Strength and Conditioning Stuff You Should Read: 2/3/12

Written on February 3, 2012 at 12:11 pm, by Eric Cressey

Here’s this week’s list of recommended strength and conditioning reading:

The Art of Nutrition Coaching – I thought this guest post from Dr. John Berardi at PT on the Net was outstanding.  He highlights a counseling approach called Motivational Interviewing. I’m anxious to look into it myself.

Strength Exercise: DB Bulgarian Split Squat from Deficit – Since my “Strength Exercise of the Week” column has been very popular over the past few weeks, I thought I’d highlight an old one that has slipped to the archives.

6 Questions About Tempo Training – Mike Robertson published this at T-Nation recently, and it made me realize this commonly misunderstood strength and conditioning topic has never really gotten the in-depth analysis or explanation it deserves.

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Strength and Conditioning Stuff You Should Read: 7/18/11

Written on July 18, 2011 at 5:37 am, by Eric Cressey

It’s time to kick off the week with some recommended reading:

Meet the Real John Berardi – Dr. John Berardi is a guy I really admire for the way he’s built up a successful business (Precision Nutrition) and large following the right way: with fantastic information and and awesome “way” of getting through to people.  As I read this, it makes me appreciate that I could learn a lot from the good doctor on managing my personal time effectively, too!

Men’s Health: Coffee and Alzheimer’s Disease – I stumbled onto this Men’s Health blog by accident, but was very intrigued.  My grandfather passed away last fall after a long battle with Alzheimer’s, and he absolutely loved coffee.  In the past, I’ve read stories about how the body seems to know how to self-medicate, and reading this blog about the association between coffee consumption and reduced Alzheimer’s symptoms makes me wonder if Gramp knew something we didn’t.

Two Red Sox Prospects and Former Ivy League Rivals Find Common Ground – This ESPN Boston story features Cressey Performance athlete Matt Kramer, who has made the switch from catching to pitching in the middle of his pro career.

Last, but certainly not least, don’t miss out on Everything Elbow, the staff in-service I filmed last week.

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Why Nobody Except Your Mom Reads Your Fitness Blog

Written on April 20, 2011 at 2:32 pm, by Eric Cressey

I got an email from Dean Somerset last weekend if I’d be willing to write up a post for his blog about how I built up a popular fitness blog myself.  I thought it over, and while I like Dean and enjoy reading his blog, I really didn’t think I was the right person to write such a piece.  There are folks who are much smarter when it comes to behind-the-scenes stuff that goes in to running a blog – from WordPress updates, to HTML formatting, to SEO optimization.   And, there are certainly folks out there who have monetized their blog far better than I ever will.

That said, I do feel that there was one incredibly valuable point I should make to the aspiring fitness bloggers out there:

If you don’t have good content, your blog won’t get consistent traffic.  It’s really that simple.

I started this blog in early 2006 with really no idea what I was doing on the technology side of things.  I loved my job and was passionate about teaching – and writing gave me an avenue through which to do it.  Sometimes, I wrote about what I knew well, and sometimes, I wrote about topics where I wanted to improve – and researching them and teaching them to others was the best way to get better in these areas.  Before I ever hired someone to make my site look pretty, I’d built up a solid following of people who knew me purely for my content, enthusiasm, and accessibility to readers.

A trend I see with “rookie” fitness bloggers nowadays is to design a spectacular site from the get-go and devote all their resources to SEO optimization, pop-up ads, Google Adwords, and the like.  Unfortunately, these efforts are sabotaged by these bloggers’ poor grammar/spelling and, more significantly, a complete lack of valuable information to offer to readers.

In any industry, you look for commonalities among those who succeed at what we do.  For ease of calculating “success,” let’s just use Alexa ranking.   You can learn more about it (and download a free toolbar) at www.Alexa.com, but for the sake of brevity, just understand that it is a measure of the popularity of a website.  Get more hits, receive more inbound links from popular sites, and have people spending more time on your site, and your Alexa rank will go down (a lower number is better).  Google is #1, Facebook is #2, Yahoo is #3, and so on.  It’s not a perfect measure by any means, but when you are dealing in the top one million sites or so, it’s generally accepted to be pretty good. I’m lucky to be at around 101,000 right now, and have been as high as 89,000 in the past.

If you’re in the top one million or so, you’re likely doing some very good traffic – and certainly enough to monetize your blog.  My buddy Tim Ferriss’ blog, for instance, currently has an Alexa ranking of 3,644, and he’s an absolute ninja on the entrepreneurial side of things, with two New York Times bestsellers and ownership stakes in the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon, and several other companies.  He’s a success, in part, because every single one of his posts (and books) provides outstanding content that readers not only enjoy – but pass along to their friends.

Translating this message to the fitness industry, look at a guy like Charlie Weingroff.  He might be one of the few guys out there who understands technology less than I do, and there is absolutely nothing flashy about his site.  To be candid, it’s pretty basic.  You know what, though?  Charlie is an extremely bright (and strong) dude with a ton to teach, a passion for teaching it, and a knack for relating complex information in a user-friendly manner.  I don’t think his blog has even been out for a year, yet he’s ranked around 639,000.  And, he’s used his blog to make his expertise known, build a loyal following, and launch a successful product (which is outstanding, by the way).

There are several other fitness bloggers who’ve become “top one million” success stories purely with content.  John Berardi dominates with Precision Nutrition (64,000), which has been built with science, integrity, and an ultra-personal touch to great content all along.  My business partner, Tony Gentilcore (706,000) kicks out great content and entertains people like crazy.  My good friend Mike Robertson (103,000) is an awesome teacher and genuinely great guy.  Nick Tumminello (537,000) innovates like crazy to build a following, and Chad Waterbury (475,000) only recently created his own web presence and has used content to quickly ascend the ranks.  Nate Green (202,000) is an excellent writer who has carved out a great niche for himself and built a great following at a young age because of his unique content.  Mike Reinold (400,000) has built a great following in a smaller internet segment (physical therapists) with consistent content featuring up-to-date research, attention to many different clinical perspectives, and a specific focus on upper extremity dysfunction.  These guys all offer something others don’t.

You know who hasn’t built a big following?

• The random fitness dudes who send Facebook friend requests to my wife because they have mutual friends – and these guys want to build their lists.  I’ve yet to meet a single one who is in the top 2 million.

• The “fitness business guru” who emailed me four times, called my office twice, and snail-mailed me once (each of which was ignored) to try to get me to promote his product, which he guaranteed would make personal trainers “rich.”  His website ranked at higher than 6.6 million – which essentially means that he has zero traffic other than himself (and he’s probably just checking in to see if he’s gotten his first hit yet).  Instead of focusing on content (and moving out of his parents’ basement), he’s putting the cart in front of the horse and trying to sell a product on a topic (success) that he doesn’t even understand.

• The random dude who wants to exchange links with me or be added to my blogroll so that he can improve his rankings without doing a thing, much less providing some value to me (or society in general).

The only thing that’s worse than sucking at what you do is sucking at what you do and spending time and money to draw attention to it.

I started out thinking that this would be a short, to-the-point, blog, but as I now realize, that one little point was actually a very big one.  Pretty websites and behind-the-scenes tinkering are undoubtedly important components of taking an online presence to the next level, but the truth is that they don’t matter a bit unless the content that accompanies them is useful and entertaining.

If it’s not, then you’ll have a hard time even getting Mom’s attention.

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Stuff You Should Read: 9/27/10

Written on September 26, 2010 at 3:57 am, by Eric Cressey

The good news is that I survived my bachelor party on Saturday night, but the bad news is that it pretty much wiped out my productivity this past weekend.  Fortunately, I was planning to throw a few gems from the archives your way, anyway.  Check out the following:

21st Century Nutrition: Talking Shop with Dr. John Berardi – JB is a good friend and a smart dude – and with Precision Nutrition rolling out a nutrition certification this week, it seemed like a great day to give this interview with him some love.

The “Don’t Squat” Recommendation – We’ve all heard it – and all wanted to vomit because of it. It’s worth a read.

Lats: Not Just for Pulldowns – The thing I remember most vividly about this article was that I wrote it faster and easier than any other contribution I’ve ever made to T-Nation.  It literally rolled off my fingers without hesitation.  I guess that means that I was 100% sure about it.

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When is Rapid Fat Loss Ideal?

Written on January 21, 2010 at 9:44 pm, by Eric Cressey

Programs aimed at rapid fat loss are quite the rave nowadays.  There are some excellent programs out there (most notably Warpspeed Fat Loss, which we’ve discussed here quite a bit) that deliver some quick reductions in body fat over the course of a few weeks of absolutely hellish training and strict nutritional modifications.  There’s no doubt that it’s a effective way to drop body fat quickly.

That said, the question is whether that degree of specialization – incinerating body fat at all costs – is what’s right for an individual.  For some people – particularly woman (who aren’t generally as concerned with carrying appreciable levels of muscle mass and strength), these programs are just fine; any accompanying losses in strength and muscle mass won’t be as disconcerting because they aren’t perceived as being as important.  Obviously, it’s also true for those who are morbidly obese, but they generally aren’t candidates for complete overhauls right away, as they have to get their feet wet first with the basics of regular training and better nutrition.

Most specific to this piece, though, rapid fat loss programs are most enticing to the more experienced trainee who carries a lot of muscle mass, but needs to shed some blubber quickly to get ready for a vacation, photo shoot, or scandalous make-out scene on live TV.

However, for every one of these folks (the experienced trainees – not the horny, drunk, bearded dudes with Confederate flag hats), there is another individual who is male, with limited training experience, subpar strength, and not enough muscle mass on him to really even demonstrate that he regularly trains.  He might be 6-1, 180 pounds at 20% body fat.  For those of you keeping track at home, that’s 144 pounds of fat free mass, and 36 pounds of fat mass.

Well, here’s a question: if this hypothetical guy dropped 10 pounds of body fat right now and somehow managed to maintain all his muscle mass (and recovered any water weight reductions he got from lower carb dieting), would he be happy with how he’d look?  That’d still put him at 144 pounds of fat free mass, but lower his body weight to 170 with 26 pounds of fat mass (15.3% body fat).  Sorry, but while respectable, 15.3% body fat isn’t super lean.  And, 170 pounds at 6-1 will only earn him points with insurance companies who calculate premiums based on body mass index.

Imagine taking about the ideal NFL cornerback, and then stripping 25 pounds of muscle off him and adding back 15 pounds of body fat.  Be sure to kill off all the athleticism in the process, too.  Not a very impressive picture.

In other words, a program that might have been perfect for a guy who was 30 pounds heavier with the same body fat percentage – but two more years of training experience – just isn’t a good fit for a guy who can become “skinny-fat” really quickly.

I have just seen a lot of guys go on crazy fat loss programs only to get to a lower weight and realize that they look skinny because they aren’t carrying enough muscle mass in the first place.  And, along the way, they lose a lot of strength – so it’s harder to build up muscle mass quickly thereafter to right the ship.

For this reason, it’s been a long time since I resorted to a rapid fat loss program in my own training; I just am not willing to sacrifice the strength gains I’ve made just to see the scale weight go down quickly.  Rather, I’d prefer to do it gradually and retain the gains.

This has also been a strategy we’ve employed with excellent success with athletes who come our way who need to lean out.  Often, body weight – and not body composition – are what predicts their success.  Pitchers are a perfect example; I’ve seen many who have just indiscriminately lost body weight, only to see their velocity drop considerably.  This may come from the actual loss of body mass, the increased training volume that caused it, the type of training (extra aerobic activity?), or – most likely – a combination of all these factors.  One thing is for sure, though; I would be my 2010 salary on the fact that if CC Sabathia “trimmed down” to 210, he wouldn’t be nearly as dominant as he is.

Would some gradual weight loss and an emphasis on improving body composition help him?  Absolutely.  Would taking 80 pounds off him be a smart or specific off-season goal?  In my opinion, no.  The research has demonstrated that body mass is one factor that predicts velocity.

Baseball relevance aside, this is why I rarely go “exclusively fat loss” or “exclusively bulking” with a lot of general fitness clients who don’t have more than two years of strength training under their belt.  They absolutely, positively can add muscle mass and drop body fat simultaneously if they accumulate enough of the right kind of activity and eat the right stuff.  It just takes some individualization, adherence, consistency, and effort.  We’ve seen it hundreds of times already with the Show and Go program alone, and that doesn’t even take things to the level of individualized programming.

To reiterate, I’m not saying that rapid fat loss programs don’t have merit; I’ve seen a lot of people get tremendous results when the program was the right fit for them.  However, I also know that handing a NFL running back’s training program to a 12-year-old Pop Warner running back isn’t appropriate in light of his experience.  The same can be said for novice trainees who try to drop body fat too quickly; they are skipping steps and missing out on crucial adaptations – including strength and muscle mass gains – that could bode more favorably for long-term progress.

As always, you have to fit the program to the individual, and not the individual to the program.

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The Best of 2009: Guest Submissions

Written on January 7, 2010 at 12:38 pm, by Eric Cressey

This week, I’ve already featured our top articles, product reviews, and videos of 2009.  I was also really lucky to have some bright minds as guest contributors this year, and today I’ll feature a few of their submissions.

The Rocker Inferior Capsule Stretch – This excellent submission from physical therapist Tim DiFrancesco shows a shoulder mobility exercises we’ve used with some of our guys with excellent results.  It includes some great videos like this:

So What Does a Pitching Coach Do, Anyway? – I love this guest blog from Matt Blake, a great pitching guy with whom I get to work daily.  It just goes to show you that there is a lot more to understand than mechanics when it comes to developing elite pitchers.

21st Century Nutrition: Talking Shop with Dr. John Berardi – This was more of an interview than a guest submission, but let’s be honest: JB provided most of the content here!  He discusses the future of nutrition and the success of Precision Nutrition.

The Be-All, End-All Throwing Program from Your Favorite Snake Oil Salesman – Here’s another post from Matt Blake.  I like this one because it’s entertaining thanks to the cynical tone that kicks it off, but educational because of the justification for that cynicism.  It’s classic “info-tainment.”

Real Activation: Modifying a Classic Core Movement – Jim Smith is perhaps best known for being a true innovator when it comes to exercise selection, and this post was an excellent one for that very reason.

Interval Training: HIIT or Miss? – A great guest submission from Mike Boyle; enough said!

Building Vibrant Health Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 – Eric Talmant presented a comprehensive look at his involvement with Metabolic Typing(R).

Thanks to everyone for the time they spent on creating these pieces, and the expertise they shared!

Random Friday Thoughts: 11/27/09

Written on November 27, 2009 at 6:55 pm, by Eric Cressey

1. First off, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  Before I get to the video footage from yesterday morning, I wanted to give you a couple of quick heads-ups on some seminars at which I’ll be speaking in 2010 (just confirmed):

• January 30, 2010: Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning 4th Annual Winter Seminar – Winchester, MA
• March 7-8, 2010: NSCA Personal Trainers Conference – Las Vegas, NV
• March 27-28, 2010: Vancouver Seminar (click here for details)
• May 8-10, 2010: Sports Medicine 2010: Advances in MRI and Orthopaedic Management – Boston, MA

Hope to see some of you at one or more of these events!

2. A big congratulations goes out to CP athlete CJ Retherford, who hit the game-winning HR in the championship of the Arizona Fall League (Video HERE).  CJ will be out to Boston to train when January rolls around.

3. And, just when we thought the post-baseball-season celebration was over, we learned that CP athlete Tim Collins was named Toronto Blue Jays Organizational Pitcher of the Year.  Congratulations, Tim!

4. John Berardi is running a great sale on Precision Nutrition through December 1.  They’re offering them the Precision Nutrition System – including Gourmet Nutrition Version 1 and an all-access membership to their private Member Zone – plus a one-year subscription to their Results Tracker program, and free shipping to the US and Canada for just $99.00. If you haven’t checked it out – or you have a family member or friend who could use some help on the nutrition side of things – I’d strongly encourage you to check this out.  It’s the single-best nutrition resource available on the web today: Precision Nutrition

5. We’ll have the pictures and videos from the CP Thanksgiving lift posted as soon as possible.  A camera was lost and we’re in the process of finding it!

6. In the meantime, here are some recommended readings from the past here at EricCressey.com that might interest you:

Hip Injuries in Baseball: My take on the huge increase in hip issues in MLB players.

Stagnancy vs. Stability: Even in a dynamic field like strength and conditioning, the status quo is sometimes still just fine.

7. Just got this little bit of feedback on Assess and Correct from Mark Young of markyoungtrainingsystems.com:

“As a strength coach myself, I have literally read thousands of studies, textbooks, and articles relating to assessment and correction.  But when I heard that Mike, Eric, and Bill were going to be putting together a product on this very subject I wanted to be first in line to put my hard earned money on the table. I think this product is going to change how people prepare for performance and that owning it is a must for anyone who is absolutely serious about results.”

Check it out for yourself: Assess and Correct.

Stuff You Should Read: 9/24/09

Written on September 24, 2009 at 9:34 am, by Eric Cressey

Here are a few good reads from a variety of disciplines:

Organic vs. Kind of Organic vs. Wait, I’m Confused – This was a great blog post by Tony Gentilcore that tells you everything you ought to know (but might not want to know) about organic food.

Clean Eating Gone Wrong – Another great post, this one from Dr. John Berardi.  It just goes to show you that being on the money with your nutrition can quickly and easily hit the fan.

Blood and Chalk: Jim Wendler Talks Big Weights – Jim is a great dude and one of the most amusing guys you’ll encounter in this industry; he’s always got something funny, but incredibly valuable to say.  Check out this interview with him at T-Muscle.

Stuff You Should Read: 9/16/09

Written on September 16, 2009 at 11:41 am, by Eric Cressey

I’m headed to a Sox game tonight and have plenty to do around the facility before I go, so I thought I’d just use today to throw out a few quick reading recommendations:

Re-Building the Reverse Hyper – This great newsletter from Mike Robertson goes into some excellent detail on the biomechanics of a very controversial exercise – and how we can make it safer and more effective.

Wiggling Their Toes at the Show Giants – This is a piece in the NY Times that is actually surprisingly good.  It goes hand-in-hand with my recommendation of Born to Run from a few weeks ago.  Definitely check both the article and the book out.

Super Bowl Super Shakes – Dr. John Berardi just published this collection of shake recipes this week.  It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for some new ideas to add variety to your diet.

Random Friday Thoughts: 5/22/09

Written on May 22, 2009 at 8:07 am, by Eric Cressey

Let’s get right to it.

1. First up, a few quick congratulations are in order for some Cressey Performance ballplayers.  Justin Quinn (Lincoln-Sudbury) and Sahil Bloom (Weston) were named Dual County League Large and Small Players of the Year, respectively.  They are also two of the three finalists for the MA Gatorade Player of the Year award.  LS won the DCL Large, and Weston won the DCL – thanks in large part to the efforts of these two guys.  Both were selected as league all-stars, as were CP athletes Garrett Moore (LS), Ryan Wood (LS), Derek Lowe (LS), Chris Conlon (Weston), Reed Chapman (Weston), Alex Hill (Wayland), and Scott Lueders (Newton-South).  Congratulations, guys!

2. Padres prospect and CP athlete Will Inman jumped up to AAA from AA on Wednesday.  If you’re anywhere near Portland, OR, get out to watch him make his first start tonight (Friday) at 7PM.  Will is 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA in eight starts on the year, having given up only 33 hits and eight walks in 44.1 innings pitched. Congratulations to Will on taking the next step in his baseball journey.

3. Check out this great video content today from Dr. John Berardi about The Key to Accidental Fitness.  I can tell you that this is 100% spot on from my own experiences – and the thousands of clients and athletes I’ve seen over the years.

4. I got a question the other day about who I thought were the most important individuals to add to one’s network in the field of strength and conditioning.  My first response was “anyone who is smart, openminded, and willing to share ideas.”

That said, I realize this individual was probably looking for a list of occupations in this regard, so here goes: doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, athletic trainers, other strength coaches/trainers, radiologists, sports coaches, researchers, sports psychologists, equipment manufacturers/distributors, and loads others that I have probably forgotten.  Basically, you’re just trying to find people who have different areas of specialization to either add to, refute, or confirm your existing knowledge.

5. Had some car and computer issues earlier this week, so I got a bit sidetracked on the writing side of things this week.  I submitted the third installment of Lower Back Savers a bit late, so it didn’t run this week.  For those who missed Parts 1 and 2, you can check them out HERE and HERE.

6. Just finished up my powerpoint for the Distinguished Lecture Series in Sports Medicine at Northeastern on June 5-6.  This is an awesome event featuring guys like Dr. Stuart McGill, Mike Boyle, Dr. David Tiberio, and others (including some schmuck named Cressey).  It’s very affordable, and I can tell you that the last two years have been fantastic.  Check it out HERE for more details.

7. Can we please get over this swine flu stuff, people? They are closing schools left and right in Boston – and as a result, ASYMPTOMATIC kids are having to FORFEIT games/matches – and now, potentially playoff games.

8. I’m most likely getting a new car tonight.  I’ve never been a “car guy,” so it’s more of a chore than anything.  Let’s hear some of your favorite strategies for bargaining with car dealers (particularly when you’ve got a trade-in)…