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(Surprise!) Mariah Carey Throws Like a Girl

Actually worse. I don’t even know how to describe that throw. Oh wait, yes I do. Wait for it. Wait for it. Muhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. To think that all these years I have worshiped you and you can’t even throw a baseball more than five feet! I’m so embarrassed. *Tears down Mariah Carey poster from 1995 off bedroom wall* You’re dead to me Mariah. You hear me? DEAD!

And what’s up with those mascots? Jesus. If I were a kid and one of those mascots approached me, I’d probably destroy the back of my pants.

And because I want you to come away with something useful today, here’s a bit of inspiration. This is a picture that was featured on ESPN this morning of eight year old Adam Bender, a Little League catcher with one leg.

Adam lost his left leg to cancer when he was one and while he tried a prosthesis, he didn’t like it, and he refuses to use a wheelchair.

Adam is just another kid playing ball, which is exactly how his parents want it. From Kentucky.com:

“I was a little hesitant when we first brought him up here for baseball,” Michelle said. “I thought his spirit might be crushed if he got out every time. Then I thought, who am I to micromanage his feelings? He’s going to have to learn how to deal with this stuff. The more I shelter him, the more he’ll think, ‘I’m fragile.’ I don’t think I’ll ever tell him he can’t do something.”

Note to all parents: think of the above quote the next time you feel the need to call the school to ban dodgeball because little Danny’s feelings get hurt.

In addition to playing catcher for his Little League team, Adam also plays soccer (on crutches), is the quarterback for his YMCA flag football team (no crutches while the team utilizes the shotgun snap), and participates in many other sports that any normal eight year old plays. The kid is my new hero.

So the next time you feel “too tired” to go to the gym or you have a headache and can’t fathom getting off the couch to train, think of Adam.

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Q and A (Ankle Mobility and an Ouchie)

Q: Hello Mr. Gentilcore,

I am a college basketball player and I suffered an ankle sprain this past December and after going to physical therapy I still have a pinching tightness in the anterior part of my ankle that comes whenever I try to stretch my achilles. I have been unable to regain mobility in that ankle because any time I try to do mobility work the anterior part of the ankle becomes so painful I can barely bend at the knee. My one-legged jump on that foot has drastically decreased (and I feel pain upon landing) which has me a bit worried for next season. I thought it was scar tissue in that area but the PT was not convinced. Any ideas as to what the issue imay be would be greatly appreciated.

A: First off, no need to call me Mr. Gentilcore. It sounds way too serious and “proper” for my liking. Mr. Bad Ass Mofo sounds a lot better. Kidding of course. Seriously though, Mr. Captain Awesome will work too.

Here are some quick bullet point thoughts on your situation:

1. First and foremost, you may just need to find a new PT. At Cressey Performance, we have yet to meet one basketball player who doesn’t have a ton of scar tissue in their ankles. The fact that your current PT is “unconvinced” doesn’t make sense to me. To be honest, he probably doesn’t know how to perform really good soft tissue work anyways. Time to kick him to the curb. No really, kick him. Hard.

2. Do you walk around barefoot at all? Many of our athletes train barefoot and we always tell them to get out of their shoes as often as possible. Doing so may help regain some of that “lost” mobility and help you re-learn how to use all those small, intrinsic muscles at the bottom of your feet.

3. Are you doing any soft tissue work in your calves? Below is a great video from Bill Hartman, a superb PT in the Indianapolis area and co-creator of the Inside Out dvd. I’m willing to bet if you do a little extra work on your calves, the ankle may start feeling better.

<img”http://www.youtube.com/v/vxr9-IB0Rr4&hl=en”>

4. You need to regain some proprioceptive feedback in that ankle.

According to Eric Cressey, unstable surface training doesn’t have a lot of merit in HEALTHY individuals, but does have quite a bit of use with someone in your situation. Essentially, following an acute lateral (inversion) ankle sprain, chronic lateral instability develops in 20-30% of patients. This chronic instability (also known as Functional Ankle Instability) is predominately related to residual pain and an increased risk of sprain recurrences due to delayed proprioceptive response.

Individuals with FAI, require significantly longer to stabilize in both anterior/posterior and medial/lateral directions after a single leg jump landings. Furthermore, activation patterns are altered prior to landing as well, so it is apparent that there are feed-forward mechanisms at work. Long story short, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to include “some” unstable surface training into your programming such as slide board reverse lunges and/or wobble board exercises to help improve any proprioceptive deficits that may be lingering.

PS: get a new PT

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I Lift Heavy Stuff While Rockin Out to (HARF HARF) John Mayer

After watching that video you’re probably thinking one of two things:

1. That’s an awesome Captain America t-shirt that Tony is wearing.

2. What in the holy hell is he doing listening to John Mayer while he trains?

First off, you don’t have to tell me how awesome my t-shirt is. Captain America speaks for himself. He reeks of awesomeness.

Matter of fact, I like to think that my life resembles that of Captain America. Except for the whole, “unable to become intoxicated by alcohol” part. Captain America (AKA: Steve Rogers) could not be deterred by the evil of alcohol. Myself on the other hand, have one sip and I’m making out with the next door neighbor’s toaster oven.

Don’t even get me started with what happened the last time I had a wine cooler. Me+wine cooler+the dance floor+the robot+the wife to the CEO of my girlfriend’s company= I’m permanently banned from the yearly Christmas party.

As far as John Mayer is concerned, lets just say that from time-to-time I like to listen to music that will make me want to punch someone’s face to the back of their skull while simultaneously making my ears bleed.

I find that it helps me direct my “rage” to accomplish the task at hand. In this case it was flipping a 500 lb mat four times, walking 60 yds with 140 lbs in each hand, pulling 180 lbs with a rope (harder than it looks off of rubber matting), and then finishing off with overhead keg walks for 30+ yards.

Who knew the words “one pair of candy lips and your bubblegum tongue” could piss me off so much?