1. It's been a crazy week ever since Anna and I got engaged on Sunday. You never truly realize how many people you know until they all try to email/call/text you at once to say congratulations. With my cell phone and email inbox going crazy, I kind of felt like Jerry Maguire - minus the whole weird scientology and jumping on Oprah's couch stuff.
2. On Wednesday, I got out to watch two high school games where CP athletes pitched, and then headed to Fenway to watch the Sox beat the Twins. In Game 1, Weston High Sahil Bloom had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings before giving up a bloop single, and then Auburn High's Tyler Beede threw six innings.
3. Next week, I'll be publishing the first installment of a collection of nutrition articles from Eric Talmant. Eric has some very forward-thinking ideas to share, and it'll make a nice weekly addition to EricCressey.com. Be sure to check them out.
4. I'm getting really excited for this year's Perform Better Summits. I'll be speaking in Providence, RI and Long Beach, CA (there is also one in Chicago); I'd definitely encourage you to check the events out if you live in that neck of the woods. My presentations should question the "diagnostic norms" - in much the same way that I did with this week's newsletter.
5. Speaking of newsletters, I got several inquiries after I ran this one about the medicine ball training we do with our pitchers. In particular, folks were curious about the medicine ball we used in drills like this:
6. I've written quite a bit in the past about how a glenohumeral internal rotation deficit can be one contributing factor (among others) to medial elbow injuries in overhead throwing athletes. The other day, someone asked me if I had any scientific evidence to support this idea. The answer would be a resounding YES.
Very simply, if you lack internal rotation, you'll go to the elbow to "regain" that lost range-of-motion. It's the same reason that ankle mobility deficits can lead to knee pain, and hip mobility deficits can lead to knee and lower back pain.
7. I don't really "get" how this whole Delicious bookmarking thing works, but Jon Boyle (who helps out with the blog) recommended I start sending him recommendations of good stuff I've read. You can find some of my recommended reading/viewing off to the right-hand side of the page. If there are books you recommend I check out, by all means, please post suggestions in the comments to these blogs; I'm always looking for new reading material.
I got back late from Easter and pulled a blog together at the last minute on Monday morning - hoping to just kick the can down the road to a big Tuesday night blog (was out of town all day Tuesday). I think the Doga piece satisfied the comedic interests of you, the readers, but I'm afraid it was a little light on the content.
So, my goal for Wednesday was to come through with some crazy geeky content, but I just didn't get much quality time on the laptop - and the project was kicked back to this morning. I started writing some sweet content, but it just kept stretching on and on and on - to the point that it was too long to be a blog. So, that'll be my newsletter early next week. Subscribe to the right of the screen if you want to read it.
That said, I just devoted about 45 minutes to writing, and I still have no blog for Thursday. So, I'm going to cut my losses, brainstorm for Friday, and give you the best filler content I can think up in the meantime for today.
First, I'm going to encourage you to check out this Precision Nutrition Athlete Profile on Cressey Performance Athlete and Oakland A's minor league pitcher Shawn Haviland. Shawn completely changed his body this off-season and had a nice velocity jump from 87-89 to 91-93mph - and he's off to a good start for the Kane County Cougars. He's got a nice blog rolling, too: Ivy League to MLB.
Second, I've got a little challenge for you. One of CP's newest high-level athlete additions is Danny O'Connor, a boxer who was a member of the 2008 US Olympic Team. Danny has turned pro since the Olympics, compiling a record of 5-0 with 3 knockouts, and we're currently in the process of preparing him for his fight on April 25 at Foxwoods (shown on Showtime, for those interested). This kid enters the gym and instantly, everyone gets fired up to train.
Here's the thing, though: Danny might be the only professional boxer in history without a nickname. Nobody's come up with something good enough yet, he says. I suggested "135 Pounds of Irish Fury," but he didn't seem to go for it. So, let's see if my readers can do better than I did. What do you suggest for a nickname? Post your suggestions as comments on this blog.
1. On Monday, pretty much every baseball game in the state of Massachusetts was rained out. To our delight, we had three of our high school baseball player show up at 2:30PM (they had the last period of school free) race in to get in training sessions before they headed to their 4:30PM indoor practice (in lieu of the game).
These guys actually thought that the game was going to be played the next day, so they were planning on having lighter days in the gym. When I informed them that the game had actually been pushed back to May, one of them looked up at me and said, "So that means I can just go crazy today?"
That, folks, is how you make a strength coach smile. And, it's also how you inspire a Random Friday Thoughts blog on "Things You Can Say to Make a Strength Coach Smile."
a. "I think cottage cheese tastes like poo, but I'm going to eat it anyway, because it'll make me diesel."
b. "I know that distance running is destroying my body, so I'm going to stop for real this time - unlike the last three times I promised to give it up forever." (cough, Steph, cough)
c. "Can you tell Tony to turn this techno crap off?"
2. John Berardi just ran a feature on Howie Clark, from the Toronto Blue Jays system. I just started to work with Howie about two months ago on his in-season training program, and this interview talks a lot about the interaction of his training and nutrition. Check it out HERE.
3. On a related note, here's a cool local article where I got a shout-out recently:
Pitch Count an Inexact Science
4. It wouldn't be baseball season in Boston without a drunk dude busting a move in the stands at Fenway. My girlfriend and I watched it live on Wednesday night and knew it was sure-fire blog material:
5. Here's a little compilation of where Cressey Performance pro baseball guys are starting out this season. If you live in the neighborhood of their ballparks, go check out our guys!
Chad Rodgers (Braves, LHP) - Myrtle Beach, SC
Will Inman (Padres, RHP) - San Antonio, TX
Tim Collins (Blue Jays, LHP) - Dunedin, FL
Shawn Haviland (A's, RHP) - Kane County, IL
Steffan Wilson (Brewers, 1B/3B) - Brevard County (Viera), FL
Steve Hammond (Giants, LHP) - Fresno, CA
CJ Retherford (White Sox, 2B/3B) - Birmingham, AL
Matt Morizio (Royals, C) - Wilmington, DE
Howie Clark (Blue Jays, utility) - Las Vegas, NV
Andy D'Alessio (Giants, 1B) - Norwich, CT
We've got a few more guys in extended spring training and independent ball who should find out their destinations shortly. If you know one of the guys above, though, get out and show 'em some love!
Q: At what point do you think that muscle size affects one's range of motion? Just interested in your thoughts. I'm a golfer and my flexibility is important; there isn't much point for me to be really strong but not able to move properly.
A: Well, it would be joint- and population-specific. On the joint side of things, as an example, the elbow flexors (biceps, to the lay population) and knee flexors (hamstrings) can restrict elbow and knee flexion, respectively, if they get too big. Or, the pecs may inhibit horizontal adduction ROM. This list goes on and on.
I don't feel that simply making a muscle bigger means that you lose range-of-motion in that specific muscle, as the improvements are to cross-sectional area. If this was the case, the elbow flexors would be restricting us in extension, and the pecs would be restricting us in horizontal abduction, but as the examples above show, that's just not happening.
Provided that flexibility training is good, and structural balance is prioritized in programming, there is no reason to believe that you can't be big and flexible.
Now, it's important to consider the sporting population in question. A powerlifter isn't going to need as much mobility as, say, a baseball pitcher. One guy needs to be efficient in a short range of motion, while the other needs to be efficient through a larger range of motion.
In pitchers, external rotation ROM is a good predictive factor for velocity. On top of that, horizontal abduction at stride foot contact is huge, according to the research.
So, in order to have good pitching specific ROM, you need to have adequate length of the muscles that internally rotate and horizontally adduct the shoulders. And, the big muscle that does this is the pectoralis major. Bench until the cows come home, shorten it up, and then you'll lose that ROM.
Now, ask anyone who has ever trained baseball pitchers, and they'll tell you that pitcher gain external rotation over the course of a season simply from throwing. Guys who don't weight-train properly can certainly impede this velocity-aiding adaptation.
This, of course, is an example specific to baseball pitching, and demands would be different for golfers.
This week's recommended reading:
LiftStrong- this compilation of writings from dozens of coaches and trainers is fantastic, and I was honored to contribute. Alwyn Cosgrove - a two-time cancer survivor - pulled this great resource together, and all proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. For a small price, you get over 800 pages of content on a CD, and help out a great cause.
1. I'm feeling good. It was our quietest week of the year at CP, so I've actually had a few days to get myself a bit organized. If this pace keeps up, I might even actually get my voice back by the time 2010 rolls around. I'm sure I'll be sick of the quiet by next week, but the good news is that there is a lot of baseball to watch, and UCONN is still looking good in March Madness.
2. Another reason to smile is that we had two high school sophomores (ages 16) hit 89mph readings on the radar gun outside in cold Massachusetts this week. The best part is that they weren't "everyone throws 90mph on the internet" readings; they were actually legitimate. It's going to be a fun spring around it; it's always nice to see guys rewarded for their hard work in the off-season.
3. Morgan Alexander - a member of the 2006 Canadian 4-man Bobsleigh team that finished fourth in the Olympics - is in town to train with me this week. Yesterday, he and I visited CP client Steph Holland-Brodney's third-grade class at a local elementary school.
On one hand, it fascinated me how brilliant these kids are with respect to working computers; each of them has a laptop at each desk, and they are incredibly proficient. Then, just as I'm about convinced that the future of America is bright with these kids, autograph time comes. Obviously, they wanted Morgan's autograph (and he signed a ton), but it never ceases to amaze me that they asked for mine, too. I signed sneakers, balloons, and note cards - and I'm pretty sure that I devalued them completely (if that's even possible) just with my signature.
4. Anyone who thinks that throwing submarine-style is easier on the arm needs to check out this picture (thanks to Paul Connolly for sending it along). This is some serious external rotation.
As you can tell, the real change in his throwing posture comes from the hips and trunk, not so much from the arm. As such, he'll encounter all the same flexibility deficits that regular pitchers experienceif they don't take care of their bodies.
5. The folks at Precision Nutrition published a great article about artificial sweeteners, particularly Splenda. Check it out: Splenda: Is it Safe?
That's all for today. Have a great weekend, folks!
If you have a pitcher athlete with good shoulder ROM (normal GIRD and symmetrical total motion), sufficient thoracic spine mobility, good scapular stability, and adequate tissue quality who has rehabbed and long-tossed pain-free, but has shoulder/elbow pain when he gets back on the mound, CHECK THE HIPS!
Staying closed and flying open will be your two most common culprits; this cannot be seen in a doctor's office! Changing lead leg positioning is a quick way to indirectly (and negatively) impact the position of the arm. Guys who stay closed have to throw across their body, and guys who fly open often have problems with the arm trailing too far behind (out of the scapular plane).
For more information, check out the Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD Set.Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches
used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
1. As I mentioned last week, I came down with a nasty bug of some sort - and it felt like I was swallowing thumbtacks for a few days. Well, long story short, it's a week later - and my throat isn't much better, and I still don't have my voice back (which tends to be pretty important when you spend your days yelling at athletes). So, I'm finally breaking down and heading to the doctor's this morning. Normally, I probably would have been stubborn and tried to wait this out even longer, but I'm giving a 8am-5pm seminar on Sunday, and I'll kind of need my voice for that. It looks like I could be going on antibiotics for the first time since I was 17...
2. Speaking of antibiotics, Brian St. Pierre wrote a great blog recently about important dietary modifications for those who are on antibiotics. It's definitely worth reading; check it out HERE.
3. Continuing with the immunity stuff, I recently came across an article that noted that a recent study showed that children who slept seven hours or less each night are three times more likely to get a respiratory illness after exposure to a virus than their peers who sleep eight hours or more. I wonder where strength coaches/writers/consultants/entrepreneurs who sleep less than two hours a night fall on this list...
4. If you're a baseball fan looking for a good read, I'd encourage you to check out License to Deal: A Season on the Run with a Maverick Baseball Agent. Jerry Crasnick, a baseball writer for ESPN.com, follows around Matt Sosnick and Paul Cobbe of the Sosnick-Cobbe sports agency to offer a great overview of the baseball representation business and how it's evolved in recent years.
The book was actually recommended to me by one of our athletes and their clients, Harvard graduate and Oakland A's pitching prospect Shawn Haviland. It was an interesting read for me, as I'm a strength and conditioning coach in the private sector who deals with active pro baseball players, future pro baseball players with the draft rapidly approaching, agents, and representatives of the MLB organizations. My business partner is reading right now and really enjoying it, too. I'd definitely encourage you to check it out HERE.
5. This is the longest exercise name in history, but it's a great one:
6. Last, but certainly not least, the sign-up page for the Maine NSCA event on April 18 is now up. You can check it out HERE.
Q: I know that you're tops when it comes to keeping baseball guys (especially pitchers) healthy and performing at the top level. How would your approach to training baseball players in general, and pitchers more specifically, differ when working with somewhat similar athletes such as:(a) football quarterbacks(b) swimmers other than backstrokers(c) swimmers specializing in the back strokeI realize there would be obvious differences, especially for C, since that is actually the opposite of pitching, so I'd love to hear some of your general thoughts on this.
A: This is actually a great question. I guess it's one of those things you do subconsciously and then think about after the fact. I'm assuming you are referring to the shoulder and elbow demands in particular, so I'll start with that.
Training football quarterbacks and pitchers would be virtually identical in terms of demands on the hips, ankles, and shoulders. Anecdotal experience tells me that there would be a higher correlation between hip dysfunction and shoulder/elbow problems in pitchers than in quarterbacks, though.
Swimmers would be similar at the shoulder, but I don't see the same kind of correlation b/t hip and shoulder dysfunction. Obviously, though, issues like scapular stability, thoracic spine range-of-motion, and tissue quality would all be present in all three populations.
Backstrokers would have comparable scapular stabilization demands, but different glenohumeral rotation patterns. With them, you assess total shoulder rotation and go from there (this is my strategy with everyone, but it just warrants extra mention in this discussion).
Above all, you've got to realize that while you might see trends in different athletic populations, each one is still unique, so assessment tells you what you need to know. For instance, I have a few pro pitchers throwing well over 90mph, and from looking at their shoulders, you'd never know they had ever thrown a baseball in their lives. At initial testing (i.e., right after the long season ended), the total motion among my eleven pro pitchers from this past off-season ranged from 133 degrees to 186 degrees. The guy with 186 degrees actually had more external rotation (135 degrees) than the least "lax" guy had in total motion!
So, a guy with a 3/4 arm slot is going to have different adaptive changes than a guy who is more over-the-top or sidearm - and you can certainly carry those variations across the board to different throwing styles in football, and the wide variety of shoulders you'll see in a swimming population that might be proficient in more than one stroke.
Related Posts:Flexibility Deficits in PitchersThe Truth About Impingement: Part 2
In a continuation of last Tuesday's post, here's another common mistake you'll see in the static posture of overhead throwing athletes. Many times, folks will see a low-shoulder like the one below and automatically assume is means "scoliosis."
In reality, this is a function of both the structural and functional adaptations that take place in a baseball pitcher's shoulder girdle over the course of a throwing career. I am not of the belief that you can altogether eliminate this, given the structural adaptations that have taken place over the course of years of throwing. However, I firmly believe (and have observed frequently) that as long as one normalized range of motion and strength/stability of the rotator cuff and scapular stabilizers, modest improvements in this posture can come about. Phil Donley goes into great detail on this topic in his presentation in the 2008 Ultimate Pitching Coaches Bootcamp DVD Set.
It is worth mentioning that in some populations, this may be a function of an ankle, hip, lower back, or other issues.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches
used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
