I just got a copy of Functional Stability Training with Eric Cressey and Mike Reinold.

As usual, it was amazing stuff. Here is a clip from the DVDs:

Rick and His History of Core Stuff

Before I get into the review, let me chat about core stuff.

I was introduced into core stuff in 1997.  I was working at a physical therapy clinic and the physical therapists at the clinic asked me to do some research and put an in-service together for them on core stability exercises.

The class was a hit with the physical therapists and it led to me teaching the class at Simon Fraser University.

Over the next 4 years, this led to the building of a 16 hour course related to core stability for the rehab client, on advanced core stability, core stability of the shoulder, and core stability of the lower back.

I am always excited to see what new research is out there when it relates to the core, or what leaders in the field like Reinold and Eric Cressey have to say about it.  I know I am always open to new idea and I am always learning.  In the end it benefits my clients, those that attend my courses, and myself.

Let me go through the program and highlight a few things I learned.

Module #1 – Introduction to Functional Stability (Length – 52:26)

This is where they explain their concept of core training.  They explain it is based on numerous disciplines.

Mike started explaining what FST is and how it is based on four components:

• motor control
• proprioception
• dynamic stabilization
• neuromuscular control

Few highlights from this module:

• reverse posturing is a big thing we need to focus in on with our clients
• isolation training has an important role in the process of rehab and performance
• how the hips might be the place to start with a lot of things we do as trainers, coaches and therapists
• muscle imbalances affect the core in a negative way and need to be addressed

Module #3 – Maintaining a Training Effect In Spite of Common Spine and Lower Extremity Injuries (Length – 1:00:48)

It was great they took the time to look at some stuff when it related to exercise and injuries:

This is great to stuff to see.  This module really focused on stuff that I love, which is injury and exercise stuff.  It is great to get the perspective of a strength coach and how he keeps getting training results, even if clients are injured.

Eric shared his experience working with 40 people that had spondylolysis.  He classified it as the new ACL epidemic in the sports performance world.

Eric went off on a tangent and commented on how many of the injuries that professional athletes have could be the result of what they did between 10 to 15 years of age.  The focus on competition and less on training, plus the early specialization of sports, has changed how people have developed.

Eric also talked in detail about disc herniations, hockey hips, sports hernias, and exercise considerations.  He also touched on anterior femoroacetabular impingement, anterior hip pain, femoral anterior glide syndrome, anterior knee pain, and ankle issues.

A few things that stood out:

• look at the mechanism of injury and consider that when it comes to the exercise program

Module #6 – Performance Progression Lab & Advanced Stability Lab: Training Outside of Sagittal Plane (Time 56:20)

It was great having Mike go through bridges, bird dogs, side planks, and kneeling rotation exercises.  Hearing his cuing and seeing his progressions are things that I will use with my clients.

Mike focused on lower body and then Eric came in and started talking about upper body exercises.  Eric started with serratus anterior and lower trapezius work.  Then Eric went into his med ball stuff.  This was great.  A lot of stuff that I have never seen before, but what was more important than just the exercises was his program design.  I typed out 14 pages of notes full of little photos like this:

Enough of my little stills. Here is a clip from Eric, talking about med training he does with his athletes:

Other Things that I Like about FST:

• I never get tired of listening to the Boston accent.  When I read Eric and Mike’s blogs, I make sure I read it in my mind with a Boston accent.  It make it more interesting and easier to remember the material.
• I get a chuckle when coaches bring out their khakis for the camera.  Mike and Eric, did the same.  Nice.
• It is always great to get new cuing for exercises and exercise progressions.
• The little story that Eric shared about rubber and why there were so many faulty med-balls last year was very cool.
• It was interesting to hear why Cressey does not spend much time on Olympic lifts with his athletes and spends more time doing medicine ball work.

>>> CLICK HERE to Check Out Functional Stability Training <<<

Okay, let me be honest.  I have only gone through 3 of the 6 modules but I am very very happy so far.  I have learned a number of exercises, got some great cuing tips, a bunch of progressions, was reminded of a bunch of stuff, and learned a stack of new stuff.

I will watch the rest next weekend as I have a long flight to Detroit and then off to Windsor to present.  Take care.

Okay, that’s it, have a great day.

Rick Kaselj, MS

You know my thing is injuries so I wanted to chat with someone on Training Mistakes that Lead to Injuries.

Eric Cressey agreed to share some amazing info with you on the topic.

Take it away, Eric.

(To listen to the interview, scroll down to the bottom of this page and click the play button.  If you do not have time to listen to it right now, just click the “download” button and download it to your computer. Enjoy!)

In the interview, Eric shares with you:

• Common training mistakes that lead to injuries and derail clients from reaching their goals
• What to do about injuries when it relates to training
• What the real question is that you should ask when it relates to an injury
• Two categories of injured clients
• Highlights the worst thing you can do for an injury
• How to get an athlete or client back to activity or sport, fast
• What effect nutrition and environment have on injuries and injury recovery
• Importance of muscle imbalances when it relates to injury, rehabilitation, training and performance
• Who Eric Cressey is
• How to get an inside look into the programing design at Cressey Performance
• Why he created the Show and Go program
• Highlights of Show and Go review program
• How Show and Go can be a great resource for health and fitness professionals

I want to let you know something about the interview.

You will hear Eric cut in and out.

We did the interview last Friday night.  He was heading out of town to see a boxing client who was having a match that night.

He was sitting in the passenger seat car while we were doing the interview and the reception was sometimes strong and sometimes weak during the call.

He is a trooper and stuck through the full interview in order to give you some great info.

Just a reminder, you will be hearing a lot about Eric’s Show and Go program this week.  Before you get it, make sure to take a look at my review of the program and how it will help you.

You can check out my Show and Go Review, here.

Plus, if you order the program through me, I will throw in a 90 Foam Rolling presentation that I did a few months back.

That is it.

I was looking and this was my 36th interview.

Very cool!

If you have an idea for an interview or someone I should interview, please do email me.

Take care and we will talk to you soon.

Rick Kaselj, MS

Training Mistakes that Lead to Injuries with Eric Cressey [ 17:19 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I was trying to think about what to write about today.

At first I did not know what to write, but as I reflected on the week before the ideas started coming in.

Last Weekend with Mike Robertson

The feedback from last weekend has been incredible.

My and Mike’s Facebook pages were plastered with all kinds of kind words from people that attended.

I do enjoy bringing the best to Vancouver to help trainers, coaches, and therapists learn from the best.

Mike Robertson is one of the best.

If you missed out on last weekend, here is a clip from it:

The Next Big Name

After hosting Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson for 2010, people have been asking about who I am going to bring next.

It is Justin Price.

He will be coming to Vancouver in March 2011.

Even Mike Robertson Had a Good Time in Vancouver

Since I know how it is to be a presenter and host courses, I do all I can to make it easy for people that I host to present fitness education courses.

I did the best I could with Mike as well, and it sounds like it turned out well.

Mike did a very kind review of his weekend teaching in Vancouver, CLICK HERE to read it.

So Many Thank You’s

I think my family are the only ones that know how much time I put into blogging, doing videos, and Facebook.

It is great to hear that it is helping people.

Please do keep letting me know what you would like me to write on and help with.

More Kind Words

With the end of the year coming, I have been marking Muscle Imbalances Revealed exams like crazy.

Trainers, coaches, and therapists have been trying to get in their CECs and CEUs before the end of the year.

This is what a few people have said about Muscle Imbalances Revealed:

“Great review about the lower extremity from many perspectives and how it all ties together.  It was great to learn different assessment and treatment techniques to use.”

Martha Andrews, PT, MA, MPT, CSCS, CPT

Physical therapist, exercise physiologist, Personal Trainer

Lansing, MI, USA

“I will use Muscle Imbalances Revealed to rehabilitate my clients to full functional capacity.  MIR has helped me look at the causes and not the symptoms, a holistic approach.”

Christina Holmes

Practicing Kinesiologist

Surrey, BC, Canada

I think that is it for this week.

Until next week.

Have a great weekend getting ready for Christmas.

Take care.

Rick Kaselj, MS

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A few weeks back, I got an advance copy of Eric Cressey‘s Show and Go Training Manual. I have been reading Eric’s stuff for years and even brought him up to Vancouver, Canada to do a 14 hour course/seminar. Eric’s program is called Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look, Feel and Move Better.

Here is the Full Show & Go System

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Today I got a great video for you.

7 Exercises to Help You Improve Your Squat

Rick Kaselj, MS

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It has been a long time since I have not wanted the day to end in a course.

On day 1, when it hit the end of the day, I didn’t want the day to end.  It did and I had to wait for day 2.

I was very excited for day 2 to start up.

After lunch, it was into his masters work.  He talked about unstable training.  He told us the truth when it comes to using all that balance equipment.  He re-enforced that performing balance training in the rehabilitation client is very important.  Outside of the rehabilitation client, the benefits of           balance training are questionable.  There maybe more benefit for upper body compared to the lower body, when working fit and performance clients.  Some exercises he suggested were performing unilateral exercises that change the center of gravity (direction and location).

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What a day one of the Nuts and Bolts of Corrective Exercise course with Eric Cressey!  (I know some of you call it a seminar.)

I was so excited about the course that I was up at 4:30 am!

I could not wait to get to the course.  When I got there, Eric did not disappoint.

He started the day off with a lecture on “Inefficiency versus Pathology”.

He had all kinds of research studies backing all the stuff he was talking about plus tonnes of in the trenches tips.

Since I am a shoulder guy, I liked what he had to say about the 12 Shoulder Health Factors.  The factor that stood out for me was breathing patterns.  Faulty breathing patterns can have an influence on the shoulder.  I never really though about it and have not heard it be brought up in a course before.  I am going to use this tip on Monday with my clients.

In the second lecture, Eric chatted about Joint-Specific Mobility and Stability.

This stuff is very cool.

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The Nuts and Bolts of Corrective Exercise Seminar with Eric Cressey

Here is a quick video of Eric Cressey from the seminar:

This will be the fifth time that the I have hosted the Fitness & Rehab Conference.  It is amazing to think that it has made it to the big 5.  With it being the fifth, I wanted to make it bigger than any of the others so I went out looking for a big name to match the event.

I am so excited to announce Eric Cressey as the headliner of the 2010 Fitness & Rehab Conference.

I didn’t want him just to come all the way from Boston to talk for 90 and leave.  If he is he, I wanted him to talk for 14 hours so we all can have all of our questions answered by Eric and learn all we can from him.

CLICK HERE to Download a Flyer of this Course

Description of the Course:

In this two-day course, Eric Cressey will provide a comprehensive overview of his approach to corrective exercise.  Over the 14 hours of learning, Cressey will present and you will get a chance to practice his unique initial assessment protocol and extensive corrective exercise strategies.  He will share his secrets on how he creates training programs aimed at maintaining a training effect and helping his clients reach their goals in spite of injuries.  An emphasis will be placed on practical application and hands-on learning which can be immediately applied to healthy, injured and athlete populations.

Interview with Eric Cressey on what you will learn at the course – Part 1

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Today, Eric Cressey has a guest blog post for you.

I am so excited about the blog post and Eric’s upcoming course at the Fitness & Rehab Conference on March 27 & 28 in Vancouver.  I have Eric presenting the whole weekend on corrective exercise for rehabilitation and performance.

Now lets get to the blog post.

One of the most common issues we see in both athletes and our general population clients is a lack of ankle mobility – and more specifically, dorsiflexion range-of-motion.

For just about everything in life – from sprinting, to lunging, to squatting – we need a certain amount of dorsiflexion (think of how far the knees can go over the toes, or the positive shin angle one can create without lifting the heel).  If we don’t have it, we have to compensate.

One of the most common things we see in people with a lack of dorsiflexion ROM is an “out-toeing,” as this opens up the ankle and allows for them to get to where they need to be – even if it isn’t the most biomechanically correct way to do so.  This out-toeing may also be caused by hip internal rotation deficit (HIRD), so it’s important to assess both.  Check out this video for more information on how to assess for HIRD.

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I am on my way to Seattle to present at the NSCA Washington State Fall Clinic.  Before I headed off, I wanted to let you know who will coming to Vancouver next year.

This will be the fifth time that the I have hosted the Fitness & Rehab Conference.  It is amazing to think that it has made it to the big 5.  With it being the fifth, I wanted to make it bigger than any of the other so I went out looking for a big name to match the event.

I am so excited to announce Eric Cressey as the headliner of the 2010 Fitness & Rehab Conference.

I have been reading Eric’s work for years and it is great to have him come up to Vancouver, BC, Canada and share his knowledge on corrective exercise.

I know some of you maybe saying, “who?”  Trust me, he is one of the leaders in the fitness industry when it comes to corrective exercise.

Now that you know who is coming to the 2010 fitness & rehab, this is what you need to do.

#1 – First Thing To Do

Go to your calendar and block off March 27 & 28, 2010.  I have given you all almost 5 months notice about this amazing conference.  Block it off and book they days off work.

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