We see a lot of baseball players, so a lot of these guys come to use with elbow problems. In most cases, the doctors they’ve seen have said, flat-out, “NO LIFTING WEIGHTS.” This drives me nuts for a variety of reasons:
1. They’ve still got two good legs, one good arm, and a bunch of core musculature that needs to be strong and functional.
2. This recommendation implicitly means “Stay away from personal trainers and strength coaches.” It’s probably due to the fact that there are a lot of bonehead personal trainers out there who could do more harm than good, but the truth is that these services comprise more than just lifting weights. We do a lot of mobility and activation work and self-myofascial release on the foam roller.
Collectively, #1 and #2 demonstrate that this blanket recommendation includes an insanely ignorant omission, as the majority of elbow problems can be attributed to mobility and strength deficits at the shoulder. You can train a shoulder a thousand different ways without even involving elbow motion – let alone challenging it sufficiently to cause a problem. In fact, I'd estimate that you could prevent 90% of elbow problems in baseball guys if we simply taught all of them how to sleeper stretch in their early teenage years:
I'd strongly encourage you to check out this article I wrote, where I go over the common mistakes folks make when performing the sleeper stretch.
3. This recommendation flat-out ignores the specific nature of the overwhelming majority of elbow problems in throwing athletes. Let me elaborate..
In my estimation, 95% of baseball players with elbow pain couldn’t elicit their pain in a weight room if they wanted to; seriously! The reason is that this elbow pain is typically mechanical in nature; that is, it’s only aggravated by specific activities (in their case, throwing).
Believe it or not, I have had guys do everything from pull-ups, to dumbbell bench presses, to rows, to push-ups, to grip work just days out from elbow surgery. It isn’t true in every case, but it’s definitely the majority. And, they can all get diesel in the lower body during this time period.
Some great related reading for you:
Inefficiency vs. PathologyLay Back to Throw GasSign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches
used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
Q: A trainer at my gym was telling me that the best way for a bodybuilding competitor to perform lateral raises was to execute them in or slightly behind the frontal plane and in the "empty-can" hand position (he said this is good for long-term shoulder health since he claimed it would strengthen the supraspinatus) while leaning slightly forward.
Do you think this recommendation is conducive to long-term shoulder health, or would it lead to excessive wear and tear and potentially create impingement problems? Or is it a case of this being perfectly acceptable for some populations and a nightmare for others? If it is the latter, who can perform them this way and who should avoid them?
A: I disagree wholeheartedly. The empty can is a provocative test; it's what we do when we want to see just how angry an injured supraspinatus is.
If you want to keep the supraspinatus healthy, you don't need to make a dedicated effort to strengthen it. You need to strengthen the muscles that position the scapula so that there is more clearance through which that tendon can pass under the acromion process. These would include lower trapezius and serratus anterior. Strengthening the muscles of the rotator cuff will help to depress the humeral head as well.
There is also a definite role for thoracic spine mobility (as I wrote about in a previous newsletter) in this situation, as it helps dictate the positioning of the scapulae.
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used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
1. As you probably know, I haven't been updating here quite as frequently of late, but fortunately, it's with good reason. The summer's winding down, so we've been getting our fall schedule all squared away with the high school guys - plus some local college guys at programs that don't have organized S&C programs. Additionally, all of our minor leaguers are in the final few days of their seasons right now, so coordinating with them and a few agents has been a priority right now. Fortunately, though, there are also some exciting things in store for this blog...
2. Basically, we're going to be combining EricCressey.com with EricCressey.Blogspot.com. So, my blog will be available directly from EricCressey.com. In the process, we have to transfer a ton of content - but the good news is that the finished product will look a lot more professional and organized when all is said and done. In the meantime, thanks for your patience as we make this switch.
3. I was chatting yesterday with Doug Carroll, a great hitting coach with whom we work. Doug played professional baseball to a very high level in both the Mariners and Devil Rays organizations. We both agreed that one thing you’ll notice in the majority of high level athletes is that they really don’t give a crap what anyone outside their family thinks of them. I think that if more people approached their lifting with this mindset, we’ve have a lot more people who were really big and strong. Interestingly, this closely parallels my approach to internet forums - and, thus far, ignoring what the haters say has been a great decision.
4. Never forget that you don’t have to leave the gym exhausted for the session to be considered productive. Take a 300-pound lineman and have him run five miles; he’ll be completely exhausted by the end of the session. He’ll also be slower, more likely to get injured, and definitely more likely to want to kick your teeth in.
5. Something you might not know: there are estrogen receptors on the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) that – along with several other factors – make females more susceptible to ACL ruptures. The cyclical nature of estrogen and progesterone markedly influences ACL strength via fibroblast activity – so at certain times of the month, the ACL is more likely to tear. The ACL may also be predisposed to dramatic mood swings that make everything your fault, fellas.
6. I had a new article published yesterday, in case you missed it: 5 More Common Technique Mistakes.
7. I got two separate bills from Comcast in the past two days for a total of over $314. Do you think they read my blog, or is their billing system simply as hopelessly inadequate as their customer service?
8. Someone asked me yesterday, "Are single-leg leg press a good unilateral leg exercise? I hate lunges." Sorry, dude; single-leg leg presses don't count for anything.
9. I'm working on a detailed write-up on my views on running for pitchers right now. I think it'll open a lot of eyes - if I ever get time to finish it! I also have a new e-book in the works that I think will open a lot of eyes.
10. Have a great holiday weekend, everyone.
It was a hectic day, and I just (finally) got internet access at our new place, so I'm going to be brief and use today for a few quick notes:
1. Congratulations to Cressey Performance athletes Derek Lowe (Lincoln-Sudbury) and John McKenna (Algonquin). Derek verbally committed to the William & Mary baseball program, and John did the same for the University of Massachusetts. Congratulations, guys; we're proud of you!
2. I just got an email from Patrick Gagnon about the second annual Vinkofest, which will take place in Montreal September 27-28. I spoke at the event last year, and Pat did a great job organizing it. While I won't be in attendance this year, I'd definitely encourage any of you who can make it to get out and check this event out. They have some great speakers, including John Berardi, Christian Thibaudeau, and Dave Barr. For more information, check out MuscleDriveThru.com.
Cressey Performance athlete and Weston High pitcher Sahil Bloom committed late last week to Stanford. Here's a great article from the Boston Globe on his signing and training with us.
Weston High pitcher buffing up his body as well as his scores
Congratulations, Sahil!
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
