Earlier this week, I did an interview with John Romaniello for his website, and it came out so well (and long) that I thought it'd make for a great post here today. Check it out below (with John speaking in the first person).
Okay, below is a transcript of the interview I did with Eric Cressey, beast of all beasts. He’s seriously the man. I’ve told you in another blog post how Eric and I met, and after 8 years and never less than 300 miles of distance between us, we’re still close and still learn a lot from each other.Eric is seriously regarded as one of the Top 5 coaches in the world by just about any authority that has any authority (if you’ll pardon the redundancy) and in my view is probably the best from a standpoint of bringing things to a practical level.His hew program, “Show and Go” has just been released, and is basically blowing the doors off of the industry.Now, I’ll warn you that Eric works with professional athletes most of the time, so we talk about that A LOT in the interview; however, as he notes, he started in fitness-based training. The program brings it all together, and the interview very clearly explains why you should pick it up.Check it out!
1. Okay, right of of the gate, I want this interive to focus on your new program. So, let's get to it: how is Show and Go different from the other training products out there now?
Most products are written with a specific market – trainers, females, fat loss, or something else – in mind. In the marketing world, they tell you to not try to be everything to everyone. Well, I’m not a good marketer – so I decided to make this resource extremely versatile and a good fit for a LOT of people.
The reason is that there are a lot of things in a comprehensive strength and conditioning program that everybody needs to utilize. From the minutia to the big picture, I could go on all day: foam rolling, mobility warm-ups, single-leg training, more horizontal pulling, fluctuation of training stress, sufficient deloading periods, extra posterior chain work, a balance of open- and closed-chain upper body pressing, glute activation, rotator cuff strength – the list goes on and on.
So, I guess you can say that the #1 thing that is different about this product is that there are easy-to-apply modifications in it that make it a versatile resource that offers something for everyone. From the 2x/3x/4x per week training options to the supplement conditioning options, there are ways to make it the right fit for YOU.
And, the guy who created it is also extremely good looking, charming, witty, and charismatic!
2. And modest. Or not. But I hate modesty anyway. Now, like me, you’re still “in the trenches” right? I mean, you still work clients hands on, every day in your gym?
Yes, that’s for sure – and, in fact, you could say that it’s one more thing that separates this program for a lot of the other ones that are out there in the fitness landscape right now. In this digital retail era, there are a lot of people publishing fitness information products on the net that are largely based on theory, not trends that have proven significant over and over again in the real world. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as a lot of the most sound training practices we know today were originally just theories. However, speculative training isn’t for me.
I think it’s one reason why I thought so highly of the Final Phase Fat Loss program you created; I know you as a guy who has put in years of efforts “in the trenches” with clients and with your own training. If you recommend something, it’s because you know it’s legitimate and you’d stake your reputation on it.
I’m in the same boat. We generally do over 300 client sessions per week at Cressey Performance. Taking it a step further, I’ll have over 40 professional baseball players who come from all over the country to live in snowy Hudson, MA all winter to give themselves the best possible chance to make it to the big leagues – and have a long and healthy career along the way.
Every single person that walks through the door is on an individualized program that was written by one of our staff members in accordance with the results of a one-on-one evaluation that took place. When you write that many programs and supervise so many training sessions, you get a feel for the stuff that should be constant in just about everyone’s programs – and it makes you appreciate that there are many important principles that can be applied to make a program like Show and Go safe and effective for “the masses.”
You’ll see that in the detail that has gone into the Show and Go program. It features the exact printable training templates we use with our clients so that people can record their progress. The exercises and set/rep protocols have all been test-driven with our clients, too. And, the 175+ videos in the online database that accompanies this guide were all filmed in my facility – not my mom’s basement or the park, as you often see from folks who write books, but don’t actually train anyone.
In short, I’ve got a unique frame of reference to share with people. And, I’ve got a lot more to lose professionally if I was to put out an inferior product – so I put my heart and soul into this one.
3. Wow, that’s pretty intense. Lets just touch on that for a sec. You have over40 pro baseball players from a number of different teams move into Red Sox territory to train with you. That’s pretty telling. Can you talk a bit more about your experiences with pro athletes? I know this program is for “everyone” but how has working with some of the most elite athletes in the world shaped you as a coach.
Sure thing. One of my biggest questions as we got Cressey Performance off the ground was whether or not professional baseball players would be willing to travel to the cold, snowy Northeast during all or parts of their off-season (roughly September-March) when they could be going to warmer weather climates. To be honest, I never really waited to find the answer; we just focused on the few guys we had when we started out, and really hammered on getting great results and making people believers in our system. The rest, I guess, is history – and I realize now that if you have a good product, it doesn’t matter where you are: people will find you.
Business stuff aside, with respect to training needs, most people are surprised when they discover just how similar the Average Joe or Jane is to a professional athlete – both socially and physically.
The lay population often sits in front of a computer for 8-10 hours a day, but many pro athletes have 4-8 hour flights or 10+ hour bus rides where they’re sitting – and because they’re taller, sitting is even more uncomfortable and problematic. Like everyone else, they’re on the computer or in front of video games a lot. It’s actually quite interesting to note that technology advances haven’t just brought the “Pros and the Joes” closer together via fantasy football, but also in terms of the training they need to stay healthy.
Pro athletes are also very similar to the lay population in that they want very efficient training. There are always competing demands for their attention – whether it’s their families, charity work, marketing stuff, playing golf, or a number of other things. These guys live at the ballpark for 12+ hours per day for over half the year, so when the off-season rolls around, they aren’t particularly interested in long, drawn-out training sessions unless it’s absolutely necessary for their success. Most of our pro guys train six days a week for about 90 minutes in each session; four of these days are lifting, and there is movement training, medicine ball work, foam rolling, and mobility work included as well. Once the time comes to start throwing and hitting, this 1.5 hours might become three hours a day.
4. That’s pretty great stuff. And as much as you love training athletes, they love training with you, too. Every time I pick up a publication from your area, everyone from high school athletes up to Kevin Youkilis are singing your praises, and that includes other trainers. But let’s go back to the “regular” people.
Let’s talk about my readers for a bit: they’ve done a lot of programs, but most written by trainers who don’t train pros or (in the case of myself) only a few.
So can we assume that this is a good “next step” coming from the average fitness program? How can we take what you do with pros, what you do with absolute beginners, and apply the “middle ground” in this program? I guess the question is: why is it that Show and Go is going be THE program for performance?
It’s absolutely a great next step.
First and foremost, I should mention that while we’re probably best known for training baseball players, we’ve actually got a very diverse clientele. Sure, there are athletes from everything from boxing to bobsled, but we also have an awesome group of adult clients who just want to just want to be leaner, more muscular, healthier, and more functional for the challenges that life throws their way.
In fact, this was actually the fitness clientele I was dealing with the most before the “baseball thing” blew up for me – so I’m certainly not shooting from the hip on this.
To that end, there are a lot of things in a comprehensive strength and conditioning program that everybody – from the pro athlete to the soccer mom – needs to utilize. I could go on all day: foam rolling, mobility warm-ups, single-leg training, more horizontal pulling, fluctuation of training stress, sufficient deloading periods, extra posterior chain work, glute activation, rotator cuff strength – the list goes on and on. All that just speaks to staying healthy and moving more efficiently – but let’s be honest: most people want to get lean, muscular, and strong.
But let me ask you this: how many of the “regulars” in the typical commercial gym are actually lean, muscular, or strong? I haven’t lifted in a commercial gym in years, but my memory definitely serves me correct when it tells me that it couldn’t be more than 10-15% of those in attendance. The other 85-90% are rubbing their arses raw on the recumbent bike and scratching their heads about why they aren’t getting leaner when the elliptical machine told them that they were burning 28,000 calories per hour. After all, they made great progress in the first 8-12 weeks of their exercise program doing this – and it took them from the untrained stage to the beginner stage. What they don’t realize is progress halts unless they change things up and kick their programs up a notch by adding strength training and interval work.
Meanwhile, you have a lot of intermediate trainees who have “been there, done that” who poke fun at beginners because they haven’t discovered the same Holy Grail of strength training and interval training that enabled them to advance from beginner to intermediate. What’s actually quite ironic (and it is irony, because it’s tragic how badly this sabotages people’s program) is that, all the while, most of these intermediate trainees are missing out on valuable training secrets that could take them to the “advanced” stage.
You talked about a lot of those secrets with respect to fat loss when you wrote Final Phase Fat Loss. I’ve had many of the same “epiphanies” when it comes to improving strength and performance. You had trouble losing those last few pounds of body fat to get photo-shoot-ready, and I literally spent 14 months trying to figure out how to get from a 225 bench press to a 230 bench press. Sad, but true.
Well, I’m happy to report that I’ve now got a 365 raw bench press at ~190 pounds, and by this point, I’ve actually kissed a girl (even convinced her to marry me!). I learned a lot of lessons along the way – almost too many to share, in fact – which is one reason why I created Show and Go.
Here’s an example…
Beginners can make strength gains on as little as 40% of their one-rep max. Past that initial period, the number moves to 70% - which is roughly a 12-rep max for most folks. Later, I’d say that the number creeps up to about 85% - which would be about a 5-rep max for an intermediate lifter. This last range is where you’ll find most people who head to the internet for strength training information.
What they don’t realize is that 85% isn’t going to get the job done for very long, either. My experience is that in advanced lifters, the fastest way to build strength is to perform singles (sets of one rep) at or above 90% of one-rep max with regularity. As long as exercises are rotated and deloading periods are included, this is a strategy that can be employed for an extended period of time. In fact, it was probably the single (no pun intended) most valuable discovery I made in my quest to get stronger.
I’m not saying that you should be attempting one-rep maxes each time you enter the gym, but I do think they’ll “just happen” if you employ this technique.
Like I said, there are a lot more – but the program takes all the guesswork out and includes them.
5. Most people know you for the more “mundane ” aspects of performance…the boring stuff that we should be doing by most people don’t: soft tissue work, mobility work, all that.
On the other hand, you and I have known each other for about 10 years now, and I have a “different” perspective on you than the industry at large. I’ve seen you in your aesthetic-focused period where you wanted to get bigger, I’ve seen you get into powerlifting and pull HUGE weights.
I know that having done these gives you insight into aspects of fitness many people don’t realize you have. That said, for the time being you’re not known as one of the go-to guys if your main goal is to look better (which I personally know is bullshit).
Do you think Show and Go will help show the world that you can get people lean and muscular? I think—actually, let me put it this way. I’ve looked closely at the program, and WOW have you just knocked it the hell out of the park. I guess I’m asking, have you put your heart and soul into this because you want to show the world a new side of yourself? What are your thoughts on that?
The thing people really need to realize is that enhancing one’s performance – particularly with respect to strength gains – really sets the stage for long-term muscle mass gains. You’re a big dude – but what people might not know is that you’re also a very metrosexual strong dude. That strength and size are not mutually exclusive – and some of the best bodybuilders on the planet would tell you the same thing. What I can tell you is that I have gained more muscle mass “accidentally” in years as a powerlifter than I gained “intentionally” in years as a wannabe bodybuilder. For me, the biggest window of adaptation was in getting stronger – and that’s what I did. My upper back, hamstrings, and glutes just weren’t going to stay small if I did what it took to get to a 660-pound deadlift.
How does this work? Well, the stronger you are, the most “work” you’re going to be doing in classic “hypertrophy” zones. If Lifter A can bench press 300 pounds, and he’s doing sets of 6 (call it 83% of 1RM), he’s moving about 250 pounds in that set. If Lifter B bench presses 260 pounds, he’s working at about 215 pounds. If both do four sets of six reps, you’ll see that Lifter A is doing a lot more total work (force times distance). Lifter B needs to get his maximal strength up – and then return to these classic hypertrophy training zones to reap the benefits anew.
As an aside, staying healthy is a nice aside to training for performance, as you’re teaching your body to move efficiently. I always tell people that the best program is one that is sustainable – meaning that it doesn’t leave you injured or exhausted (too badly, at least) to the point that you’re missing valuable training time. Teach your body to move efficiently, and you’ll see that the threshold at which you get “banged up” is markedly more difficult to reach. The high volume lifting and metabolic resistance training fat loss protocols just won’t be you up as easily if you come in prepared and take care of the “boring” ancillary stuff like foam rolling and mobility work that I advocate.
6. Random – I’ll ask you this because I know people are interested in pro athletes: what is the one thing that makes athletes different from regular people? Like, how do they really just differ in the way they respond to training? What can we learn from that?
I’d say that, for the most part, the most immediate difference is in how quickly the pros pick things up. Most of them compete at high levels in their sport because they acquire new skills so well and can immediately integrate them in their “motor program.” In that regard, learning how to deadlift or throw the medicine ball isn’t much different than mastering a change-up.This is also very significant when it comes to relearning movements and getting one’s body back once the off-season rolls around. They just seem to rebound faster after periods of moderate detraining. As perhaps the most extreme example I’ve seen, I work with Chad Rodgers, a left-handed pitcher in the Atlanta Braves minor league system. From November 2008 to March 2009, Chad went from 200 to 217 pounds while training at our facility. Then, he went into in-season mode – and was 206 when he arrived back at our facility the following October after a long season. Get this, though: he was 222 within two weeks – and he finished up the off-season at 235 – and hit 95mph on the radar gun for the first time in his life. Pro athletes de-adapt like everyone else – but they seem to readapt faster than the lay population – and that sets the stage for long-term gains in spite of periods of sometimes crazy detraining during the season.That said, there are some high level athletes who are one-trick ponies. I’ve met some pitchers who showed up with 17-inch vertical jumps, but just so happened to have a good curve ball. And, I’ve seen some swimmers who seem really athletic – until you get them out of their realm and learn the true meaning of “a fish out of water.”
7. When you first opened your facility, you and I spoke and you were dead-set on making Cressey Performance stand out by having the most innovative people on staff and always trying new stuff. At the same time, you didn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. In looking at Show and Go, I feel you did the same: New science-based techniques housed comfortably alongside some of the most “common” exercises that people are familiar with; whereas a lot of programs include 80 varietals of exercises people have never heard of. Give me your thoughts that?
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Let’s be honest: there isn’t much in this industry that’s new. Most of the “innovations” are really just “reincarnations” of something from the past (e.g., kettlebells, strongman training) or “modifications” (e.g., accommodating resistance, modified tempo schemes, different loading parameters) of something that we already knew worked. I wish I could say that getting people jacked was an area where earth-shattering discoveries are being made every day, but that’s just not the case; we’re repacking things and looking for the right synergy among them.
In the real world, people still squat, deadlift, lunge, push, pull, rotate, roll over, get up, get down, jump, run, frolic, prance, whatever. My feeling is that if you stick to the basics – but at the same time expose people to a wind variety of movement patterns – you get the best of both worlds: neuromuscular efficiency for important fundamental tasks as well as a rich proprioceptive environment that keeps people healthy and “adaptable” to their surroundings. And, when you expose them to these new exercise variations, you prevent them from getting efficient – which is exactly what we don’t want if our goal is to get bigger or leaner.
8. Your videos on the squat were posted and re-posted all over the internet. EVERYONE got something out of them. Show and Go could well do the same thing for programming in general—whether you’re a trainee or a coach, you’ll learn...and in a small but real way, this could perhaps chance the way people write programs. With that in mind, if you could get people to STOP doing one thing (trainees OR coaches) and START doing one other, what would it be?
I’d tell both trainees and coaches to simply be more open-minded to learning from everyone and applying new techniques. There are Crossfit guys, HIT guys, powerlifters, bodybuilders, kettlebell guys, speed guys, machine guys, you name it. Lots of people have been doing lots of different stuff to get lots of different results. If you adhere steadfastly to just one discipline, you miss out on what the others have to offer – even if it is just a few seemingly trivial things that you borrow here and there to incorporate into your philosophy.Admittedly, I really struggled with this earlier in my career. I hated not knowing everything – and while it was something that definitely drove me to do a ton of research, I could have saved myself a lot of frustration and energy if I’d just been open-minded enough to ask someone else about their approach – or just observe them in action. Nowadays, I see these as opportunities to either learn something new, test my knowledge by refuting something that doesn’t fits with my philosophy, or confirm what I’m already doing.
Awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Eric, thank you so much for taking the time for do this, and thank you so much for putting together an incredible program.
Oh, and hey…so sorry about the Jets dominating the Patriots last week. That had to hurt.
I don't know if there is something in the water that the reporters around the country (and particularly the Massachusetts sports scene) have been drinking, but Cressey Performance's Elite Baseball Development Program has gotten a lot of love in the news this weekend.
Last week, CP athlete Tim Collins was part of a blockbuster trade, as he went from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Atlanta Braves. Tim didn't disappoint in his debut, striking out five batters in two innings pitched without allowing a walk, hit, or run. In a recent posting about Collins in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, beat writer David O'Brien wrote the following:
"I asked [Braves Manager] Bobby Cox if he knew anything about him, and Cox started talking about seeing video of him. Said he's extremely athletic, a muscular little guy who's real aggressive. Apparently the video showed him pitching and also working out, because he made quite an impression on Cox and others with the workout portion."
Apparently, Bobby Cox is quite a fan of the EricCressey.com and Cressey Performance YouTube pages. Hello, Bobby!
Saturday night, CP athlete Kevin Youkilis had the game-tying and game winning RBIs for the Red Sox in a come-from-behind win at home against the Rangers.
These features were followed shortly by another one - this time on a talented pitching prospect from Worcester, MA, Louisville pitcher Keith Landers. The Worcester Telegram just did this feature on Keith and the training he started up about eight weeks ago at Cressey Performance as he works his way back from a shoulder surgery.
Finally, here's a blog post from ESPN.com's Brendan Hall that features a boatload of CP studs who have had great summer showings: Tyler Beede, Adam Ravenelle, Carl Anderson, Barrett O'Neill, John Gorman, Jordan Cote, Ben Smith, Matt Luppi, AJ Zarozny, and David St. Lawrence.
Hey Gang,
I've got a quick and easy favor to ask of you.
Cressey Performance client and Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis is a finalist (one of five) for the last All-Star spot on the American League roster - and it's decided by fan voting. Granted, I'm biased, but his numbers blow those of the other four candidates out of the water. Youk's a contender for the AL MVP award each year, and he's currently on track for career highs in runs, hits, walks, homeruns, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS - all while playing Gold Glove caliber defense to help keep a team riddled with injuries on track.
Numbers aside, on a personal note, Kevin's become a great friend, and several of our conversations about baseball development and hitting approaches have directed inspired some of the content on this blog. He's also a huge presence in the Boston area via all the money his charity raises for some awesome causes in the community.
So, with that said - whether it's because his numbers warrant it or his contributions warrant it (or both) - I'd ask that you take a second to vote for him (as many times as you want, actually): 2010 All-Star Game Final Vote.
Voting ends Thursday at 4pm EST. Thanks for your help - and here's that link again:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2010/fv/ballot.html
1.I spent about 2.5 days in Las Vegas earlier this week to present at the NSCA Personal Trainers Conference. I really enjoyed the event, as it was a chance to interact with a lot of new people (I don't speak out west very often) and hopefully help some enthusiastic, up-and-coming trainers add to their skill sets. In my last presentation, Shoulder Assessment and Corrective Exercise, (to about 50 people), when I asked who had heard of scapulohumeral rhythm, not a single hand went up. I was very surprised that this was something that hadn't been covered sufficiently in undergraduate curricula or the certification process, as it's really important, in my eyes.
The good news, however, is that Mike Reinold and I covered this topic (and many others) in great detail in our Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD set. We'll be making the final revisions in the next few days, and it should be available within 2-3 weeks. If you want to be among the first notified of the awesome one-week only pre-sale price, definitely subscribe to my free newsletter HERE.
2. If you're looking to have some fun and help CP athlete Kevin Youkilis raise some money for a great cause, check out the "Facial Hair Frenzy" fundraiser at Youk's Hits for Kids. For each dollar you donate, you get one vote for which facial hair style - Goatee, Mustache, Clean Shaven, or Fu Manchu - Youk rocks on opening day.
3. All my "guinea pigs" for my new project are completing Phase 1 today/tomorrow, and will be embarking on phase 2 on Monday. The feedback has been great thus far, and I'm pretty excited for the June/July release of the comprehensive program (which, unfortunately, still remains unnamed). The beginning of each new phase means that I have to do about 45-50 exercise demonstrations, and that fun 90-minute task was yesterday.
4. In What I Learned in 2009, I alluded to the fact that we're doing more ground-to-standing transitions in our training, and mentioned that Rollover Get-up and Go Starts were one of those drills. Unfortunately, the video was accidentally omitted from the article, so I thought I'd feature it here. Thanks to Blue Jays prospect Tim Collins for the demonstration.
5. We're picking out the color schemes for all the rooms in our new house this week, and I have to be honest here. While I'm unbelievably excited about moving into a new house, I am likely going to jab a hot poker in my eyes if I have to stare at a color sample for another 20 minutes to determine the difference between "nantucket fog" and "james river gray." The humor in all of this is that my fiancee is an optometrist and has come right out and said that she believes me to be partially color blind - which means that I shouldn't even be allowed to have an opinion on the matter in the first place!
Up next, picking out a refrigerator and mailbox. And here I was thinking that I'd get a mini-vacation now that the baseball season was underway!
Today marks the end of one of the funnest "eras" of my life.
Back on September 9, we officially kicked off the pro baseball off-season with Tim Collins' arrival at Cressey Performance for his first training session of the off-season. Coming off a great season that included a promotion to Double-A at age 20 and a Blue Jays organizational pitcher of the year award, Tim was ready to get after it - and that's exactly what he did. From that day in September through February 6 (when he was called to Florida for mini-camp), Tim added 21 pounds to his frame while getting leaner - and increased his vertical jump by four inches (to 37.9 inches).
Tim was one of over 30 pro guys we had this winter. Results were typical.
Chad Rodgers (Atlanta Braves organization) went from 206 to 233 while adding just under three inches to his vertical jump. And he dominated "No Shave November."
Jeremiah Bayer (Red Sox organization) packed on muscle mass faster than just about any athlete I've ever seen - to the tune of 13 pounds in only two months - while adding an inch to his vertical. That's a 5.6% improvement in predicted peak power in a short amount of time - and one that is carrying over to the mound already.
Heck, Pat Bresnehan packed on 14 pounds and jumped 37.5 inches (a 6.3 inch) improvement - and got himself signed by the Mariners - after coming to us in the latter phases of his rehab period!
Craig Albernaz (Rays organization) increased his vertical jump by over five inches while adding seven pounds before heading to big league camp - and this is a guy who has always struggled to put on any weight, let alone good weight!
Cory Riordan (Rockies) and Steve Cishek (Marlins) win the awards for the longest commutes to train. Cory drove two hours to CP, and two hours home to Connecticut to get in his work with us - and he's got a new body and a lot more athleticism to show for it. Cishek wasn't far behind with his 1 hour, 45 minute commute from Cape Cod four times a week all the way up through January. I can say without wavering that both of them would tell you that the ride was 100% worth it.
Two other Braves guys - Derick Himpsl and Matt Kramer - also put in some great work that is already carrying over to the field.
Zach Piccola's headed to White Sox camp with a great few months of training under his belt alongside free agent Nick Asselin. Jim Fuller (Mets) committed himself to train like he never had before, and looks fantastic now. Another Mets guy, Tim Stronach, has busted his hump to get better alongside his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery.
Steffan Wilson leaned out and dramatically changed the way he looks and moves - and it helped get him a much-deserved call-up to big-league camp last week.
Kevin Youkilis had a great off-season as well - due in part to his love of pushing the sled. So far this spring, Youk's looked good (much better than his strength coach, as is shown below), and we're excited about the Red Sox season ahead.
Will Inman (Padres), Phil Negus (White Sox), and Kevin Nolan (Blue Jays) put in a great few months in the fall, and Steve Hammond (Giants), Kevin Pucetas (Giants), Nick McBride (Rangers), Benji Johnson (Braves), Matt Morizio (Royals), Justin Edwards (Cardinals), and Howie Clark (Blue Jays) made the most of all their visits to Boston this winter.
And, some "distance-based" guys of mine - Chad Jenkins (Blue Jays) and Anthony "A-Tan" Seraterelli (Royals) - made some excellent progress by following everything to a "T." A-Tan, Howie, and Morizio even made a hilarious video about their experiences (a joke, FYI):
One athlete, though, stepped it up big time on Thursday to set himself apart from all the rest. Tim Kiely (Angels) added 11 pounds and seven inches to his vertical jump, but his biggest claim to fame is that he took home the Gold in the first ever Cressey Performance Elite Baseball Olympics on the last day. Granted, the "Olympics" were limited to five participants who collectively agreed to not tell the most athletic guys of the bunch about the event ahead of time - but that doesn't mean that the boys didn't bring their A games! The Silver (5-lb) went to CP pitching coach Matt Blake, and the Bronze (2.5-lb) went to free agent Alex Szymanski. Shawn Haviland (A's) finished fourth, but he has a Harvard degree, and probably would have won if Sabermetrics trivia and word searches had been part of the contest. Here's the much-anticipated medal ceremony:
I am not sure where the championship belt fit in, but the entire day didn't make much sense, so it seemed right. Congratulations, Tim.
From these videos, a lot of people might think that we're all about goofing around - but that couldn't be further from the truth. Our guys have a good time, for sure, but it always comes after they've busted their butts in the gym. And, frankly, if we didn't have such great camaraderie and the guys weren't such good friends, the motivation to train would never approach the level it has. A good culture and outstanding results absolutely, positively go hand-in-hand.
Most of my writing on this blog is obviously geared toward educating folks on the training, research, nutrition, and other geeky science stuff. However, I should make it absolutely clear that all the knowledge in the world in these regards won't matter if you don't have a good culture established for your athletes and clients. They need to enjoy training and look forward to each and every session because they enjoy the process as much as the destination.
They need to be willing to come to you to critique the best man's toast they've written (happened this winter). They need to feel comfortable staying at your place if they're in town for a few days (happened multiple times this winter). They need to feel welcome spending Thanksgiving with your family (two of my athletes came home with me this past November). And, they need to respect you enough as a person to value your opinion as a professional. As the saying goes, they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
That's why most of our pro guys train six days a week from September/October all the way up until now, whereas many other places pro guys frequent consist of 3x/week "workouts" for the 4-6 weeks before spring training starts. And, I feel like it is one of many things that differentiates us from our competition (whatever that may be). We are about making athletes better, not just "working them out."
I'm proud of all our guys not only for their hard work this off-season, but for taking an ownership stake in Cressey Performance to make it something special now and in the future.
Thanks for an awesome 5+ months, guys. We can't wait to do it again.
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used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
Here's some recommended reading for the week...
Effective Abdominal Training - I linked to a Bill Hartman post last week, and I'm going to do it again this week, because he puts out great stuff! Check out this post, which features a video on core control.
Youk's Diary: Good, Bad of Spring Training - CP client Kevin Youkilis will be keeping a blog on ESPN.com this season, and he gave us a little shoutout in the first one. In addition to checking out Youk's blog, I'd strongly encourage you to visit and donate to Youk's Hits for Kids, a charity Kevin founded that does some awesome stuff for underprivileged kids.
7 Habits of Highly Defective Benchers - This was one of the most popular articles I've ever written, so I figured it'd be worth a "rerun."
Last, but not least, don't forget that our spring training sale ends TONIGHT at midnight. Don't miss out on your chance to get 30% off! Click here for more information.
Here's a good read from yesterday's Boston Herald that alludes to my work with Kevin Youkilis this off-season. Steve Buckley interviewed me for it on Wednesday, and the piece came out great.
Kevin Youklis Right at Home in Hub
