Increasing thoracic mobility to improve pitching velocity…

While the majority of the adolescent pitching population is busy this offseason shortening their pec minors on the pec-deck, we’ve got our guys and gals performing thoracic mobility drills aimed at actually improving pitching performance and velocity.  Besides just improving the overall functionality of the student-athlete, incorporating thoracic mobility drills (both extension and rotation) are going to improve their abilities in the “cocking” or “layback” phase of the wind-up. 

Some indicators that suggest the pitcher in your life is in need of some thoracic mobility drills:

1)      He or she spends the vast majority of their day slumped over a desk, then at home on the computer, and then on the couch in front of the TV creating a strikingly similar posture to this cute little fellow…

2)      He or she has complained of, or have battled chronic, elbow, shoulder, and lower-back pain throughout their career.

3)      His or her fastball couldn’t breakthrough a wet paper-bag.

Only about 10-weeks remain until high-school tryouts.  Slowly step away from the bench press, and request a free consultation with the experts at SAPT, so we can “get you right.”

But what do we know…

Chris

Pushup/Inverted Row Test + Feedback

Towel Inverted Row

My internet buddy, Ben Bruno, recently asked me if I could test out the push/pull experiment he's conducting. You can read about it HERE in case you haven't already. Essentially, what you have to do is test your max reps on inverted rows and pushups, in order to gather a rough feel of how your pushing strength compares to your pulling strength on fairly comparable exercises. I was happy to help him out, and I was also curious where I stood personally. Here were the ground rules for the test:

1. Hands MUST touch your chest on each rep of the inverted rows.
2. Full range of motion on the pushups.
3. Feet have to be elevated for both the rows and the pushups. (This makes the exercises significantly harder FYI, thanks to physics).
4. The strap height for the rows should be set so that your upper back is only a couple inches from the floor upon extending the arms.
5. Don't flounder around like a fish out of water. (All too frequently I hear people touting their ability to do 100 pushups in a row, and upon watching them demonstrate I see them doing something like THIS that quickly makes my eyes bleed).

I wanted to film myself completing this experiment, given that tests such as these with a large sample size can quickly lead to skewed results due to the proclivity of humans to fabricate their results, especially with regards to something like a physical test.

Case in point: peruse any exercise-related internet forum or youtube page and you'll quickly find various cyber warriors writing about how they can bench 405 for reps. Sure you can. In related news - I once took out Mike Tyson in a sparring match.

Anyway, here is my test below:

A few notes:

• I certainly do not think my results are close to impressive. On the contrary, I consider my results to be "eh, that was okay" at best. This is not surprising, considering the last time I trained muscular endurance occurred right around the same time the US government was debt-free. (**ba-DUM-ching!!**)

• Following the point above, it should be obvious that this is really a test of muscular endurance as opposed to muscular strength. After all, once (or if) you get past the 10-12 rep mark you're, in essence, testing your musculoskeletal system's ability to delay fatigue as opposed to it's capability to produce maximal force. Ben did note this in his test, but due to the fact that not many people have weight vests or other means of loading these movement, the current protocol seemed to be the one that will work for the largest number of people.

• As I was performing the inverted rows it became quickly evident that my grip and biceps (specifically, the brachioradialis, due to the neutral grip wrist position) were on fire, and thus limiting the my ability to continue to row all the way up. I see this two ways:
  1. I was not using my upper back correctly, hence my lower arm musculature giving out before my back (or at least feeling like it). This could very well be true, telling me I still have some much needed work to do in the upper back department.
  2. If we're really seeking a true measure of upper back strength, and upper back strength alone, perhaps this test could be used in conjunction with something else that doesn't allow your body to cheat as much (ex. a chest-supported row), or an exercise in general that doesn't require you to hang from an apparatus the entire time, thus causing your grip to give way.

• During the test, I did my best to keep my reps controlled, while at the time time not executing the movements as I would in a normal training session. This was a test, after all, so I needed to break a couple rules. For instance, during a typical "rowing" movement, I like to squeeze at the top for a solid second to ensure I'm actually using my back and not cheating.

However, I still kept my elbows in on the pushups, chin tucked, core locked in, all that good stuff in an attempt to emulate a perfect pushup as much as possible. I stopped the test (especially on the rows) when I felt I was jerking too much instead of actually doing the movement correctly.

•  I DO find it interesting that even though I rarely perform higher than ten reps in training, I was still able to hit 47 pushups and 28 rows. No, not impressive, but I think it still supports the efficacy of strength training even in something like improving muscular endurance. In fact, the Journal of Strength and Conditioning research published a study confirming the very fact that improving one's maximal strength will aid in a muscular endurance. To the distance runners and "feel the burn" fanatics out there: yes, this applies to you. So, even though I normally perform my pushups weighted and keep them at eight reps and below, the fact that may "1RM" pushup was improved helped me to score higher on an endurance test than I normally would have.

• Yes, my number of pushups did significantly outweigh the number of rows I got, but this is to be expected on a test like this. I was at least glad that my personal ratio wasn't quite at a 2:1 (push:pull), and it was indicative to me that I need to continue to prioritize my pulling in my programs (which I'm already doing). Good to know things are moving in the right direction, as I'm sure my push:pull ratio would have been MUCH worse had I done this test six months ago.

• A lot of people view inverted rows as an elementary movement, but I think many would be surprised how tough they are when performed correctly. I think Ben made a wise move in subbing out the chinup as the standard measure of push-to-pull comparisons, given that it's much easier to cheat on chinups. I did laugh to myself after doing this test, as my max chinups and inverted rows are very similar. Guess I've got some more work to do in the rowing department, no?

That's all for now. It was definitely a fun test and I look forward to the conclusions Ben draws from this particular study. I encourage you to try it out for yourself, and then send your results over to him on his page HERE.

Emphasize Individual Pathways to Sport Expertise

Research on expertise, talent identification and development has tended to be mono-disciplinary, typically adopting genocentric or environmentalist positions, with an overriding focus on operational issues. In this paper, the validity of dualist positions on sport expertise is evaluated. It is argued that, to advance understanding of expertise and talent development, a shift towards a multidisciplinary and integrative science focus is necessary, along with the development of a comprehensive multidisciplinary theoretical rationale. Here we elucidate dynamical systems theory as a multidisciplinary theoretical rationale for capturing how multiple interacting constraints can shape the development of expert performers. This approach suggests that talent development programmes should eschew the notion of common optimal performance models, emphasize the individual nature of pathways to expertise, and identify the range of interacting constraints that impinge on performance potential of individual athletes, rather than evaluating current performance on physical tests referenced to group norms.

Did you grab the essence of that abstract? I'll wait while you read it once more and let everything sink in...

Fascinating. Often in team sport the coaches and, thus, the athletes become focused on everyone on the team achieving the same physical performance norms. For example: everyone on a soccer team must achieve or exceed 11-minutes on the Beep Test, every front row player on a women's volleyball team must touch at least 10'0", or every 100m sprinter must perform at least 75 continuous push-ups.

But what if EVERY athlete simply can not achieve these norms? As a coach, what is the message you send? Is it one of insistence upon achieving the norm at the detriment to development of more important skill sets? Or to the detriment of continuing to develop a well-rounded athlete that in the long-run may, in fact, exceed these norms?

The message in this abstract ("Expert performance in sport and the dynamics of talent development."

Sports Medicine

2010.) is the same message we send to parents, athletes, and coaches alike at SAPT. We constantly emphasize individual successes and performance over and above any comparative norms. And this is the ROOT of why we provide unique and individual programming for every single one of our clients. Why would you train exactly like someone else? You're unique, right? I know I am. My strengths are different than yours. And my weaknesses will be just as unique to me.

Do yourself or your kid a favor when looking for performance training options (be it physical preparation, technical skill development, or mental performance) and seek out the sources that provide an individually focused approach. Yes, it will cost a few dollars more than, say, an enormous "speed camp" cattle call, but in the end it will be well worth it to foster true performance development in your athlete.

Some Winter Hypertrophy Action....Your Next Leg Program?

Ryan recently approached me to inform me that he was seeking to take part in the Winter Swell, and asked if I had any hypertrophy programs that were fun and far away from your typical Flex magazineworkoutthatmakesmeslammyheadagainstthewallandpoopmypantscuzit'ssoasinine workouts. (Hypertrophy, by the way, is simply the strength coach way of referring to increases in muscle fiber size. The Jersey Shore bros in the crowd would know this as "gettin' jacked!")

Ryan has spent the past year preparing for and competing in powerlifting meets, and he wanted something to "change it up," so to speak, before he enters his next powerlifting cycle. I responded by giving him just the medicine he needed.

This is a really fun program I completed myself a couple years ago. Originally written by Cosgrove, it consists of one upper body workout and one lower body workout, performed twice each per week, albeit using a different set-rep scheme each time you come back to it.

Not a typical program I would do (or write for someone else for that matter), but can definitely be interspersed as a nice change of pace, at least for the masochists in the crowd.

Here's what Ryan did on Day 1:

Lower Body Day

Exercise

Sets

Reps

Rest

(seconds)

A)

Squat

4

10

60

B)

Deadlift

4

10

60

C1)

C2)

Bulgarian Split Squat BB Step-Up

4 4

10/side 10/side

60 60

D)

Lie on Floor in Fetal Position

1

Infinity

n/a

He'll do this every Monday and Thursday, but he'll cycle through three different set-rep-rest schemes:

Day 1: 4x10 with :60 rest (as shown) Day 2: 5x5 with :90 rest Day 3: 3x15 with :30 rest (Note: Day 3 will take place on Monday of the following week) Day 4: Repeat cycle

As such, this program will last six full weeks, hitting each given set-rep scheme four times. It is sticking to the rest periods that make this program so brutal (the 3x15 days in particular make you hate life), and also allow you to get in and out of the gym in an hour tops.

Here is a brief clip of Ryan doing his first day on the program. As noted for the past year he has primarily been powerlifting, keeping most of his repetitions at 5 and below for the compound lifts and taking very long rest periods betwixt sets. As such, he was in for a rude awakening! This first day essentially provided him the chance for his body to adapt and for him to figure out a good starting point for weight selection:

This will also complement the upper body work he is doing on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Keep in mind, Ryan is a 375lb squatter and has been training for a few years now. I wouldn't recommend this program for someone who is just getting their feet wet in the lifting realm. However, for those of you who have been training for a while and want to enter the pain cave this Winter, I challenge you to give this a shot for a consistent six weeks. It may just be the perfect complement to all that holiday feasting.

Just be prepared to have your glutes on fire the following day. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Random Friday 12/9/11

Here are some various links and videos you can use to entertain yourself until you break free of the office this afternoon... 1. First, in case you missed them, here the posts from earlier this week:

Chinup PRs and Newton's 2nd Law --> Here I discuss why focusing on the acceleration of the movement might just be the piece missing in your quest for strength. Also, you get to see my wife hit a +45lb chinup personal best, along with why F=ma helped her get there.

Elbow Pain? I've Got Your Fix --> Sarah does a great job discussing some causes-->solutions of the oh-so-pervasive elbow pain in our society of office workers and athletes alike.

Is Exercise Selection Really the Most Important Programming Variable? --> An understanding (or lack thereof) of this concept is definitely something that separates the men from the boys (or women from the girls, so to speak) when it comes to writing effective strength and conditioning programs.

My Attempt at Poetry --> If you're looking for some light Dr. Seuss-ish reading material, coach Romo wrote a fairly lengthy poem on an athlete achieving her first bodyweight pullup.

2. The Contreras Files, Volume 1

Some great stuff in here. Bret Contreras does a fantastic job taking research re: glute activation, hip hinging, bench pressing, you name it...and translating it in a way that makes it easy to understand for coaches and lifters alike. Check it out HERE.

3. Here is my awesome cat, Oops. As you can see, she is part polar bear, part tiger. The perfect crossbreed.

4. Wow. And I thought I was decent at pullups....

6. The more I use them, the more clear it becomes that people need to be doing Bulgarian Goat Belly Swings before they progress to anything else in the weight room. More on this later though.

Have a great weekend everyone.

My attempt at poetry...

I wrote this a long time ago after being inspired by one of our female student-athletes completing her first pullup. "Pull-UP"

My strength coach said to me as I entered SAPT;

“Miss, can you do a pull-up?”

“HAHA, yea rite, NO,” said me.

He asked me “why;”

I told him that;

“Pull-ups are impossible; why even try.”

“That’s gonna’ change he said with a smirk;

You will do pull-up;

Are you afraid of hard-work?”

“When hell freezes over,” I thought in my head;

It’s been 7 years of gym class and still no luck;

Each test I fail; I should just put this one to bed.”

He chuckled and said, “The funny thing about pull-ups,

You’ve got to work at’um for weeks;

Pull for every inch until your head erupts.”

He said, “I’ll help you map the way;

Are you onboard?”

“Aye coach; I’ll have my day!”

Weeks went by, and work we did;

We ran the gambit;

Partials; Iso’s, Ecc’s; Band assisted.

Most of time I just wanted to cry;

“Charge on,” he said; “A quitting attitude won’t cut it;

It simply won’t fly.”

So I fought tooth and nail, through the arm numbing burn;

Pull-ups I will own you;

This I will earn.

Finally, the day came, it was time to test;

“I’m nervous,” I said;

“Don’t be,” he said, “just try your best.”

So I chalked-up my hands, and pulled with all my might;

My chin….CLEARED THE BAR;

OH, WHAT A FIGHT!”

I triumphantly dropped from the bar;

Pull-ups, I had defeated;

Coach said, “You should be proud, you’ve come so far.”

It wasn’t the pull-up that meant so much;

It was what I had learned;

all the planning, trying and such.

This I will remember for the rest of my time;

Nothing is owed to me; plan, fight, execute, then fight some more;

Extract from for this rhyme.

Failing to do the above only will mar;

Anything worth doing in life;

Lift your chin above the bar.

Hope everyone is having a great week,

Chris