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
If you read this blog with any sort of regularity, it should come as no surprise to you that I'm really pumped up for the upcoming Major League Baseball season, as we saw over 30 professional baseball players from 21 different major league organizations this off-season at Cressey Performance. My excitement hit another level earlier this week when I spent some time down in Ft. Myers, FL in the thick of things prior to pitchers and catchers officially reporting yesterday.
In honor of this big date in the baseball world, I thought it'd be as good a time as ever to announce a sale on a few of my products. From today through midnight on Thursday, February 25, you can get 30% off on The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual, The Truth About Unstable Surface Training, and The Art of the Deload by entering the coupon code FEB2010 at checkout from the Products Page.
This is actually the first time that The Truth About Unstable Surface Training has ever gone on sale since its release, so don't miss out on this opportunity to pick up some first-of-its-kind research and the practical applications associated with it.
Again, just head HERE and enter the coupon code FEB2010 to get 30% off your order.
Go Red Sox!
Here is this week's list of recommended reading:
Final Phase Fat Loss - As a quick follow-up to our interview with John Romaniello earlier this week, just a reminder that today is the last day to get the low "Grand Opening" price on this great fat loss resource. It's among the best I've seen.
This is an excellent strength exercise that provides both an anti-extension and anti-rotation core stability challenge, plus the benefits of scapular stabilization and dynamic function of the rotator cuff.
I'm really fired up today to announce that our new website is now live at www.CresseyPerformance.com.
This site is a lot more representative of our facility than the old one, for sure, but it's also going to become a "destination" for CP clients and those looking for "info-tainment," as my business partner Pete will be regularly updating a blog at the new site about the goings-on at the facility. There are still a few things we need to add, but for the most part, this thing is ready to go. Let's just say that you'll probably be able to live vicariously through this blog if you're too far away to actually become a regular client of Cressey Performance! So, be sure to subscribe to the blog while you're over there.
It's been something we've been meaning to do for quite some time, and it would not have come to the fruition without the help of CP client Tim Roy and his incredible team at Dynamic Diagrams, an internationally-recognized studio that has provided services to clients such as Hewlett-Packard, Sirius Satellite Radio, the Getty Museum, and the World Health Organization. Dynamic Diagrams did an excellent job bringing this new site to life and we are very appreciative of their support - and have quickly become "raving fans." And the only part of the bargain we have to keep is no sessions on the Prowler for the next two months for Tim and his wife!
Check them out at www.DynamicDiagrams.com.
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
Q: One of my favorite (insert generic sarcastic look here) things to watch in the weightroom is my pitchers getting under the rack for bench presses. It's not the fact that they're benching that upsets me, but the "Beach Body" mindset that is behind it. What's the most efficient way for a pitcher to work on his bench, and more importantly, what should he be trying to gain by performing the bench press correctly?
A: Okay, let's get right to opening this can of worms.
With any exercise, we look for carryover to the functional demands of our sport. However, we accept that general strength gains transfer in most cases. As an example, we know that we can improve throwing velocity with a variety of training initiatives, but training specificity like this is stupid:
Now that we've all gotten a bit dumber, let's continue...
As it relates to pitching, the fundamental problem with the conventional barbell bench press (as performed correctly, which it normally isn't) is that it doesn't really train scapular movement effectively. When we do push-up variations, the scapulae are free to glide - just as they do when we pitch. When we bench, though, we cue athletes to lock the shoulder blades down and back to create a great foundation from which to press. It's considerably different, as we essentially take away most (if not all) of scapular protraction.
Additionally, the closed-chain nature of push-ups is much more shoulder friendly, even if pitching is an open-chain exercise. In fact, most rehabilitation progressions - regardless of the shoulder issue in question - will begin with push-up variations before any open-chain pressing exercises.
With dumbbell benching, we recognize that we get better range-of-motion, freer movement of the humerus (instead of being locked into internal rotation), and increased core activation - particularly if we're doing alternating DB presses or 1-arm db presses. There is even a bit more scapular movement in these variations (even if we don't actually coach it).
With a barbell bench press, you don't really get any of these benefits - and it's somewhat inferior from a range-of-motion standpoint. While it may allow you to jack up the weight and potentially put on muscle mass a bit more easily, the truth is that muscle mass here - particularly if it leads to restrictions in shoulder and scapular movement - won't carry over to throwing the way the muscle mass in the lower half and upper back will. I've seen a ton of guys with loads of external rotation and horizontal abduction range-of-motion throw the crap out of the baseball, but can't say that I've ever seen any correlation - in the research or my anecdotal experience - between a good bench press and throwing velocity.
That said, I recognize that there are still a lot of "wannabe meatheads" in the pitching world, so we do our best to meet our athletes halfway and please the bench press gods. Most of the time, dumbbell bench pressing and push-up variations will be sufficient, but we will sometimes us the multipurpose bar with our pitchers because it puts them in a more shoulder-friendly neutral grip.
Add some chains to the bar, and you have a great stabilization challenge that works the true function of the rotator cuff.
That said, if you absolutely feel like you need to do traditional benching, keep the volume down, keep the elbows tucked, and keep the shoulder blades stable underneath you. And, be sure to recognize that your ego probably isn't doing much for your success on the mound - as there are training initiatives with better returns on investment. Remember that pitchers have loads of competing demands - from throwing, to mobility training, to soft tissue work, to fielding practice, to movement training - so what you do in the weight room has to highly effective to justify its inclusion. I just struggle to consider bench pressing "highly effective" for pitchers.
Just wanted to give you all a heads-up that Mike Robertson is running a customer appreciation sale on Bulletproof Knees this week. If you enter the coupon code KNEES2010 at checkout, it'll get you $15 off the cost of the product. I've raved about this resource in the past, as I think it's the single-best corrective exercise product on the market with respect to knee pain.
Check it out: Bulletproof Knees. This sale only goes through the end of the day on Thursday, February 11.
Preface 1
If you're like me, you foster a great appreciation for the work Eric Cressey does both in cyberspace and in person through mediums like seminars, conferences, etc. However often times Eric's readers do not benefit from what goes on behind the scenes at Cressey Performance. In fact, I would venture to say that at most top notch Strength & Conditioning facilities around the country this privilege often falls upon interns, as they are learning day in and day out from the entire staff.
So, my fellow Cressey disciples, never fear because there is a solution! Eric has asked me to write regular blog posts regarding my internship here at Cressey Performance. This will include many training epiphanies and revelations, "ah-ha" moments, coaching insights, and just flat-out Eric Cressey madness! Being able to get inside the mind of Eric Cressey and his staff is a tremendous honor and I would love to share all that comes out it.
Hope you enjoy!
Appreciating Differences
We had a splendid seminar recently at Cressey Performance with Neil Rampe as the speaker. Beyond the actual shop talk I noticed a similar thread in his speech. He often would finish up a slide summary with the question "Can you appreciate that?" He'd present his knowledge and then ask the audience, "Can you appreciate that?" Notice what he did not say. Neil didn't present his rationale, science, and/or theory and ask attendees "Do you see how I'm right and so and so is wrong?" In fact, I don't recall him ever even using the words "right" or "wrong." It was always "Can you appreciate this or that?" In one such example he taught to appreciate asymmetries in the body. More specific to this discussion though, Neil discussed the appreciation of different schools of thought from Janda, Sahrmann, Kolar, Myers, PRI, and others.
This concept of appreciating different perspectives, instead of trying to prove right or wrong, I find more and more useful the longer I coach. More practically, I find this coming into fruition over simple things in the Strength & Conditioning field. Take a simple exercise like the One-Arm Cable Row for example. Should you retract both shoulder blades when your row or just the side that is doing the rowing? Is one way right and the other is wrong? Really? A more noble argument I've found is which one is more optimal for what you're trying to accomplish. In reality neither one is wrong; they're just different!
What about if you place certain components of your program in different spots than others. Is it "wrong" to put static stretching at the beginning or end of a workout? Is either way "right?" I don't think so. They both can be applied appropriately at either end of the session. What about a quadruped t-spine mobility drill. Should the arms and femurs be completely perpendicular to the ground or should you be sitting back slightly on your calves?
Again, is either version wrong? Nope, just another example of different ways to skin a cat.
Oftentimes, it's young up-and-coming coaches like myself that fall victim to training arguments. Alwyn Cosgrove talked about this once when he said something to the effect of:
"If you put all the greatest coaches in a room they will agree on most things and disagree on few things. If you put all their students in one room they'll be arguing all day long over the differences."
I hope I quoted Alwyn correctly, but either way, you get the point. In most cases, one perspective or difference may be more optimal than the other in terms of the goals it's trying to accomplish. Only in a few cases is either side wrong or right. So, the next time you're listening to someone give advice - be it for programming or just in general terms - appreciate where they're coming from. Understand WHY he is suggesting something. Is the person a powerlifter? Is he a physical therapist? Is the person a Strength & Condtioning coach, athletic trainer, doctor, chiropractor, or a professor? Does he work in group training settings, semi-private, or a one-on-one situation? Understanding all these different perspectives can allow you to APPRECIATE what the other person is saying without getting all indignant because you think he's "wrong."
Thanks, Eric, for helping me realize this valuable lesson!
You can contact Sam Leahey at sam.leahey@gmail.com.
Good stuff from the past and present for this week's recommended reading:
The Law of Repetitive Motion Part 1 and Part 2 - These back-to-back newsletters from last June are, in my mind, must-reads if you're training clients and want to understand how injuries occur.
Thoracic Mobility is a Myth? - Bill Hartman answers a reader's question on thoracic spine mobility in great detail. It's definitely worth a read.
