Tim Collins Featured on ESPNBoston.com

Written on July 29, 2011 at 11:34 am, by Eric Cressey

Cressey Performance athlete and Kansas City Royals pitcher Tim Collins was featured in an article yesterday on ESPNBoston.com, in light of his Fenway Park debut.

They talk a bit about his training at Cressey Performance as well.  You can check it out at the link below:

Kansas City Royals Lefty Tim Collins Coming Up Big Despite Small Stature

Also, keep an eye on my blog for a sweet announcement about an awesome free opportunity to watch me speak live on Saturday.

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Four Years of Cressey Performance: Time Flies When You’re Having Fun

Written on July 13, 2011 at 11:14 am, by Eric Cressey

When I woke up this morning, it seemed just like any other Wednesday morning.

I didn’t even realize that it had been four years since July 13, 2007: the day we opened the doors at Cressey Performance.  I would have blown right through today if my business partner, Pete, hadn’t reminded me of July 13′s significance when I came in to the office today.

On our first anniversary in 2008, I was absolutely swamped, as we’d just moved into a larger facility.  I was 100% aware of the significance of the day, but literally didn’t have time to enjoy it.

On the second anniversary, things had settled down a bit, and I wrote up a blog to celebrate the day: The Two Year Mark.

Last year, on the third anniversary, I went “all in” and wrote up this bad boy: Three Years of Cressey Performance: The Right Reasons and the Right Way.

This year, I celebrating by simply forgetting.

Is this my first “over 30″ moment, or is there something to be said for the fact that I forgot?

This has been, unarguably, our best year on a variety of fronts.  Some highlights:

Tim Collins – one of our first pro guys and longest tenured clients – went to the big leagues this year.  The same goes for guys like Cory Gearrin, Steve Cishek, and Trystan Magnuson.  We also saw more professional athletes (and clients overall) than any other year before.

Tyler Beede – also a long-time Cressey Performer – was drafted in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft…and we celebrated in my living room.

Tyler was one of 12 players with CP ties taken in this year’s draft.

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School won the Division 1 State Championship, and they epitomize everything that effective strength and conditioning can do to help keep a high school team healthy and performing at high levels.

Over 30 CP athletes in the Class of 2011 signed letters of intent to play Division 1 baseball.

We expanded our staff to include some great people who complemented our existing skill sets and program offerings nicely.

We added about 1,000 square feet more office space and polished up our look with some new paint and more framed/autographed jerseys on the walls.  I even got my own office – which is shared with our new mascot, Tank, of course:

Most importantly, though, we continued to have an absolute blast each and every day we came to “work” – and that, to me, is what it’s all about.  We made new friends and further developed already-existing friendships.  The CP family grew, and we offered a service to people that helped them get to where they wanted to be.

You’ll notice I didn’t mention financial gain – and the reason is pretty simple; I view it as secondary.  It’s the destination, and I’m a lot more concerned about the process.  Cultivate relationships, deliver a quality service, and genuinely care, and the money will take care of itself.  Before the business gurus out there start crapping on me, I’ll add that our business has grown by more than 30% over the past year in spite of the fact that I usually forget that I’m supposed to receive a paycheck at month’s end.  Pete just surprises me with it.

Don’t get me wrong; you need effective business systems to make things work.  If you’re an organizational disaster and can’t make your rent, it’s going to be pretty hard to put on a happy face and make someone’s day with your smile.  However, the overwhelming majority of “savvy business decisions” are actually a combination of common sense, courtesy, and a genuine desire to help someone.

Most of the people that ask us business questions want to know how much we charge, how much our rent is, how we schedule, what our hours are, who painted Tony’s t-shirt on him, what our start-up costs were, and why we don’t use electronic funds transfer (EFT).  What they should be asking us:

1. How do you remember so many people’s names?

2. How can you possibly know everyone’s health history who walks through your door?

3. How do you write individual strength and conditioning programs for everyone?

4. What do you do to build relationships?

5. How do you find time to get to so many baseball games?

6. How do you do to educate and retain staff?

7. How is it that all of your clients seem to be friends with each other? (As a little aside to this point, Tim Collins was at the facility the past two days while home for the all-star break, and he greeted every person who walked through the office door.  He even answered the phone for us twice.  That’s big-league customer service.)

There are some brilliant business consultants out there.  Pat Rigsby and Alwyn Cosgrove, for instance, are super bright guys and great friends who have helped loads of fitness professionals increase their incomes and improve their quality of life.  They are also the first guys to tell you that if you don’t know how to cultivate relationships and treat people right, then you’re studying for the wrong test by looking for the perfect business plan.

Spend more time focusing on the process, and worry less about the destination.  Four years from now, you’ll probably enjoy your “job” a lot more – both psychologically and monetarily – and have a lot more friends and experiences that make you smile each time you think of them.  You’ll probably even forget it’s your business’ anniversary!

Thank you, as always, to everyone for all your support.

As a mini-celebration of this day, I’ll do a little promo: if you purchase a CP hat HERE before Friday (July 15) at midnight, I’ll send along a video of a 37-minute staff in-service I did on shoulder assessment that’s uploaded to the ‘web.

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Strength and Conditioning Program Success: The Little Things Matter

Written on June 20, 2011 at 6:06 am, by Eric Cressey

This past weekend was really special for me, as I got to watch about two dozen Cressey Performance athletes go out and win the Massachusetts Division 1 State Championship for Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.

While we work with kids from dozens of high schools in the area, L-S baseball was the first program that “took a chance” on me when I was the new guy in town, and from that initial group of guys grew the Cressey Performance “baseball empire” that now includes loads of professional and college players.  I’ve become great friends with the entire coaching staff, and the players’ families have really adopted my wife and me as part of the L-S baseball community.

This year’s senior class included kids who actually started training with us in eighth grade, and therefore marked the first class of guys who spent their entire high school careers with us at Cressey Performance.  In thinking back on the progress one athlete, Adam Ravenelle, made over those four years, I felt compelled to write this blog.

On Adam’s first day at CP, he looked pretty intimidated – just like any 14-year-old would when stepping into a weight room for the first time.  However, when I went to do his shoulder assessment, I quickly realized that he’d fit in just fine.  When I found that he had almost 140 degrees of external rotation in his throwing shoulder, I turned to my business partner and commented that he had “a big league shoulder” and that if he was willing to put in the work, he’d be a pretty good pitcher (even though he was a shortstop/third basemen at the time).

Four years later, with a fastball in the low 90s, Adam is a 44^th round draft pick of the Yankees and a State Champion with a baseball scholarship to Vanderbilt.  He’s pitched at Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, and at all the major competitions – Area Codes, East Coast Pro, USA Baseball Tournament of Stars – that an accomplished player could attend.

You know what, though?  These accomplishments didn’t magically happen; rather, there were thousands of small, but extremely significant moments along the way that took Adam from a “kid with a good shoulder” to the athlete he is today.  There were all the days when he came in to get his arm stretched out the day after a start, and all the times that he came in to lift on a Sunday afternoon in-season when he could just have skipped lifting during the season, like many players ignorantly do.  There were all the meals he ate along the way to gaining over 50 pounds – even though he wasn’t hungry, most of the time.  In fact, sometimes we even made him attack loaves of bread in the office before he was allowed to leave.

Adam was really a microcosm of the entire state championship Lincoln-Sudbury team.  LS has now won 11 straight league titles and three of the last seven state championships, yet their head coach, Kirk Fredericks, called this “the best practice team” he’s ever had.  In other words, they did the little things well day-to-day in order to succeed.  They never skipped steps.

They also didn’t have a single player miss a game due to injury over the course of the entire season.  Their consistency not only afforded them the best possible outcome, but kept them healthy in the process.

It was a remarkably fresh breath of air for me.  I’ve seen a change in young athletes over the past few years where they all want something badly – whether it’s a state championship, college scholarship, or a trip to the big leagues – but very few kids really seem willing to put in the work to get it.  The fitness world isn’t much different; many folks want the fastest way to drop 30 pounds before a wedding or trip to the beach, but all the while ignore the valuable lessons to be learned and habits to be acquired along the way.  They want the destination, but don’t care for the process.

Tim Collins didn’t go to the big leagues because he was more gifted than anyone else.  He went to the big leagues because he was the first guy back to train at the end of every minor league season, and he lived at the gym and did absolutely everything each of his coaches told him to do.

Tyler Beede wasn’t born a first round draft pick.  He earned it by learning to command his fastball and develop his change-up when all the other kids thought it would be fun to screw around with curveballs when they were 11.  He made himself into a first round pick, in part, by driving 40 minutes to CP, training, and driving 40 minutes home 3-4 days per week for the past three years – also gaining almost 50 pounds in the process.

Jordan Cote didn’t just get called in the 3^rd round by the Yankees or win the New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year award this year because he was 6-6 and “projectable.”  He worked to get it by driving two hours every Saturday morning for the past two years to throw and train at CP at 9AM when everyone else his age was sleeping in.  And that’s why he went from 185 pounds to 218 pounds over the course of 18 months – almost half of which was during the in-season period.  He also drove a long way to play for the New England Ruffnecks program, which is 2.5 hours away in Massachusetts – but consistently produces some of the best talent in New England.

In no way am I saying that Cressey Performance alone was responsible for these guys’ success, nor are these the only guys who did what it took to succeed in recent months.  Rather, I’m showing you that in two aspects of their preparation – training and nutrition – they did the little things that it took to excel.  They certainly did the same with on-field practice, school work, and community service to get to where they are.  There were obviously end goals in mind, but they never interfered with accomplishing day-to-day, hour-to-hour, and moment-to-moment objectives.

To that end, the next time you find yourself fantasizing about your athletic dreams or fitness goals, take a step back and consider whether you’re doing what you need to do in the present to get to where you need to be.

Are you waking up ten minutes early so that you can have a good breakfast before you go to school, or are you the guy that simply complains that you “don’t have time” for a good breakfast?

Are you blocking off an hour in your day to go to the gym, or are you going to allow it to fill up with other obligations that can’t possibly be more important than your health?

Are you dropping hundreds of dollars on showcases when you should be spending time developing your abilities by taking ground balls and batting practice, long tossing, strength training, and working on your mobility?

There is no single way to get to where you want to be.  Likewise, there is no magic pill.  It takes time, consistency, attention to detail, and an appreciation of what must get done in the short term in order to attain long-term success.

Now, shouldn’t you be doing something right now to get closer to your long-term goals?

Congratulations, Lincoln-Sudbury baseball, and thank you – both for the lessons you’ve taught us and for having us along for the ride!

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Big Leaguers, Puppies, Tissue Quality, and Scapular Stability: Just Another Day at Cressey Performance

Written on June 16, 2011 at 9:33 am, by Eric Cressey

I’m a little too busy to write a blog today, but the good news is that we were about due for a cute puppy video, anyway.  This one is actually from the archives; it was taken over the winter, but I just discovered it in the videos on my laptop.  You’ll recognize Tank’s partner in crime as Kansas City Royals pitcher Tim Collins.

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Show and Go for Baseball Strength and Conditioning?

Written on May 26, 2011 at 8:54 am, by Eric Cressey

In the past few months, I’ve gotten quite a few inquiries about whether Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look, Feel, and Move Better is a good fit for baseball players.

While I never wrote the book with the intention of training this athletic population, it can be quickly and easily modified to fit the unique needs of baseball.  The principal changes are going to be:

The big differences are going to be:

1. Use more front squatting, and little to no back squatting (we do use a lot of giant cambered bar and safety squat bar variations at Cressey Performance).

2. Eliminate barbell bench pressing and overhead pressing, instead plugging in some dumbbell bench pressing and pushup variations, as seen here and here.

3. In the off-season, we usually do medicine ball work 2-3x/week.  The medicine ball volume is higher in the early/mid-off-season and lower during the late off-season and in-season phases.  For some exercise ideas, you can check out this post of mine, as well as my YouTube Channel.

Usually, this medicine ball training is incorporated before lifting or movement training.

4. I’d add some rhythmic stabilization work 2x/week – as seen here.

All in all, the program is surprisingly versatile for the baseball player.  In the off-season, the 4x/week template works great.  Then, as the late off-season and pre-season get underway, the 3x/week program is a better fit.  In-season, you’ll see more position players and relief pitchers using the 2x/week approach, whereas starters can get in 3x/week lifting.  Obviously, the volume may be reduced, but the exercise selection, overall training schedule, training stress fluctuations, core training, and warm-up sequences are all very applicable. It won’t be perfect, but it’ll be markedly better than any of the cookie cutter or football lifting programs you’ll see out there.

For more information, check out Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look, Feel, and Move Better.

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A Good Day at the Office

Written on May 12, 2011 at 7:26 am, by Eric Cressey

Yesterday was a good day at the office for the “Cressey Performers” out there, so I thought I’d devote this “Stuff You Should Read” to the CP cause.

The day technically started off on Tuesday night, when Tim Collins made his Yankee Stadium debut, pitching brilliantly and ending up with a line of 2IP, 0H, 0BB, 0R, and 3K.  You can actually watch the highlights HERE.  What was even cooler for me, though, was watching Tim and Mitch Williams break down his delivery on MLB Tonight, a video you can watch HERE.  There are some great messages for the young pitchers out there.

Wednesday continued with a call-up to the big leagues for CP athlete and Oakland A’s prospect Trystan Magnuson.  Trystan’s an awesome guy and deserves all the success that comes his way; I’m really happy for him.

The day continued with three sparkling performance by CP high school athletes.  Tyler Beede threw a perfect game, striking out 15 and going 2-3 at the plate along the way.

Adam Ravenelle, meanwhile, lost his own perfect game in the 6th inning – but still managed to throw a complete game shutout with 18K and 0BB.  He also had two HR at the plate.

Third, Jordan Cote had two HR and 6RBI – and struck out 13 in a complete game shutout where he only allowed 2H and 0BB.

The strikeout numbers and home runs are great, but to be honest, it just absolutely fires me up to see these three guys throw 21 innings and allow ZERO walks.  Commanding the strike zone – particularly with one’s fastball – is everything for young pitchers and these guys did exactly that yesterday.

Lastly, I gave an interview to Nick Bromberg on the topic of using exclusively jumping rope for fitness, and it was featured on The Post Game on Yahoo Sports.  Check it out.

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Stuff You Should Read: 5/2/11

Written on May 2, 2011 at 5:59 am, by Eric Cressey

Here are a few recommended reads to kick off the week:

The Truth About Gluten – Here’s an excellent piece from Dr. Mike Roussell on how gluten intolerance can sabotage your nutritional efforts.

Waterhorse: The Legend of Tim Collins’ Nickname – This was a funny write-up in the Kansas City Star on how Cressey Performance Athlete and KC Royals pitcher Tim Collins got his nickname while training at CP.

Why I Do Not Like YTWL Shoulder Exercises – Here’s a great post from Mike Reinold – and I agree with him 100%.

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Relief Pitchers: How to Warm-up

Written on April 15, 2011 at 6:59 am, by Eric Cressey

Q: I have followed Tim Collins’ story on your website and was very impressed with his quick path to the big leagues. Obviously, preparation has been a huge part of success and that’s where my question lies. Like Tim, I am a relief pitcher and often wonder what pro guys and in Tim’s case knowledgeable pro guys, do for a warm-up prior to throwing in the pen to get in the game. I was wondering if maybe you can shed some light on what guys at your facility do as far as a warm-up to throwing. It seems like every time I see a pro guy throw, they get up after not moving for seven innings and just throw and come in the game blowing 96mph without their arm tearing in three different spots. Is there a warm-up routine your guys do before they might come in? I appreciate any info.

A: This is actually one of the more common questions that I receive, and I’m kind of surprised at myself for never covering it in a blog post. There are a few important prerequisite considerations to take into account before I tell you what I encourage our guys to do:

1. Sadly, most guys don’t do anything. That doesn’t make this right; it just means that they are setting the stage for getting hurt further down the line.  Just because you throw with sloppy mechanics  or muscular weakness doesn’t mean that you’ll get hurt the second you pick up a ball; you get hurt from the cumulative effect over time.  So, just because a guy can go in and throw hard with a short, insufficient warm-up doesn’t mean that he’ll be doing that a few years from now.

2. You can’t compare professional guys to lower level guys for a lot of reasons. First, professional bullpens usually have powerful heaters in place to keep guys’ body temperatures up – which makes it easier to warm up when the time is right.  Additionally, most professional pitchers (whether they make use of them or not) have plenty of access to massage therapy and manual stretching from team personnel, so their “resting state” is probably more prepared than most college pitchers I see.  High school kids tend to be the most “indestructible” of the bunch, as they haven’t accumulated as much wear and tear on their bodies.

That said, regardless of experience and what you have at your fingertips for massage and other amenities, warming up to come out of the bullpen can be pretty stressful for guys.  On one hand, you kick out some serious stress hormones, which can get you fired up and ready to go, but on the other hand, it’s not good to be excited and ready to roll hormonally and psychologically if you aren’t there physically just yet.

With that in mind, I encourage guys to do their normal pre-game warm-ups like everyone else and try to sustain that body temperature and transient mobility increase by dressing warmly and trying to move around in the bullpen as much as possible.  Then, as it gets closer and closer to the time that they may need to enter the game (I usually just tell guys to start at the end of the fourth), I have guys start doing 2-3 multi-joint dynamic flexibility drills every half-inning.  An example would be a walking spiderman with overhead reach, which is going to take you into hip abduction and extension, thoracic spine extension and rotation, glenohumeral horizontal abduction and external rotation, and elbow extension (among other movements).

By doing a few of these each half-inning, you ensure that your body temperature and mobility never drop off transiently.  Plus, you ensure that you don’t lose mobility over the course of a long season, as you’re working on it even if you don’t wind up pitching.

As an interesting little aside to all of this, is a reliever that much different than, say, a center fielder when it comes to needing to stay warm throughout the entire game just in case?  He might do his pre-game warm-ups and then spend the next few hours alternating standing around and sitting with bursts of 100% effort with swinging, throwing, and sprinting.  Have you ever heard of a center fielder complaining that he can’t get loose enough to track down a fly ball, crow hop and throw a laser to the plate, or leg out an infield single?  Of course not!  And, it’s simply because he is more active than relievers even when he isn’t actively participating in the game.  Every inning, he’s playing catch and jogging to and from the outfield on top of making a contribution defensively or at the plate every 20-30 minutes.

So, in summary, do a thorough pre-game warm-up, do more “fidgeting” in the bullpen, and then hit 2-3 multi-joint dynamic flexibility drills (check out Assess and Correct for dozens of examples) every half-inning starting in the 4th.  Then, go to your specific throwing warm-up and head out to start blowing 96mph…safely.

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Cressey Performance Pro Guys’ Locations

Written on April 11, 2011 at 5:47 am, by Eric Cressey

I just wanted to put out this quick note for my readers out there who may be baseball fans located near a professional baseball park. It’s a listing of where the participants in this season’s off-season program will begin the year.  Please comment if you’re located near one of these teams and plan on heading out to support our guys, as it’s awesome to know when our players have a good audience cheering them on.

This list progresses from East to West, American to National League (by organizational affiliation):

Chad Jenkins – Dunedin, FL (Blue Jays High A)

Matt Abraham – Dunedin, FL (GCL Blue Jays)

Kevin Youkilis – Boston, MA (Boston Red Sox)

Jeremy Hazelbaker – Salem, VA (Red Sox High A)

Jeremiah Bayer – Salem, VA (Red Sox High A)

Matt Kramer – Ft. Myers, FL (GCL Red Sox)

Craig Albernaz – Montgomery, AL (Rays AA)

Kevin Moran – Kannapolis, NC (White Sox Low A)

Phil Negus – Kannapolis, NC (White Sox Low A)

Corey Kluber – Columbus, OH (Indians AAA)

Tim Collins – Kansas City, MO (Kansas City Royals)

Anthony Seratelli – Northwest Arkansas (Royals AA)

Kevin Pucetas – Omaha, NE (Royals AAA)

Crawford Simmons – Kane County, IL (Royals Low A)

Matt Perry – Lakeland, FL (GCL Tigers)

Ryan O’Rourke – Beloit, WI (Twins Low A)

Tim Kiely – Little Rock, AK (Angels AA)

Trystan Magnuson – Sacramento, CA (A’s AAA)

Shawn Haviland – Midland, TX (A’s AA)

Jeff Bercume – Phoenix, AZ (AZL Athletics)

Nick McBride – Hickory, NC (Rangers Low A)

Ryan Rodebaugh – Hickory, NC (Rangers Low A)

Chad Rodgers – Lynchburg, VA (Braves High A)

Cory Gearrin – Gwinnett (Braves AAA)

Tim Gustafson – Pearl, MS (Braves AA)

Steve Cishek – New Orleans, LA (Marlins AAA)

Matt Bouchard – St. Lucie, FL (Mets High A)

Chris McKenzie – Hagerstown, MD (Nationals Low A)

Bryan LaHair – Des Moines, IA (Cubs AAA)

Steffan Wilson – Huntsville, AL (Brewers AA)

Cory Riordan – Tulsa, OK (Rockies AA)

Dan Houston – Modesto, CA (Rockies High A)

Will Inman – Tuscon, AZ (Padres AAA)

Kyle Vazquez – Scottsdale, AZ (AZL Giants)

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Stuff You Should Read: 4/8/11

Written on April 8, 2011 at 6:07 am, by Eric Cressey

Today’s blog post should kick off your week with some good reading recommendations:

1. Collins Brings New Meaning to Short Relief – This article from Jeff Passan at Yahoo Sports has been one of the best features on Tim Collins that I’ve seen thus far – and he gets bonus points for the shout-out to Cressey Performance in there (even links to some videos of Tim training on my YouTube page).

2. Something to Watch: CP athlete Danny O’Connor will be fighting on Showtime tonight (Friday), so be sure to check it out if you’re surfing channels and you’ve got it in your programming lineup.

3. Metabolic Cooking – Just a friendly reminder that the 52% off introductory price on this great healthy recipe resource ends tonight (Friday) at midnight.  Several people have purchased it after my review earlier this week and have actually emailed me to say thank you for the recommendation.

4. The Truth about Real Butter – While on the topic of nutrition, here’s a solid blog post from Brian St. Pierre on why butter isn’t as bad as you probably thought in the past.

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