In my last post, I profiled how the biomechanics of tennis may approach an athlete's threshold to maintain a healthy shoulder. I also mentioned that according to at least one survey, shoulder injuries are NOT the most common in tennis, low back disorders are. In the collage above, all the photos include one common susceptible movement [...]
Archive for the ‘Restoration’ Category
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Tennis, The Shoulder Menace
November 28th, 2011
Competitive young tennis players can be a strength and conditioning coach's greatest challenge. They're on the court 6-7 days per week, all year round. The overuse, combined with a typically high strung competitive environment and play-no-matter-what attitude is a destructive triad that's likely to lead to a tennis-related injury. Shoulder injuries are expectedly common in tennis athletes. Researchers suggest [...]
Before You Squat
February 16th, 2011
We’ve heard that the back squat is king. I agree, but I also feel the squat is more like the CEO. You have to work really hard to get there, doing stuff (restorative exercises) you don’t necessarily want to. However, once you’re there, you actually get to do less to gain more. Here is some [...]
Before You Bench
January 18th, 2011
Continuing with my theme of progressing to Old School Tools using New School Rules, here are three exercises that I use myself and with my athletes to keep shoulders as healthy as they can be during benching. The bench press is not a bad exercise, it just leaves very little room for technical error. These [...]
Training Athletes with Spinal Disorders
November 9th, 2010
This weekend, I will be presenting at New York University’s School of Medicine Center for Joint Diseases Comprehensive Spine Course. As I’ve been preparing my lecture, I compiled a bunch of slides and corresponding video for readers to view as well. The lecture does not cover specific disorders in detail, but rather what we feel is a [...]
Old School Tools, New School Rules: Overhead Pressing
August 24th, 2010
Overhead presses and other overhead exercises are great tools that are commonly programmed on not-so-great bodies. Overhead training requires exceptional mobility and stability of the shoulder more than the average gym-goer realizes. One way you can begin to evaluate an athlete’s "overhead preparedness" is by using the popular overhead squat. The purpose of this blog will be to provide some practical [...]
“Cook” Up Better Squats
July 12th, 2010
Below is a video that includes corrective squat variations using one of our favorite tools, the Gray Cook Band. The Cook Band can be wrapped around an athlete to correct common dysfunctional compensations through assistance or resistance. More often during our training, the Cook Band is used to either: unload an athlete (example: reverse [...]
Self Help for the Shoulder and Elbow
June 24th, 2010
Here’s a video demonstrating some "self help" strategies for improving upper body posture and mechanics. These tools are acceptable replacements for athletes who don’t have access to a qualified therapist or soft tissue specialist. They are all relatively inexpensive as well (even the Arm Aid, which is worth it’s weight in gold). Although the video was prematurely titled [...]
