29 Reasons to Smile

Written on May 20, 2010 at 2:27 am, by Eric Cressey

I turn 29 today. And, while a lot of people look at birthdays as a reason to feel badly about getting old, I like to think of them as a reason to reflect on the cool stuff that’s happened in the past year.  Or, at the very least, I look at a birthday as good blog content!  So, without further ado, here are 29 reasons I’m smiling on my 29th birthday.

1. I’m still not as old as Tony! (okay, that was wrong).

2.  Several of our high school athletes have gone off to college and been among the strongest (if not the strongest) in the weight room.  The really rewarding aspect of it, though, is that they have an appreciation for the fact that it isn’t just about strength; it’s about combining that strength with a host of other factors – flexibility, soft tissue quality, etc. – to stay healthy.  I just love that they are informed consumers and advocates for themselves.

3. Lincoln-Sudbury Baseball has been #1 in the state, according to the Boston Globe Rankings. We train over 30 players who are currently in the LS program, plus quite a few younger guys and LS alumni.

4. Along those lines, LS junior Carl Anderson was batting .500 with 6HR and 21 RBIs through the first 11 games.  He was also 4-0 with a 0.78 ERA and 25K in 18 innings pitched.

5.

Enough said.

6. A reader sent me a great article in response to my Is Pitching Velocity Really that Important? Blog: Change-up has become Great Equalizer.  Awesome article!

7. CP athlete and Toronto Blue Jays prospect Tim Collins has 32 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched.  Opponents are hitting just .206 against him.  He also made a surprise cameo in the office at CP the other day on his only off-day of the month and hung out for the whole afternoon.  Tim, one of our college prospects, and I all went over to watch a high school game in which a lot of our guys were playing.  It’s pretty cool to see pro and college ballplayers coming back to watch high school kids’ games when it’s usually the other way around!  It makes me really proud of the camaraderie we’ve built among all our clients at Cressey Performance.

8. A buddy of mine is involved with Humblecock clothing (www.humblecock.com), so he sent me some free goodies.  I like this stuff!  I passed out a few samples to my pro guys and they loved it.

9. Brian St. Pierre, our first employee at Cressey Performance, is unfortunately leaving us at the end of this week as he returns to school to do his master’s degree.  While we’re really bummed to be losing him, I can say that I’m really proud of how tremendous a job he’s done for us since early 2008, when we first hired him.  He’s improved tremendously as a coach and really turned himself into an industry leader (actually just had his first article published at T-Muscle HERE).  It’s funny how good things happen for great people who work hard.  Check him out at BrianStPierreTraining.com.

10. Recently, a local scout informed me that the Massachusetts baseball class of 2011 was ranked as the 5th best in the country.  In other words, our juniors here in little ol’ Massachusetts are competing with the likes of Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina – where the populations are not only bigger, but they can also play baseball year-round.  Whoever said that early sports specialization was necessary to compete with these big dogs doesn’t understand development at all.  While the Southern boys are having Tommy Johns and labral repairs in the winter, our guys are training their butts off and attacking things with a specific plan.

The results?  At Cressey Performance alone, we have eight juniors verbally committed to play for Division 1 baseball programs – including Virginia, Vanderbilt, Boston College, and UCONN.  And, there should be at least a half-dozen more on that list by the time everyone signs national letters of intent this fall.

11. Head over to Amazon.com and check out the reviews on Maximum Strength HERE.  This sucker is getting more stars than an astronomy textbook!

12. It gets even better than that.  In the next few months, I’ll release a new product that’ll blow the doors off of what I did with Maximum Strength.  If you liked Maximum Strength, you’ll LOVE this one.  Subscribe to my newsletter at the right of this screen to be among the first notified.

13. Awesome!

By the way, when I was watching this video on YouTube, one of the recommended videos was Will Ferrell’s 2003 Harvard Commencement speech.  It is absolutely hilarious; talk about a way to make a graduation actually interesting!

14. In the past few months, I’ve gotten invitations to present in both St. Thomas and South Africa.  For those of you who prefer visual representations of how sweet this is, please take note (respectively):

We still have to plan our honeymoon soon as well, so it’s going to be a very sunny year for a couple of Bostonians!

15. It’s getting to be that time of year when pitchers come in and act all surprised that they are hitting homeruns now.  It just goes to show you that when you get more athletic, a lot of things fall into place – and not just in terms of pitching!  Rotational power is rotational power; the hitting just requires more hand-eye coordination.

16. I’ve got my own office now!  Unfortunately, it’s still buried under boxes and clutter from the move, but it is nice to know that I have a little bit more organization coming to my life soon!

17. I am pretty darn proud of the Cressey Performance website.  It’s a huge improvement from our old one, and I’m psyched to have an online presence that reflects how much hard work we put into making CP a special place to train.

18. CP athlete and San Diego Padres prospect Will Inman has a 3.03 ERA through 38.2 innings pitched in AAA.  Opponents are hitting just .221 against him.  For those who aren’t familiar with the Pacific Coast League, this is the single-hardest league in which one can pitch at any level of professional baseball.  There are small ballparks and insane winds that turn pop-ups into 450-foot HRs.  Will is doing awesome and we’re all really happy for him; it’s a lot of hard work rewarded.

19. This one really cracks me up.  We uploaded this video of CP athlete Sahil Bloom back in October of 2007, and it’s become the second most popular of all-time.  The funniest part is all the 13-year-olds arguing in the comments section about how this is “just good for football players” and how they all throw 97mph at age 13.

The funniest part is that Sahil is now pitching consistently over 90mph – and doing so at Stanford.  He’s 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA through six outings in his freshman year. It’s amazing that he’s had this success just “training for football!”

20. The past year has brought some collaborative efforts for me that have been absolutely tremendous in not only enhancing my productivity, but also educating me (and my readers/customers).  Matt Blake has brought a great new dimension to Cressey Performance with his pitching instruction and video analysis, and to EricCressey.com with his blog contributions.  Nate Tiplady has been a huge addition to our programs with the Graston and ART services he provides to our clients.  It was also great to collaborate with both Mike Reinold and Bill Hartman on projects for the first time, with Optimal Shoulder Performance and Assess & Correct, respectively.

At the end of the day, you are only as strong as your network, so I’d encourage you all to seek out collaborative efforts with other professionals who complement your skill set as well.

21. Slacker.com.  This thing is an awesome source for music; I listen to it all the time when I’m at the computer writing programs.

22. Just got this feedback from a very happy Optimal Shoulder Performance customer:

“Awesome job on the Optimal Shoulder Performance DVDs with Reinold. I just finished watching them this past weekend (I need to get a life) and I found them extremely educational and helpful. I really thought the information you both provided complimented each other well. There were some variations to some movements that I will definitely be implementing into some of my programs.”

While the financial side of things with product sales is nice, the thing that I actually enjoy the most is knowing that the information we’re putting out is helping people to improve their bodies and stay out of pain.  It’s even better when I know it is helping a fellow fitness professional or some rehabilitation specialist, as it means that they’re taking that knowledge to help more people beyond just themselves.  At the end of my career, I really want to be known most for the always putting my athletes first and always doing my best to contribute to the body of knowledge.

Click here for more information on Optimal Shoulder Performance.

23. On Tuesday morning, I had an absolutely terrible training session.  I felt weak the entire time, and couldn’t even stomach a shake post-training.  About an hour later, every joint in my body hurt and I had a raging headache.  That night, I was in bed early and was pouring sweat in my sleep.

I almost never get sick.  We are taking once every 3-4 years.  My attendance is so good at work that my business partner, Pete, has to force me to take days off.  Surely, there is something to the idea that regular exercise and proper diet reduces one’s likelihood of getting sick – and this is certainly demonstrated in the reduced absenteeism

Wednesday morning, I woke up feeling a ton better.  It turned out to be a really productive day.  This little experience reminds me that taking care of your body doesn’t just prevent you from getting sick; it also helps you to bounce back quickly when the unavoidable illness happens.

24. CP athlete Danny O’Connor looks to run his professional boxing record to 12-0 this weekend at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.  A huge CP contingent will be out to support him.  Danny works his butt off five days a week at CP in addition to all his boxing training, and deserves all the success that comes to him.

25. Chris Howard is the newest addition to the Cressey Performance staff, and we’re excited to have him on board.  A former CP intern, Chris went on to massage therapy school and is now a LMT – on top of his CSCS and master’s degree in nutrition.  Needless to say, we’re lucky to have a guy who brings so much versatility to our facility. I especially like Chris right now because he’s motivated me to brush up on my anatomy knowledge since he just retook it all in school!

26. Bill Hartman is in town for a seminar at Northeastern this weekend, so it’ll be a nice birthday present to catch up with him.  He’s joining us at CP today for the day.  His blog is always full of good stuff, but chatting with him in person is even better!

27. Tony Gentilcore wrote a great two-part series called “It All Starts in the Kitchen.”  There are some great tips in there for those of you who might struggle on the diet side of things.   Check out Part 1 and Part 2.

28. One of our pro baseball guys told me to check out the “Baseball Made Easy” series on YouTube, and it’s absolutely hilarious.  Check a few of them out:

29. I already knew I had the greatest girl in the world, but when she took me to a Sox game last night for my birthday for the third year in a row, I was reminded once again!  Here we were last year – when I had more hair.

EC on “Let’s Talk Baseball” with Ron and Jill Wolforth

Written on March 31, 2010 at 10:46 am, by Eric Cressey

Recently, I was on the “Let’s Talk Baseball” show with Ron and Jill Wolforth, where we talked baseball development in the context of assessing pitchers and correcting their inefficiencies.  Check it out:

Let’s Talk Baseball

We discuss the Assess & Correct DVD set quite a bit – and you can pick up a copy HERE.

Random Friday Thoughts: 3/19/10

Written on March 19, 2010 at 11:08 am, by Eric Cressey

1. I thought I’d kick this post off with a little technique troubleshooting.  Yesterday, one of the “guinea pigs” for my new project emailed this video to me and asked for some suggestions on bench press technique:

BP from Caleb Chiu on Vimeo.

My suggestions to him were as follows:

a. Your feet are antsy and jumping all over the place.  Get them pulled up a bit more under you so that they can’t move around.  Then, focus on pushing them into the floor the entire set.

b. Get more air in your belly.  Notice how the stomach sinks in?  That’s because you don’t have any air in it!

c. Get a handoff.  The #1 reason guys flair the elbows out is that they lose scapular stability – and you lose that the second you hand off to yourself.

2. I’m headed to a Postural Restoration Institute Myokinematic Restoration Seminar this weekend up in Portland, ME – while my fiancee and my mother work on stuff for the wedding.  It is amazing what lengths guys will go to in order to escape wedding planning, huh?

Just kidding; I’m actually really excited about it.  Neil Rampe of the Arizona Diamondbacks turned me on to the PRI stuff and it’s really intrigued me from the get-go.

3. It’s been a fun week around here with the start of the high school baseball season.  I got over to help out with some warm-ups and movement training with the Lincoln-Sudbury guys during tryouts on Mon-Tue.  In all, we saw 33 Lincoln-Sudbury high school baseball players – from freshman to seniors – this off-season, so it was pretty easy to pick up where we left off with them in the weight room.  There was great energy, and lots of excitement about the new season.

4. Here’s a great feature on Blue Jays prospect Tim Collins and his training at Cressey Performance.

5. I was interviewed last week for an article about pitch counts.  It’s now featured HERE.

6. Some feedback on Assess & Correct:

“I was pretty excited when I received an e-mail from Eric and Mike saying that I was getting an advanced copy of their new Assess and Correct product.  Mike and Eric have had a history of putting out top notch information and products and when I saw that Bill Hartman was also involved in this new product I knew that this was going to be even more special.

“Since I own a fitness facility, I’m always looking for cutting edge information that I can recommend to my trainers.  After viewing the DVDs and reading through the manuals, my first thought was, ‘Wow, a home run!’

“Finally, a product that I could wholeheartedly recommend to all of my trainers as an excellent go-to reference tool to enhance their abilities in assessing their clients needs; pinpointing their weakness &/or imbalances and then effectively addressing these findings to make sure their clients can achieve their goals safely.”

Joe Dowdell, CSCS – Founder & Co-owner of Peak Performance, NYC
www.peakperformancenyc.com

Click here to pick up a copy of Assess and Correct.

7. Last, but certainly not least, CP athlete Danny O’Connor aims to run his professional boxing record to 11-o tonight with a bout at Twin River Casino in Rhode Island. Good luck, Danny!

Cressey/Robertson/Hartman Roundtable with Pat Rigsby

Written on February 24, 2010 at 3:50 am, by Eric Cressey

Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, and I recently participated on a roundtable with Pat Rigsby at his blog.  The discussion is all about assessment and its role in the training process.

You definitely ought to check it out – not only for the content itself, but also the special offer in place for Assess & Correct.  Here it is:

Are You Making Your Clients Better or Just Making Them Tired?

The Latest Assess & Correct Review

Written on February 21, 2010 at 9:48 am, by Eric Cressey

We just got this feedback the other day from Adam Campbell of Men’s Health:

“Assess and Correct is the most useful physical evaluation tool I’ve ever seen. It’s like having instant access to the knowledge that Hartman, Robertson, and Cressey have gained through years of experience studying anatomy and human movement, and working with real people.

“But most important, it’s presented in a way that you can put it to use immediately. In fact, the design of the manual is genius because you’re given a series of simple tests to identify postural and movement problems, followed by smart exercise progressions-which you can tailor to a client’s ability-to correct any issues. So it’s a powerful tool that will help any coach create more effective training plans, customized to an individual’s true NEEDS. The upshot: Assess and Correct will make any fitness professional better at what he or she does.

“One other note: Because I’m a fitness journalist, the authors offered me a free manual for review (common in the industry), but I had already purchased it. When they tried to refund my money, I requested that they not. The reason: I found the material to be so valuable that I felt like I SHOULD paid for it. I’m not sure there’s any testimonial I could give that’s better than that.”

Adam Campbell
Fitness Director, Men’s Health

Click here to check out Assess & Correct for yourself.

Random Friday Thoughts: 2/5/10

Written on February 5, 2010 at 8:07 am, by Eric Cressey

It’s been a while since I’ve published a Random Friday Thoughts blog.  So, I guess you could say that this is some random randomness.  Enjoy.

1. Anyone who tells you that being a strength and conditioning coach is just about training doesn’t realize that it goes far beyond that.  This off-season, we’ve helped our pro guys out everything from composing a best man’s toast to tying a tie.  We’ve even come full-service to offer haircuts in the office.

2. Jacob Hiler recently interviewed me about vertical jump training; check it out HERE.

3. I got some great feedback on Assess and Correct via email the other day from Jon Hochberg:

Just wanted to commend you on your latest product, Assess and Correct (kudos to Mike and Bill as well, of course).  As a purchaser of most all of your products, I found this to be your most mature – not necessarily in terms of content, but in terms of presentation and delivery.  Assess and Correct does not merely list corrective exercises, but outlines an integrated process that each athlete, regardless of level, can navigate through.  From the body photos at the beginning of the manual, to the exercise listings and the demonstrations on the video, the user has a complete road map in front of him that he can use for the rest of his career, especially since you grouped the progressions into sensible categories.  I think the manual in conjunction with the videos is the real key here.  I can read about what I need to do, and if I need a more clear demonstration, I can look it up in the video chapters and watch it for more clarification.  It’s nice when someone else puts in the hard work and does the research for the rest of us, so that we have a clear picture of where to go next.

Thanks to Jon for the feedback.  You can pick up your copy of Assess and Correct HERE.

4. My buddy Jim “Smitty” Smith at DieselCrew.com is doing a great fundraiser for Haiti relief efforts.  Check it out here. It’s a great idea for a great cause.

5.  Another easy way to keep track of me is on Facebook, for those of you who have it.  Just consider yourself forewarned that if you post questions on my wall about why your shoulder hurts or ask “what’s your biceps workout, bro?,” I’ll delete you as a friend faster than Tony Gentilcore can say “I love techno.”  Life’s not fair sometimes; sorry.

6. I don’t know what this picture has to do with anything, but I thought that it was great.

7. Quote of the week: “The higher up you get, the more hot air you encounter.”  It rang true when one of my athletes this week informed me that – according to some local trainer (who I’ve never met, but apparently is a competitor of ours) – I was responsible for a nearby pitcher’s elbow injury.  This was remarkable, considering I’ve never even met or talked with this pitcher, let alone assessed him, programmed for him, or trained him!

I know we get a lot of industry up-and-comers reading this site, and perhaps the best career advice I can give you is to ignore what other people say.  Listen to your customers/clients/athletes, your staff, and your family; those are the opinions that matter.  If I spent hours each day arguing on internet forums with my critics, I’d be wasting time that could otherwise be spent with the former three groups: the ones that matter.

8. I’m keeping a diet log this week for the first time in about three years.  I’ve gotten so accustomed to just maintaining my weight without really thinking about it that I figured I actually ought to check and see just how many calories I’m taking in on a daily basis.  It definitely makes you think about what you eat a lot more!

9. Here’s a great little piece about two Cressey Performance athletes – Billy Bereszniewicz and Adam Ravenelle (both of Lincoln-Sudbury) – who have committed to play Division 1 baseball.

10. Short one today, as I’ve got a bunch to do before the weekend. We’ve got a full schedule here at CP on Saturday, and then I’m back to my old stomping grounds at Gampel Pavilion at UCONN to watch the basketball team play Depaul.

Then, it’s house/condo “shopping” on Sunday.  I’m getting all grown up before your very eyes…

Have a great weekend!

3 Corrective Exercise Mistakes Fitness Professionals Make

Written on January 27, 2010 at 4:27 am, by Eric Cressey

Thought you all might be interested in a recent interview I did for Rick Kaselj of ExerciseForInjuries.com:

3 Corrective Exercise Mistakes Fitness Professionals Make

For more details on some of the concepts I discuss, I’d encourage you to check out Assess & Correct.

Consistently applying the information on this DVD for a few minutes each day should help anyone remain limber and injury free for a long time. Not only does it show you what to do in terms of fixing your problems, but it also shows you how to assess where you’re at in terms of muscle balance and flexibility, so you can see how you’re improving or regressing in those areas over time and in what areas you might need more work.

It definitely makes a great addition to anyone’s training library.

-Kelly Baggett

A Great Assess and Correct Review

Written on January 17, 2010 at 12:18 pm, by Eric Cressey

I’m not back from Florida until Tuesday, but in the meantime, I just wanted to give you a quick heads-up on a thorough review Laree Draper just did on Assess and Correct: Breaking Barriers to Unlock Performance.  If you’re on the fence about picking up a copy, you won’t want to miss this, as it’ll answer a lot of your potential questions.  You can check it out HERE.

Random Friday Thoughts and Pro Baseball Players Getting Down

Written on January 15, 2010 at 10:50 am, by Eric Cressey

1. I’m headed to Florida later today to speak at a seminar and then get in a mini-vacation with my wife-to-be.  So, I have lots of packing and programming to do before I take off, but thought I’d throw a little content and some videos up here to get you all through the weekend.

2. Check out this great post by Bill Hartman on thoracic mobility.

3. Speaking of Bill Hartman, our product, Assess and Correct, has been getting some great feedback from folks “in the know.”  Check out this latest testimonial:

“Assess and Correct may be the most comprehensive corrective exercise product on the market.  I feel this DVD is a must have for anyone looking to make positive changes in their athletes’ bodies – or their own.

The assessment section provides simple and detailed information for tests that can help anyone become more aware of their body’s limitations while the correction progressions offer forward thinking solutions that guarantee optimal performance.

Eric, Bill and Mike have done it again!”

-Mike Irr – Head Strength & Conditioning Coach, Charlotte Bobcats

Check it out for yourself: Assess and Correct.

4. Random videos of pro baseball players training because I don’t have time to give you more content:

Have a great weekend!

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What’s in Store for 2010?

Written on January 1, 2010 at 5:36 pm, by Eric Cressey

Happy New Year, everyone!

I thought I’d use this first post of 2010 as a way of looking forward to what’s on tap at EricCressey.com for the year.  In true “Random Thoughts” fashion, here we go:

1. Nate Green just interviewed me for what I think will be a great feature at T-Muscle in the next week or two.  It will be similar in structure to this piece Nate did with Dave Tate, which definitely turned out to be an entertaining read.  Keep an eye out for it!

2. Speaking of interviews, I’ll be doing one with Brian Grasso for the IYCA on Tuesday.  Brian’s a very forward-thinking guy and I’m excited to catch up with him.

3. Speaking of T-Muscle, I’m finishing up my “What I Learned in 2009″ article this weekend.  It follows the articles I wrote for 2006, 2007, and 2008.

4. Also coming up in the next month or so will be the release of the DVDs of Mike Reinold and my seminar from November: Testing, Treating, and Training the Shoulder: From Rehabilitation to High Performance. It’s being edited as I type this.

5. This January 24, Cressey Performance will be hosting Neil Rampe of the Arizona Diamondbacks for his seminar, .  You can register HERE, or for more information on Neil’s background, click HERE.  If you’d like to see a seminar agenda, please just email me at ec@ericcressey.com.

6. I’ll be presenting in Tampa, FL (Jan); Winchester, MA (Jan); Las Vegas, NV (March); and Vancouver, BC (March); and Boston, MA (May) in this first part of 2010.  Check out my schedule page for more information on these events.

7. I’m very anxious to hear more of the feedback on Assess and Correct, which has already sold in more than two dozen countries.  This is a product I truly believe will help a lot of people, and the short-term feedback we’ve received since its release in October has been tremendous.

8. At Cressey Performance, our staff has started up what (for lack of a more masculine term) we’re calling the Staff Book Club.  Each staff member will present on what he learns in a different book each week.  I think it’ll be a great way to cover more material and keep us all accountable to each other on getting our continuing education done.

9.I’m pumped for more content from Matt Blake in 2010.  He’s been a fantastic resource for all our athletes and I’m excited to share with you all how Matt and I collaborate to make our pitchers better.  I think it’ll make for some great content.

10. I’d really like to continue to grow both the newsletter and blog.  You can sign up for notifications on both fronts to the right of the screen, if you haven’t already.

11. I’m really pumped for all our guys who have found great college choices; it’s an exciting time for both the 2010 and 2011 guys.  Most recently, CP athlete Adam Ravenelle committed to Vanderbilt on a baseball scholarship.  Adam’s been with us since before his freshman year, and we’re all really proud of him.  He actually joins another CP pitcher, Tyler Beede, who committed to Vanderbilt just a few weeks ago.  Both guys are in the class of 2011, and join Barrett O’Neill (University of Virginia) and Joe Napolitano (Boston College) as our early committees from that class.

There should be plenty more guys with exciting news along these lines in the months to come as well.

12. I’m really excited to watch Cressey Performance grow in the months ahead.  While I was certainly thrilled at the growth we saw (15%) in 2009 and I hope it continues, I am most thrilled at how many clients we’ve seen change their bodies and their lives since they started up, and how many friendships we’ve seen cultivated inside CP. If you’d have told me a few years ago that we’d have over 25 people in on Thanksgiving morning, for instance, I would have told you that you were crazy!

In addition to our clients’ accomplishments, I’m so proud of our staff. I could never do what I do without such great guys working alongside me, and the best part is that they are insatiable in their desire to get better.  We’re constantly getting better and it makes every new day fun.  The best part is that I feel like it’s something that’s carried over to our interns, too; there are some really talented people with bright futures coming through here.

13. I’m very excited for the new CP website, which should be done in a matter of a few days.  Along those same lines, there is a pretty sweet training and testimonial montage being pulled together about our Elite Baseball Development program.  I was actually getting pretty fired up just watching some of the footage that had been gathered thus far.

14. I can’t wait to attack all the books and journal articles that are in my stack of “Things to Read” right now.  There’s too much material to cover, but never enough time!

15. Last, but certainly not least, it’ll also be a very busy (but exciting) year for me personally in 2010, as my fiancee Anna and I will be getting married this October.  And, even before we get to that, we’re planning to buy our first home in the next 4-6 months.  Obviously, we’re already doing a lot of planning!

Needless to say, I’m looking forward to all of this – and probably a few surprises along the way.  Best wishes for 2010, and stay tuned!