In the first part of this series, I discussed the basic pattern of the hinge movement, how to teach it, and common mistakes I see when coaching it. In part 2 of this series, I am going to discuss regressions to the hinge pattern. Not everyone in the room is going to understand how to properly hinge on the first …
How’d My Muscle Turn Off?
When muscles are “turned off” it doesn’t mean they don’t fire or that they’re completely inactive. It often means they’re doing the wrong job. They become inhibited and weak. Why?? Because of posture, function, training, lifestyle habits, etc. As Sue Falsone puts it every muscle has its role. Prime movers need to be prime movers, synergists need to assist, and …
Regaining the Overhead in Overhead Athletes
Regaining motion following heavy doses of high intensity throwing cannot be overlooked. Throwing causes significant range of motion changes. Any movement activity causing significant muscle damage can alter movement in the days following. Pitchers throwing a large amount of pitches suffer significant eccentric stress, not only in the arm/shoulder but throughout the entire body. Joint distraction forces at the shoulder …
The Positions Block
The Foundation Program, which is detailed in the book Movement Over Maxes, is built around 3 blocks of development. Those blocks are titled Positions, Patterning, and Performance. Each has a specific place and purpose in the grand scheme of producing a well moving, strong athlete with a solid foundation for future development. The Positions Block is the first stage in …
BBA Podcast – All Things Baseball Performance
Michael Zweifel had me on his Building Better Athletes Podcast a while back alongside Dr. Stephen Osterer. Dr. Osterer is a physical therapist / strength coach developing baseball athletes in Canada under the name baseballdevelopmentgroup.com. We talked all things baseball and specifically got into some of the what, and why’s when it comes to screening athletes, the bench press, speed …
ABCA Podcast on Developing Athletes
Strength training for baseball players has certainly evolved over the years and for this week’s podcast, we connect with two of top strength coaches in college baseball in TCU’s Zach Dechant and Coastal Carolina’s Nick White. This episode is packed with tremendous insight as both Dechant and White speak about their growth as strength coaches and detail the specific plans …
Ahead of the Curve PODCAST
Was really fortunate to receive a call several months ago from a high school coach in the metroplex by the name of Jonathan Gelnar @J_Gelnar7. He runs a great baseball specific podcast called Ahead of the Curve. If you haven’t checked it out yet make time to do so as he’s put out a wealth of information from a variety of coaches. Ahead …
RBI Performance Podcast
I spent this past Saturday talking with Blair Bundy, and Steven Reinlie. Both played college baseball and are involved with the game now in the respective professions. Blair is a PT in Houston. Steven is a DC in Austin and spent time as a strength coach early on in his career. Both treat athletes from little leaguers on up whether it’s rehabbing them from minor overuse injuries, return …
Hip Matrix w/ Rotation
One of my favorite exercises for creating dis-association of the thoracic spine is the Hip Matrix w/ Rotation. This movement came to us several years ago from one of our former interns Jeremy Fraden and we have used it ever since. Dis-association can create high levels of muscle activation, and motor control within a joint or segment of the body. In this instance an …
Why Can’t You Move the Way I Want
Athletes often have underlying limitations as to why they struggle to move the way a coach may want them to. Muscle length isn’t always the answer to developing better movement. More times than not, we as coaches evaluate a poor movement pattern and begin to prescribe stretches when the problem may be alternative to that. Flexibility often isn’t the only …