Baseball Showcases: A Great Way to Waste Money and Get Injured | Eric Cressey | High Performance Training, Personal Training

Baseball Showcases: A Great Way to Waste Money and Get Injured | Eric Cressey | High Performance Training, Personal Training A good time of the year to re-post this article. Must read for all baseball parents.

Movement Proficiency: A Reserve of Movement Competency

   It is important to build your training around a foundation of movement competency. This then serves as a reserve or cushion upon which your sport movements can operate.
  In other words, if your reservoir of movement is vast then the movements within your particular sport can be done well and safely.
  If, on the other hand, you have very limited movement proficiency then it is highly likely that at some point your sport will put a demand on you that your movement competency simply can't handle which will lead to injury.
   This injury event can be due to long term repetitive trauma (overuse injury like shin splints for a runner or shoulder "soreness" for a throwing athlete) or it could be due to a traumatic, one time event (ACL injury).
  The point of training is to make you more resilient from such insults. There is no training program that can absolutely guarantee that you won't get hurt. On the other hand, if your training program injures you that is an absolute, inexcusable mistake. If you do it to yourself, shame on you and use some common sense. If you are training with a coach and they do it to you, fire them.
  So bottom line is your training should enable you to move through a variety of movements through full ranges of motion with no pain. If it doesn't then it should at least be heading you in that direction.
  If it isn't doing that then time to re-evaluate and choose a different path.

Train hard and train smart!
http://fitnesstogether.com/media for our website and all of our links.

Is Your Training Building Resiliency?!?

  First, you may ask is, "What is resiliency?"
   Good question! :0
   I would define resiliency as the ability to withstand whatever life throws at you, be it everyday or in sport, without undue harm or injury.
  If you are getting hurt while training that is a cardinal sin. That should never, and I repeat, never happen.
  If it does then you are doing something terribly wrong. Here are some of the common reasons people don't build resiliency with their training.

• Poor technique and/or movement skills
• Too much load (that can be weight, range of motion, speed or combination thereof)
• Progressing too quickly; trying more advanced/challenging exercises that you are simply not ready for yet.
• Too much volume--this is especially prevalent in this era of Insanity, P90X, Crossfit and the like where there seems to be a "no pain, no gain" attitude. Don't confuse how "tough" a training session is with how effective it is especially in the long run.
• "Training through pain"" that is sheer and utter BS....period. If it hurts you shouldn't be doing it no questions asked. Now you have to be able to distinguish between muscular discomfort and joint/muscle pain but you get the gist.
• Training is too one sided, not comprehensive or well rounded. In a good training program the following qualities should be addressed: strength, mobility, balance, coordination, power, agility, conditioning/endurance, etal. If you get too focused on one aspect, i.e. strength, at the expense of others you will not build true resiliency and not be prepared for the rigors of life let alone sport. 
• Making training a competition. Training should be means to an end however you define that end. In rare exceptions should training become a competition i.e. military fitness training/law enforcement where you life may depend on it but even that has limits. 
• Not valuing the importance of recovery/rest. After a certain point, in the beginning of one's training life when one is young, careful thought should be given to how to integrate regular and consistent recovery into one's training program. This is easier said than done. 
• Not getting enough high quality sleep. Though this could be considered recovery, and it is, I think it merits a separate category because of it's importance. If you aren't sleeping well you are much more accident prone and injury prone. 
• Poor nutrition/hydration habits. Again, this could be considered part of recovery but it is so vital to avoiding injury that it should be given special consideration. If you want your body to be a high performing "machine" then you must use high quality fuel...plain and simple.                                                                                                                                        
• I hope these 10 tips give you some guidance on how to structure your own training for success.   
• http://fitnesstogether.com for our website and all of our links

Can children do push-ups? Republican American

Can children do push-ups? Republican American Have to keep beating this drum because there is so much propaganda/belief on the other side with no science to back it up.

What Santa Can Teach You About Sports Medicine | Eric Cressey | High Performance Training, Personal Training

What Santa Can Teach You About Sports Medicine | Eric Cressey | High Performance Training, Personal Training Really valid points about our approach to pain/poor movement. Treat the symptoms not the underlying movement dysfunction.

Staying Active No Matter Where/What

  When you get to the Masters athlete level, hopefully you have enough perspective to realize that you are playing your sport for the enjoyment, competitive outlet and fellowship it provides.
  As we have talked about before training is a means to an end especially if you are a Masters athlete. Training should first keep you active and healthy and second it will help improve/enhance your performance in your chosen sport.
  But training should not be an obsession as it has become with some.
    I say this somewhat with the benefit of hindsight as I'm sure I could have been accused of this behavior in the past.
  But I've come to understand and realize that training should not be an obsession as not only does it prepare you for your chosen sport(s)/activiity it also allows you to experience and try new or infrequent activities or sports that you don't do regularly.
  This was the case this past week as I was away in Florida for our annual Thanksgiving gathering.  I golfed 3 times ( I play very infrequently---perhaps 6-7 rounds yearly), went sea kayaking (lucky to go 2-3 times yearly) and rollerblading 3 times. I do that regularly during the summer and spring but not so much in the fall and the winter when weather in the northeast isn't so conducive to rollerblading. Oh, and I ran a 5 km. road race as well. I probably haven't done one of those in several years.
  The point is that I could undertake those activities without thinking about the consequences short of embarrassing myself on the golf course! :)
  I believe if a training program is properly designed it makes you more resilient and less prone to injured. And as a Masters athlete that should be your number one priority as it will take you longer to recover than when you were younger and the chances are the injuries will be more severe.
   The bottom line is that good, smart training will allow you to be more active, miss less time due to injury and perhaps try new activities that you might not otherwise attempt. That sounds like a a better quality of life to me!

Train hard and train smart!
http://fitnesstogether.com/media for our website and all of our links

Where Have I Been?

 The title is a legitimate question so I will explain what I've been up to lately.
  We held a couple of workshops this fall including one with Steve Maxwell, my original kettlebell coach, from over 10 years ago. Steve is a great coach and literally travels the world, living out of a duffel bag, and gives workshops on training: kettlebells, bodyweight, clubbells, mobility, etc. His two workshops for us were on bodyweight training and clubbells. Very good, physical weekend of learning and training.
  As a result of these workshops and other things I really concentrated on bodyweight training esp. with rings and the only real barbell work I did was with deadlifts. The break seems to have given my joints a little rest and recovery . There's a lesson in there somewhere! :) I plan to get back to the 5-3-1 program of Wendler's for a few cycles starting in December.I am testing my "core" lifts this past couple of weeks.
  We are also trying to expand our small group training business and I've been working on marketing for that as well.
  That's it for now. Talk soon!

Train hard and train smart!
http://fitnesstogether.com/media for our website and all of our links.

10U: How Much Should Development Cost? | ADM Kids

10U: How Much Should Development Cost? | ADM Kids Read up parents; these concepts should be applied to all youth sports.

Training is a Means to an End. At Least It Should Be.

  Though I am in the field of training and have been for nearly 30 years I have come to the realization that training should be a means to an end not an end in itself. This wasn't always the case as I was one of those always seeking higher numbers in the weight room or more metabolic work to improve conditioning. Chasing numbers for numbers sake, in other words.
  Training as a means to an end is certainly not what is going on in much of the training world. With so called systems like P90X, Insanity, Crossfit and the like, the training is an end in itself. In fact, there are competitions involving some of these training systems so they have made training into competitive sport.
  In my opinion, training should only be an end onto itself if you are a competitive lifter, powerlifter or Olympic lifter, or Strongman type competitor. Then your training is your sport to a large extent.
  But outside of that why would you approach training that way? If your objective is losing weight, improving performance, feeling better, moving better and with less pain, then you have to think in terms of Minimum Effective Dosage (MED). In other words, what is the minimal amount of a specific type of training I need to get the results I'm seeking. In fact, it might be wise to plan your recovery first and work your training needs around the recovery facets of your program.
  I'm not saying you don't have to train hard to move towards your goals. But you have to be able to answer the question, why am I doing this exercise/program and is it effectively moving me towards my end game? From a trainers perspective the same question is relevant. If your client/athlete asks you why they're doing what they're doing you better be able to answer the question and explain how it's getting them towards their goals.
   So next time you train, ask yourself this question: will this session move me towards what my goals are or is it just exercising for the sake of exercising? Not that there's anything wrong with that but it may not be the most effective way of getting you where you want to go/be.

Train hard and train smart!
http://fitnesstogether.com/media for our website and all of our links.
   

New ligament discovered‬ in the human knee

New ligament discovered‬ in the human knee This is amazing considering our technology and imaging capacity.

http://ussa.org/news/interns-train-best-world

http://ussa.org/news/interns-train-best-world Kerry Kelly is my daugher. Very proud of her work.

The Single Greatest Letter Ever Sent to Sports Parents, Revisited « The Talent Code

The Single Greatest Letter Ever Sent to Sports Parents, Revisited « The Talent Code Amen and this should be required reading for all parents of youth athletes.

VID00077 (+playlist)

Season in Review: Thoughts and Lessons Learned

  I finished my 2013 baseball season last weekend with a tournament up in Cooperstown, NY including several games on Doubleday field. We played 6 games in 3 days and the weather, esp. for the Saturday and Sunday, was spectacular.
  It was also a joy to play with my 27 year old son which is another great reason to stay active and fit as it makes these experiences that much better.
  Some of the highlights (and lowlights) of the past season include:

HIGHLIGHTS

• Still holding my own in my "younger" league (48+) despite now being 60. Hard to wrap my mind around that number sometimes! :) Despite being 3rd oldest on team had 4th highest BA on team at .370. Not bad for an old man!
• Both my teams had disappointing seasons from a won-loss perspective. My "younger" team had played for the league championship the prior two seasons but fell into the 2nd division this season. Need more pitching and some more rookies (48 year olds!)
• Still had great time and try to remember that to run around and play ball at our age is an accomplishment and fun in and of itself. 
• Played in Labor Day Father Son tournament with son where we finished as runner ups in a one run game.
• As always, enjoyed the Cooperstown trip and the baseball, again sharing the experience with my son. 

LOWLIGHTS

•  Had a nagging glute/hip issue that is still unresolved. Had an MRI and have no structural damage nor any arthritis in my hip. So it appears to be a muscular issue or perhaps a pinched nerve that is in my low back and impeding hip extension. Will try to get better answers over the off-season as the PT I did, while helpful, certainly didn't resolve it. 
• Because of business commitments I couldn't get down to Florida in November to play in some of the tournaments. I hope to do so. in 2014! :)

OFF SEASON TRAINING PLANS

• My usual functionally based strength program, more and more mobility work and speed/power training which would entail sprints, sled work, med ball work
• Am going to take a couple months off from throwing to allow some function to return to my dysfunctional right shoulder. Then going to try Tom House's weighted ball program come January and see if I can restore some ROM and power into my throwing. Likely uphill battle with shoulder arthritis and bicep tendonosis on that side. 
• Will start hitting again in a month or so and may take some lessons to work on "keeping hands inside the ball". We will see.

  I enjoyed this past season and the some 60+ games I played. Hope to do more next season. 

Train hard and train smart!

http://fitnesstogether.com/media for our website and all of our links. 

Training Update

  Haven't posted in a while about my latest training "adventures."
      Because of summer vacations and such I haven't had a sustained period of uninterrupted training as I have had to improvise for several periods due to being away from my usual training sites.
   So now that I have an period of time to hammer away for a while and I am going to focus on power development.
   Here is what I did today:

Warmup: Quad rocks, 1/2 kneeling adductor, open hip t-spine rotation, hip bridges, supine cross crawls, open hip rolls, lower quadrant rolls, crawling

Workout:

• Kettlebell swings: 3 x 6 @ 32 kg., followed by
• 1 leg box jumps: 3 x 4 @ 24" (used the swings for PAP for the jumps)
• Pause squats: 7 x 1 @ 135 ( 4 sec. pause at bottom to eliminate SSC)
• Speed deadlifts: 7 x 3 @ 185
• Kettlebell Farmer's carries: 3 x 40 meters @ 32 kg.
• GHR: 3 x 8

Med ball contrast training:

• Med ball chest richochets 2 x 12 @ 15 lbs. followed by
• Med ball chest richochets: 2 x 12 @ 4 lbs.
• Med ball side tosses: 2 x 6 @ 15 lbs. followed by
• Med ball side tosses: 2 x 6 @ 4 lbs.

Concept is to do a heavier version of the drill and then use a lighter weight ball to speed up the movement even more. Similar to contrast sprint work.

Comments: Going to do this phase for 4 weeks or so and then re-test. Will let you know how it goes with some updates along the way.

Train hard and train smart!

http://fitnesstogether.com/media for our website and all of our links. 

Hard to Stay on Top

  In all sports, good teams/athletes have a limited lifespan of success. The day of dynasties has likely passed as teams and athletes can turn around their careers in short order or fall off the competitive summit just as quickly.
   Just look at so-called recent dynasties like the Florida Gators in college football, New England Patriots in the NFL or the Yankees in baseball. It is extremely hard to stay on the very top.
  And this is even more the case in Masters sports where age can creep up on you very quickly and injury can raise it's ugly head even more than in the college and professional level.
   An illustration is one of the baseball teams I play on in a 48+ league. We were in the league championship finals the previous two seasons and at one point last season had a 17 game/2 month long winning streak. But this season we have struggled to even play .500 ball.
   There are a number of factors that have played into this situation: injuries to key players, defection of players to other teams, and being one of the older teams in the league have all contributed to our slide. And I don't care what anyone says but winning is a lot more fun than losing esp. when you are losing ugly. And we have had a lot of ugly this season!
   The point is that as a Masters athlete it is even more important what you do in the off-season than when you were younger as there is no margin for error. You have to make yourself a better athlete and more resilient or you will be rudely awakened when the season comes around. I'm not saying that is entirely what happened to our team but I believe it played more than a minor role in our decline.

Train hard and train smart!
http://fitnesstogether.com/media for our website and all of our links

Today's Training: Total Body Strength

  I am in a sort of "deload" window here because my vacations are spaced such that I can't do any sustained "hard" training without a vacation interruption until mid-August. So this doesn't mean no strength training it just means no concerted planned really heavy lifting until vacations are over.
   Here is what I did today.
Warmup: Foam rolling, ankle mobs, rolling patterns, quad rocks, 1/2 kneeling adductor, open hip t-spine rotations, march series, Indian clubs

Workout:

• Barbell Romanian Deadlift: 1 x 6 @ 135, 3 x 6 @ 185. Overhand grip.
• Cable Chest press: 4 x 12 @ 35 
• Hanging leg raises: 3 x 8 (These 3 were done in a tri-set fashion).
• RFESS: 4 x 10,12,15,15 @ 25 lbs. ea.
• Inverted rows on Smith machine: 4 x 15
• Landmine 1/2 moons: 3 x 12 @ 15+ (These 3 were also done as a tri-set)

Comments: Worked all of the major movements: quad dominant lower body, hip dominant lower body, upper body push & pull and 2 core exercises. 

Train hard and train smart!

http://fitnesstogether.com/media for our website and all of our links.

Baseball Development: What's with All the Power Arms? | Eric Cressey | High Performance Training, Personal Training

Baseball Development: What's with All the Power Arms? | Eric Cressey | High Performance Training, Personal Training Interesting details on the why's and how's of increased throwing velocity.

Heart rates, wattage and VO2 max testing. | Excelsior Group

Heart rates, wattage and VO2 max testing. | Excelsior Group Really interesting, cutting edge stuff from the US Ski Team.

Scientists explode the myth about running injuries

Scientists explode the myth about running injuries Not exactly what the running shoe companies would have you believe!?!