Here's a Valentine's Day edition of recommended reading, just because I love my readers so much!

7 Gym Gadgets That Actually Work - I chimed in on this T-Nation compilation that includes some good ideas from coaches from a variety of disciplines in the strength and conditioning field.

Health Hips, Strong Hips - This whopper of a blog post from Dean Somerset includes a ton of great videos. Set aside twenty minutes and go through it; you'll pick up some good stuff.

6 Key Factors for Developing Pitchers - I published this article about a year ago and it was one of my most popular baseball articles of all time. It's worth a read.

Top Tweet of the Week

Stability ball bodysaw, a great anterior core exercise that can take stability ball rollouts to the next level. Great demonstration from JR Graham. #cspfamily pic.twitter.com/MklASlK7rM

— Eric Cressey (@EricCressey) February 5, 2018

Top Instagram Post of the Week

 

Athlete: “No way you can jump and touch that air conditioning duct.” Balding 36-year-old has-been athlete: “You know I was all-state in tennis back in 1999, don’t you?” #cspfamily #stillgotit #neverhadit #sportsperformance #verticaljump

A post shared by Eric Cressey (@ericcressey) on Feb 7, 2018 at 10:39am PST

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We missed this regular feature last week, as I penned some extra original content in lieu of posting the regularly scheduled "redirects" around the 'net. Luckily, it allowed me to stockpile some stuff for this installment:

Conscious Coaching - Brett Bartholomew just released this excellent book for coaches, and it's already getting rave reviews. Add my name to the list of that list of impressed reviewers, as I'm halfway through and really enjoying it. I'd call this must-read material for any up-and-coming member of the fitness industry.

The Resilient Performance Podcast with Bill Hartman - Bill is one of the brightest guys in the industry, and I learn something each time he speaks. Put him on a call with another super bright guy, Doug Kechijian, and you get an awesome podcast like this!

The 12 Best Ways to Build Shoulders - This roundtable was published this morning at T-Nation, and I was one of 12 contributors. You'll get a nice blend of contributions from bodybuilding and performance backgrounds.

Top Tweet of the Week 

Specificity with power training wins again! Prepare in the plane where you perform. Applies heavily to throwing velocity, too. https://t.co/0h9jtsRLN0

— Eric Cressey (@EricCressey) March 5, 2017

Top Instagram Post of the Week 

 

I learned how to use iMovie on my phone today! Little snapshot from today's training: -Safety squat bar squats for speed (up to 315) -Trap Bar Deadlifts up to 505x5 -Band-Resisted Glute-Ham Raise -TRX Fallouts -DB Slideboard Reverse Lunges -Finisher with Addison (best part) Happy Saturday, gang! #cspfamily #deadlift #squat #twinning #mx20v6 #nbtraining

A post shared by Eric Cressey (@ericcressey) on Feb 25, 2017 at 9:29am PST

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Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you're all doing better than I am with your holiday shopping. While I

Kettlebell Swing: How to Cue the Hinge and Never Perform a Squat Swing Again - Here's a great video post from Cressey Sports Performance coach Tony Gentilcore's website. It'll help you to avoid one of the most common kettlebell swing technique mistakes.

Squat Right for Your Type - Todd Bumgardner authored this insightful piece at T-Nation last week. I see a lot of folks try to jam a round peg in a square hole when it comes to squat technique, and the information in this article can help folks avoid that tendency.

Dodgers Betting Brandon McCarthy Can Shoulder the Load - I Tweeted about this article last week, and I think it's a great message for the blog as well. Brandon McCarthy just got a big contract with the Dodgers, and his recent success can be heavily attributed to the fact that he's healthy and durable for the first time in his career. That came about because he was open-minded enough to tinker with his training approaches - even when he had already "made it" to the big leagues. It's a great lesson for young athletes.

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In my latest article at T-Nation, I take a close look at training on unstable surfaces and how it impacts performance and health. Check it out:

--> Unstable_Surface Training: The Good, Bad, and Ugly <--

While this is a lengthy article, it's still just a quick glance at a very complex topic. If you're interested in learning more, I'd encourage you to check out my e-book, The Truth About Unstable Surface Training.

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Here's this week's list of recommended strength and conditioning reading:

What's in a Toe Touch? - This outstanding article from Gray Cook and Don Reagan serves as an awesome adjunct to my static stretching post from two weeks ago, as I talked about some of the ways to "cheat" a toe touch.

Ultimate Speed Drills - I think Jim Kielbaso is one of the best guys around for teaching speed and agility development. I've enjoyed his previous publications, and he just wrote up this new resource for the International Youth Conditioning Association.  It's very affordably priced, so I'd encourage you to check it out if this is an area of your coaching development that needs improvement.

5 Loading Protocols Under the Microscope - In light of a recent conversation I had during a recent training session, I thought it would be a good time to bring back this T-Nation article I wrote back in 2011.

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Here are some good strength and conditioning reads to peruse this week:

Do You Have a Management Problem?  - Martin Rooney always has some great content not only in terms of training, but also with respect to how to take control of your life and make all the pieces fit together.  This is one such example.

10 Mistakes Coaches Make - My good friend John Romaniello reminded me that yesterday was the tenth anniversary of my first article at T-Nation.  While it certainly wasn't my best of all time, I thought I'd use this opportunity to highlight a different one that I wrote over the past decade that stuck out in my mind.

Training the Lactate System - Patrick Ward brings to light some great points that a lot of folks overlook with respect to understanding work capacity, optimizing recovery, and training sport-specific energy systems. If you liked the discussion of heart rate variability that I posted last week, you'll enjoy this as well.

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I’d wager that if you chatted with 100 lifters over the age of 30 with more than five years of strength training experience, they’d tell you that their triceps exercise selection has increasingly diminished with each passing year.

It's sad and disturbing, but not unexpected.

Barbell and dumbbell triceps extension variations can kill the underside of the elbows.

Dips can irritate the medial aspect of the elbow in the bottom position, or just bother the AC joint at the shoulder girdle.

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