I’ll admit that the arched-back bench press looks strange. Kind of like a back injury waiting to happen. However, when done correctly, it’s safe and is the preferred technique used for powerlifting. Why? Because the arched position shortens the range of motion needed in competition to push a heavy barbell upward. Is it necessary? Depends on your training … Read More
Reaching Peak Performance [ARTICLE SUMMARY]
I’m loving the early edition of this paper in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. There’s no doubt that athletes need to train hard to reach peak performance. But how hard? And how fast should that training ramp up? Thanks to Tim Gabbett for this excellent commentary. In my very humble opinion, clinicians, coaches, and athletes all need … Read More
RECOVERY: the biggest buzzword in sports science right now
As athletes continue to push the boundaries of their bodies with training, recovery becomes even more important. Why? To reduce fatigue and enhance athletic performance. In theory, if you can recover faster, you can train harder (or more often). But, unfortunately recovery is complex. There’s no one way to do it effectively. This is because it depends on a LOT … Read More
On-field injury rehab: how to safely get back in the game [INFOGRAPHIC]
One of the reasons I started CLE Sports PT & Performance was to work with athletes in their own element. I’ve always felt it provided a more complete recovery and return to their sport. The literature shows that “on-field rehab” does just that. ACL injury. management, done in this manner, has been shown to be associated with: superior muscle strength … Read More
Perfect Your Training Intensity For Your Best Results Work smarter? Or harder? Balance is key to optimal performance and decreased injury risk.
Which are you… The person who never stops training? The one who tries to outwork the competition? Or the person constantly looking for a way to hack the system? (The one taking a break from Tim Ferriss’ 4 Hour Body to read this post?) Which is better? Or, from a health perspective, which increases injury risk? Overtraining or undertraining? … Read More
The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Early Sport Specialization- Part 2
In part one of this series, I discussed the myth that single-sport athletes are more successful than multi-sport athletes. I also examined the risks of specializing in one sport too early. See this link if you missed it. So now the question… If specializing in a sport early is not good, then how DO we set our kids up for long-term athletic … Read More
The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Early Sport Specialization- Part 1
The number of multi-sport athletes in the US is dwindling. The young athletes in our country are in a race to specialize in a sport earlier than their peers. This fits right into the American culture of “bigger, better, faster.” We want our kids to excel and we want a success quickly. Some parents dream of their kids getting college … Read More
Concussion Series Part 4: Does Neck Strengthening Prevent Injury?
Neck strengthening programs are the Sports Medicine community’s newest weapon in combatting the concussion epidemic. Syracuse University’s football team made news in 2012 when the program implemented a neck strengthening program in 2012, attempting to cut the number of concussions. While many Sports Medicine Experts recommend revisions to Syracuse’s program – more on this later- it has still been considered a … Read More
The Concussion Series Part 3: Why it’s not Always Good to be Like the Pros
I’m writing this post one day after Sydney Seau’s moving speech honoring her father, Junior Seau, at his induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Junior Seau asked his daughter to speak on his behalf if he made it into the Hall of Fame before he committed suicide in 2012. He was found to have had a degenerative … Read More
Research Roundup- Baseball Edition
Could hip strengthening help you become a better pitcher? You bet it can! Multiple studies (here, here, or even here) including this recent one, have shown that the hip muscles are active during baseball pitching. The study also showed the importance of the muscles around the shoulder blade (the scapular stabilizers). The pitching motion requires total body strength- Include hip and core strengthening in … Read More
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