1. In today's big news, I simply want to tell you to be on the lookout for a HUGE week here at EricCressey.com.
First, we're going to be having some awesome content in conjunction with the launch of my new product, Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look, Feel, and Move Better.
Expect some awesome video content and more details about the product over the next week - but if you want to see it, you need to make sure that you are signed up for my newsletter. If you haven't already done so, you can subscribe using the following opt-in form (which will also get you access to a sweet deadlifting tutorial):
Along these same lines, the new and improved EricCressey.com will be debuting alongside the launch of Show and Go on the 20th. It will blow our current set-up out of the water.
2. I'm going to be relatively brief today, as I'm headed down to Reebok's corporate headquarters in Canton, MA this morning to film some videos on the needs and benefits of strength and conditioning. I've been down there a few times with some of our pro guys who have endorsement deals when they've shopped in the athlete/employee store, and the entire "campus" is pretty darn impressive:
3. The good folks at Men's Health tracked me down for an on-the-fly video tutorial in the lobby at Perform Better in Providence back in June, and the video is now available online. It goes through a few example of thoracic and glenohumeral joint mobility drills we use with our athletes. A special thanks goes out to CP intern Dave Rak for his help in demonstrating this while I was coaching it.
You can find more drills like these (and the rationale for them) on our Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD set.
4. While this article isn't as shocking to those of us in the fitness industry who are appalled at the ridiculously low standards our industry has set for allowing someone to become a personal trainer, I'm sure it was to the general public who read it. And, it's very well written. Check it out: For a Price, Area Firm Certifies the Novice as a Fitness Expert. Sad, but true.
5. My fiancee and I have a minor league pitcher staying with us for a week while he's in town to get evaluated and do some training on a post-rehab stint. He'll head back to his hometown through the end of the year, and then come back to train with us for the nine weeks leading up to spring training.
On Thursday night, we were watching the NFL season opening in my living room - and I was writing programs on my laptop. He commented something along the lines of "Damn, you really do work all day, don't you?" As I thought about it, I guess I really do. I'm usually up at 6AM to make breakfast and see my fiancee before she heads off to work, and then I go right to writing/consulting work up through about 10:15AM, when I head over to the facility, get in my lift, and then coach from 12PM to 6PM or so. Then, it's back home - often to do more programming, answer emails, and - right now - finish up this new project.
He asked me what my ultimate career goal was, and I told him that it essentially amounted to doing my writing in the morning, and then coaching my pro/college guys during the day, and then 1-2 hours of high school guys right after school. He looks at me and goes, "That's still a nine-hour day, man!"
As you can probably tell, I'm not particularly good about shutting things down. The reason is really simple: I love what I do. I still need to get better at turning it off more often, though!
6. On a related note, our pro baseball off-season is in full swing now. I did one evaluation on Wednesday and three on Thursday - on top of the guys who have already started up (or are working off some of our programs elsewhere in the country before they come up). It should be a great crew of guys getting after it, and we're all really excited about what the next six months has in store for us. Thus far, the most entertaining moment has been Royals' prospect Tim Collins' triumphant return to Cressey Performance - where he walked around the gym and high-fived all 20 or so clients (even the ones he didn't know) who were in the facility at the time.
7. Our boy is back - and the offer to train for free at CP still stands for him!
1. I haven't done a "Random Friday Thoughts" blog in a while, so in the spirit of randomness, I thought I'd throw you a curveball and kick off the week with some Tuesday random thoughts.
2. Last week, I booked two plane tickets to Halifax, Nova Scotia for my fiancee and I. She's a bridesmaid in a wedding up there in a few weeks, so I'll be making the trip as well. As part of being what amounts to a "third wheel" for the weekend (the only people I know other than Anna in the entire wedding are the bride and groom), I'll have quite a bit of downtime while in the area. Any readers out there have any suggestions for what to do in Halifax? It's not hockey season, and I don't drink Molson, so I'm at a bit of a loss...
Also, just out of curiosity, when did one have to sell off all his/her internal organs in order to afford a flight to Halifax? Roundtrip airfare was over $1,500, and Air Canada followed up with an email that said, "We also mandate that you name your first child after us."
3. I wrote a guest blog for Men's Health last week; check it out: A Quick Fix for Stiff Shoulders.
4. Also on the writing note, I've written a few guest chapters lately. The first was a strength and conditioning chapter for an upcoming pitching book for young baseball players and their parents. The second (which is still a work in progress) is a chapter for a new IYCA project. So far, it's coming along really well - and I'm really honored to be on-board for this with a group of really talented guys who are trying to do something very special.
5. Tonight (Tuesday), Boston Red Sox Head Athletic Trainer (and Optimal Shoulder Performance co-creator) Mike Reinold is hosting a free webinar: "What's New for 2010." Click here for more information.
6. Speaking of Mike, he had a great post last week about Epicondylitis and Cervical Radiculopathy. It's a great adjunct to my "Understanding Elbow Pain" series from back in May. If you missed it, here's a link to the sixth (final) installment (and you can link back to the previous five).
7. I realized the other day that there is one big thing I've always considered in our training programs for pitchers, but failed to mention on this blog: they need both open- and closed-chain hip mobility, as the right and left hips must rotate independently of one another during the stride to the plate. Here's a good example:
You can see that Beckett is just short of stride foot contact here - which means that he's at just about maximal hip external rotation on the lead leg...in open chain motion. The femur is rotating on the acetabulum.
Meanwhile, he's riding out his trailing leg...in closed chain motion. The acetabulum is rotating on the femur.
As such, adequate mobility training for pitchers should include a combination of both open- and closed-chain drills, although I'd say that the majority should be closed-chain.
8. Today's Mike Robertson's birthday; head over to RobertsonTrainingSystems.com and show him a little love.
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Here are a few recommendations for this week:
East Coast Muscle - Recently, Men's Health Fitness Editor Adam Bornstein traveled all along the East Coast to check out several training facilities - one of which was Cressey Performance. This blog post details his experiences and features a picture of one dead sexy guy named Cressey lifting heavy stuff.
Five Resistance Training Myths in the Running World - This is one of my most popular articles of all-time, and with the number of crazy endurance folks getting ready for the Boston Marathon in 10-degree weather, it seemed like a fitting time to bring this piece to the forefront once again.
Made to Stick - Someone mentioned this in conversation the other day, and it reminded me that it was one of my favorite books of the past five years. It's a great read - whether you're a teacher, trainer, parent, or any of a number of other things!
We just got this feedback the other day from Adam Campbell of Men's Health:
"Assess and Correct is the most useful physical evaluation tool I've ever seen. It's like having instant access to the knowledge that Hartman, Robertson, and Cressey have gained through years of experience studying anatomy and human movement, and working with real people.
"But most important, it's presented in a way that you can put it to use immediately. In fact, the design of the manual is genius because you're given a series of simple tests to identify postural and movement problems, followed by smart exercise progressions-which you can tailor to a client's ability-to correct any issues. So it's a powerful tool that will help any coach create more effective training plans, customized to an individual's true NEEDS. The upshot: Assess and Correct will make any fitness professional better at what he or she does.
"One other note: Because I'm a fitness journalist, the authors offered me a free manual for review (common in the industry), but I had already purchased it. When they tried to refund my money, I requested that they not. The reason: I found the material to be so valuable that I felt like I SHOULD paid for it. I'm not sure there's any testimonial I could give that's better than that."
Adam Campbell
Fitness Director, Men's Health
