Push-ups for Baseball Players

Written on January 13, 2009 at 5:45 am, by Eric Cressey

Q: I attended the baseball strength training clinic you gave in Long Island.  I have a question for you about push-ups for pitchers.  I am using push-ups with all player, and one of the parents has been concerned that push-ups are not good for pitchers.  I was wondering if you could help me explain why push-ups are good for pitchers.

A: No problem.  The two big “players” in scapular dysfunction are lower trapezius and serratus anterior.  These muscles work in conjunction with the upper trapezius to upwardly rotate the scapula, which allows for safe overhead movements.  Research has shown that baseball pitchers have less scapular upward rotation compared with position players and non-athletes – so it’s definitely an adaptive change that we need to work to address.

Push-ups (when done correctly) can be useful for activating the serratus anterior, and as a closed-chain exercise, it has proprioceptive benefits at the shoulder girdle.  Plus, you get a considerable effect in terms of core stability training, as you’re resisting the effects of gravity in the “plank” position where the lumbar spine wants to slip into extension.

That said, if you’re dealing with high school athletes, I’ll warn you that over 90% of them (in my experience) need to be coached on how to do a push-up correctly.  It isn’t as simple as “just do this,” as most of them will resort to incorrect technique.  With a good pushup, the upper arms should be tucked to a 45-degree angle to the torso, and the athlete should actively “pull” himself down to the bottom position with the scapular retractors.  The hips shouldn’t sag, and there shouldn’t be a forward head posture.  Essentially, the chest – not the chin or hips – should get to the ground first.

For more information, check out Optimal Shoulder Performance.

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Random Friday Thoughts: 10/10/08

Written on October 10, 2008 at 7:00 am, by Eric Cressey

1. Busy day today, so we’ll be short and sweet. I met my new nephew last night for the first time, and as would be expected with the Cressey last name, he’s a stud. Based on grip strength, I would project him as a 2026 draft pick for the Red Sox. He also really likes to sleep, which is a trait I’ve also noticed in all our pro baseball guys. We don’t have a lot of height in the family, so I’m thinking that lefty-specialist out of the bullpen will be the best route to go. He’ll throw some wicked pisser cheddar (pronounced “wikkid pissah cheddah” here in Boston).

2. Click HERE for a great review from Leigh Peele of my new e-book, The Truth About Unstable Surface Training.

3. We’ve put in a lot of work (actually, Kevin’s done most of the work) on the site this week, and our new format should be good to go within the next two weeks. This new set-up will put my personal website and blog in the same place.

4. I saw a 6-6, 323-pound athlete vertical jump 24 inches this week. For those who haven’t experienced this first-hand, that’s a big peak power output. He then devoured two undersized high school athletes in a single bite.

5. Who says you can’t load a push-up?

At the top, on the first few reps, this is a percentage of my body weight plus 10 chains (150 pounds total).

6. I heard talk last weekend of a pretty cool “scapula shirt” that essentially bridges the gap between post-surgery “scap jackets” (help with posture) and Underarmour-type shirts. This could have a ton of merit for those who tend to fall into bad postures easily during the day. The product hasn’t been released, but you can bet that I’m going to get my hands on one as soon as possible to test drive it.

7. Volume 1 of the Fitcast Insider is available in its entirety. I did an interview with Kevin Larrabee, and there’s some great stuff in there. If you’re an up-and-comer in the strength and conditioning or personal training fields, definitely check this out HERE.

8. I talk a lot about how much of a problem glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD) is in baseball players, but it’s also a significant issue in the general population. As a rule of thumb, everyone should be able to get 65-70 degrees of shoulder internal rotation at a position of 90 degrees abduction without the scapula going into anterior tilt. For this reason, we test everyone on their backs with the scapula fixed. The numbers are lower, but it keeps people honest.

9. Let’s go Sox!

Save Your Shoulders: Learn Your Push-Ups

Written on February 4, 2008 at 10:54 am, by Eric Cressey

Q: I have a 9-years old daughter whom I try to challenge from time to time to do things like push-ups, chins, pull-ups, etc. She was showing me the pushups the way their PE teacher teaches them, I tried it after that and felt it was very uncomfortable on my shoulders (granted I have nagging shoulder problems for last couple of years). Here is the technique she does it with:

- palms are little wider than shoulder width
- fingers are internally rotate – so they face each other, and she said that they are taught that “thumbs should be under their chest” – which makes elbows flair out in such a way that upper arms are perpendicular to the body.

She said that there was no discomfort, but isn’t that a similar position to the “bodybuilder” type of bench press which, I think, you and some other respected coaches pointed out as detrimental to the shoulder health?

A: I probably spend 15-20 hours per year teaching kids how to do push-ups correctly when they’re ages 15-18 because misinformed physical education teachers have taught them (or allowed them to practice) incorrect form like this. The torque at the glenohumeral joint is markedly elevated and scapular stability very compromised with the elbows-out technique.

This is just another example of how the best coaches are needed at the youth levels.

Isometric Elevated Push-Ups

Written on June 22, 2007 at 10:53 am, by Eric Cressey

Q: Had a couple questions on the isometric elevated push-up holds. How do you structure this exercise into your training programs? Is this something you will do in the warm-up or after other movements?

What have you found to be the most effective scheme as far as the hold is concerned? Meaning, do you have your athletes go for time/until fatigue/reps/multiple sets, etc.

Have you utilized unstable surfaces with this exercise as well?

I would be using the holds mostly with my softball players as they prepare this upcoming fall and am always looking for various shoulder exercises to reduce the risk of injury. Thanks so much for any help you can give.

A: With beginners, it may be the first movement. Generally, though, I’ll include it later in the training session. It’s also great for back-off weeks; I actually include it as part of regeneration phases if an athlete is worn out post-season (maintain muscular activation with lower joint torques). I go into more detail on this in The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual.

We always do at least two sets, and sometimes as many as four. I generally won’t go longer than a minute; many athletes won’t be able to go much longer than 15-20s (especially female athletes).

As far as unstable surfaces are concerned, there’s not much reason to use them for this; you can train proprioception pretty easily at normal speeds. One of the inherent benefits to using upper body unstable surface training is the maintained muscular activation with lower resultant joint torques (prime movers become joint stabilizers – see JSCR research from David Behm and Ken Anderson). You can get this same benefit from isometric holds, so doing them on unstable surfaces would be overkill, IMO – especially in a female athlete population who is likely too weak in the upper body in the first place.

Eric Cressey

I’ve seen the mistakes they commonly make, and I’ve seen how tremendous the results are when they get things right.