan became known as “the long toss guy”
How experience as a young junior college arm led him to developing his throwing strategies
How Alan defines long toss and what the specific priorities of a quality long toss session are
How long toss facilitates self-organization of the body and intuitive feel for how to throw the ball efficiently
How stretching it out and working back to your partner with conviction gives pitchers the variance they need to remain athletic and free on the mound rather than repeatable and robotic
What big mistakes Alan sees in athletes’ daily catch play as well as the programming of their throwing sessions
How Alan liked to structure throwing for pitchers on 5- and 7-day rotations
Where Alan sees room for improvements in rehabilitation throwing programs
How the conversation about long toss has evolved over the last 20 years, specifically in professional baseball
How some MLB organizations still resist long toss, but why young front office phenoms are playing an influential role in transforming baseball into a more progressive era
How understanding a player’s background gives great insight into how they’ll function at a high level
How players can learn to respectfully say no to complete overhauls in their abilities and be prepared to stand their ground to preserve the longevity of their career
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.
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!
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We're excited to welcome Anaheim Angels starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs to the podcast. A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Jaeger Sports. Head to www.JaegerSports.com and enter the coupon code CSP to get 20% off on your order through May 31.
Show Outline
How Tyler’s experience as a multi-sport high school athlete facilitated his development as an athlete
Why Tyler progressed through minor league baseball and up to the big leagues quickly after being drafted out of high school in 2009
How Tyler has refined his curveball in pro baseball
How Tommy John surgery impacted Tyler’s career in 2014 and what his advice is for young pitchers who are going through major setbacks in their career
How Tyler is working to develop a slider and learning to differentiate this pitch from his curveball
How Tyler structures his throwing and training in season as a starting pitcher in a 5-day rotation
What Tyler’s routine is on the day of his start
How the game of baseball has evolved since Tyler was drafted a decade ago
How the use of technology in baseball has allowed Tyler to better understand his pitches and develop a plan to more precisely refine his craft
What characteristics in coaches have benefited Tyler’s development throughout his baseball career
How the role of the pitching coach is evolving to include a more holistic approach to player management
What the most common mistakes Tyler sees pitchers making when throwing curveballs
This episode is brought to you by Jaeger Sports, who specializes in arm health, arm conditioning, and mental training. Best known for their long toss protocols and popular J-Bands, Jaeger Sports has been helping baseball and softball athletes reach their potential on the field since 1991. Alan Jaeger has been a trusted resource to me for close to a decade, and many of our athletes use J-Bands every single day. Through May 31, you can get 20% off on your order at www.JaegerSports.com using the coupon code CSP.
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!
I'm really excited to kick off the Elite Baseball Development Podcast later this week. Before I do, though, I thought I'd put together a collection of sweet giveaways to celebrate the occasion. This will also serve as your first chance to get on the announcement list for when new podcasts are released. You'll just need to enter your information below. Only email address is required; you'll be emailed the access link right away (be sure to check your junk mail folder):
As for the giveaways, to start, everyone will receive free access to my 35-minute presentation, Hip Shoulder Separation in Rotational Athletes: Making Sense of the Thoracic Spine. I delivered this presentation to a packed house at Pitchapalooza in December of 2018, and it's yours free when you opt in.
To sweeten the deal a bit more, we'll be randomly drawing winners from newsletter subscribers and Retweets to receive:
A "retired" CSP-used med ball with tons of MLB autographs: Max Scherzer, Miles Mikolas, Noah Syndergaard, Steve Cishek, Sam Dyson, Logan Morrison, Lance Lynn, among others!
An autographed Corey Kluber New Balance cleat
An autographed Noah Syndergaard ball
Two customized Lumberlend batmugs
Three Cressey Sports Performance shirts
Two pairs of New Balance Minimus 20v7 (you pick the color)
One Free Access to the Jaeger Sports Complete Competitor Package (includes Year-Round Throwing Manual, Thrive on Throwing Video, Lower Body & Core Workout, Mental Training Book, and a J-Band)
Winners will be selected and notified on Thursday. Sorry, but you must be located in the US to have items shipped to you. Here's that subscription box again:
We're looking forward to delivering many entertaining and educational podcasts very soon!
Never Lose a Customer Again - This is a great read for anyone who has clients/customers, but I found it particularly interesting because it spoke quite a bit to retention in the fitness industry, with shoutouts to the Starrets (San Francisco Crossfit) and Jon Goodman (the Personal Trainer Development Center).
Top Tweet of the Week
A @jaegersports quote on long toss that’s invaluable: "Impress me on the way in, not on the way out." Here's @max_scherzer at ~210 feet with @trevor_gott yesterday. Get your mind and body right in the warmup, then let it eat on the pulldown throws on the way back in. #cspfamilypic.twitter.com/3o5rWCwMew
It's time for part 2 of "things you aren't doing - but SHOULD be doing - with a Jaeger Band." In case you missed it, be sure to check out Part 1, too. Also, be sure to pick up a J-Band HERE, if you haven't already done so.
Without further ado, here are five more exercises to try with the oh-so-versatile J-Bands!
6. Core-Engaged Dead Bugs
In this core stability drill, we use the tension from the band to build some extra core stiffness to resist lumbar extension (lower back arching) and (to a lesser extension) rotation during leg lowering. Add a big exhale at the bottom to fire up the anterior core and reaffirm good positioning.
7. J-Band Assisted Leg Lowering
This builds on our previous drill from a core stability challenge standpoint (straight leg is harder than bent-knee), but also helps individuals improve their hip mobility. Make sure to double up the band to get sufficient resistance, - and don't do this with cleats on!
Here's a Functional Movement Systems inspired drill we'll use with those athletes who have very limited active thoracic mobility into extension. In other words, they passively rotate well (with the assistance of the assessor), but can't get to that same range of motion actively. The band assistance reduces the gravity challenge against which an individual has to extend and rotate.
9. Band-Assisted Overhead Squat
I've traditionally done this drill with a TRX, but one day, I had an athlete try using the J-Band on the road when he didn't have a TRX handy. His immediate response was that it was "frying" his lower traps. Maintaining continuous tension in scapular posterior tilt and thoracic extension really takes this squat pattern assistance drill up a notch.
10. Side Bridge with Horizontal Abduction
Once an individual gets a solid feel for arm care, I'm all for integrating core stability with scapular control and rotator cuff challenges. This is one advanced progression along those lines. I say "advanced" because many individuals struggle to get a true "T" positioning on horizontal abduction; instead, they'll yank down with the lats (more on that HERE). That said, I recommend athletes perform this on video or with a coach watching the first time, as they'll usually be in the wrong pattern. The goal is 90 degrees of arm elevation, and you should feel this predominantly in the mid-traps.
That wraps up this two-part series - but it's certainly just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to innovative exercises you can integrate with a versatile piece of equipment like Jaeger Bands. With that in mind, if you don't already have a set in your training bag, I'd highly recommend you pick up a J-Band. Your arm - and the rest of your body - will thank you for the investment!
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!
