In my line of work, I get to see a lot of pitching instructors and hitting coaches. Some have the unbelievable ability to really get through to kids and make them great. On the other hand, there are some that flat-out suck.
As I've seen these two ends of the spectrum, I've come to realize that the best guy to teach you a curveball is rarely the one who has had a dirty 12-to-6 breaking ball since he was in seventh grade. Rather, the guy that can teach you the most is the one who struggled with his curveball for years and tried everything to even turn it into a mediocre pitch.
Continue Reading...
Here's your weekly Maximum Strength success story:
"Hey Eric,
"Just finished the Maximum Strength program and it was awesome! I played college volleyball and and after letting myself get out of shape, I started weight training about 2 years ago. Obviously playing volleyball you could probably guess I have bad knees. Bedsides the typical tendinitis and jumpers knee, I also had a lateral release done on each knee. I never really squatted since I thought it was bad for my knee's, but one of the guys at the gym who is involved in powerlifting got me squatting. Then I found your book and everything in it seemed to line up with the way I was thinking about working out, and I can tell you my knee's feel better now than they ever have in my life.
"I'm kicking myself for not doing all the energy workouts, but still stoked with the results. It's been about six weeks since I completed the program and I am already thinking of doing Maximum Strength again.
"Thanks for the great book and looking forward to the next one.
Me:
Male
36 (37 in April)
6"3
Packing Day:
Body weight: 216 (13.1% body fat)
Broad jump: 98 inches.
Box Squat: 365 lbs.
Bench Press: 255 lbs.
Deadlift: 365 lbs.
3 Rep Chin-up: 254 lbs.
Moving Day:
Body weight: 226 (14.1% body fat)
Broad jump: 110 inches.
Box Squat: 395 lbs. (just missed 405, didn't get the depth)
Bench Press: 275 lbs
Deadlift: 405
3 rep Chin-lup: 268 pounds
Larry Quinn"
It's been established pretty clearly that gluteal amnesia - or insufficient recruitment of the glutes - is a contributing factor to lower back and knee pain. Fortunately, lots of people have gotten their act together and worked to get it firing correctly via both dynamic flexibility and activation drills and specific cuing during resistance training movements.
Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of these drills have focused strictly on activating the glutes in the sagittal plane (divides the body into left and right sides). In the process, a lot of folks have overlooked the fact the the glutes are actually active in three planes of motion. As you can tell from points of attachment in the picture below, the line of pull of the glutes also allow it to abduct and externally rotate the hip.
With this functional anatomy in mind, I think it's very important for coaches and trainers to implement more multi-planar movements in warm-ups. For more information on the what, why, and how, check out the Building the Efficient Athlete DVD Set.
Let me be clear about one thing: with the possible exception of anything that comes out of Larry King's mouth, there are no unimportant interview questions. Every question or comment serves a purpose, whether it's to get the interviewee to open up, show emotion, unleash new information, or just get back on track. Everything matters.
But I recently learned that sometimes I should just let the guy ramble. If he wants to rant, my job is to shut up and make sure the tape recorder keeps rolling.
Most of the guys I interview are great at going off on tangents. And while the resulting transcript is often a jumbled mess of opinion, applied research, and hard-earned experience, occasionally I get something unexpected: an idea for a completely different article based on the unrelated information or opinion. To paraphrase Rod Stewart, every tangent tells a story.
This is a collection of those tangents and tidbits from Dave Tate, Chris Bathke, Matt McGorry, Eric Cressey, and Craig Weller.
Continue Reading...
Q: Recently, I've noticed that I've lost a lot of mobility/flexibility that means I can't squat with my hands close in and with a high bar like I used to, I now have to go low bar and hands almost at the collars. What stretches/mobility work would you recommend to remedy this problem? I don't think this situation's very good for my shoulder health.
A: It's a common problem, and while the solution is pretty simple, it takes a dedicated effort to regular flexibility and soft tissue work. And, you're right that it isn't very good for shoulder health; that low-bar position can really wreak havoc on the long head of the biceps.
For starters, it's important to address thoracic spine mobility. If you're rounded over at the upper back, it'll be impossible to get the bar in the right "rack" position - regardless of what's going on with the shoulder itself. The first thing I do with folks in these situations is check to make sure that they aren't doing any sit-ups or crunches, which shorten the rectus abdominus and depress the rib cage, causing a more "hunchback" posture.
After you've eliminated these exercises from their programming, you can get to work on their thoracic spine mobility with drills from Optimal Shoulder Performance; one example would be thoracic extensions on the foam roller.
As you work to regain that mobility, it's valuable to build stability within that newly acquired range-of-motion (ROM) with loads of horizontal pulling (rows) and deadlift variations.
With respect to the shoulder itself, it's important to regain lost external rotation ROM and scapular posterior tilt. As I recently wrote in "The Right Way to Stretch the Pecs," I prefer the 1-arm doorway pec stretch and supine pec minor stretches. You can find videos of both HERE - and you can expedite the process with regular foam rolling on the pecs.
In the interim, substitute front squats, overhead squats, single-leg exercises, and deadlift variations to maintain a training effect.
As you progress back to squatting, you can ease the stress on your shoulders by going with a pinky-less grip in the short-term.
That said, for many individuals, the back squat set-up may not be appropriate. These include overhead throwing athletes, those with flexion-based back pain (e.g., disc herniations), and individuals with posterior labral tears.
I'd estimate that only about 25% of Cressey Performance clients do a true back squat, but that's influenced considerably by the fact that we deal with a ton of baseball players, and I get a lot of shoulder corrective exercise cases. Instead, we do a lot of work with the giant cambered bar and safety squat bar, in addition to front squatting.
Hopefully, these recommendations get you headed in the right direction and back to squatting as soon as possible!
What the experts are saying about The Truth About Unstable Surface Training...
"Unstable surface training is many times misunderstood and misinterpeted in both the physical therapy and athletic performance fields. The Truth About Unstable Surface Training e-book greatly clarifies where unstable surface training strategically fits into an overall program of injury prevention, warm-up/activation, and increasing whole body strength. If you are a physical therapist, athletic trainer, or strength training professional, The Truth About Unstable Surface Training gives you a massive amount of evidence-based ammunition for your treatment stockpile."
Shon Grosse PT, ATC, CSCS
Comprehensive Physical Therapy
Colmar, PA
Click here for more information on The Truth About Unstable Surface Training.
1. There were no Random Friday Thoughts last week, as my girlfriend and I were in Fort Lauderdale for a quick 3-day "the guys are off to spring training, so Eric is going to regain his sanity" vacation. As you read this, I'll have just returned to Boston (Sunday night), refreshed and ready to go for the last three weeks before the high school baseball season starts.
2. With almost all the guys done for the off-season, I figured that this was as good a time as any to send out some spring training well wishes to all the Cressey Performance pro baseball guys:
Chad Rodgers (Braves)
Will Inman (Padres)
Tim Collins (Blue Jays)
Tim Stronach (Mets)
Shawn Haviland (A's)
Nate Nelson (Blue Jays)
Steffan Wilson (Brewers)
Steve Hammond (Giants)
CJ Retherford (White Sox)
PJ Zocchi (Indians)
Matt Morizio (Royals)
Ryan Reid (Rays)
Matt Kramer (Braves)
Dave Wasylak (Nationals)
Jason Lavorgna (free agent)
Matt Cooney (free agent)
Chris Gusha (free agent)
Good luck this season, fellas. Thanks for all your hard work.
3. I often get asked what we do with folks who can't go right to foam rolling with the Foam Roller Plus (a more diesel version that is just foam on top of PVC).
In these folks, we usually start them with a foam-only roller - and ideally one that has been "broken in."
Another option that Cressey Performance has pioneered is suited up in catcher's gear before rolling. Safety first, folks.
4. Just wanted to give you a quick heads-up on an upcoming seminar (4/17-4/19) in Central Virginia with an outstanding line-up of speakers. I'm bummed that I can't make it, but you should definitely check this out if you're in the area:
Central Virginia Performance Seminar
They have limited the event to 75 attendees, so be sure to register sooner than later.
5. My girlfriend had the Oscars on last weekend, and I couldn't help but wonder who the heck this guy is and what he did to Ferris Bueller!
In place of Random Friday Thoughts this week, we've got Random Late Thursday Afternoon Madness. Here's how it works:
1. Sled (on the floor, not turf) with four plates on it
2. Four guys (in this case, Tony, Pete, and I and one of our high school seniors)
3. 16 trips of 16 yards as fast as possible
4. Ideally, each guy does four full trips, but when one guy can't get it done, somebody has to step up and finish his trip.
5. Extreme nausea is normal, and projectile vomiting is considered a form of artistic mastery.
Enjoy:
This week, I encourage you to check out:
1. Why wait to repair an ACL?
2. 5 Keys to Bulletproofing Your Knees
3. The Agenda and Line-up for the 2009 MGH Sports Medicine Conference at which I'll be speaking alongside some really smart dudes. While you're checking it out, read over Mike Reinold's stuff; Mike is the assistant athletic trainer for the Boston Red Sox and consistently puts out great material for the physical therapy community in his blog.
