1. Bad Posture – Nowadays, pretty much everyone has rounded shoulders – which means that the scapulae are winged out.  When a shoulder blade isn’t sitting right, the rotator cuff muscles that attach to that scapula are at a mechanical disadvantage because they are outside of their ideal length-tension relationship for creating force; it’s analogous to trying to shoot a cannon from a canoe.

Incorporating some direct rotator cuff exercises not only strengthens muscles that you know will be operating at a mechanical disadvantage, but also educates a lifter about how the scapula should be positioned for ideal shoulder function.

2. Shoulder impingement is a physiological norm. – Research from Flatow et al. demonstrated that everyone – regardless of age, activity level, sport of choice, acromion type, gender, you name it – has direct impingement on their rotator cuff tendons.  If you know a region is going to get beaten up regardless of what you do in your life, why wouldn’t you opt to strengthen it proactively?

3. Rotator cuff tears are far more common than you think. – In consideration of the previous point, it should be no surprise that rotator cuff tears are actually far more common than one might realize – even if you look at asymptomatic subjects.  Connor et al. discovered that on MRI, 40% of asymptomatic tennis/baseball players had evidence of partial or full-thickness cuff tears.  The general population is no different; Sher et al. took MRIs of 96 asymptomatic subjects, finding rotator cuff tears in 34% of cases, and 54% of those older than 60.  And these studies don’t even include the ones who are actually in pain!  It makes sense to strengthen these areas proactively – even if your shoulder doesn’t hurt…yet.

4. Lots of people also have labral tears. – In the past, I’ve written quite a bit about Active vs. Passive Restraints.  In the shoulder, the rotator cuff would be considered an active restraint, as it’s something that can be strengthened to improve dynamic stability.  The labrum, on the other hand, doesn’t get stronger with exercise; it’s a passive restraint that provides stability.  So, if the labrum is torn or frayed (as it very commonly is in both lifters and overhead throwing athletes), then the active restraints – the rotator cuff tendons – need to pick up the slack.

5. The “Just do normal stuff and the rotator cuff will take care of itself” philosophy isn’t working. - That’s been tried for quite some time, and nowadays, as a society, we move like absolute crap and – as noted above – have a boatload of issues on MRI even if we’re asymptomatic.  With respect to the cuff, we’ve built the deltoids up to the point that they absolutely overwhelm the rotator cuff (particularly the supraspinatus), which is trying to prevent the humeral head from migrating upward into the acromion.

My article, Clearing up the Rotator Cuff Controversy demonstrates some of our favorite rotator cuff exercises and talks about how to include them in a weekly strength training program.

For more information, check out the Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD Set.

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Post tags: Bad Posture, Baseball Players, Cannon, Canoe, Email, Lifter, Mri, Norm, Posture, Rotator Cuff Muscles, Rotator Cuff Strengthening Exercises, Rotator Cuff Tears, Rotator Cuff Tendons, Scapulae, Sher, Shoulder Blade, Shoulder Function, Shoulder Impingement, Shoulders, Strength Training Program

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a. Complete randomness (just ask my wife about my ADD)

b. Laughing (my late grandfather always reminded me that you are supposed to laugh every day – and I do)

To that end, these posts will replace “Random Friday Thoughts.”  Everyone was copying that idea, anyway – but look at who is ahead of Robertson, Gentilcore, Neeld, and St. Pierre (among others) in Google rankings if you search for “Random Friday Thoughts.  That’s how you know you’re dealing with the original, folks.  I give them all a month before they start copying this idea.

The same thing actually happened with my “What I Learned in <Insert Year>” idea.  To continue to be a trendsetter and separate myself, I didn’t even start writing mine until February – so I get 13 months to their 12.  How you like them apples?

But I digress…in this random feature – as the title implies – I’ll cover ways you can lose fat, gain muscle, get strong, and even laugh a little (or a lot).  Here we go.

1. 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.

2. I wrote Monday night about how I was enjoying (and getting my butt kicked by) the Lean Hybrid Muscle program from Mike Westerdal and Elliott Hulse.  As I was panting heavily yesterday at the end of one of their hybrid circuits yesterday, I came to realize that the biggest factor that is making this strength and conditioning program a challenge for me is that the rest intervals are very specifically regulated.  In the world of high performance training and strength training programs seeking to increase strength, the rest between sets is more “casual.”  You pretty much go when you’re ready because you want to be very fresh when you’re training the nervous system.

However, when the goal is to lose fat or gain muscle (independent of strength), you generally want shorter rest periods.

So, logically, if you want to lose fat, gain muscle, and get strong (or at least maintain strength), you need to have a good blend of longer and shorter rest periods – and that’s exactly what the Lean Hybrid Muscle program includes within each strength training session.  Logic at its finest.

3. Laugh!

4. My seminar schedule for 2011 is filling up quickly in spite of the fact that I’m working to cut back on travel this year.  You can check it out HERE.

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Post tags: American Journal Of Sports Medicine, Apples, Diagnostic Imaging, Elbows, Gain Muscle, Google, Hinge, Incidental Findings, Joints, Journal Of Sports Medicine, Knees, Lt, Medicine Study, Random Feature, Randomness, Shoulders, Sports Medicine, St Pierre, Trendsetter, X Rays

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Preventing Lower Back Pain: Assuming is Okay
Who Kneeds “Normal” Knees?
Healthy Shoulders with Terrible MRIs?

While some of these studies stratified subjects into athletes and non-athlete controls, not surprisingly, all these studies utilized adult subjects exclusively.  In other words, we’re left wondering if we see the same kind of imaging abnormalities in asymptomatic teenage athletes, which is without a doubt our most “at-risk” population nowadays.

That is, of course, until this study came out: MRI of the knee joint in asymptomatic adolescent soccer players: a controlled study.

Researchers found that 64% of 14-15 year-old athletes had one or more knee MRI “abnormalities”, whereas those in the control group (non-athletes), 32% had at least one “abnormality.”  Bone marrow edema presence was markedly higher in the soccer players (50%) than in the control group (3%).

Once again, we realize that just about everyone is “abnormal” – and that we really don’t even know what “healthy” really is.  So, we can’t hang our hat exclusively on what a MRI or x-ray says (especially since we don’t have the luxury of knowing with every client/athlete we train).  What to do, then?

Hang your hat on movement first and foremost in an asymptomatic population.  Do thorough assessments and nip inefficiencies in the bud before they become structural abnormalities that reach a painful threshold.

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Post tags: Adult Subjects, Athlete, Bone Marrow Edema, Bud, Control Group, Deadlift Technique, Diagnostic Imaging, Inefficiencies, Knees, lower back pain, Mri Of The Knee, Mris, Nip, Shoulders, Soccer Players, Study Researchers, Teenage Athletes, Threshold, X Ray, Young Athletes

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Things I Learned from Smart People: Installment 1 – This features some stuff Bill Hartman taught me about the diagnosis of disc herniations.

Shoulder Range-of-Motion Norms – What’s normal – if there is such a thing?

Avoiding the Workout Routine Overhaul – This piece talks about the problem with people that jump completely from one workout routine to another at the drop of the hat – and outlines a better strategy.

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Post tags: Bill Hartman, Diagnosis, Disc Herniations, Free Newsletter, Newsletter Name, Norms, Range Of Motion, Shoulder Range Of Motion, Shoulders, Workout Routine

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Here are five fabulous stretches to work into your daily stretching regimen to keep your body loose, limber and tension-free.

Neck Stretch

The range of motion is often restricted in the neck, so stretching this area daily can prevent tension and headaches that often accompany tightness in this area.

To do a basic neck stretch, begin with your head turned to one side of your body. Slowly bring the head around the front of the body, getting the chin as close to the chest as you can. Finish the stretch by turning your head to the opposite side of the body. Repeat this motion, slowly and deliberately, a number of times to fully loosen tension in the neck region. Stretch the neck as far as you can during the movement to gain the full benefits of the stretch.

Shoulder Stretch

The shoulders also carry much of the day’s tension, so release your stress with this simple shoulder roll.

Begin by bringing your shoulders slowly around the front of your body, raising them to the ears and then bringing them back around the back. Begin with small circles and then work to larger circles as your muscles become looser. Do ten repetitions of forward rolls, and then switch to ten backward rolls to work through all of your shoulder tension.

Side Stretch

This easy stretch works most of the muscles in the back, especially if you use your arms to make the stretch even bigger. Stand up straight and raise one arm over your head. Slowly bend at the waist in the opposite direction of the arm that is raised. Hold the bend for 10-15 seconds, and then straighten the body again. Repeat this process on the opposite side.

Hamstring Stretch

This stretch works the lower back and calves, as well as the hamstring. Sit on the floor with one leg spread in front of you and the other bent toward your body. Keeping your back straight, slowly lean your arms and head toward the outstretched leg. Hold the stretch for a few seconds, and then slowly rise back up to a sitting position. Repeat this stretch on the other leg.

Calf Stretch

To prevent cramping in the calf muscle, try this stretch every day. Stand up straight facing a wall, with about an arm’s reach between you and the wall. Place your hands against the wall and slowly lean in, keeping your back and legs straight as you lean. Hold the stretch for a few seconds, and then push yourself back up to a standing position once again.

A few simple stretches in just a few minutes a day can reap huge benefits. Daily stretching increases circulation and flexibility and promotes full range of motion throughout your life. When muscles are loose and flexible, the body is less prone to injury as it ages. Begin with these five stretches to thoroughly work the major muscles of your body and enjoy the many benefits daily stretching provides.

Related articles

• Total Body Stretch: 3 Quick Moves (healthnews.ediets.com)
• How to Warm Up for Exercise (fitness.suite101.com)
• Reduce Back Pain Through Exercise (brighthub.com)

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Post tags: Circulation, Ears, Flexibility, Forward Rolls, headaches, Muscles, Neck Stretch, Range Of Motion, Regimen, Repetitions, Shoulder Roll, Shoulder Tension, Shoulders, Side Stretch, Small Circles, Strength Training, Stress, Stretches, Stretching Exercises, Workout Time

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Also this Sunday, the major league baseball season officially ends – which means my buddy Mike Reinold (head athletic trainer and rehabilitation coordinator of the Boston Red Sox) is going to have some time to do some marriage “maintenance” of his own after lots of long days and travel since the season began in February.

So, in honor of the weekend, Mike and I decided that we’d run a sale on our Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD Set.  From now through midnight on Sunday, just head to www.ShoulderPerformance.com, add the DVD set to your cart, and get $30 off the price of the DVD set by entering the coupon code “HITCHED” (no quotation marks) at checkout.

For those of you who may be on the fence about the product, be sure to check out the testimonials and product information on the website – as well as the following:

13 Fun Facts about Optimal Shoulder Performance

Video: Should Pitchers Overhead Press?

Again, that’s HITCHED at www.ShoulderPerformance.com through this Sunday (10/3) at midnight.

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Post tags: Baseball Season, Boston Red Sox, Cart, Checkout, Coupon Code, Fence, Fiancee, Fun Facts, Knot, Major League Baseball, marriage, Pitchers, Product Information, Quotation Marks, Rehabilitation Coordinator, Reinold, Shoulders, Testimonials, travel

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My lovely fiancee just showing up and banging out eight pull-ups – in her work attire, without a warm-up.

Or Cressey Performance client Natalie putting on a show of her own with some rope pull-ups.

And a little something for the deadlifters in the crowd…

“At the beginning of this program, I was very out of balance, where my lower body was much stronger than my upper body and I will give Eric the credit for balancing me out. I found incredible strength gains in my chest, back and shoulders and was still gaining at the end of my 4 months. Working with Eric I knew the mobility and stability throughout my body would improve in the areas it needed to; I have never had any shoulder issues, but now my shoulders have never felt healthier, more stable or stronger. By the time I got to the third phase, I found my 1RM for the bench press climbed almost 30 lbs and I was working with weight I have never worked with before. Beginning the program I could not do any pull-ups .. I finished with being able to do 3 complete reps for 4 sets … that’s success to me! This program gave my body the perfect base to go in any training direction afterward.”

Kelsey Pettengill – Saco, ME

“My fiance, Mathew, and I completed Eric’s 16 week strength program in June. We were both extremely pleased with our results. I increased my squat by 55lb, my deadlift by 33lb, my 3-rep maximum chin-up by 12lb, my bench press by 8lb and my standing jump by 7.5″- great results in just 16 weeks.

“This is the first intensive strength program I have undertaken. The program will produce amazing results if you are completely committed, determined and motivated for the 16 weeks. I even managed to complete my training with international travel and demanding work pressures.
Mathew was an ongoing source of support and this program highlighted the importance and value of a committed and motivated training partner.

“As a female who up to three years ago focused their entire fitness regime on cardio, I highly recommend Eric’s program and his strength and conditioning expertise for maximizing strength gains and sculpting a lean physique.”

Cassandra Lees – Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

“I have nothing but glowing praise for Eric Cressey’s program. I have been a recreational lifter for many years. Eric’s program has helped me overcome some sticking points in mobility and strength that I wasn’t able to address on my own. Even though I am relatively strong, I have never been able to chin. Now, I can do several sets of chins with various grips.

“Because of all the unilateral work that Eric recommended in this program, my basic lifts (deadlift, squat, bench) have gone up significantly.

“My favorite lift, the deadlift, has gone from 225 to 280 and that’s at my body weight of 130 lbs.

“I was always a good conventional squatter, either free squat or box squat, but was never comfortable with the front squat. This program provided me with the tools to finally perform a decent front squat.

“I could go and on and on and tell you about all the other lifts and how they improved. Suffice it to say…THIS PROGRAM WORKS! Thanks, Eric!”

Arlene Robbins  – New York, NY

“I can’t say enough to describe the positive experiences I had with the Show and Go Program. Obviously, I gained significant strength across the board and got leaner, which in itself is rewarding, but the amazing part to me is that I did so as a 40 year old female with an office job and not as a younger elite athlete with access to more training resources. And my progressions weren’t solely strength oriented as I also made improvements in my flexibility and range of motion in spite of having past issues in these areas. With the enhanced strength and flexibility, I’m now enjoying the best fitness, strength and health I’ve had at any point in my life. And, it’s incredibly empowering to be a strong woman and reach strength levels I never thought were possible for me. There is no question in my mind that I got more than a 16 week training manual from the Show and Go Program. Rather, this program provided a road map for me to be able to continue to optimize my strength and overall health because I experienced the power of mixing of mobility exercises along with innovative strength gaining techniques.”

Rebecca Wilson – Fayetteville, Arkansas

If this isn’t proof enough that this is a great female fitness option, I don’t know what is.  For more information, click here to check out Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look, Feel, and Move Better.

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1.  I always have two books going at a time. One involves training/nutrition/manual therapy/rehabilitation.  The other involves business/personal development.  Noticeably absent from this list is fiction; I really don’t have any interest in it, and couldn’t tell you the first thing about Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.  I’ll usually have a book on CD in the car as well, but nowadays, my commute is non-existent (since we moved closer to the facility), so I have been doing more reading and less listening than previously.

Right now, I’m reading Movement by Gray Cook and a book about social networking that my landlord loaned me (not a very good book, to be frank – which is why I’m not giving it a shoutout in the blog!).

2. Our staff in-service is every Monday at 10AM. This has turned into a great continuing education opportunity for all of us.  I do two per month and Chris and Tony each do one.  While one person is “responsible” for presenting the topic, it always inevitably becomes a “think tank” among our staff and interns about how something applies to specific clients, unique issues, functional anatomy, or our programming or business model.

For instance, last week, I talked about how to assess shoulder external rotation and address any identified deficits on this front.  We got to talking about which clients were using the appropriate mobilizations, how to perform them, and what would happen if they are performed incorrectly.  Likewise, we talked about how certain people need to be careful about mobilizing their shoulders into external rotation because of extreme congenital laxity and/or extreme humeral retroversion.  This mobilization, for instance, would be a great one for a 40-something desk jockey with 80 degrees of external rotation, but terrible for a pitcher with 140 degrees of ER.

Beyond just the benefits of helping our staff grow as a whole, for me, it has several distinct benefits.  First, when I come back from a weekend seminar where I’ve learned something good, it’s a great opportunity to “reteach” and apply it immediately.  I’m a firm believer that the best way to master something is to have to teach it to someone else.  Second, having pretty frequent “mini-presentations” keeps my presenting skills fresh for seminars when I may have 4-6 weeks between speaking engagements.

3. I get to at least 4-5 weekend seminars per year. I’m lucky in that two of these are generally Perform Better Three-Day Summits where I get to see a wide variety of presentations – with all my travel expenses paid because I present myself.

I think that every fitness professional needs to get to at least two such events per year.  The good news is that with webinars and DVD sets, you can save a ton on travel expenses and watch these on your own schedule.  A lot of people, for instance, have said that they learned more from our two-day Building the Efficient Athlete Seminar DVD Set than they did in years of college – with no tuition payment required, either!

That said, a ton of the education at such events comes from interacting with other fitness professionals, so you do miss out on the accidental “social” education.

4. I have one day a week where all I read are journal articles. Sometimes it is entertaining, and sometimes it’s like reading stereo instructions.  It depends on journal – and regular ol’ luck with respect to what’s going on in the research world.  I’ll keep it pretty random and just type in a search term like “sports medicine” or “strength training.”  We also have The Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies delivered to the office so that our staff can look that over.

5.  I read a few blogs/newsletters each day in both training/nutrition/manual therapy/rehabilitation and business/personal development. For the first category, I’ve listed several on my recommended resources page.  For the second category (business/personal development), I like FitBusinessInsider.com, Alwyn Cosgrove, Seth Godin, Tim Ferris, Thomas Plummer, and Chris McCombs.  There are loads more out there; these are just the tip of the iceberg and the ones that I tend to read more frequently.

6. I’ll usually have a DVD set or webinar going as often as possible. For instance, last week, I checked out the Muscle Imbalances Revealed webinar series (it was good stuff, as I noted in my review the other day).  I tend to prefer DVDs more than webinars, though, as I can watch them in fast-forward and make people talk faster to save time!

As a brief reminder, the Muscle Imbalances Revealed webinar series is discounted $50 for my readers only through Friday at midnight at THIS LINK.

7. I talk to and email with a handful of other coaches about programming and business ideas and new things we’re doing. I wouldn’t call it a mastermind group, or anything even close to one in terms of organization, but it is good to know that whenever I want to bounce an idea off someone, I have several people I can contact.  On the training side of things, a few guys that come to mind are Mike Robertson, Neil Rampe, Mike Reinold, Bill Hartman, and Tony Gentilcore.  On the business side of things, I’m lucky to have Alwyn Cosgrove and Pat Rigsby as good dudes who are only an email or phone call away.  I think that the take-home message is that if you surround yourself with the right people, answers that would normally elude you are really right at hand.

This post wound up running a lot longer than I’d anticipated, but hopefully you all benefited from it nonetheless.  Have any continuing education strategies of your own that I have overlooked?  If so, please post them in the comments section below.

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Post tags: Business Model, continuing education, Education Opportunity, External Rotation, Fitness Industry, Functional Anatomy, Gray Cook, Harry Potter, Interns, Landlord, Laxity, Lord Of The Rings, personal development, Shoulders, Shoutout, Social Networking, Tank, Therapy Rehabilitation, Time One, Two Books

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Total Football Training – I just got an advanced copy of San Francisco 49ers strength coach Duane Carlisle’s new product, and read it over this past weekend.  There’s some really good stuff in there – definitely a good fit for the football players reading this blog. It includes an eight-week off-season training program where all the drills are demonstrated on the accompanying DVDs.

Inverted Row Ignorance – Here’s one from the archived that reminds us once again just how often this exercise is absolutely butchered.

The Right Way to Stretch the Pecs – Here’s a T-Muscle article that gives you some practical suggestions on loosening up these chronically tight muscles without throwing your shoulders under the bus.

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Post tags: Blog, Carlisle, Exercise, Football Players, football training, Good Stuff, Pecs, San Francisco 49ers, Shoulders, Strength Coach, Tight Muscles

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There are several reasons for my contention with this as a useful modality.

Like pitchers, swimmers have some of the most dysfunctional shoulders in the entire sporting world; they have glaring scapular instability, big internal rotation deficits, and insufficient dynamic instability.

Sound familiar?  These are the exact same things we work to address too keep our pitchers healthy.

For me, cross-training is about getting athletes out of pattern overload – not finding a similar means of reinforcing imbalances.  Telling a pitcher to go swim is like encouraging a distance runner with a bum Achilles tendon to go jump rope instead.  It’s an epic fail waiting to happen.

When it really comes down to it, I’d rather have guys actually throwing if they are going to develop imbalances.  Pattern overload might as well give you improved motor control and technical precision if it’s going to increase your susceptibility to injury!

Speaking of specificity, the energy systems demands of swimming (longer distances, usually) don’t reflect what we see in pitching (short bursts of intense exertion).  So, the arguments are in many ways similar to my contention with distance running for pitchers.

And, more anecdotally, while incredible athletes in the pool, most of the swimmers I have encountered have been far less than athletic on solid ground, presumably because the majority of their training takes place in the water, where stability demands are markedly different.  I’d much rather see supplemental baseball training take place with closed-chain motion on solid ground – just like it does in pitching.

Finally, I’d like to see pitchers lift more – because they simply don’t do enough of it during the season.  With limited time between outings, it’s important to get in the most important stuff first – and I just don’t see swimming as “important” when compared to flexibility training, soft tissue work, the throwing program, and strength training.

I’m sticking to my guns here.  I’d much rather see pitchers doing what I outlined HERE between starts, as it keeps them strong, gets them moving in ways that don’t further ingrain imbalances, and avoids conflicting with the metabolic demands on pitching.

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Post tags: Achilles Tendon, Anecdotally, Baseball Training, Bum, Contention, Distances, Dynamic Instability, Energy Systems, Intense Exertion, Internal Rotation, Jump Rope, Limited Time, Modality, Pitchers, Pool, Shoulders, Specificity, Susceptibility, Swimmers, Technical Precision

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