1. It's going to be a quick one today, as we're getting ready to leave for Cassandra Forsythe's wedding in Vermont. For the record, this will likely be the last time she's referred to as Cassandra Forsythe; she'll be Forsythe-Pribanic by the end of the weekend!
2. One more reason to not use the abductor machine: OUCH!
3. Researchers have found that participation in a football game leads to a HEIGHT loss of almost one centimeter - likely due to compressive forces. Just imagine what happens when you put 500 pounds on your back and go for a squatting session! I haven't seen any acute research in this regard, but there is evidence to show that retired weightlifters have reduced disc heights when compared with controls who didn't lift. I'd be willing to bet that they also have fewer broken hips, can carry their own groceries, and pick up way more hotties in the convalescent home, so I'll take functional capacity over a perfect MRI anyday.
4. Good points on the negative effects of flip-flops, but I don't buy the argument that barefoot training is just as bad. The only reason it's "bad" is that you can't put orthotics on a bare foot...
5. My girlfriend cooked up some protein bars from John Berardi's Gourmet Nutrition cookbook; awesome stuff! It's the summer in the Northeast, so there are a lot of blueberries on-hand; they're a great addition to the apple cinnamon bars, if you haven't tried them already.
6. Tony Gentilcore started a training log over at T-Nation that describes a lot of the madness at Cressey Performance in our training group. It's worth checking out - at the very least, to make sure that you make fun of Tony.
7. I mentioned it in my newsletter the other day, but if you are a fitness professional and haven't signed up for Ryan Lee's Bootcamp, I'd highly recommend you check it out.
8. Atta boy, Sam! Talk about clutch - and they had an 11-10 extra innings walk-off win last night. Good luck this weekend, Sudbury Legion.
I've got to run - but not before leaving you with a bit of nostalgic weekend motivation from the greatest motivator of all time!
Q: Eric, I know you see a ton of baseball pitchers, so I wanted to ask you if there are particular flexibility restrictions you notice. I am guessing that because it is such a "lopsided" sport that imbalances tend to be magnified. Thanks.
A: Absolutely! The "money" flexibility issues we aim to address are:
-Throwing shoulder glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD)
-Lead leg hip internal rotation deficit (HIRD)
-Lead leg hip extension deficit
-Lead leg knee flexion deficit
-Trailing leg hip flexion deficit (tight hamstrings)
-Pec minor
-Sternocleidomastoid
-Long head of triceps
-Throwing elbow extension deficit (secondary to length issues with brachialis and other elbow flexors)
Some of these are attacked with more dynamic flexibility, while others are addressed with 30s static stretching and/or prolonged holds. We're also always working on thoracic mobility and ankle mobility, although I look at these issues more as gross mobility deficits than specific muscles that are short.
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used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
1. Congratulations to Cressey Performance athlete Ryan Wood on throwing a perfect game for Sudbury Legion on Wednesday night.
2. For those of you with injuries who still plan to go out and get tanked this weekend, give this study a read. In particular, pay attention to the section that says, “The development of alcoholic muscle disease, which affects both cardiac and skeletal muscle, leads to increased morbidity and mortality in patients who abuse alcohol. The disease pathology includes myocyte degeneration, loss of striations, and myofilament dissolution, which is consistent with alterations in structural and myofibrillar proteins.”
Now, it has been too long since I took muscle physiology in my graduate school days, but I’m guessing that getting hammered tonight isn’t going to help your knee to feel better…
3. Rumor has it that Robertson and Cressey are brainstorming for a new project. And yes, you know it is Friday because I am referring to myself in the third person.
4. A lot of people are resorting to using video newsletters because they feel that they can interact with the reader better. To be honest, I’m typing this blog post in an old t-shirt with a serious case of bed-head – and as much as I like all of you, my living room isn’t all that exciting to view. If I decided to go the video route, I’d have to shower, get all decked out, and hang some nice paintings – but I’d rather just spend that time working on content. Hopefully, you aren’t too disappointed.
5. I’m speaking at Fenway for the Jimmy Fund’s Fantasy Day tomorrow. This is an awesome cause and they could definitely use your donations.
6. If you’ve got an extreme pronator or supinator, you can modify your ankle mobilizations accordingly. If they pronate, elevate the medial (inside) aspect of the foot with a five-pound plate to drive more supination. If they supinate, elevate the lateral aspect to drive more pronation.
7. The other day, I remarked that writing a marathon training program for an oft-injured runner is like being a drug dealer giving an addict her fix. To that, a great manual therapist with whom we work replied, “Eric, you’re only a drug dealer if you’re dealing drugs illegally. Be her pharmacist; she’s her own primary care physician with this one: much less accountability.”
8. Raspberry-Mint is the single worst flavor of chewing gum in history. I hope somebody got fired for thinking it up and having the idiocy for actually opting to market it.
9. I just realized that it’s been a long time since I gave Mel Siff a mention in my newsletter. Considering he might be the brightest guy in the history of exercise science, that’s unacceptable. So, if you’re an up-and-comer and want a great foundation, read Supertraining…and read it yesterday.
10. Here’s an interesting read about an NFL lineman who decided to powerlift in the off-season. Big guys need to be strong – but they also need to move well. Hopefully, he’s doing plenty of mobility work on the side and staying athletic. You can be strong and move like crap.
Have a great weekend!
EC
In a 2007 study, Ellenbecker et al. compared hip internal and external rotation range-of-motion in elite baseball pitchers and elite tennis players. They noted the following:
An analysis of the number of subjects in each group with a bilateral difference in hip rotation greater than 10 degrees identified 17% of the professional baseball pitchers with internal rotation differences and 42% with external rotation differences. Differences in the elite male tennis players occurred in only 15% of the players for internal rotation and 9% in external rotation. Female subjects had differences in 8% and 12% of the players for internal and external rotation, respectively.
So, in other words, baseball pitchers were more likely to be asymmetrical than tennis players. While they both serve/pitch with one arm and push off the same-side leg. Tennis players, move a lot more in various directions. And, just as importantly, they hit backhands - so the asymmetries you see at the shoulder are less pronounced as well.
Who would have thought: moving more and doing the opposite of what you normally do is a good way to stay healthy? Yes, I'm being sarcastic. Regardless of your sport, you need to get out of your comfort zone more often if you want to stay healthy.
To learn more about the common asymmetries affecting overhead athletes and how to manage them, definitely check out the Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD set.
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used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
One of the things that we are constantly working to address with our baseball guys is the loss of range-of-motion following an extended period of throwing (i.e., a pitching appearance). There's some good research out there showing that the marked eccentric stress on the elbow flexors (biceps, etc) and glenohumeral external rotators (posterior rotator cuff) can lead to an acute (and potentially chronic) loss of elbow extension and humeral internal rotation range-of-motion. Pitching with a loss of ROM over the course of a competitive season is a recipe for disaster - both in terms of velocity reductions and risk of injury.
Interestingly, previous researchhas shown that post-exercise ROM is reduced more with eccentric muscle actions than concentric muscle actions. Since virtually every resistance training sessions comprise some form of eccentric exercise, post-training stretching for the involved musculature is really valuable. And, if you're doing a lot of eccentrics in that training sessions, it's even more important.
A lot of athletes get bored really quickly with static stretching, so one thing I've done a bit (especially with kids who really need to work on their mobility) is to simply repeat ourdynamic flexibility warm-ups - but integrate a bit longer of a hold on each rep.
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used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
Q: You don't like back squats for overhead throwers, is this because of anterior instability or some other reason?
A: In a word, yes; anterior stability is so crucial for a pitcher that I’m not tempted to push it. Then again, that’s the short version – and it also assumes that the lifter is using a closer-grip, which mandates more external rotation.
So, to the casual observer, the solution to this would be to simply bring the hands out and squat with a wider grip, which requires less external rotation. Unfortunately, this logic is flawed, too, as you have to abduct (elevate) your humerus another 15-20 degrees to get to that position. In the process, you bring it further into the “classic” impingement zone. This not only compromises the rotator cuff, but perhaps more significantly, the long head of the biceps, which is an extremely common nuisance in both powerlifters and overhead throwing athletes.
All that said, while I’d never do it with a pitcher, you can probably get away with it with position players because they have better upward rotation. I wouldn’t go near it if thoracic spine range of motion is subpar – or the athlete had a history of shoulder or elbow issues.
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used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
It never ceases to amaze me when we have an athlete do a 30-second isometric hold (such as a side bridge), and then they'll finish the set at 12 or 13 seconds and think that they're good to go. Apparently, I'm not the only one that noticed this phenomenon - and athletes will unintentionally go overboard as often as they'll underachieve.
According to Wilk, Meister, and Andrews, when professional pitchers were asked to throw at 50% effort, the radar guns showed that they were actually throwing at 83% of peak velocity. And, at a requested 75%, they were popping 90% fastballs.
Perhaps we should stop worrying about ascending oscillatory conjugated inverted periodization, and instead teach athletes how to count and follow the perceived exertion chart.
