Pitchers | Eric Cressey | High Performance Training, Personal Training

The Right Way to Stretch the Pecs

Written on January 10, 2009 at 6:00 pm, by Eric Cressey

Stretches to maintain length of both the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor are really important — especially in the weight-training population, where Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are declared national bench press holidays in all 52 weeks of the year. Simply put, everyone presses too much and pulls too little.

However, what few people (including Mike and I, circa 2004) realize is that in the process of stretching out the pecs (particularly pectoralis major) in this fashion, you run the risk of irritating the anterior shoulder capsule, particularly if the shoulder blades aren’t stabilized. As the picture below shows, the attachment point of the pectoralis major is further down the humerus.

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Category Articles | Tags: Building The Efficient Athlete,Exercise Routines,Exercises,Injury Prevention,Magnificent Mobility,Mobility,Overhead Athletes,Pecs,Pitchers,Pitching,Prehab,Rotator Cuff Exercises,Rotator Cuff Rehab,Shoulder Exercises,Shoulder Health,Shoulder Impingement,Shoulder Pain,Shoulder Rehab,Stretching,Throwing,Unstable Surface Training,Weight Lifting Program,Weight Lifting Routine,Workout Program,Workout Routine

Back Squats and Overhead Throwers

Written on May 7, 2008 at 3:31 pm, by Eric Cressey

Q: You don’t like back squats for overhead throwers, is this because of anterior instability or some other reason?

A: In a word, yes; anterior stability is so crucial for a pitcher that I’m not tempted to push it. Then again, that’s the short version – and it also assumes that the lifter is using a closer-grip, which mandates more external rotation.

So, to the casual observer, the solution to this would be to simply bring the hands out and squat with a wider grip, which requires less external rotation. Unfortunately, this logic is flawed, too, as you have to abduct (elevate) your humerus another 15-20 degrees to get to that position. In the process, you bring it further into the “classic” impingement zone. This not only compromises the rotator cuff, but perhaps more significantly, the long head of the biceps, which is an extremely common nuisance in both powerlifters and overhead throwing athletes.

All that said, while I’d never do it with a pitcher, you can probably get away with it with position players because they have better upward rotation. I wouldn’t go near it if thoracic spine range of motion is subpar – or the athlete had a history of shoulder or elbow issues.

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