Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale

Written on November 25, 2011 at 8:25 am, by Eric Cressey

I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of anything I would rather do less than get up at 4am and go stand in line at some store with thousands of other people to take advantage of some sale.  And, it’s with that in mind that Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, Mike Reinold, and I are proud to announce a sale through Monday (11/28) at midnight on the following products:

Assess and Correct DVD Set
Inside-Out DVD Set
Magnificent Mobility DVD
The Bulletproof Knees and Back Seminar DVD Set
Building the Efficient DVD Set
2008 Indianapolis Performance Enhancement Seminar DVD Set
The Single-leg Solution DVD Set and Manual
Bulletproof Knees Manual and DVD
Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD Set

I’ve linked to each one of these products individually so that you can learn more about each of them, but you can purchase them individually or together easily at the Robertson Training Systems Product Page. The only exception would be Optimal Shoulder Performance, which can be purchased exclusively through www.ShoulderPerformance.com with the coupon code bfcm2011.

If you’re someone who is “new” to our products, I’d encourage you to check out this video on Assess and Correct to learn a bit more about how we roll with one of these products.  Assess and Correct is a great place to start, if you haven’t purchased any of our stuff yet:

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Assess and Correct “Completely Changed My Life”

Written on April 1, 2011 at 8:37 am, by Eric Cressey

We received the following testimonial from a very satisfied Assess and Correct customer via email last week, and I thought I’d share.

“After spending five years heading in the wrong direction regarding my training, I was left with many injuries in my upper as well as my lower body. I had multiple muscle/strength imbalances and horrible posture which caused overuse injuries, chronic pain, pinched nerves and other problems. I physically couldn’t do a single thing without causing some sort of pain. Even though I was only 22 years old at the time, I just assumed that I had headed so far down the wrong path that I would never recover and never be able to comfortably work out again. I accidentally came across one of Eric’s articles about one of my many problems. I read the article and instantly looked for others.

“After some deliberation I decided that Assess and Correct might be something that could help me. I gave it a try, consistently performing the exercises, in combination with other exercises recommended by Cressey, Robertson, and Hartman aimed at restoring correct posture. The best way to describe this product was that it completely changed my life.

“I have loads of mobility and stability in all the right places. I went through every exercise or mobility drill in every progression even if I didn’t need to. All the exercises are described thoroughly and simple to complete. Injuries or no injuries, I would recommend this product to every single person who lives and active lifestyle. I am a believer and will be a lifetime follower of Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson, and Bill Hartman. Thanks, guys!”

Click here to pick up a copy of Assess and Correct for yourself!

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Everything You Need to Know About Assess and Correct

Written on January 18, 2011 at 5:33 am, by Eric Cressey

We sometimes get questions about how our products differ from one another, so Mike Robertson stepped up and created the following webinar to describe a bit about one of our most popular products, Assess and Correct.  If you’re on the fence about purchasing, this should help with your decision.

“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

“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 purchase Assess and Correcting: Breaking Barriers to Unlock Performance!

Review of Rehab=Training, Training=Rehab: Top 10 Takeaways – Part 2

Written on December 19, 2010 at 4:58 pm, by Eric Cressey

Today, we’ve got a follow-up of my blog from late last week, Rehab=Training, Training=Rehab: Top 10 Takeaways – Part 1.  This mini-series highlights some of the key takeaways from Charlie Weingroff’s great new DVD set, which is on sale at an introductory price through midnight tonight only.  We pick up today with #6.

6. I’ve written a lot in the past about why a hip internal rotation deficit (HIRD) is a huge problem in both athletes and the general population.  Weingroff raises an interesting point in discussing the “Hip Internal Rotation Paradox” that I’d never really considered – probably because nowadays, I really don’t train as many female athletes where we see valgus-initiated knee and lower leg injuries.  In this population, we see lower extremity pathologies largely because a lot of females can’t control femoral/tibial internal rotation and pronation at the subtalar joint (left side in the photo below).

The casual observer to kinesiology might say that a good way to prevent these injuries would be to make sure that athletes have insufficient internal rotation and pronation; if you can’t hit a dangerous end-range, then you can’t tear anything nearly as easily.  Hooray for HIRD then, right?  Wrong.

The problem with this thought process, though, is that it doesn’t appreciate that the hip DOES need full internal rotation for proprioception.  As Charlie puts it, the hip “needs to know it to prevent it.”  If we don’t have adequate proprioception, we can’t get the hip external rotators to turn on to prevent it from becoming excessive.  This is really true of all joints; we must have full mobility so that the mechanoreceptors can tell the brain that a joint can go from point A to point B.  Otherwise, we can’t stabilize naturally and reflexively.

7. Weingroff reaffirmed a great assertion that I remember Bill Hartman making a year or two ago: you only need stability in the presence of mobility.  In other words, “functional” mobility is not just about being capable of adequate stability in wild excursions of joint range of motion – unless that’s what your functional demands are.  In other words, a powerlifter, gymnast, and baseball pitcher would all have different “optimal mobility” schemes, and even within these populations, you’d see different needs for different folks based on body type and the specific activity in question.

This also can influence our training programs.  While exactly simulating the sporting movement will only lead to overuse without enhancing functional mobility, working to improve stability in similar joint alignments and ranges of motion can still have a favorable carryover.  This came to mind the other day when Kansas City Royals prospect Tim Collins was doing some core work at the facility; you just have to consider the movement alongside his functional demands.

8. Charlie also cited some more up-to-date research that shows that problem with lateral knee pain is usually too much femoral internal rotation during closed chain movements (e.g., squatting, lunging), not too much lateral patellar tracking.  So, you think the hundreds of thousands of lateral release surgeries that have been performed in the last decade were a good idea?  A lot of people could have gotten their issues under control the right way by getting the hip under control – because the patella was already where it was supposed to be.

9. I liked the way that Weingroff broke corrective exercise down into three categories: isolated, integrated, and functional movement.

Isolated work might include manual therapy (massage or joint mobilizations) or stretching.  Essentially, this category consists of interventions where the client/patient has little to no active participation (foam rolling would technically be a mild exception, as the client has to actively reposition his/her body for this soft tissue work).  Effectively, these modalities get the ball rolling on undoing a dysfunction that won’t clear up with gross movement because the individual with the problem will simply go to the path of least resistance and feed into that dysfunction.

Integrated work is aimed at tying this new mobility with the core – whether it’s with a more comprehensive mobility drill or stabilization exercise.  Many people can benefit from going directly to integrated work; examples include someone who has always trained on machines, or someone who sits at a desk all day; they simply need to move).

Functional movement is the third piece of the puzzle and involves tying the upper and/or lower extremity to the core.  This is the fun stuff.

10. There is a difference between functional movement and functional exercise.  This might seem like wordplay, but in reality, it’s an important differentiation to make.

Charlie cited the example of a baby going into lumbar flexion when squatting down.  It’s a range-of-motion that a child should have and utilize in normal development and day-to-day living.  That doesn’t, however, mean that it’s a good idea to put 405 on your back and squat through lumbar flexion.

That wraps up my not-so-quick recap of Rehab=Training, Training=Rehab.  To be honest, I could have written another dozen blog posts just like this on all the other stuff – both “big picture” points and finer subtleties – that I picked up from Charlie’s presentation.  That, however, is best left to Charlie – which is why I’d strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of the DVD set yourself, especially since it is on sale at the introductory price ($50 off) through Monday 12/20 at midnight.  You won’t regret it:

Rehab=Training, Training=Rehab

Disc Herniations, Normal Shoulders, and Workout Routine Overhauls

Written on December 2, 2010 at 7:48 am, by Eric Cressey

Here are a few good reads from the archives for you for today:

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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Alex Maroko’s Readers: How to Create a Real Strength and Conditioning Program

Written on October 20, 2010 at 5:01 am, by Eric Cressey

Because Alex Maroko is a good buddy of mine, I decided to make this webinar available to you at absolutely no cost. If you want to learn about the thought process behind each strength and conditioning program I write – for athletes that range from baseball players, to basketball stars, to professional boxers, to Olympic bobsledders – then look no further.

If You Read Alex’s Daily Emails, Use His Special Show and Go Half-Off Discount Link Below Today for Big Savings!

Click Here to Learn More About Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look, Feel, and Move Better

7 Steps for Attacking Continuing Education in the Fitness Industry

Written on August 12, 2010 at 3:30 am, by Eric Cressey

In response to a recent blog, one reader posted a question about how I “structure” my approach to continuing education.  As I thought about it, it’s actually a more organized “ritual” than I had previously thought.  Here are the key components:

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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Product Review: Muscle Imbalances Revealed

Written on August 10, 2010 at 12:01 am, by Eric Cressey

Recently, several industry notables launched a webinar series called Muscle Imbalances Revealed.  To be honest, I had been approached about contributing on the project, but just didn’t have the time to give the project the attention it deserved.  Luckily for all of us, though, Rick Kaselj went through with pulling this together, and an excellent resource was born.

The product consists of seven webinars all aimed at identifying and correcting muscular imbalances in the lower body.  Contributing to the project were Kaselj, Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, Dean Somerset, Kevin Yates, and Eric Beard.  Rather than go into a ton of detail on each presentation (and I did take quite a few notes on each), I’ll highlight the components from the set as a whole that stood out for me.

1. Rick Kaselj had some excellent information on the incidence of knee injuries and surgeries across various populations; they are definitely statistics to which I’ll be referring for future blogs and presentations.  His presentation on ACL return-to-function would be a tremendously valuable resource to any trainer or strength and conditioning coach who has never gotten a post-ACL athlete right after discharge from therapy.  I remember when I saw my first post-ACL case; I literally went home and did 4-5 hours of research that night just to make sure that I was up to speed on where that female athlete should be, and what her restrictions were.  Scarily, we knew a lot less back then than we do now – and that’s what makes Rick’s presentation so valuable: it’s all the latest info all in one place.  My only small criticism is that it could have used some more videos within the presentation, but that’s nothing to write home about in light of the content he provides.

2. Bill Hartman dropped some serious knowledge bombs, as only Bill can.  I found that I took the most notes during Bill’s presentation.  A few things that stood out:

a. Don’t just think of it as thoracic mobility; think of it as rib mobility, too.
b. A lot of people overlook how much exhaling during a thoracic extension drill can improve the efficacy of the exercise.  Try it!
c. Bill went to great lengths to discuss the differences between mobility (“the ability to achieve the desired posture or movement”) and regular ol’ flexibility.
d. He worked in a bit of Postural Restoration Institute flavor, and it was nice to see which specific exercises he was using the most in a group training setting, as we do quite a bit of it ourselves.
e. Bill demonstrated the quadruped extension-rotation with the arm maximally internally rotated behind the back; it’s one I really like, and we’ll be using it selectively with a few of our clients.  T-spine mobility is so essential to glenohumeral internal rotation range-of-motion, and it seems like internal rotation is more quickly impacted than external rotation – so it makes sense to mobilize in this position.

f. While emphasizing ankle mobility, we can’t overlook the importance of strengthening the anterior compartment of the lower leg.

3. Mike Robertson was excellent as well, although I didn’t take quite as many notes as I did with Bill simply because I see and speak with Mike more often.  I’ve written quite a bit about how the subtalar joint is a “torque converter” where pronation drives tibial/femoral internal rotation and adduction, plus anterior pelvic tilt.

In this presentation, Mike does a great job of taking it a step further and talking about how dysfunction at the pelvis can drive pronation from the top down; poor hip strength and mobility can definitely wreak havoc on the lower extremity.  He also presents a great anteversion example, in case you haven’t seen one.

4. Kevin Yates spoke to things in a much more general sense, and while I honestly didn’t take a lot from his presentations myself, some of the up-and-comers in the industry certainly would.  A few points he made that I did really like were:

a. As much has technology has improved our world, it’s really screwed our bodies!
b. Injuries almost always occur while we are moving, not while we’re stationary – so make sure that the bulk of your mobility work comes in a standing, dynamic context, not just from static stretching.

5. Eric Beard did a great overview of the shoulder girdle and the issues we face in this complex region.  From reading this blog, you realize that I could talk about all shoulders, all the time – so it was impressive that Eric crammed as much quality content into an hour as he possibly could.  I really liked his scapulohumeral rhythm images as well as his continued emphasis that shoulder injuries often take years to come to fruition; there are often just “incidents” that become the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

If you’re interested in learning more about shoulder impingement, this webinar would be a great resource for you (along with my The Truth About Shoulder Impingement Part 1 and Part 2).

6. Dean Somerset was last, but certainly not least.  Dean spoke at length about the role of fascia in governing movement.  In the past, I’ve written at length about how we may have terrible x-rays, MRIs, or other diagnostic imaging – and be completely pain-free.  Well, as Dean discusses, we can have a boatload of pain, but absolutely nothing abnormal on these images.  In fact, 85% of lower back pain has no definitive diagnosis – so what gives?  Well, this is where fascia comes in.  We’re talking about the entire extracellular matrix of the body.  It’s proprioceptively-rich and incredibly strong – yet it doesn’t really get any of the attention it deserves.  Ever had annoying pain that went away with soft tissue work?  Here’s a rationale for “why” it went away.  For related reading, check out my recent blog post, The Fascial Knock on Distance Running for Pitchers.

All in all, Muscle Imbalances Revealed was an excellent resource that I’d highly recommend you view.  And, I think it’s particularly valuable because you can conveniently watch it from the comfort of your own home or office without having to spend hundreds of dollars on travel and accommodations while taking time off from work.  Check it out at THIS PAGE.

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Stuff You Should Read: 6/17/10

Written on June 17, 2010 at 7:44 am, by Eric Cressey

Here are a few blogs/articles you might want to read over:

A Quick Fix for Painful Push-ups – This one comes from the EricCressey.com archives; I was reminded of it by a reader inquiry yesterday and thought I’d bring it back to the forefront, as it’s valuable information.

Adapting Vertical Pulls – Here’s an innovative idea from Bill Hartman.  I tried it out, and it seems to work pretty well.  We’ll be experimenting with it more with our new clients with shoulder pain moving forward.

Jays’ Odd Couple are a Mound of Trouble – This is a great – and entertaining – article about CP athlete and Blue Jays prospect Tim Collins and his teammate Trystan Magnuson.

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The Lucky 13: Cressey’s Top Reading Recommendations

Written on June 7, 2010 at 5:25 am, by Eric Cressey

A few months ago, I gave a two-day seminar to just over 80 fitness professionals and strength and conditioning coaches.  Even with a seminar this long, I can never cover everything I’d like to cover – and it’s generally because much of what I’d like to address relies on some prerequisite knowledge that the attendees may not possess.

With that in mind, at the attendees’ request, I sent a follow up email to all of them with a list of some of the best resources – books/manuals and DVDs – that I’ve encountered along my journey of self-education.

Please keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list, by any means, but it does cover what I’d consider requisite reading to get a good foundation in a lot of the concepts I covered last weekend.

1.  Any anatomy text will do, but I prefer texts that speak more to functional anatomy.  Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy is very good, and I know of many physical therapists in the US who keep a copy of this book on hand for patient education.  Kinetic Anatomy is also a solid text that speaks to functional anatomy, and I believe the newer version comes with a tag-along DVD.  Lastly, our Building the Efficient Athlete DVD set was created in part to educate folks on the functional anatomy side of things that they may miss during a conventional college curriculum.  I know of several facilities in the US that use it extensively for staff training.

2. Anything from Stuart McGill – While there are several schools of thought with respect to low back function and rehabilitation (and I’d encourage you to check out each of them), McGill is the one that resonates with me the most.  You can find a lot of his research on Pubmed, but he also has several books (and a DVD) available that I’d highly recommend.  For those of you who are interested in some science and some applied, go with Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance.

For those of you who are a bit geekier and want to learn a lot more about the clinical side of things, check out Low Back Disorders.  If you are going to train clients or athletes, you need to understand back pain.

3. Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes by Shirley Sahrmann is probably the book that has influenced me more than any other in my career.  It’s worth every penny.

4. For shoulder stuff, I think that The Athlete’s Shoulder is a great resource.  It is written by physical therapists and surgeons, though, so it can get very clinical at times.  Those of you who are more interested in actual practical applications would be more interested in our new Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD set, which is the video of a seminar I did with Mike Reinold, who is actually one of the co-authors of The Athlete’s Shoulder.  If you enter the coupon code “reinold200osp” today only at checkout HERE, you can get the DVD set with free shipping today as part of Mike’s “sale week” to celebrate his 200th post.

5. Muscles: Testing and Function with Posture and Pain – This is a newer version of Kendall’s classic text, and it’s an incredibly detailed resource that you’ll find yourself referring back to time and time again.  Several of the screens we use in our everyday assessments with clients and athletes were influenced in part or entirely by Kendall’s text.

6. Gray Cook’s work is fantastic.  If you want quick, practical tips, check out Secrets of the Hip and Knee and Secrets of the Shoulder.  Both DVDs give you some tips that you can immediately put into practice.

7. Anatomy Trains by Thomas Myers is an excellent read to get you thinking more and more about the role of the fascial system.  I saw Thomas speak this past weekend in Providence, and he was absolutely fantastic – so excellent, in fact, that I’ll probably write up a blog with some quick notes from his lecture.  And, I’ll be reading this for the third time this week, too!

8. Bulletproof Knees – Mike Robertson wrote this manual and I can honestly say that I haven’t seen a better product on the market with respect to information that can be quickly applied to clients with knee pain – both in terms of understanding it and correcting it.

9. Mike Boyle has some excellent products – including all the Functional Strength Coach DVDs (#3 was the most recent).  You can always find some good reading at StrengthCoach.com.  I believe they still have the 14 days for $1 trial period, and as part of that, you get his Designing Resistance Training Programs and Facilities book for free.

10. Anatomy of Breathing – I think it’s valuable to appreciate the muscles involved in respiration and start to put them into your functional anatomy framework as soon as possible.  This book is a very quick read, but you’ll get that foundational knowledge and start to think about how all this stuff lines up.

11. 2008 Indianapolis Performance Enhancement DVD set – This is a product that has largely flown under the radar because it was overshadowed by several other products that were launched around the same time.  However, the short vs. stiff discussion that Bill Hartman presented as part of it is well worth the cost of the entire DVD set.

12. Clinical Applications of Neuromuscular Techniques (Part 1 and 2) – These books read like stereo instructions, but they are insanely thorough.  I recommend them to anyone who is really dorky like I am.  They will definitely help you to collaborate with manual therapists and physiotherapists a lot more effectively.

13. Assess and Correct – Shameless self-promotion here, but I’m extremely proud of this product.  It’s a DVD set and four accompanying manuals that cover 27 assessments and 78 corrective exercises we use with our clients and athletes.  If I had to recommend one of our products to a trainer, this would be it.  Stuart McGill have us some extremely flattering reviews on Assess and Correct as part of his new DVD.

I should note that the countless journal articles I’ve read over the years are noticeably absent from this list, but you can easily access the abstracts of those pieces at www.pubmed.com if you search by whatever keyword relates to your area of interest.  I find myself using it daily, and I’ll generally follow up on these abstracts by getting the full-text articles.  Also, in addition to the few resources I note below, you can find a more extensive collection of recommended readings on my resources page. This includes a collection of links to free blogs that I read daily.  Many of my blog readers don’t know that, in addition to this blog, I have a free newsletter where readers get exclusive content and early notice on things – so you’ll definitely want to sign up HERE if you haven’t already.

It’s also been a matter of interacting with as many smart folks as possible, just making (and documenting) observations with our clients/athletes, and going to seminars.  This list should get you started, though!