Random Friday Thoughts: 8/27/10

Written on August 27, 2010 at 2:01 am, by Eric Cressey

I didn’t do a “random thoughts” feature last week, so I’ll have to be extra random this week to make up for it.

1.  Bam!

You weren’t expecting me to come out with such amazing humor, were you?  Let that be a lesson to you; nobody is more random than EC (and nobody pulls off referring to himself in the third person better, either).

2. We all know that warm-ups are importance for enhancing power output, grooving appropriate neural patterns, and avoiding injury.  Here is some cool research that demonstrates how much more effective an active warm-up is than a passive warm-up when it comes to metabolic responses to exercise.  Namely, those who undergo an active warm-up demonstrate increased oxygen uptake and lower heart rate at a given workload than those participating in a passive warm-up (or no warm-up at all).

Anecdotally, I can tell you that there have been some days where I have felt like there was lead in my shoes and that there was no way I could get any interval training in on a day I’d planned to do so.  However, after a good dynamic flexibility warm-up, things “miraculously” got a lot easier.

3. A big congratulations go out to CP baseball athletes Jordan Cote, who committed to Coastal Carolina, and Joe Napolitano, who committed to Wake Forest. Both made their decisions last week and were featured at ESPN Boston.  We’re proud of our boys!

4. Likewise, I’ve got to give a congratulations to CP athlete and Lincoln-Sudbury All-American soccer player Cole DeNormandie, who became the second CP athlete featured on the cover of ESPN Rise Magazine in just the past few months (he joins Vanderbilt-bound pitcher Tyler Beede):

5. Mike Robertson published a three part series on Knee Pain Basics this past week; it is absolutely fantastic and I’d strongly encourage you to check it out.  Here are the links:

Part 1 – Philosophy
Part 2 – Programming
Part 3 – Coaching

Along these same lines, if you haven’t checked out Mike’s Bulletproof Knees Manual yet, I’d strongly encourage you to do so; it’s an excellent resource.

6. Greg Robins recently came down to spend some time observing the madness at Cressey Performance, and wrote up a detailed review of his experience; check it out: Science and Attitude: My Trip to Cressey Performance.

7. Here is a link to a great blog from Bret Contreras; it’s definitely worth a read: Sprint Research, Biomechanics, and Practical Implications – An Interview with Matt Brughelli.

8. I need some advice from the dog lovers out there.  Both my fiancee and I grew up with dogs and are thinking about getting a puppy after our wedding (less than six weeks away right now).  We both agree that we want something small – but at the same time, I’d like something that doesn’t make me want to instantly turn in my man card, like the silky poo for which she is currently pushing:

I actually really like bulldogs, but that’s going to be a tough sell for her unless it’s a “hybrid” where you can’t see a whole lot of bulldog.  Plus, I know a lot of people have said that they have a higher propensity for health issues.  I like puggles, mini pincers, and a few others, but what do those of you in-the-know suggest?  Thanks for any help you can offer!

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Cressey Performance Athletes Excel, Reporters Write About It, Villagers Rejoice

Written on July 21, 2010 at 5:10 am, by Eric Cressey

I don’t know if there is something in the water that the reporters around the country (and particularly the Massachusetts sports scene) have been drinking, but Cressey Performance’s Elite Baseball Development Program has gotten a lot of love in the news this weekend.

Last week, CP athlete Tim Collins was part of a blockbuster trade, as he went from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Atlanta Braves.  Tim didn’t disappoint in his debut, striking out five batters in two innings pitched without allowing a walk, hit, or run.  In a recent posting about Collins in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, beat writer David O’Brien wrote the following:

“I asked [Braves Manager] Bobby Cox if he knew anything about him, and Cox started talking about seeing video of him. Said he’s extremely athletic, a muscular little guy who’s real aggressive. Apparently the video showed him pitching and also working out, because he made quite an impression on Cox and others with the workout portion.”

Apparently, Bobby Cox is quite a fan of the EricCressey.com and Cressey Performance YouTube pages.  Hello, Bobby!

The AJC followed it up with a feature on Tim where my business partner, Pete Dupuis, was interviewed: Pitcher in Escobar Trade is 5-7 Fireballer.

Saturday night, CP athlete Kevin Youkilis had the game-tying and game winning RBIs for the Red Sox in a come-from-behind win at home against the Rangers.

These features were followed shortly by another one – this time on a talented pitching prospect from Worcester, MA, Louisville pitcher Keith Landers.  The Worcester Telegram just did this feature on Keith and the training he started up about eight weeks ago at Cressey Performance as he works his way back from a shoulder surgery.

Landers Rehabbing Repaired Shoulder

(yes, Keith is really almost as tall as I am, even though he’s kneeling)

And, last, but certainly not least, the Daily New Tribue published this feature on CP athlete Travis Dean, who was drafted in the 14th round by the New York Yankees this year: Newton’s Travis Dean Weighs Options as Yankees’ Pitching Draftee.

Finally, here’s a blog post from ESPN.com’s Brendan Hall that features a boatload of CP studs who have had great summer showings: Tyler Beede, Adam Ravenelle, Carl Anderson, Barrett O’Neill, John Gorman, Jordan Cote, Ben Smith, Matt Luppi, AJ Zarozny, and David St. Lawrence.

Click here for more information on Cressey Performance’s Elite Baseball Development Program.

Random Friday Thoughts: 5/14/10

Written on May 14, 2010 at 5:09 am, by Eric Cressey

1. It’s been a while since I published a Random Friday Thoughts blog, but in reality, it’s by design.  You see, if I just publish every Friday, it isn’t very “random,” is it?

2. Pretty cool stuff: Cressey Performance and Lawrence Academy athlete Tyler Beede was featured on the cover of ESPN Rise magazine this month.  Tyler’s headed to Vanderbilt on a baseball scholarship.

3. After seven years, I’m switching from Sprint to Verizon for my cell phone.  I feel liberated…like an old man busting a move.  That’s a random – but awesome – way to kickstart your weekend!

4. At the other end of the spectrum, you have THIS GUY, who was awarded (in a court of law) the title of “Worst Tennis Professional on the Planet.”  I wonder if he gets a trophy for his mantle for that one….

5. Here’s a book recommendation for you that’s somewhat related to fitness: The 7 Rules of Achievement.  It’s written by Tom Terwilliger, a former Mr. America.  I met Tom at a seminar back in January, and his enthusiasm is absolutely contagious.  He’s got a pretty cool story himself, but the real gold in this book is how he breaks things down step-by-step in helping people get to where they want to be in their professional and personal lives.  It’s self-help stuff, but more entertaining and less preachy than anything else I’ve read in this regard.

6. In addition to my own article at T-Muscle last week (Favorite Supersets), I also contributed on a compilation by Nate Green, Your Training Split Sucks.  Check ‘em out, if you haven’t already.

7. Here’s a short, but solid piece about CP athlete and NY Mets Prospect Jim Fuller, who is having an excellent season this far: Marlborough’s Fuller off to a Good Start in Class A.

8.  In the past two weeks, I’ve had four people email me asking about a mentorship at Cressey Performance.  If we were to do a 3-4 day mentorship consisting of lectures, hands-on teaching, and observing athletes in action, would you be interested?  If so, shoot us an email at cresseyperformance@gmail.com.  It would occur sometime between October and March.  Nothing firm, but I thought I’d throw it out there to gauge interest.

9. I’m looking for some good recommendations for books on CD.  I just finished up my last one, and always like to have a good one in my car for whenever I’m driving.  The last three good ones have been What the Dog Saw, Switch, and Born to Run.  I prefer non-fiction.  Thanks in advance to anyone who has some suggestions to make in the comments section!

10. Finally, a big happy birthday goes out to CP pitching expert Matt Blake, who – as you can tell from the following video – turns 11 today.

What’s in Store for 2010?

Written on January 1, 2010 at 5:36 pm, by Eric Cressey

Happy New Year, everyone!

I thought I’d use this first post of 2010 as a way of looking forward to what’s on tap at EricCressey.com for the year.  In true “Random Thoughts” fashion, here we go:

1. Nate Green just interviewed me for what I think will be a great feature at T-Muscle in the next week or two.  It will be similar in structure to this piece Nate did with Dave Tate, which definitely turned out to be an entertaining read.  Keep an eye out for it!

2. Speaking of interviews, I’ll be doing one with Brian Grasso for the IYCA on Tuesday.  Brian’s a very forward-thinking guy and I’m excited to catch up with him.

3. Speaking of T-Muscle, I’m finishing up my “What I Learned in 2009″ article this weekend.  It follows the articles I wrote for 2006, 2007, and 2008.

4. Also coming up in the next month or so will be the release of the DVDs of Mike Reinold and my seminar from November: Testing, Treating, and Training the Shoulder: From Rehabilitation to High Performance. It’s being edited as I type this.

5. This January 24, Cressey Performance will be hosting Neil Rampe of the Arizona Diamondbacks for his seminar, .  You can register HERE, or for more information on Neil’s background, click HERE.  If you’d like to see a seminar agenda, please just email me at ec@ericcressey.com.

6. I’ll be presenting in Tampa, FL (Jan); Winchester, MA (Jan); Las Vegas, NV (March); and Vancouver, BC (March); and Boston, MA (May) in this first part of 2010.  Check out my schedule page for more information on these events.

7. I’m very anxious to hear more of the feedback on Assess and Correct, which has already sold in more than two dozen countries.  This is a product I truly believe will help a lot of people, and the short-term feedback we’ve received since its release in October has been tremendous.

8. At Cressey Performance, our staff has started up what (for lack of a more masculine term) we’re calling the Staff Book Club.  Each staff member will present on what he learns in a different book each week.  I think it’ll be a great way to cover more material and keep us all accountable to each other on getting our continuing education done.

9.I’m pumped for more content from Matt Blake in 2010.  He’s been a fantastic resource for all our athletes and I’m excited to share with you all how Matt and I collaborate to make our pitchers better.  I think it’ll make for some great content.

10. I’d really like to continue to grow both the newsletter and blog.  You can sign up for notifications on both fronts to the right of the screen, if you haven’t already.

11. I’m really pumped for all our guys who have found great college choices; it’s an exciting time for both the 2010 and 2011 guys.  Most recently, CP athlete Adam Ravenelle committed to Vanderbilt on a baseball scholarship.  Adam’s been with us since before his freshman year, and we’re all really proud of him.  He actually joins another CP pitcher, Tyler Beede, who committed to Vanderbilt just a few weeks ago.  Both guys are in the class of 2011, and join Barrett O’Neill (University of Virginia) and Joe Napolitano (Boston College) as our early committees from that class.

There should be plenty more guys with exciting news along these lines in the months to come as well.

12. I’m really excited to watch Cressey Performance grow in the months ahead.  While I was certainly thrilled at the growth we saw (15%) in 2009 and I hope it continues, I am most thrilled at how many clients we’ve seen change their bodies and their lives since they started up, and how many friendships we’ve seen cultivated inside CP. If you’d have told me a few years ago that we’d have over 25 people in on Thanksgiving morning, for instance, I would have told you that you were crazy!

In addition to our clients’ accomplishments, I’m so proud of our staff. I could never do what I do without such great guys working alongside me, and the best part is that they are insatiable in their desire to get better.  We’re constantly getting better and it makes every new day fun.  The best part is that I feel like it’s something that’s carried over to our interns, too; there are some really talented people with bright futures coming through here.

13. I’m very excited for the new CP website, which should be done in a matter of a few days.  Along those same lines, there is a pretty sweet training and testimonial montage being pulled together about our Elite Baseball Development program.  I was actually getting pretty fired up just watching some of the footage that had been gathered thus far.

14. I can’t wait to attack all the books and journal articles that are in my stack of “Things to Read” right now.  There’s too much material to cover, but never enough time!

15. Last, but certainly not least, it’ll also be a very busy (but exciting) year for me personally in 2010, as my fiancee Anna and I will be getting married this October.  And, even before we get to that, we’re planning to buy our first home in the next 4-6 months.  Obviously, we’re already doing a lot of planning!

Needless to say, I’m looking forward to all of this – and probably a few surprises along the way.  Best wishes for 2010, and stay tuned!

Beede Makes Early Decision: Vandy

Written on December 28, 2009 at 6:43 am, by Eric Cressey

I’m working my way back into the swing of things after the holiday and will have some new content to you later on today, but in the interim, I thought some of you might like to check out this feature on Cressey Performance athlete Tyler Beede, who just committed to Vanderbilt on a baseball scholarship.  Tyler has put in a ton of hard work over the past 14 months at CP, and in the process, has increased his strength and throwing velocity substantially on top of packing 30 pounds on his frame.

Beede Makes Early Decision: Vandy

Not a bad Sunday (or Saturday) at all…

Written on June 1, 2009 at 4:36 am, by Eric Cressey

It was a great Sunday all around yesterday.

First, my fiancee officially became a doctor.  Yep, I picked a good one.

Second, Cressey Performance athlete Dede Griesbauer won Ironman-Brazil, setting a course record by ten minutes in the process.  Congratulations, Dede!

Third, Lincoln-Sudbury came from behind to win their D1 second round playoff game, 8-7.  CP athletes Justin Quinn, Derek Lowe, and Erik Watkins all hit homeruns for LS, and Watkins won it with a single with two outs in the ninth inning.

Fourth, CP athlete Sahil Bloom got a win and a save in Weston’s D3 playoff win yesterday.  Sahil struck out nine and walked none in 6.2 innings of work – and went 3-4 at the plate.

Fifth, on Saturday, Wayland upset the #3 seed to advanced to the second round of the D2 state baseball tournament.

Sixth, Tyler Beede pitched a shutout in his team’s opening round win in the D2 state tournament on Saturday.

The week gets off to a good start today, as I’m picking up my new car, and a host of the college guys start training today as the New England Collegiate Baseball League kicks off.  And, we’ve got two CP athletes (who also happen to be good buddies and off-season roommates) going head-to-head in a AAA match-up.  Will Inman (Portland/Padres) will be facing Steve Hammond (Fresno/Giants) in Fresno tonight; I will be pulling for both to go eight innings of shutout ball and get no-decisions!

Random Friday Thoughts: 5/8/09

Written on May 8, 2009 at 6:52 am, by Eric Cressey

1. It’s going to be a quick one this week, as I’m doing some last minute preparations for this weekend’s Perform Better Summit in Providence, RI.  To all the poor abandoned souls who count on my blog for companionship each Friday, I apologize for not giving our relationship the tender romance it deserves this week.

2. Congratulations to Cressey Performance athlete and Auburn High pitcher Tyler Beede, who threw a no-hitter on Wednesday.  Tyler struck out 15 in his complete game performance.

3. I contributed on the fourth installment of Mythbusters at T-Nation this week.  It also includes contributions from Chad Waterbury, Tony Gentilcore, and Christian Thibaudeau.  Noticeably absent from this esteemed crew of contributors is Mr. Celery – so I thought I’d give him some love.

4. For the foam rolling aficionados in the crowd, here’s a great variation to use for those hard-to-reach grundle adductor region.  Thanks to Tony Gentilcore for the video:

This is a really important one for those of you in the crowd with a history of groin strains and sports hernias.  Hockey players, soccer players, and powerlifters should commit this one to memory.

5. It’s official: Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, and I are filming a new DVD on June 7th.  Lots to prepare before then!

Have a great weekend!

Random Friday Thoughts: 4/24/09

Written on April 24, 2009 at 5:35 am, by Eric Cressey

1. It’s been a crazy week ever since Anna and I got engaged on Sunday.  You never truly realize how many people you know until they all try to email/call/text you at once to say congratulations.  With my cell phone and email inbox going crazy, I kind of felt like Jerry Maguire – minus the whole weird scientology and jumping on Oprah’s couch stuff.

2. On Wednesday, I got out to watch two high school games where CP athletes pitched, and then headed to Fenway to watch the Sox beat the Twins.  In Game 1, Weston High Sahil Bloom had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings before giving up a bloop single, and then Auburn High’s Tyler Beede threw six innings.

3. Next week, I’ll be publishing the first installment of a collection of nutrition articles from Eric Talmant.  Eric has some very forward-thinking ideas to share, and it’ll make a nice weekly addition to EricCressey.com.  Be sure to check them out.

4. I’m getting really excited for this year’s Perform Better Summits.  I’ll be speaking in Providence, RI and Long Beach, CA (there is also one in Chicago); I’d definitely encourage you to check the events out if you live in that neck of the woods.  My presentations should question the “diagnostic norms” – in much the same way that I did with this week’s newsletter.

5. Speaking of newsletters, I got several inquiries after I ran this one about the medicine ball training we do with our pitchers. In particular, folks were curious about the medicine ball we used in drills like this:

The medicine balls in question can be found HERE.

6. I’ve written quite a bit in the past about how a glenohumeral internal rotation deficit can be one contributing factor (among others) to medial elbow injuries in overhead throwing athletes.  The other day, someone asked me if I had any scientific evidence to support this idea.  The answer would be a resounding YES.

Very simply, if you lack internal rotation, you’ll go to the elbow to “regain” that lost range-of-motion.  It’s the same reason that ankle mobility deficits can lead to knee pain, and hip mobility deficits can lead to knee and lower back pain.

7. I don’t really “get” how this whole Delicious bookmarking thing works, but Jon Boyle (who helps out with the blog) recommended I start sending him recommendations of good stuff I’ve read.  You can find some of my recommended reading/viewing off to the right-hand side of the page.  If there are books you recommend I check out, by all means, please post suggestions in the comments to these blogs; I’m always looking for new reading material.

Have a great weekend!