Last week, I published a post on shoulder issues with overhead pressing, and got two good comments as replies:
1. In HS I separated my AC joint during the first game of junior year. I played the rest of the year with out letting it heal, and to this day I have still have shoulder issues (college ball didn't help the issue much either). It seems my shoulder allows me to overhead press/push press/jerk and incline press, but flat bench is out of the question unless I'm using DBs. Is this typical of this type of shoulder injury, or am I an outlier and most individuals show the same symptoms as yourself? Granted we each have different injuries but same local area.2. I have pain doing flat bench presses with barbell and upright rows. Decline barbell press is also sometimes uncomfortable, but incline press and overhead press is working fine.
This is actually pretty typical of acromioclavicular (AC) joint problems. Folks will have problems with exercises like full-ROM bench presses and dips, as they force full humeral extension. Decline bench pressing requires less humeral extension on the eccentric than regular bench pressing and dips, so that would explain the decrease in symptoms.
That said, overhead pressing will usually be okay because it doesn't require so much humeral extension (nothing past neutral). However, some folks will have other related problems (e.g., rotator cuff injury during the AC injury), so both horizontal and vertical pushing movements may become problems.
So, obviously, not all shoulder problems are created equal. However, a lot of the time, they can be treated with similar means: good scapular stabilization movements, a focus on thoracic spine mobility, and dedication to strengthening the rotator cuff and improving soft tissue quality.
Here I sit at my desk on a Friday morning in an empty, 100% quiet Cressey Performance. I'm not sure that's ever happened before - and it won't last long, as clients start rolling in about 23 minutes from now. In other words, there goes my opportunity to create a well thought-out, organized, and relevant blog post. Let the randomness begin.
1. Here's an interesting journal article looking at those with functional ankle instability also presented with delayed trunk reflexes. In other words, if you've had an ankle sprain without thorough rehabilitation, it relates to a later onset of trunk muscle activation. This closely parallels a lot of the stuff I covered in The Truth About Unstable Surface Training E-Book, as unstable surface training has been tremendously effective in correcting the proprioceptive delay we see in the peroneals following ankle sprains.
I guess you could say that this is one more "yea" vote in favor of the whole kinetic chain concept. Mess up an ankle and you very might be dealing with a knee, hip, or lower back issue sooner than later.
2. For the second year in a row, I'll be speaking at Fantasy Day at Fenway Park. If you're looking for a good time to benefit a great cause (The Jimmy Fund), click here for more information. The event is July 18.
3. Random fact: when preparing for the new DVD, Mike Robertson and I realized that Magnificent Mobility has sold in over 50 countries. Apparently, the Norwegians and Indonesians really dig Mike's smooth Midwestern drawl.
4. Speaking of Mike, check out this great blog post from him: The Starving Artist
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!
As many of you probably already know, I flew out to Indianapolis on Friday night to spend the weekend shooting a new DVD with Bill Hartman and Mike Robertson. Suffice it to say that we are all pleased with how it turned out and excited for the release. Basically, here's what you're looking at...
27 dynamic SELF-assessments (meaning that you can do them yourself - no partner needed)
A Full-on Static Assessment Guide
Approximately 78 corrective exercises for improving mobility and stability - based entirely on the results of the aforementioned assessments. In other words, you assess, and then you are pointed in a specific direction to correct these issues. You'll learn how to integrate some of the exercises from Magnificent Mobility and Inside-Out in comprehensive progressions - plus loads of new drills along the way.
A Written Collection of Warm-ups specific to certain athletic populations
A Complete Guide to Self-Soft Tissue Work - and a rationale for it
A Comprehensive Static Stretching Guide
You know the project is legit because of this picture of Lance, our demonstrator.
First, he's exhausted, which means that there are loads of exercises. Second, he actually ended up with pit stains from the experience, so these aren't just foo-foo exercises; they take things up a notch at the "top" of each progression (particularly if you do them for six hours, as Lance did on Saturday). Third, you just have to love a DVD set that uses a guy with deadlifting bruises on his shins as the model. Talk about attitude!
For more on the weekend, check out Lance's Blog.
Needless to say, we're stoked about this. There isn't a definitive time-table on the product's release, but you can be the first to find out about it by subscribing to my newsletter through the opt-in box on the right sidebar of this page.
Back in early May, I published a newsletter discussing some alternatives I've used as replacements for traditional interval training. Basically, the goal was to show that one can work to address inefficiencies while still getting some good energy systems development training.
One of the key concepts I briefly outlined in this newsletter - and also thoroughly in Mike Robertson and my Building the Efficient Athlete DVD Set - is the Law of Repetitive Motion. This law is expressed as the equation I=NF/AR. In this equation, injury equals the number of repetitions multiplied by the frequency of those repetitions, divided by the amplitude of each repetition times the rest interval.
Looking at this equation and understanding each of these factors sheds some light not only on how we can prevent injuries, but also address these issues once they reach threshold. Truth be told, as I related in another previous newsletter, I'm a firm believer that we're always just see-sawing back and forth, getting closer to threshold when tissues are loaded in excess of their capacity.
Providing adequate stability, mobility, recruitment patterns, and tissue quality with the appropriate training loads and recovery measures ensures that we stay below this threshold. All of these issues are covered in one way or another by the equation from above.
"I" is the injury, or insult to the tissues. In the active restraints - muscles and tendons - this may present in the form of soft tissue restrictions that can be addressed with manual therapy and foam rolling. In other words, sometimes simply doing some soft tissue work can bring someone back below threshold (one reason why I refuse to refer any athletes or clients to physical therapists who do not put their hands on patients, but that is a whole other newsletter altogether).
"N" is the number of repetitions imposed on the tissues. This may be working on a factory line doing the same motion over and over again. It may also be simply sitting with poor posture, which is the equivalent of a high number of reps (constant activation). Or, it could come from doing as many chin-ups as possible simply because your business partner told you that he didn't think you could do it - and the Mudvayne in the background motivated you to action (but I wouldn't know anything about that).
With respect to "N," the general assumption is that simply reducing the number of repetitions is what it takes to reduce insult to the tissues. That's absolutely true, but not exhaustively true.
Take someone who bench presses with the elbows flared, and teach them to tuck the elbows and activate the upper back and scapular stabilizers. You may instantly relieve their pain without altering the number of repetitions; you're just redistributing the load.
The same is true of someone with anterior knee pain who has pain with forward lunging, but not with reverse lunges. So, the lesson to be learned isn't just to modify the number of repetitions, but also the manner in which those repetitions are performed.
"F" is the force of each repetition, and it's important to remember that this force is expressed as a function of maximum muscular strength. So, in other words, the "F" figure will be higher - and more injurious - on a weak tissue. This is one reason why resistance training is a big portion of modern physical therapy - including physical therapy that the brighter minds in the PT community wouldn't consider "comprehensive" or "good."
Here's an example. Average Joe gets anterior knee pain and, of course, he gets diagnosed with patellar tendinitis when it's really more of a tendinosis (but I won't digress on that). He spends six weeks in PT to really "build up his quads." It's obvious that the patellar tendon was just weak and inflamed, so strengthening it and knocking back NSAIDs like candy will fix everything. Riiiiight.
Chances are that the patellar tendon was just overused because Joe had no hamstrings or glutes. Getting the quads strong just reduces the "F" figure in the equation above. They push him away from threshold, but not as far as he'd have gone if they'd also worked on recruiting glutes and hamstrings better, optimizing hip and ankle mobility, or performing soft tissue work. Or, maybe he just got better because they reduced the "N" we discussed above by resting the knee. Regardless, Joe's not in the clear and very well might be back in PT in a few months if he doesn't address the other issues in the equation.
And, with that in mind, I'll get to the final two components of the Law of Repetitive Motion in my next newsletter. In the meantime, check out the Building the Efficient Athlete DVD Set for more details.
I got this question the other day and thought I'd share my response:
Q: When significant improvements in flexibility are either desired or needed, do you have any general suggestions with regard to what method(s) and type of schedule set-up (frequency, duration of session, etc.) would help accomplish this in the most timely and efficient manner possible?
A: As always, my answer would be "it depends." And, more specifically, it depends on whether you are talking about short or stiff tissue.
If a tissue is legitimately short - meaning that it has lost sarcomeres due to chronic immobilization - longer duration holds are ideal. Bill Hartman and Mike Robertson go into great detail in covering this in the Indianapolis Performance Enhancement DVD Set, as I noted HERE.
If you are dealing with someone with capsular issues (outside the scope of practice of the personal trainers and strength coaches out there, in most cases), then you might just leave them alone with 15 minutes of low-load passive stretching (e.g., theraband wrapped around a DB to hold the shoulder in external rotation after a period in a sling). Going back to our "loss of sarcomeres" scenario, if you're dealing with something more muscular-only issues, the least you'll want is five 30s holds throughout the day, in my experience. Or, if feeling bold, you can have people set up for 3x5min holds or 1x15min hold. In both cases, total duration over the course of the day is likely more important than duration per stretch.
If it's stiff, in order to get it to relax, you likely need to train an adjacent tissue that acts as a synergist. A good example would be strengthening the lower traps to take the stress off chronically overused upper traps and the stiff neck that follows. Or, we have activating the glutes to take the stress off the lumbar erectors and/or hamstrings and adductor magnus. Here is a great blog post from Bill Hartman that closely illustrates the point that you don't necessarily have to stretch a muscle to reduce its stiffness.
Of course, you can never go wrong with integrating a good dynamic warm-up program prior to exercise, as this option challenges both range-of-motion and stability to provide a comprehensive training effect in a matter of minutes.
So, in the end, it's different strokes for different folks - at different times, with different issues. Keep an eye out for an upcoming project from Bill, Mike, and I that really delves into this in great detail. It'll be the most comprehensive resource out there for self-assessment and corrective exercise.
If you asked my fiancee (or anyone who knows me well, for that matter), she would tell you that I work all the time. If I'm not training athletes, I'm training myself, reading research, or writing programs or articles about training. My life pretty much revolves around it - and I'd be lying if I didn't say that it is challenging to get to everything.
To be very honest with you, I'd probably make more money if I just stayed home and wrote articles and books all day. It's a direction quite a few folks in this industry have taken, in fact. You'd be surprised at how many well-known internet personalities in the exercise world don't see athletes anymore; they just stay home and write about what life would be like if they actually did train people. Or, they talk about what they used to do when they worked with folks, or what they've seen in the research of late.
Now, I'm all for research. And, given my articles, books, and DVDs, I'm all for sharing knowledge that I've gained. However, I'm a huge believer that you can't add to the body of knowledge unless you are out in the trenches working with people. You'd be surprised at how many researchers and writers could never get results in the real world. Why? Because people - attitudes, emotions, individual differences, etc. - get in the way.
This is why I have so much respect for those who are "in the trenches" and derive a significant portion of their income from in-person training. I enjoy articles, blogs, seminars, and products from guys like Alwyn Cosgrove, Mike Boyle, Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, Mike Reinold, Jim Smith, Brijesh Patel, Nick Tumminello, and dozens others because these are all guys who are in the real world working to help people. Unlike those who just write, they are constantly getting feedback from clients/athletes on what works and what doesn't; theories don't go untested. If I was a consumer, I'd actually go out of my way to make sure the person writing a book or article was actually seeing clients/athletes before purchasing it.
A few years ago, I never would have even thought to make this promise, but the internet certainly changes things. And, that's why I'm promising today that I'll be training athletes for a long time, and the day I stop training athletes is the day that I stop writing and speaking about training, too.
If you liked Maximum Strength...
Then you'll love Jim Smith's Accelerated Muscular Development.
I often get asked what would be a good program to use following the Maximum Strength program, and while my first answer is always a resounding Show and Go! However, there is another excellent option out there for those who want to get outside the "Eric Cressey School of Thought." In creating Accelerated Muscular Development, Jim "Smitty" Smith did a fantastic job of introducing a thorough e-manual that includes strength training programming, flexibility training, nutrition, recovery protocols, and detailed explanations that put overly "sciency" concepts in an understandable and usable format.
Personally, I've always loved Jim's innovation and willingness to think outside the box. If you ask him about what makes this program so good, though, here's what he'll tell you are the top five components of a successful program:
1. Comprehensive - A good resistance training program teaches you what to do from the moment you walk into the gym, until the moment you leave. It does not just provide you with the primary strength exercises and a rep scheme. A progressive strategy must be incorporated so that by the time you are ready for your primary strength exercises, you are warmed up and ready to go.
2. Education - Do not just follow any resistance training program you get out of a magazine or on an internet forum blindly. You have to make specific and informed decisions based on your individual needs. A good program teaches you so that you can make these decisions.
3. Instruction of Proper Form and Full ROM - The strength exercises in a good resistance training program are demonstrated with proper form and instruction. It is not enough to teach the deadlift by saying "pick the weight off the floor."
4. Easy to Understand - The science behind building muscle and getting stronger is sometimes explained in a very complicated manner. These concepts are much easier to understand with visual diagrams and real world application.
5. Systematic Approach - A comprehensive strength program provides you with a systematic approach where each essential component is represented and input at the right times. This allows the lifter to make sure each activity is not forgotten or missed, which means he can concentrate on training.
I'd highly encourage you to check out this product if you're looking for something new - and particularly if you enjoyed Maximum Strength. For more information, visit www.AcceleratedMuscularDevelopment.com.
In the Trenches with Eric Cressey
I figured we'd go with a little change of pace this week and switch from written content to audio content, as Mike Robertson interviewed me for one of his recent newsletters. Mike and I talk about everything from shoulder assessment, to the possible future of shoulder surgeries, to strength development, to what's new at Cressey Performance, plus a whole lot more. You can listen to the entire audio interview HERE. Enjoy!
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1. It's a fun time of year around Cressey Performance, as all the college guys are starting to roll back in, and the high school baseball playoffs are nearly at hand. Brian St. Pierre was so excited about it that he tried to high five on of our power racks with his forehead. He (and his three stitches) will be featured in the next episode of "When Power Racks Attack."
2. After I mentioned last week that Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, and I had something in the works, I got several emails (and a stand-up question at the end of my talk at Perform Better last weekend) from people wanting to know what we were scheming up. Suffice it to say that it's a sequel to Magnificent Mobility and Inside-Out, but on a whole new level. If those DVDs were little league, this is going to be big league stuff,
We'll have detailed assessments, progressions, and sport-specific protocols. I guess you could say that it's somewhat of a "choose your own adventure" book where you can take multiple paths; and, in the case of trainers/strength coaches, you can help your clients/athletes out individually. And, there will be a nice tag-along manual. We are hoping to get this kid to sing on the soundtrack, but his agent won't call me back.
Anyway, we've got over three years of accumulated "add-ons" from the initial MM DVD, and it's also the first time the three of us have put all our heads together on a project. Should be very cool - and we are hoping for a mid-summer release date. If you aren't already subscribed to my newsletter, definitely do so (with the feature over to the right of this page) and we'll make sure you're notified right away. You can view a sample of this newsletter by checking out the one from earlier this week: Newsletter 154.
3. Mike Reinold has an awesome blog post series going about Anterior Knee Pain. Whether you're a strength coach, personal trainer, physical therapist, garbageman, orthodontist, or lazy wanker who just lives in his parents' basement, I'd highly recommend you check it out at MikeReinold.com.
4. One of the things I love the most about training pitchers is when they go out in the spring - after a winter of training to improve throwing velocity and prevent injury - and start hitting bombs at the plate. Obviously, it's awesome for their confidence, but just as importantly, it's proof in the pudding that simply enhancing overall athleticism will carry over to just about anything.
If a kid only goes from 78 to 88mph on the mound, he tries to attribute it solely to a change in mechanics or lots of rubber tubing drills for his rotator cuff. However, if he starts hitting 400-foot shots alongside that velocity increase, you know he'll start to appreciate that the extra 20 pounds of meat on his butt, hamstrings, and upper back - and the big strength increases - are all playing a part in that improvement.
That's all. Have a great weekend!
I was the guest on Mike Robertson's newsletter podcast last week. We discuss shoulder dysfunction in regular lifters and overhead throwers and a whole lot more. Check it out at the link below:
In the Trenches with Eric Cressey
1. It's going to be a quick one this week, as I'm doing some last minute preparations for this weekend's Perform Better Summit in Providence, RI. To all the poor abandoned souls who count on my blog for companionship each Friday, I apologize for not giving our relationship the tender romance it deserves this week.
2. Congratulations to Cressey Performance athlete and Auburn High pitcher Tyler Beede, who threw a no-hitter on Wednesday. Tyler struck out 15 in his complete game performance.
3. I contributed on the fourth installment of Mythbusters at T-Nation this week. It also includes contributions from Chad Waterbury, Tony Gentilcore, and Christian Thibaudeau. Noticeably absent from this esteemed crew of contributors is Mr. Celery - so I thought I'd give him some love.
4. For the foam rolling aficionados in the crowd, here's a great variation to use for those hard-to-reach grundle adductor region. Thanks to Tony Gentilcore for the video:
This is a really important one for those of you in the crowd with a history of groin strains and sports hernias. Hockey players, soccer players, and powerlifters should commit this one to memory.
5. It's official: Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, and I are filming a new DVD on June 7th. Lots to prepare before then!
