I've been off the grid a bit, as I just made the long drive back to Massachusetts from Florida. That said, it did give me time to check out a few good audiobooks to bolster this week's recommended reading!
Thinking in Bets - I've always been fascinated by the decision-making process as it relates from everything from business strategy to how we acquire habits for training and nutrition. Accomplished poker player Annie Duke did a great job exploring the concepts of uncertainty and probability in this new book. Inside the book they talk about how gambling and betting is not only something you do at the casino in Italy, but also when making decisions in your day to day life when it comes to nutrition and exercise.
Chris Chase on the Trainable Exercise Menu - This is an awesome guest post from Atlanta Hawks Strength and Conditioning Coach Chris Chase for Mike Robertson's site. I loved this concept when he initially introduced it on Mike's podcast, and he expands on the concept here.
Top 10 Ways to Build Mental Toughness - T-Nation interviewed several contributors (including me) for this roundtable, and there's some good stuff in there.
Top Tweet of the Week
*If you want to relax the neck, talk or exhale.*
A big mistake athletes make when doing upper body work is aggressively recruiting the muscles surrounding the neck. Have them exhale through the exertion phase, or simply talk during the set. It’ll calm things right down. pic.twitter.com/G2AW1jpTyF
New Training Program for Syndergaard - Here's a MLB.com feature for which I was interviewed. We discussed changes to Noah Syndergaard's offseason program.
Top Tweet of the Week
Exercise selection, sets/reps & a host of others acute programming variables are all important - but nothing is as important as consistently attacking each training session w/top notch effort. Lots of inferior programs have produced results simply b/c guys worked their butts off.
Here's a special Saturday edition of Stuff to Read!
Bought-In - I posted a guest blog from Brett Bartholomew earlier in the week in light of the release of this new coaching resource from him. I've since had a chance to spend some time going through it, and it's been excellent. I'd highly recommend you check it out if you'd like to delve more into the coach-athlete relationship and optimizing adherence from your athletes.
EC on the Physical Preparation Podcast - It's been over a year since I joined my good friend Mike Robertson on his podcast, so we have plenty of good stuff to catch up on.
The Right Way to Stretch the Pecs - I saw someone really cranking on a pec stretch the other day, and it reminded me of this article I wrote for T-Nation nine years ago. The content still applies, even if I'm getting really, really old.
Top Tweet of the Week
Lyon Richardson: 93-97mph last night & struck out 11/12 hitters he faced (0 baserunners). Hit a HR, too. Most impressive part of his weekend, though, is that he was back in the gym at 9am today. Many athletes say they “want it,” but few appreciate how much work “it” really takes. pic.twitter.com/geLmkJkniP
I hope you're having a great week. We brought our daughters to Disney for the first time, so it was a quiet content creation week for me. Luckily, I've got some good stuff from around the 'Net for you:
Neck Pain and Headaches - This guest post from Dr. Michael Infantino on Tony Gentilcore's blog was outstanding; it included some solid background information and good strategies to employ.
Baseball Players Historically Have Shown Great Strength - This was an interesting look at the history of strength in the game of baseball from Tim Kurkjian at ESPN.com. I think it overlooks the fact that wrist and hand strength doesn't really matter if it isn't supported by hip strength, but it's still a good read and message about the direction the game has taken.
EC on the Robertson Training Systems Podcast - I'm joining Mike Robertson on his podcast this upcoming week, and it reminded me to reincarnate my last appearance on the show - which was February 2016. Give this a listen and it'll prime you for our discussion of what's changed over the past two years.
Top Tweet of the Week -
Disappointing to see so many TV features on how certain Olympians were "destined for greatness" from a young age. Completely undermines long-term athletic development approaches, discourages athletes from working hard to become late bloomers, and encourages early specialization.
It's a rough Monday morning for Patriots fans, but the show must go on! Here's some recommended reading/listening for you while I cry in my coffee.
The Culture Code - This new release from Dan Coyle is absolutely outstanding. I'm about 3/4 of the way through it and really enjoying every page. Whether you work in team sports, own your own business, or just want to make your work environment better, there's something for you. Get it.
EC on The Ready State Podcast with Kelly and Juliet Starrett - I hopped on Kelly and Juliet Starrett's podcast to discuss training kids, and it was one of my favorite podcasts that I've ever done. We covered some really important stuff, so I'd encourage you to have a listen.
When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing - I just finished up this new book from Daniel Pink, and it was outstanding. He covers everything from nutrition, to exercise, to career success, to economic ups and downs, to sleep quantity/timing. It was a really entertaining read with many applications to the strength and conditioning field.
Organic vs. "Forced" Lay Back in the Pitching Delivery - This mechanics discussion from CSP-MA pitching coordinator Christian Wonders is very important stuff to understand if you work with pitchers.
In your coaching repertoire, you have auditory (talk), kinesthetic (position), and visual (demonstrate) coaching cues. If you as a coach don't move well yourself, you diminish your effectiveness with visual approaches. Practice what you preach and you keep your toolbox full.
Happy New Year! Thanks for your support of EricCressey.com in 2017. I've got some great things in store for 2018. Let's kick it off with some content from around the 'net.
For the most part, you can throw "sport-specific" out the window in an untrained population. The basic movement and strength foundation - squat, hinge, lunge, push, pull - is pretty universal for all sports.
I hope you all had a good weekend. My wife and I spent a few days in Washington, DC as tourists and baseball fans, and then I gave a shoulder seminar in Virginia before we headed home on a very delayed flight last night.
Let's kick of the week with some recommended reading and listening I covered on my trip. Before we get to it, though, just a friendly remind that September 22 (Friday) is the early-bird registration deadline for the Cressey Sports Performance Fall Seminar in Hudson, MA. You can find details HERE.
Now, let's get to the recommendations:
Complete Single-Leg Training - This is Mike Robertson's brand new resource, and I'm working my way through it right now. All early signs point to it being absolutely outstanding. You can save $50 this week on the introductory discount.
EC on the Pacey Performance Podcast - I joined Rob Pacey on his podcast to talk everything from rotational power development to movement assessments.
From Impossible to Inevitable - This book is largely focused on the growth of larger companies, but there are quite a few pearls of wisdom in there for folks in the fitness industry. It was a good listen; I especially liked the section on niche development.
This week's recommended reading/listening has a bit more of a lifestyle/chronic disease theme to it, but I'm sure you'll still find these resources very useful.
Physical Preparation Podcast with Nick Littlehales - This podcast might have been the best one I've listened to ion 2017. This is an outstanding discussion on sleep strategies from one of the best in the world on the topic.
August 25 Facebook Live - I did this Q&A on Wednesday afternoon; you can watch the recording of it here:
Top Tweet of the Week
Figure 8 rotational medicine ball shotput teaches weight shifts, force transfer, & "effortless" athleticism in 3 planes of motion. pic.twitter.com/yDccDIp8zu
I finished up my NYC seminar yesterday and am sticking around to spend a day in the city with my wife today, but I prepared a recommended reading list for you to enjoy in the meantime. Check it out:
Attentional Focus and Cuing - Nick Winkelman wrote this great article for Club Connect's online magazine. If you're looking for a good introduction to internal vs. external focus cues, this is a good place to start.
Source: ClubConnect.com
20 Tips for Young Coaches - Mike Robertson crushed it with this new podcast with tips for aspiring coaches.
The Ideal Business Show with Eric Cressey - Speaking of podcasts, this interview I did for Pat Rigsby a year ago, and I still think it's one of the best ones with which I've been involved.
Top Tweet of the Week -
Don't take mechanics solutions to athleticism problems. Before tinkering w/mechanics, make sure a pitcher can jog to mound w/out tripping.
