What I Learned in 2007
by Eric Cressey

I kicked off my 2007 writing campaign with a recap of what I learned in 2006. Now I'm a year older, wiser, more cynical, and maybe even a little more eloquent. Here goes...

1. Need an easy way to get someone lean who's too stubborn to eat more frequently? Give 'em six BCAA tablets as mid-morning and mid-afternoon meals. Is it ideal for the long-term? Probably not. Does it get them into the habit of consuming something at a certain time of day, something that might eventually evolve into a healthy, complete meal? Yes. And, does it get them leaner? Without fail.

2. I never thought the day would come, but I've actually become desensitized to Rage Against the Machine. Those Testosterone members who only spend 4-6 hours a week in the gym probably can't really relate, as a little Rage will never get old in that time period. I, however, spend roughly eight hours a day in a gym, seven days a week — and Rage comes on a lot. Nowadays, I go to "rally 'round the family with a pocketful of shells," and it just isn't there.

Fortunately, there's plenty of good stuff on which to fall back — from Jay-Z to Linkin' Park (or Collision Course, the combination of the two). If Tony Gentilcore tries to pass A Tribe Called Quest off as lifting music one more time, though, I might choke him with a mini-band.

For those of you looking for some new flavor, check out Diecast. Admittedly, I'm a bit biased; I grew up with their guitarist (Jon Kita). Here are two singles our athletes like:

Fade Away

Nothing I Could Say

3. Apparently, Vitamin B12 injections will help you hit 50 home runs and play baseball at a high level well into your 60s. After all, that's what they were all injecting. Riiiiiight.

4. People are starting to pay attention to hip mobility (finally), but very few people have looked at the ankle effectively. And, of those who have, I can't say that anyone has really "mastered" the ankle yet. Some people have jammed joints and respond to Z-Health-type mobilizations and manual adjustments. Others have typical Achilles and gastrocnemius/soleus tightness and responded well to basic ankle mobilizations. The last group has decent range of motion, but enough soft tissue barnacles growing that their lower leg could be mistaken for an anchor from the Titanic.

There are two things to which they all respond, though:

A) Footwear Modifications

B) Barefoot training (even if it's entry-level)

5. A little ol' baseball or lacrosse ball will fix a ton: calves, butt, and posterior shoulder girdle. Foam rollers are great, but not always "focal" enough to get the job done on these areas. Go work on these areas with a tennis ball and see if you get discomfort. If you do, keep at it — and then progress to the firmer implement.

Cressey: A Pain in the Ass, Literally and Figuratively

6. Knowing that I was going to write this article, I kept tabs over the past four weeks on how many emails I got about shoulder problems. I averaged 11.5 per week — and this doesn't even include how many forum inquiries I receive on the subject in the Author's Locker Room. I've actually come up with a basic "auto-response" that works well for most T-Nation "types" (i.e., those who lift but aren't necessarily involved in dynamic upper body activities like throwing, swimming, etc.):

What you need to do:

A. Go to T-Nation, and read all of the following articles:

Cracking the Rotator Cuff Conundrum (don't do the program)
Shoulder Savers: Part I
Shoulder Savers: Part II
Shoulder Savers: Part III
Push-ups, Face Pulls, and Shrugs
It Looked Good on Paper (only the third issue addressed)

B. Rules for the next two weeks:

• Swap back squats for front squats

• Drop benching

• Lots of seated rows (pay attention to the technique in "Shoulder Savers Part I")

• Check internal vs. external rotation range of motion (as in "It Looked Good on Paper")

• Lots of prone cobras and prone trap raises

• No overhead pressing or lateral raises.

• Drop chin-ups if they hurt. Keep 'em if they don't.

• Basically, your upper body days will consist of rowing variations (NOT upright rows), push-up variations, direct arm work, and scapular stability work

• Gentle stretches for the pecs, lats, anterior delts, upper traps, and levator scapulae

• Read "Feel Better for $10" and use a foam roller on your lats, pecs, rhomboids, and thoracic spine. Read "Soft Tissue Work for Tough Guys" and use a tennis or lacrosse ball on your infraspinatus (posterior shoulder girdle).

Don't do these if your shoulders are ailin'.

C. Pick up a copy of one or both of these:

Inside-Out by Mike Robertson and Bill Hartman
Secrets of the Shoulder by Gray Cook

Both will keep you healthy for the long haul. I can't say enough great things about how fantastic a job Mike, Bill, and Gray did with these products.

D. Lather, rinse, repeat.

7. If you want to run for president, get Chuck Norris in your corner and hope for the "Terrified Vote."

I'm almost afraid to vote for McCain.

8. While nutrition takes the cake, I would put sleep quality on par with program design in considering what makes or breaks one's success. I know I'm always going to train my butt off and eat ridiculously clean, so the only thing that ever has dramatic short-term impacts on how I look in the mirror and feel is sleep quality. The more total sleep I get, the better. And, to take it a step further, the more hours I get before midnight, the better. So, if you're reading this at 3AM, go to bed. I'm really not that fascinating, and I'll guarantee this article will be here in the morning, afternoon, or whenever it is you wake up.

9. With all that sleep talk out of the way, I will say that Spike is an entrepreneur's best friend. All I need to make it to my 30s is Spike in IV form. If I can get it in one of those beer-tube hats, I will make it to 35 — and probably have a lot more fun in the process.

Insert Spike Here?

10. I learned how to travel smart in 2007. During the year, I traveled from Boston to:

• Birmingham/Oxford/London
• Montreal
• Providence
• Chicago
• Atlanta
• Washington, DC
• Tucson
• New York City
• Ocean City, MD

In the process, I picked up some excellent tips for not blowing your diet when you travel. First and foremost, an empty shaker bottle and a tub of Low-Carb Metabolic Drive are your best friends. As long as you don't mix the shake up before you go through the security checkpoints, you're all set. Just add water from a water fountain once you're through to the waiting area. Pack a bag of mixed nuts and some fish oil and you've got some calories to get you by in a pinch. Metabolic Drive bars and beef jerky are also good options. Once Biotest's new "greens" product is out, you'll have everything you need.

Sure, we aren't talking about the whole food meals that we'd like to consume normally, but let's be honest: the grilled chicken in the salads you buy at those stands tastes like rubber and it was probably cooked when Bill Clinton was still in office.

For the record, they will confiscate your Spike cans if you put them in your carry-on. Clearly, they're threats to national security that belong in your checked baggage.

11. Here are a few tips for up-and-comers in the strength and conditioning field. I'm writing these with a new perspective this year as I'm now a facility owner — or the kind of person you'd like to employ you.

• Show up on time, clean-shaven and showered. If you walk in ten minutes late with a serious case of bed-head, you might as well not bother applying.

• More important than your knowledge is your ability to communicate and have positive interactions with athletes/clients. If you're working with female clients, don't lean in, lift one eyebrow, and say "Sooooooo, you're lifting some weights today, huh?" That's creepy, dude. And wipe the mayonnaise off the corner of your mouth.

• To this end, you should model the positive features you hope to instill in your athletes/clients. Look like you lift, and don't eat candy bars and pizza. And definitely don't be a child molesting alcoholic with a crack addiction if you plan to work with kids (or anyone, for that matter).

• Do not type the words "ur" or "lol" in emails — and certainly not on your resume.

• Don't call me "bro" unless you are, in fact, my brother. (And, even if you are my brother, you're a freakin' accountant; stop talking like that!)

• Remember that there's a difference between "lose" and "loose;" "to," "too," and "two;" and "they're," "their," and "there."

• As Mike Boyle pointed out in an old interview, if your email address is biggunz6969@yahoo.com, don't bother submitting an application — unless you're hoping to apply to be one of Dr. Kevorkian's guinea pigs.

12. Many people really don't know the difference between Mike Robertson and I.

I get customer service emails about Mike's other products, and even inquiries about articles with his name on the author line! So, I decided to use this article to set the record straight with a simple chat you can all use for easy reference:

Any questions?

13. Vitamin D is probably a lot more important than we have previously thought. To be honest, it very well might be the next fish oil. As a hormone that regulates calcium, phosphorus, bone metabolism, and neuromuscular function, it's clear that this vitamin has broad-reaching effects. Beyond the classic bone implications, recent research has demonstrated an association between Vitamin D deficiency and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke — and those who get more sun exposure actually recover from cancer faster than those with limited sun exposure. There's evidence to suggest a link between Vitamin D deficiency and multiple sclerosis, the flu, diabetes, and various neurological disorders.

The problem is that it's estimated that one-third to one-half of (otherwise healthy) middle-aged and elderly individuals in the US are deficient (defined as below 15 ng/ml, typically). The amount of Vitamin D produced in the body is markedly higher in warmer climates than you get in the cold white North (or South, if any of you readers happen to be on vacation in Antarctica).

Knowing how it impacts the aforementioned factors, it's not a stretch to say that Vitamin D can have implications for us muscleheads both in terms of performance and health — and we're talking beyond just weak bones. Siraj Ahmed was actually my first Boston client when I moved back here in 2006. From his name and the video below, you can tell that Siraj is of Indian descent. Combine his skin tone with his geographic location and the fact that he's stuck in an office more than he'd probably like, and you'll discover quite quickly why he's a candidate for Vitamin D deficiency.

When we first started working together, Siraj was 158 pounds and dealing with elbow, neck, and lower back issues. He couldn't bench press pain-free, and deadlifting was definitely out of the question. The interesting thing was that none of these issues were "true" pathologies; it was more along the lines of general aches that were a nuisance when he tried to push it in the weight room.

We integrated some appropriate mobility/activation work and also implemented strategic deloads more effectively — and his symptoms started to resolve. It wasn't until later that he told me his doctor had found that he was Vitamin D deficient on a blood test, and he'd been prescribed 50,000 IU once a week for four weeks. While he got some benefit from the Vitamin D alone, it wasn't until he integrated it with an appropriate exercise regimen that the pain really dissipated.

Approximately one year later, Siraj is pain-free at a body weight of 178 pounds — and he pulled 420 a few weeks ago:

I'm not saying that Vitamin D is a cure-all, but it's definitely something to:

A) Make sure you're consuming in adequate amounts.

B) Make sure you're getting via sunlight.

C) Look into if you have generalized pain and weakness, especially in multiple joints.

As an interesting little note, it's believed that aside from eating plenty of fatty fish, it's virtually impossible to get sufficient Vitamin D from your diet without supplementation of some sort. Sounds kind of like fish oil, doesn't it?

14. Patch Adams was a great movie with three great quotes:

Quote 1: "You're focusing on the problem. If you focus on the problem, you can't see the solution."

Important interpretation for you: Multiple pathologies (problems) can result from a single inefficiency. Fix the inefficiency (find the solution) and you account for all the potential pathologies.

Example: Take someone who has tight hip flexors and dormant glutes. This may lead to lumbar stress fractures, spondylolisthesis, lumbar erector strains, piriformis contracture, hamstrings strains, adductor strains, and anterior hip pain. What will a classic medical model doctor do? Brace the lower back or tell you to rest the strain.

Take-Home Message: When you're hurt, be proactive, ask around, and find doctors and physical therapists who think outside the box. They aren't all created equal; some guys are studying for the wrong test.

Quote 2: "You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person I'll guarantee you'll win."

Important interpretation for you: Getting injured sucks. Nobody wants to be reminded that they're injured; they need to be told about all the ways that they're still an athlete in spite of being hurt.

Example: A client of mine separated his AC joint on the 4^th of July when he tripped and fell while carrying his sleeping daughter home from the fireworks. Did he want to hear "Just rest for eight weeks while this calms down" or "Now's a great time to big up your deadlift, chin-ups, rowing, and single-leg strength. We can still overhead press pain-free and do push-ups and bench presses through a partial range-of-motion."

In an old interview with Brian Grasso, Bill Hartman provided an example that resonates in my mind:

"Let me use an example of a rehab program that I developed for a 10 year old who just had a cast removed after an elbow fracture. He has two primary issues: decreased elbow range of motion and decreased arm strength. Now if he was an adult, we would have just put him on a treatment table and stretch the soft-tissues of the elbow and work on strength with typical strength training exercises. You can't do that with a kid. It hurts and it's boring, so you end up with a lousy outcome.

"Here's what we did:

"To increase elbow range of motion and shoulder stability we played tug-o-war and had bear and crab crawl races. We did overhead medicine ball throws and did wheelbarrow walks where he would walk on his hands while I supported his feet. He played army man and slithered across the floor like a snake to force him to bend his elbow. We even worked on some PNF diagonals by having nerf sword fights. The entire time he was busy and interested in what he was doing. He thought we were playing, yet we accomplished his goals of normal range of motion and strength in just a couple of weeks."

Take-Home Message: Good therapists, trainers, and strength coaches always find a way to keep you moving, having fun, and making progress. Also, in spite of being smarter than any robot on Earth, Bill Hartman still knows how to entertain kids.

Quote 3: "We can head on down to the maternity ward. You know those chicks put out."

Take-Home Message: There isn't a take-home message. Stop taking things so damn literally and laugh a bit.

15. We sent out emails to all of our high school athletes asking them about their goals for 2008. Of the 3-4 dozen replies we got, only two guys mentioned improving flexibility as a goal for the year. Interestingly, these were two guys who came to us with 13-week back-bracing protocols for lumbar spine stress fractures. Injuries yield perspective. It's better to live vicariously through others in this regard, so heed their advice.

I'll be back next year with another installment, but in the meantime, you can count on some other submissions from me during 2008. If previous years' trends hold up, I'm bound to pick up a few things on the fly.

About the Author

Eric Cressey is a highly sought-after strength and conditioning coach and owner of Cressey Performance, which has facilities in Framingham and Hudson, Massachusetts. Eric has worked with athletes of all levels, from youth sports to the professional and Olympic levels. Feel to contact him and sign up for his free newsletter at www.EricCressey.com, and check out his daily updates at www.EricCressey.Blogspot.com.

Along with Mike Robertson, Eric co-produced Magnificent Mobility and the Building the Efficient Athlete 8-DVD set. He is also the author of The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual. All three are available through the T-Nation store.

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