Another busy weekend wrapped up as I spoke at the New Hampshire Athletic Trainers Association annual symposium. I remembered attending a similar event years ago at Northeastern with Eric, walking in wearing jeans and feeling out of place. There’s an unspoken rule that athletic trainers tend to wear tan khaki pants, so I chose tan khaki yesterday to blend in—and it worked. The day was fantastic. Dr. Eric Berkson, director of the MGH Sports Performance Center and an instructor at Harvard Medical School, spoke at length about common shoulder and elbow injuries seen in pitchers. His insights echoed our thinking at Cressey Performance, especially the emphasis on symmetry in total range of motion between the internal and external rotation of the dominant and nonthrowing shoulders. Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit (GIRD) can be predictive, though it’s not necessarily a red flag the way it was a few years ago. He also noted that many throwing injuries in younger players stem from overuse and not paying attention to pitch counts. Then I spoke—Tony Gentilcore—about the performance side: how we manage overhead athletes, our assessment process, the unique demands of a population that spends much of the year in extension, a quick primer on breathing patterns and how we apply them, and perhaps a tip or two on improving spin on a curveball. All in all, it was a great afternoon and an honor to be involved.
A quick reminder: slots remain open for the Elite Training Workshop at Cressey Performance the weekend of April 20. The lineup includes Eric Cressey, Mike Roberson, Mike Reinold, Dave Schmitz, Greg Long, Jared Woolever, and me. At $99, it’s a solid value; more details are available on the event page.
Last week I wrote a bit about Strong Curves, the new book by Bret Contreras and Kellie Davis, which I believe will be a game changer for women and fitness. I won’t repeat all my praise here, but I also want to highlight another excellent resource from a good friend, Nia Shanks. She has openly discussed her past struggles with disordered eating, and I respect her honesty and willingness to help others. It takes guts to put yourself out there like that. We’ve all noticed how nutrition has become overly complex, especially for women, a trend amplified by the media. I even overheard someone at Panera worrying about whether to include an apple with a meal because of carbs, while finishing a large sandwich. Nia’s response is her SANE AND SIMPLE NUTRITION ebook. It’s straightforward and practical. We don’t claim to have all the answers, but sometimes it helps to cut through the noise. Eat the apple.
On nutrition more broadly, I’m fascinated by the food industry’s marketing tricks that frame dubious foods as healthy. Organic Toaster Pastries, anyone? While I was in Target, I noticed a new variation of Cheerios—Multi-Grain Cheerios with Peanut Butter—whose first ingredient is listed as Whole Grain. That sounds good, but it’s mostly whole grain corn with sugar. It’s technically true to call it a whole grain, but the marketing is misleading. For more on this topic, Dr. Yoni Freedhoff’s Weighty Matters blog is a solid resource.
For a quick listen, here’s a radio interview I did last week in my hometown before speaking at my alma mater. The host loved my line that “abs are made in the kitchen.”
If you’d told me years ago I’d see my name in Forbes, I would have laughed. I didn’t make any top lists, but it was neat to see my name on Forbes’ site. Thanks to David Tao, Forbes’ chief research officer and editor, for inviting me to contribute to an article on interval training and its impact on the industry.
I also contributed to another article, 16 Exercises from the World’s Best Trainers, compiled by Jon-Erik Kawamoto on Livestrong.com. And that’s that.
