Over the past few weeks, I’ve received literally dozens of emails, Facebook posts/messages, Tweets, and phone calls on the topic of in-season strength and conditioning for baseball players. While it was a daunting task to try to organize my thoughts on the subject, I was glad to do so, as all these inquiries mean that people are finally starting to “get it:” in-season strength and conditioning is extremely important!
To that end, over the next four days, I’ll outline my general strength and conditioning approach to dealing with position players and pitchers during the season. Every athlete and every schedule is different, so it might take some tinkering to make this work for you.
First, though, I want to throw out a few quick FYIs, as some of what I “omit” will actually surprise you. In terms of my in-season strength and conditioning beliefs, I’m different from many people in that:
1. I’m not big on lots of band stuff at the field – I discussed my thoughts on rotator cuff exercises frequency and overall scheduling in Clearing Up the Rotator Cuff Controversy. In a nutshell, I tend to stick with 2x/week “conventional” rotator cuff exercises (mostly external rotations) and 2x/week rhythmic stabilization drills. In conjunction with the rest of our overall program – which includes compound upper body strength exercises ( horizontal and vertical pulling exercises, in particular), deceleration catches, core stability drills, lower half strength exercises, soft tissue work, mobility work, etc – we cover all our needs for keeping an arm healthy. Why on earth would I add more rotator cuff exercises to my program when I’m already increasing throwing volume, intensity, and frequency? The cuff is already getting abused – so there is no need to crush it any more with daily tubing circuits unless they are incredibly light and just aimed at improving blood flow.
I firmly believe that many pitchers (and position players alike) overuse their arms during a season simply because they add, add, and add more to their program without fully understanding the outrageous eccentric stress that’s placed on the arm during throwing. And, for those who insist that doing lots of in-season rotator cuff exercises has kept them healthy, I’d argue that this is probably the case because they weren’t that prepared at the end of the off-season.
2. I don’t do much medicine ball work in-season – If you haven’t already watched my video, the Absolute Strength to Absolute Speed Continuum, watch it now:
During the season, players are about as far to the “absolute speed” end of the continuum as they can be, as they’re hitting, throwing, and sprinting. With the overwhelming amount of “accidental” power training taking place, I feel that it’s best to stay at the other end of the spectrum. You can spend more time in the middle during the off-season.
That said, we do utilize a small amount of medicine ball work during the season. Usually, it’s predominantly done in the opposite direction of a player’s swing/throw; in other words, a right-handed hitter would perform left handed medicine ball throws. We might also do a small amount of overhead work just to maintain power within this range of motion (as well as the thoracic spine and shoulder flexion mobility that goes with it).
3. I don’t do any distance running for my guys – There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here, as I already barbequed this sacred cow in A New Model for Training Between Starts. So, this time around, I’ll just be abrasive: coaches who have their baseball players run long distances are either lazy or flat-out stupid (or both).
4. I am a big believer in “less is more” and “quality over quantity” for in-season training – Rarely will an in-season strength training program session last more than 35-40 minutes. It’s usually roughly 10-14 sets worth of work. A guy might be in the gym longer than that for foam rolling and targeted mobility drills, though.
5. Volume and intensity should be lower in week 1, but higher for the remaining weeks with in-season strength training programs – I usually keep the volume and intensity lower in the first week of the program to minimize initial soreness. Then, once the familiarity with the exercises is in place, we can load up a bit more in weeks 2-4 (or 2-6, if you opt to extend the program a bit longer).
6. Strength exercise selection changes a bit in-season, but the basics still apply – We’re still using a lot of compound, multi-joint strength exercises, but there are a few modifications.
In-season, I tend to utilize more horizontal pulling (rows) than vertical pulling (pull-ups/chin-ups). We use a lot of vertical pulling throughout the year, but never really go above once a week during the season, as some guys can get a bit cranky in the elbow with the amount of weight it takes to make them challenging. If you want some of the benefits without the elbow issues, you can always plug in the crossover reverse fly.
This doesn’t mean, however, that I think chin-ups and pull-ups are bad for pitchers. Far too many coaches have (unsuccessfully) tried to beat that dead horse; let it go, fellas.
Especially with pitchers, I utilize more push-up variations than dumbbell bench pressing during the season. If we wind up doing three days of horizontal pushing, two will be push-ups and one will be dumbbell pressing. If we do two days, it’s one of each. If it’s only one, it’s a push-up. We have several different variations (as I wrote here and here) from which to choose, so athletes are actually far less likely to get bored with them than with dumbbell pressing, anyway.
7. Don’t overlook maintaining mobility – It’s called “Strength and Conditioning,” but the truth is that we could probably scrap the conditioning part with respect to baseball and replace it with “mobility.” Guys don’t just get hurt in-season because they lose strength; they get hurt because they lose mobility. All the eccentric stress leads to significant losses in mobility, as does all the standing around leads athletes to miss out on basic functional movement patterns like squatting and lunging. Don’t just be a “weights coach;” there are other things to address! This is probably the primary reason why Assess and Correct has gotten such great reviews among baseball coaches; it's one piece that they were missing!
It took me over a thousand words, but it would appear that I’ve gotten all my prerequisites out of the way. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about in-season training for the high school baseball player.
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We bought our dog, Tank, in October of 2010 – and he’s since gone on to be not only man’s best friend around the house, but also an integral (and entertaining) part of the Cressey Sports Performance experience, as he comes to the gym with me just about every day.
In spite of Tank’s affinity for flashing people, he managed to win adoration of the family of one of our CSP athletes to the point that they decided they wanted to get a cream puggle just like him. Having spent months housetraining him and trying to get him to sleep through the night back in the day, my wife and I had plenty of suggestions for these folks to avoid making the mistakes we made. I mean, we never told him to eat paint chips, but puppies will be puppies, you know?
Anyway, that family is now all settled with their puppy, and it got me to thinking about the importance of learning from others’ mistakes is in the world of strength and conditioning programs. If I can help out one puppy owner, I might as well help out the thousands of visitors on this website each month! With that in mind, here are five strength and conditioning mistakes I corrected that have made a big difference for me:
1. Eating like a sissy in the post-training window – If you’re an up-and-coming lifter or athlete who can benefit from increasing muscle mass (and I definitely was), the post-workout period is not a time when you can skimp on calories. I really did not start making great progress until I was getting in over a thousand calories between my post-training shake and the meal that took place an hour later – and that was on the light side compared to what I’ve seen with some other guys. I can’t think of many things that drive me crazier than seeing one of our athletes finish a training session – and then sit around in the office for 2-3 hours without eating anything. I love having them hang out at the gym, but I just want them to do it with calories!
2. Not training for strength soon enough – I'm going to dumb getting bigger down as much as I can, yet still keep it mathematical. You've got to do "muscular damage" and then rebuild. If you don't do work, you don't get damage. Work = Force x Distance
Unless you plan on growing for the rest of your life (or find magical ways to keep adding range of motion to exercises), the easiest way to positively impact the amount of work you do is to apply more force - or be stronger. To that end, I'll make a bold statement here: for the first two years of lifting, your primary goal should simply be to add weight to the bar (provided you can do so in good technique and without pain). As long as we're talking about compound strength exercises, you'll be very pleased with the results. We have novice lifters at Cressey Performance who grow like weeds in their first two years of training with us - and I can't say that I've ever had someone ask me about "the pump." I wish I'd had someone to tell me to shut up when I asked about it when I was 18!
3.Spending too much time doing non-essentials – This one goes hand-in-hand with the previous observation. I really had no place doing curls, triceps extensions, and other isolation exercises when I hadn’t even come close to putting up good numbers on the important strength exercises. It kept me in the gym too long and interfered with my recovery on the really important stuff. The funny thing is that now that I have gotten a lot stronger, I really don’t have interest in doing much of the isolation stuff anymore – because I realize that the core strength exercises are the ones that really helped me progress.
4. Not being more athletic with my energy systems work – Growing up, I was an avid soccer and tennis player, and as a result of all my time on the field/court, I was reasonably quick and good with changes of direction. When my early 20s rolled around, I took a step back from those sports to pursue strength training "full time." A few years later, I was invited to play in a charity basketball game against a bunch of at-the-time Patriots players like Ellis Hobbs, Reche Caldwell, Pierre Woods, and Logan Mankins (among others). Don't let anyone tell you that NFL guys can't play hoops, because these guys mopped the floor with us. The outcome wasn't altogether surprising, but one thing that did open my eyes was how I just didn't feel as athletic as I used to be in spite of the fact that I'd gotten a lot stronger as compared to my high school years. I was putting force into the ground, but I wasn't applying it quickly - and I wasn't doing it in planes of motion in which I was comfortable. Not surprisingly, most of my energy systems work at the time (which really wasn't much) was being done on machines: ellipticals, versa-climbers, rowers, and bikes. I committed to cutting back on mindless repetitive motion cardio right away - and since then, just about all my energy systems work has been sprinting, strongman-type medleys, change of direction work, slideboard work, and medicine ball circuits (plus just a small amount of Airdyne work). The end result? A 37.2-inch vertical jump - more than 12 inches better than I was back at the time, and I'm at a higher body weight and just as lean as when I was doing all that "gerbil cardio." More importantly, I feel a ton more athletic - and I'm more likely to do stupid things for others' amusement around the gym.
5. Not finding a good training crew earlier – I’ve been fortunate to lift with some excellent training partners, from my days on-campus at the University of Connecticut, to South Side Gym, to the guys I lift with at Cressey Sports Performance nowadays. Before that, though, I was flying solo for quite some time. Let me tell you: good training partners make a HUGE difference. They pick you up when you’re dragging, help you select weights, provide spots/handoffs, and create an awesome social atmosphere that actually helps training progress. “Going it alone” doesn’t just refer to having training partners with whom you can lift, though. It also refers to having professional resources to whom you can turn – whether it’s a massage therapist when your elbows get cranky from all the gripping you do, or someone to help you out with your strength and conditioning programs. I’m not going to lie: I did some terrible programs back in the day when I didn’t know any better. If I’d had an unbiased party helping me out, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble. That’s one reason why I created The High Performance Handbook.
On one hand, it takes the guesswork out of training by providing the actual strength and conditioning programs as well as an extensive video database to help with technique on all the mobility and strength exercises. On the other hand, though, I designed it so that it would give folks a lot of wiggle room when it comes to adapting it to their unique goals and needs. It starts with an easy-to-apply assessment you can use to determine your unique needs. From there, you've got 4x/week, 3x/week, and 2x/week strength training programs; different supplemental conditioning options; and a unique mobility warm-up for every month of the program. Problems solved. Click here to learn more about The High Performance Handbook. It's on sale for $50 off through Sunday at midnight.
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Q: How does one find a balance between "technique/form/corrective/sissy work" and lifting heavy weights to make gains in a strength training program? I see both extremes, but am curious about what affects the balance between the two.
A: This is actually a great question, and I am actually surprised that I’ve never answered it before in over five years of writing on this site.
For me, it all comes down to five factors in each athlete/client: strength training experience, injury history, goals, time to commit, and training session structure.
In someone with limited strength and conditioning, more of the session is going to be devoted to technique work on entry level strength exercises. You don’t have to worry as much about lifting really heavy weights simply because beginners can make appreciable strength gains with as little as 40% of 1-rep max on exercises. The more advanced an athlete becomes, the less time you spend on technique work, and the more work you do with strength development and corrective exercise. Eventually, when an athlete has a lot of strength, you have to consider whether all the time and effort that would go in to adding 20 pounds to his squat would actually be better spent elsewhere – whether it’s with corrective work, power training at a lower percentage of 1-rep max, or in introducing new exercises. Effectively, it always comes down to finding someone’s biggest window of adaptation and exploiting it. That's one reason why I tried to make the Show and Go program so versatile by including 2x/week, 3x/week, and 4x/week training options alongside five supplemental metabolic training protocols.
If we are talking about someone with a lengthy injury history, though, the rules get thrown out the window. You are not only spending more time with corrective exercise, but also refining your strength exercise selection to work with this individual – so it might mean that you have to do more technique work to add in new strength exercises, regardless of that individual’s training experience.
One’s training goals impact the corrective/heavy lifting balance as well. If I’m training someone who simply wants to improve quality of life or stay healthy in athletics, I can be a bit more cautious on the heavy lifting side of things and hold back. However, if we are talking about someone who was put on this planet to get strong and wants to be the most badass guy in the gym, we have to lift some heavy weights to make that happen. So, while the second scenario in many cases requires more corrective exercise, we’re talking about a population that is willing to take more risks in training to get to a goal that might not be at all interesting to a more “low key” population. This does not, however, mean it’s okay to let strength-oriented people lift with atrocious technique. Doing so makes you an unethical clown who is more likely to get sued – not a professional.
Time to commit is another important consideration that many folks overlook. Very simply, if someone can only get in two exercise sessions a week, I’m not going to be spending a ton of time on corrective exercise with them. You’re much more likely to die from being fat and having diabetes than you are from having a cranky rotator cuff. I’ll gladly give these folks additional corrective exercise that they can do during their busy schedules (which are never as busy as they claim), but I won’t coddle them when they need to move.
The last factor, which is more about the training model than the athlete/client in question, is how one structures a training session. At Cressey Performance, athletes start their sessions with foam rolling and then proceed to an 8-10 exercise dynamic warm-up. For many folks – particularly young athletes – that is enough “corrective” work, and the remainder of the session can be devoted to technical instruction and increasing strength on exercises that are safe for them. Those with more accumulated wear-and-tear on their bodies will need more corrective exercise beyond what they’ll get from strength training alone – so we add in fillers (e.g., extra mobility work) between sets, and some additional corrective work at the end of the session. Since you have a limited amount of time with people, you may have to cut back on strength training or metabolic conditioning initially just so that you can get in this early corrective work to get them over the initial “hump.” Trust me: it will set the stage for long-term success rather than “short-term gain, long-term pain.”
There are two final points I’d like to make. First, in my experience, many experienced lifters/athletes have responded well to separating the heavy lifting from the corrective stuff. When they show up to train, they may be really fired up and ready to go – so the last thing they’ll want is to do some wall slides or spend five minutes getting some length in their rectus femoris.
These folks would be wise to do just enough warm-up work to prepare for their heavy training, and then add in some separate sessions to address movement inefficiencies – whether we’re talking additional foam rolling, massage, mobility drills, rotator cuff work, or something else. They can also add it in on the end of the session after the hardest work is done.
Second, for many folks, maximal strength can be tremendously corrective. Increasing strength in one area can reduce excessive stress in another area of the body. An example of this would be using the box squat or deadlift to learn proper hip hinging techniques, which would increase posterior chain contribution and take some of the burden off the quads in someone with anterior knee pain. Likewise, all other factors held constant, a stronger muscle is less likely to become degenerative. You can read more along these lines in two older newsletter of mine on the Law of Repetitive Motion: Parts 1 and Part 2.
Obviously, there are many things to consider, but this should at least get you headed in the right direction in finding the right balance in your strength training program.
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As I noted earlier in the week, I’m two weeks in to the new Lean Hybrid Muscle program and really enjoying it. It’s a pretty significant change of pace from what I might call my normal programming that’s geared toward predominantly increasing strength and overall athleticism – but it’s working extremely well. As the saying goes, “The best program is the one you’re not on.”
This temporary paradigm shift got me to thinking that it'd be a good idea to bring in the LHM creators, Mike Westerdal and Elliott Hulse, in for an interview to talk about whether this kind of cross-training is necessary in a strength and conditioning program. Here goes...
EC: Whenever you see people who are successful across multiple disciplines, you look for commonalities in the way that they prepare themselves. Mike, you’ve done well for yourself in powerlifting, and Elliott, you’re an accomplished strongman competitor. What do you believe to be the most important factors governing one’s success in strength sports? I figured that before we talk about what might need to be changed from time-to-time, we ought to talk about what should always stay the same.
EH: In my experience there are only a handful of tired and true principles that govern success and achievement in all areas of life. Whether you are a strength athlete or a stay-at-home-mom, the same principles apply. Like Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “methods are many, but principles are few.” So, instead of spouting off some of my training methods here, I will share three foundation principles that I tend to value and refer to most when taking aim towards any particular goal - strength or otherwise.
The first is CLARITY. It is paramount that we know exactly what effect we would like our actions to produce. You cannot hit a target that you can’t see.
The next is COMMITMENT. Most people have a vague and fuzzy idea of what they want, but even worse is that most think of these things as “nice-to-haves,” as opposed to “I-WILL-haves.” The difference between someone who is “trying” to win because it would be nice and the person who DOES win is commitment. Winners commit 100% to reaching their goal. They never have a backdoor to escape and never take “no” for an answer.
The third principle governing one's success is DISCIPLINE! I once heard that discipline is, “doing what you have to do, whether you feel like it or not.” I like to think of myself as a robot. Once I set my mind on a particular target, I must then put fickle emotion aside and continue to do everyday what I set out to do from the get-go...whether I “feel like it or not.”
MW: Elliott is a tough act to follow when it comes to success. A lot of people - myself included - like listening to him not only because of his strength and conditioning knowledge but also because of his general leadership when it comes to personal development in other areas of life as well.
Eric, this a great question. I’ve actually had the privilege of interviewing hundreds of different athletes for a book I published at Critical Bench. It included in MMA fighter, powerliftes, strongman competitors, bodybuilders, pro athletes and industry experts. I’ve thought a lot about this and really tried to figure out the common denominators when it comes to excelling in sports.
It almost never has to do with an exact training method or style. Guys get huge with heavy lifting and guys get huge with volume training. Powerlifters have attained world class status having trained with Westside as with Sheiko training. What it really comes down to is a few other factors that I’ll list below:
-You have to surround yourself with other successful people: people that are already in a place where you want to go. If you hang around with a bunch of lazy deadbeats you’re going to get dragged down with them. Instead, find people that are the best at what they do and try to make them a part of your life.
-To take this a step further you have to visualize yourself or imagine yourself becoming what you want before it’s ever happened. If you don’t already think you can bench press 600 pounds there’s no way that will ever manifest itself in real life until you brain can accept it as reality.
Now you may think this is hocus pocus talk, but when they asked Joe Montana what it felt like to win the Super Bowl. He said it felt like the other 300 times I won it. The reporter said, “300 times?” “That’s right” Montana replied, “I’ve been winning the Super Bowl in my backyard since I was 12-years old.”
-The next thing I see from a lot of successful strength athletes is sacrifice. Many things in life are possible, but you have to decide if what it takes to reach that goal is worth the sacrifice. The energy you exert on a certain sport may affect your energy levels for other areas of your life. During a heavy powerlifting cycle, I’m toast even when I’m not training. I find myself resting a lot more. So you have to ask yourself. What exactly do you want and are you willing to do what it takes to achieve the goal? So guys who get to the very top level often sacrifice things like certain social events, for example.
-My cousin is a successful business owner and recently gave me a valuable lesson that I believe can be applied not only to business, but also to strength sports. He told me to just keep showing up. It sounds pretty simple but most people don’t have the consistency to just keep showing up and stick with something until the end. Lots of small steps over a long period of time add up. Unfortunately, it’s very rare that you’ll find a secret shortcut or magic bullet. Just keep showing up and over time you’ll get better.
-My last point is similar to my first point. I mentioned surrounding yourself with successful people. You also need to eliminate negativity from your life and your training. If people are complaining about bad luck, aches, pains, circumstances and a host of other problems, you can’t let that stuff get into your head. I swear these things happen to these people because that’s what they think about and talk about all the time. Why not spend your time with people who are focused on where they are going and what they want?
EC: Great points - and definitely a lot of stuff that I've seen in my successful clients and training partners, too. Back to the subject at-hand, though: "cross-training" within a strength training program. How often do you guys intentionally deviate from your “normal” programming – whether it’s to shake things up for specific physiological reasons or just to get a little mental break?MW: As a competitive powerlifter I trained the same way for several years straight. This is not the fault of the sport, but I was doing the same kind of training for too long. I believe that the lack of conditioning and doing the same strength exercises for too long eventually led to me gaining some unnecessary weight and even contributed to a lower back and shoulder injury.
Now, I love powerlifting and if your only goal is one-rep max strength, it’s the way to go. I wanted to drop a weight class, heal up some injuries, and get some of my athleticism back, though, so it felt good to try a more hybrid program. If you compete in any specific sport you need to train for that sport. However, at this stage of my life I have multiple goals and feel that training for them at the same time is working since I’m not trying to be the absolute best at any skill set. I do want to compete again and when I do I’ll have to cut back on the conditioning and hypertrophy work and focus more on nervous system training again. For now, though, I’m really enjoying the feeling of being more well rounded and athletic.
EH: As a professional strongman I had followed a pretty similar program of power-building mixed with strongman implements for about 3 years straight, never “mixing it up.” This not only led to weaknesses in some areas of overall health and performance, but also created the muscular imbalances that caused me to tear my biceps tendon last spring.
Now, I am committed to working towards multiple performance goals within 12-24 month periods so as to avoid the lopsidedness that caused my injury. For example, I have gone from competing as a pro strongman to running a 10 mile “psycho race” called the Tough Mudder this spring. Next, I am going to qualify for the Crossfit games before building my lifts back up to compete in a raw power lifting meet in the winter.
This may sound crazy to most people, but I’m going to give it a try. It doesn’t mean that my new approach is the right one for everyone, but I’d like to see if it is possible to excel in multiple fitness qualities at once. And I do recognize balance as a foundational principle as well.
EC: How long do these “cross-training” periods typically last?EH: If you mean “periods” as in using hybrid training for only a portion of time during the year, then I would say “forever” – unless you are a professional athlete or bodybuilder who needs to excel in one fitness quality over another in order to compete in your sport.
If building a leaner, more functional and athletic physique is your goal, then I invite you to use this type of training all the time. The beauty of hybrid training is that you can adjust your parameters in order to emphasize one quality over another. For example, if building muscle mass is your goal, then you would continue to use more strength and hypertrophy work over conditioning – but without totally ignoring the latter.
MW: That would depend on who you’re asking. If you compete in a sport with a specific skill set like powerlifting this would be more an off-season conditioning program to do for a couple months. I see a lot of powerlifters train 12 weeks for a meet followed by two weeks completely off. Of course, there are deload weeks in the meet cycle as well. I’ve seen guys throw together three of these 12-week cycles back-to-back. After that, they usually know they need a break or their body forces them to slow down. Adding in some cross training workouts or hybrid training could be beneficial at this time for a couple months.
Now if you don’t compete in a specialized sport I truly believe you can train “Hybrid Style” all year long. You’ll feel good, look good and have great conditioning. If you decide to compete in any one area of fitness you’ll need to focus more on that area, though, to be competitive.
EC: How about when you return to your “conventional” programming? What kind of favorable adaptations (or unfavorable de-adaptations) have you seen?MW: The biggest advantage I can see when returning to powerlifting would be injury prevention. With the different programming, I get a chance to work on any imbalances and heal up any nagging injuries. The health benefits are there too. The reduction in body fat and the cardiovascular conditioning helps me perform better on dynamic training days.
The down side is that my one-rep max strength takes a bit of a hit and I have to get the nervous system re-adjusted to doing really heavy weights. I am really glad that Lean Hybrid Muscle has powerbuilding days so that I can maintain some strength.
In my case, coming from a powerlifting style of training, strength was down a bit. However, for someone that has never trained with triples, doubles. or singles they could absolutely increase strength while following this program.
EH: The fact is that if you are working toward excellence in one particular fitness quality and you incorporate too much training from a contradictory quality, your performance will suffer. I make no claims otherwise and my experience tells me it’s true.
So, the leaner more conditioned Elliott Hulse no longer has the strength to log press 365 lbs over head, I can no longer front squat 455 lbs. So, strength has been lost.
However, things are far more balanced, where now I can only front squat about 365, I can also run a mile under seven minutes and I don’t bend over panting for air after climbing a flight of stairs, like the bigger, stronger version of me did. Ha!
EC: Not a bad tradeoff at all! Thanks so much for your time, fellas.For more information on Mike and Elliott's strength and conditioning programs, check out Lean Hybrid Muscle.
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I've written quite a bit in the past about how diagnostic imaging (x-rays, MRIs, etc) doesn't always tell the entire story, and that incidental findings are very common. This applies to the lower back, shoulders, and knees (and surely several other joints). The scary thing, though, is that we see these crazy structural abnormalities not just in adults, but in kids, too. Last month, I highlighted research that showed that 64% of 14-15 year-old athletes have structural abnormalities in their knees - even without the presence of symptoms. Just a month later, newer research is showing that the knee isn't the only hinge joint affected; young throwers' elbows are usually a structural mess as well. In an American Journal of Sports Medicine study of 23 uninjured, asymptomatic high school pitchers (average age of 16), researchers found the following:
Three participants (13%) had no abnormalities. Fifteen individuals (65%) had asymmetrical anterior band ulnar collateral ligament thickening, including 4 individuals who also had mild sublime tubercle/anteromedial facet edema. Fourteen participants (61%) had posteromedial subchondral sclerosis of the ulnotrochlear articulation, including 8 (35%) with a posteromedial ulnotrochlear osteophyte, and 4 (17%) with mild posteromedial ulnotrochlear chondromalacia. Ten individuals (43%) had multiple abnormal findings in the throwing elbow.
For me, the 35% with the osteophytes (and chondromalacia) are the biggest concern. Thickening of the ulnar collateral ligament isn't surprising at all, but marked osseous (bone) abnormalities is a big concern.
Also, as a brief, but important aside, this study was done at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota - which isn't exactly the hotbed of baseball activity that you get down in the South. Recent research also shows that players in Southern (warm weather) climates have decreased shoulder internal rotation range of motion and external rotation strength compared to their Northern (cold weather) climate counterparts. In other words, I'll be money that the numbers reported in this study are nothing compared to the young pitchers who are constantly abused year-round in the South.
The next time you think to yourself that all young athletes - especially throwers - can be managed the same, think again. Every body is unique - and that's why I'm so adamant about the importance of assessing young athletes. It's one reason why I filmed the Everything Elbow in-service, which would be a great thing to watch if you're someone who manages pitchers.
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The baseball off-season is a lot of fun for me, but it also means crazy long hours, loads of competing demands, and quite a bit of stress. To take it a step further, though, most of my long hours are spent on my feet on the floor at Cressey Performance, which isn’t exactly conducive to making progress in a training program. Topping it off, we've gotten about 470 feet of snow in the Northeast this winter, which makes us all want to simply go into hibernation!
While I’ve gotten all my gym sessions in during this time, the reality is that in many cases, they were a lot more like “working out” than they were “training.” And, although I haven’t wasted away, it’s never a good sign when someone you haven’t seen for a few months asks you if you’ve lost weight when you haven’t been trying to do so – and that happened a few weeks ago.
The end result? I’m under 190 for the first time in over two years – and sadly, I’m not really any leaner (or stronger, for that matter).
Something clicked two weekends ago, though. Since the gym is closed on Sundays, I find it’s the best day for me to go in refreshed and get in a good lift. Thanks to a little rest, loud music, and a good training partner, I sumo deadlifted 500 for a set of five. And, it felt damn good!
It also made me realize how much of a pansy I’d been in the gym for the two months prior. With that realization, I headed home to put a program for myself on my to-do list.
The next morning, I woke up anticipating writing that strength and conditioning program (along with about a dozen others!), but before I could get to it, I found an email from Mike Westerdal waiting for me. And that email included an advanced copy of the new product he created with Elliott Hulse: Lean Hybrid Muscle.
For those who don’t know of Mike, he’s a strong dude, with competition bests of 640 squat, 630 bench, and 600 deadlift at a body weight of 242. And, through his website, criticalbench.com, he’s helped thousands of guys bust through their bench press plateaus, not to mention interacted with and programmed for a lot of experienced lifters. Elliott is no quack, either; he is a professional strongman and runs a hardcore gym in Tampa, FL.
I’ve often reminded my readers that that if you need a contract written, you’d go to a lawyer. If you needed your taxes done, you’d go to an accountant. Well, I’m also here to say that if you need a program to kick you in the arse when you’ve been training like a sissy, you go to qualified lifters and coaches who have consistently helped people get strong, burn fat fast, and put on muscle. And that’s what I did.
And, I’ve definitely received that kick in the arse. The past 10 days of training have been some of the more challenging I’ve encountered in over a decade of lifting. And, just as Westerdal assured me, it has been a nice change of pace from the powerlifting-oriented work I’ve done in the past. Here’s what I like about the program:
1. Concurrent Periodization – it might be high volume, but that doesn’t mean that you won't be able to increase strength. If your goal is changing body composition – and not just dropping fat or building muscle exclusively – it’s a great resource. Anybody can get you to lose weight with a high volume program, but not everyone can help you maintain or even increase strength and build muscle mass in the process.
2. Video Demonstrations – Mike and Elliott have links to every exercise featured in this strength and conditioning program, so if you don’t recognize one, you can quickly and easily check it out. I know my stuff in this regard, but it was helpful when I came across a few new ones that these guys must have invented themselves.
3. Versatility – I’m fortunate to have quite a few extra goodies – sledgehammers, farmer's walks handles, tires, turf, kettlebells, sleds, slideboards, kegs – at my fingertips, and Mike and Elliott are all about incorporating what you’ve got into the strength training program. I’ve used it to modify the interval work included in the program. They also give you a wide variety of strength exercises from which to choose so that you can work around injuries or specialize on your weak areas.
The benefits certainly go well beyond these three points (the nutrition component/meal plans are excellent, for instance), but in the interest of brevity, I’d highly encourage you to check out Lean Hybrid Muscle. It actually makes for a great follow-up to Show and Go, for those of you who are just wrapping up that program.
For more information, head over to the Lean Hybrid Muscle Website.
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Can I just add some sets and reps of direct arm work?
How about cardio? Would a few 30 minutes interval training sessions work?
What if I did extra rotator cuff stuff every day? Just a little tubing, you know?
I’m going to add two extra days of calves, abs, and forearms. It shouldn’t be a problem, right?
These are just a few of the common questions I receive from people for whom I write strength training programs (plus all the other components of a comprehensive program). And, it's these kind of questions that make me appreciate just how challenging it is to teach someone how to effectively write strength and conditioning programs - and why everyone gets all flustered when they first start writing training plans.
Very simply, most people don't understand the concept of competing demands. Everybody wants to add something to their weight training program - but not everyone is willing to take something away in order to do so.
How many elite powerlifters or Olympic lifters do you know who regularly do interval training as part of their quest to get strong?
How many elite triathletes do you know who just want to add a few sets of biceps curls along the road to improving endurance performance?
The answer is, of course, none. And, it's because - whether they appreciated it or not - these high-level athletes were effectively managing competing demands.
In some cases, different fitness qualities compete with one another; an example would be extensive aerobic training while trying to increase strength. You can't get strong quickly if you're doing hours of cardio each week. Somewhat similarly, in an overhead throwing population, it's challenging to regain shoulder internal rotation and flexion range of motion (ROM) and pec minor length when an athlete is throwing - so you have to do your best to get the ROM during down-time in their training year.
In other cases, you may have multiple qualities that contribute to an overall training effect, but you can't prioritize all of them at once. For example, my professional baseball clients need a host of different qualities to be successful, but the body has limited recovery capacity, so their training programs have to target their most readily apparent weaknesses - and do so at the right time of year. We cut back on the medicine ball and upper body strength exercises and volume when their throwing volume increases.
And, we can't do as much lower body strength exercises when guys are doing more sprinting and change-of-direction work. Stress is stress, so you have to apply it judiciously.
Taking this into consideration, I think that one of the best drills for someone looking to get better at writing programs is to take a full-on comprehensive weight training program with supplemental conditioning/movement training where someone is training 6x/week - and then cut it back to 3x/week. Assume that there is a whole lot of of "other" stress in this athlete/client's life - whether it's work, illness, family issues, or just being an in-season athlete - and figure out how to scale a program back in order to make it productive and safe for that individual.
Lots of factors have to be taken into account: the volume and intensity that individual can handle, how long each session can last, and what specific factors one needs to address most. A good example to check out would be the differences between the 4x/week, 3x/week, and 2x/week weight training programs (and accompanying optional supplemental sessions) in The High Performance Handbook.
There are loads of factors you have to take into account when you write a comprehensive training plan - from the weight training program, to soft tissue work, to mobility work, to movement training, to energy systems training. The most important consideration, though, is how they all fit together synergistically to make the program as a whole effective.
So, try the challenge I listed above and see how you do; I think you'll find that it's a lot harder to subtract than it is to add to your weight training programs.
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Q: I’m confused about when I should arch. I was re-reading some of your older articles, and noticed that in the Neanderthal No More series, you and Mike Robertson advocate posteriorly tilting the pelvis while performing some core exercises, yet when it comes to performing squat and deadlift technique, you encourage people to maintain the arch.
My back tightens up a lot when I arch strongly, but if I just bend over to touch my toes in flexion, it doesn’t bother me at all.
1. Could it be possible that I am arching too much during everyday movements and strength exercises?
2. What really constitutes a neutral spine? Is it different for each person?
3. When is it (if ever) appropriate to have a flat spine?
A: The main thing to consider – at least in my experience – is whether there is compressive loading on the spine. In compression, you want an arch - or at the very least, the natural curve of your lumbar spine. The discs simply don't handle compression well when the spine is in flexion (or flat). We do more of the posterior pelvic tilt stuff when you are on your back (glute brides, as the glutes posteriorly tilt the pelvis) or on your stomach (if you arch, you're slipping into hyperextension, which defeats the purpose of trying to resist gravity as it pushes you down to the floor).
Bending over is a LOT different than squatting and deadlifting (and comparable strength exercises). When you add load, the game changes. Cappozzo et al. found that squatting to parallel with 1.6 times body weight (what might be “average” for the typical weekend warrior) led to compressive loads of ten times body weight at L3-L4. That’s 7000N for a guy who weighs about about 150. Meanwhile, in a study of 57 Olympic lifters, Cholewicki et al. found that L4-L5 compressive loads were greater than 17,000N. It’s no wonder that retired weightlifters have reduced intervertebral disc heights under MRI! They get strong, but at a "structural price."
According to Dr. Stuart McGill in his outstanding book, Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance, the spine doesn’t buckle until 12,000-15,000N of pressure is applied in compression (or 1,800-2,800N in shear) – so it goes without saying that we’re always playing with fire, to a degree – regardless of the strength training exercise in question, as there’s always going to be compressive loads on the spine. That’s a laboratory model, though; otherwise, the Olympic lifters above wouldn’t be able to handle much more than 12,000N without buckling. In the real world, we have active restraints – muscles and tendons – to protect our spine.
If those active restraints are going to do their job, we need to put them at a mechanical advantage – and flexion is not that advantage. The aforementioned Cappozzo et al. study demonstrated that as lumbar flexion increased under load, compressive load also increased. In other words, if you aren’t mobile enough to squat deep without hitting lumbar flexion (because the hips or ankles are stiffer than the spine), you either need need to squat a little higher or not squat at all. That said, I don't think that you have to force a dramatic arch when you squat (or any strength exercise, for that matter); I think you need to brace your core tightly and create stability within the range of motion that you already have – and, indeed, “neutral spine” is different for everyone. For instance, females have an average of 5-7 degrees of anterior pelvic tilt, whereas males are more like 3-5 degrees - meaning that females will naturally be a bit more lordotic.
Having sufficient lumbar flexion to touch your toes with “uniform” movement through your lumbar spine is certainly important, and for most, it’ll be completely pain free (regardless of range of motion), but that doesn’t mean that a flat or flexed lumbar spine is a good position in which to exercise with compressive load.
So, to recap:
1. Neutral spine is different for everyone. What’s the same for everyone is the need to have stability within the range of motion that you’ve got.
2. Flexion is fine (and a normal functional task) when it isn’t accompanied by compressive loading. And, there is a different between subtle lumbar flexion and end-range lumbar flexion.
3. Arching (lumbar extension) doesn’t need to be excessive in order to be effective in improving tolerance to compressive loads. In most cases, that “arch” cue simply keeps a person in neutral spine as they go into hip flexion in the bottom of a squat or deadlift (or comparable strength exercise). “Arch” doesn’t mean “hyperextend;” it means to maintain the normal lordotic curve of your lumbar spine.
Looking to learn more? Check out Functional Stability Training, a comprehensive resource for assessment, programming, and coaching.
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As a business owner, I can say without wavering that there are a lot of times when I admittedly get stressed out and wish there were more hours in the day to get everything I have on my plate done - and still have time left over to spend with my wife and family.
And, while I haven't managed to figure out how to add more than 24 hours to the day, I have started to find a few ways to better manage my time - and, more specifically, my strength training program.
You see, many people use exercise as a means of relieving stress - and I think that's absolutely awesome. Unfortunately, when you already work 10 hours a day on your feet in a gym, it's hard to see things that way even when all the equipment is right at your fingertips. To that end, the stressed-out strength training tips I note below will be applicable to folks in any occupation, not just the fitness industry.
Tip #1: Increase training frequency, but reduce training duration.
I find that when I'm busy, I can find 30 minutes here and there, but getting 60-75 minutes free at a convenient time is tougher. One thing I'll do is simply up my training frequency to 5-6 times per week instead of just four sessions. Rather than having sessions that include four pairings (7-8 strength exercises), I'll just have two pairings (3-4 exercises).
If you've read anything from Chad Waterbury or Joel Marion, you'll find that both of these guys are fans of strength training as frequently as possible, provided that you can recover from those sessions. Somewhat coincidentally, sometimes the best way to utilize this frequent strength training approach is when you're already stressed and recovery is compromised! I still get in all my "work" over the course of the week, but it's spread out a bit more so that it's convenient and less taxing.
Tip #2: Leave the gym feeling refreshed.
Also on the "less taxing" front, I think it's important to leave the gym feeling "refreshed," not exhausted. While it might feel good when your legs are trashed at the end of a training session, you really don't know how well you're going to recover from that challenge until the days that follow. Doing 15 sets of 9 reps might have sounded like a good stress buster at the time, but when you can't walk up the steps to work the following day and are falling asleep at your desk at 11am because you couldn't sleep with your legs cramping all night, hindsight definitely becomes 20/20.
Don't get me wrong; there's a time and a place for doing crazy stuff. Your most stressful days aren't that time, though.
Tip #3: Train early.
This is something that I've grown to love with the baseball off-season in full swing and my day starting earlier. Normally, I'd train alongside the rest of our staff at 10:30AM, but at that time of year, I may have athletes at 9:30AM MoTuThFr. So, I get in at 8:15AM to get my lifting session in. Why?
First, lifting early requires planning. You need to go to bed early and prepare your stuff for the next day. So, in the process, you make time instead of finding time. That's huge at a stressful time when you're inclined to miss a session altogether.
Second, most people I know (at least the adults out there) have better energy in the morning than after a long day of work. That said, many people take a few weeks to warm up to the idea (and feeling) of training early. If you're going to make the switch, give it a few weeks and be consistent with it; you'll find that you get more and more comfortable with morning training with each new session.
Third, I'm a firm believer in the adage that one hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours of sleep after midnight. When you train in the morning, you've got to get to bed earlier or else it simply isn't going to happen.
Get better sleep quality and just about everything else in your life will improve.
Tip #4: Outsource things to keep training fun.
I'll admit that many times, after a long day in a strength and conditioning facility, the last thing I want to do is follow my own weight training program. I spend all day getting other people organized on that front, so a bit of chaos in my own strength training is sometimes welcomed relief.
About two months ago, believe it or not, I asked one of my pro baseball players (who was hanging out in the office at 7pm one night) to put a lower body program up on the dry erase board for me. It turned out to be one of the better training sessions I'd had in weeks. The same goes for any conditioning I may do; often, I'll just pull Robert Dos Remedios' book, Cardio Strength Training, off the shelf and give something a shot.
Variety may be the spice of life, but when it comes to training, that variety usually needs to come from someone else. It might be why so many fitness professionals have really enjoyed my Show and Go program; it not only demonstrates some of my programming approaches, but also gives them a change of pace in their own training, as a recent blog post showed.
Tip #5: Use less variety.
Normally, I am all about strength exercise variety within a training session. However, when you're pinched for time, sometimes you can just throw that out the window and it's the best decision.
Think about it: for every additional exercise in a day's session, I add a warm-up set as well as the need for equipment set-up. If I keep my training day to 2-3 strength exercises and just increase the volume on each, I can usually do just as much (if not more) work in less time. You get variety over the course of a training phase and career; you get a training effect within a single session.
In other words, don't be shy about doing 5 sets of 3 on deadlifts, then 4 sets of 8 on dumbbell reverse lunges from a deficit - and then calling it a day for your lower body training - especially if you're trying out the frequency recommendations I noted earlier.
Tip #6: Use deloading periods.
At the end of the day, when it really comes down to it, stress is stress. Sometimes, when life is beating you down, adding training stress to that personal/professional stress is the worst that you can do. As a general rule of thumb, the more training experience you have, the more likely you are to need some down time from the gym when the rest of your life gets super hectic. If you're new to the iron game, though, chances are that some exercise will help you manage the stress much more effectively.
For more information on how to attack deloading periods, check out my e-book, The Art of the Deload.
These six strength training tips are obviously just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to exercise and stress, but hopefully they'll be enough to get you headed in the right direction. Additionally, what strategies have those of you out there implemented for training during stressful times?
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There are loads of different ways to get stronger. Similarly, there are all sorts of different classifications of strength, whether you're a powerlifter, strongman, Olympic lifter, manual laborer, or just some random dude who wears his hat like Sylvester Stallone in "Over the Top" and constantly seeks out arm wrestling matches in airports, bingo halls, or massage parlors.
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