Shoulder pain while pushing and pressing?  Often times our adult clients (and sometimes athletes) present with shoulder pain going overhead.  Many times this is simply because they lack adequte flexion to perform movements like overhead pressing and chin-ups.  A simple fix? The Landmine Press and the X-Pulldown.  The Landmine Press and X-Pulldown are great variations … Continue reading Cranky Shoulders?

The Push:Pull is one of my favorite anti-rotation exercises, one that you don’t see a ton of people using in their training or with their clients. Teaching and training the core muscles to stabilize is a key to our training, and the Tall Kneel Push:Pull does just that. A lot of people would look at … Continue reading The Best Anti-Rotation You Aren’t Doing?

Happy Monday! Like every other Monday, here are a few thoughts bouncing around in my head after a week of reading, podcasts, cruising social media and any other continuing ed. Enjoy! Athletes train to be better AND available on game day.At some point, more and more strength isn’t going to help an athlete be any … Continue reading Monday Musings

Happy Sunday! Just like every other Sunday, we have another group of podcasts and articles to read and listen to that I have dived into. Like every other week, there was a ton of content out there both in written form and through podcasts. Before we get to the weekly content, I wanted to remind … Continue reading S&C Week in Review: 1/17

As I’ve said before, the Push Up is a completely under-utilized movement in most strength programs. I think it’s thought of this way because coaches/trainees don’t think it can be progressed much and/or you can’t get strong with the movement, which I’d disagree with. Loading the movement with plates and chains is not only a … Continue reading Push Ups Underrated?

I love Olympic lifts. We use them all the time with our athletes, no matter the sport. But I am also not naive enough to think that all athletes NEED to perform/learn them or that there aren’t alternatives that can result in many of the same benefits.  Which is why you will see a variety … Continue reading More Than Just Olympic Lifts?

Curious as to what a day of the Athlete Train With Craig program looks like❓ Here you go‼️ This example is the current Day 2 of the December program. A1: 1-Leg Box Jump to 2-Leg Landing A2: Tall Kneel Overhead Throw A3: 1/2 Kneel Shot Put B1: 1-Kettlebell Jump Squat B2: Bear Position Plank C1: … Continue reading Train With Craig Athlete Program Example

Every athlete, regardless of sport, should be performing sled work. It could be Marches for hip extension strength. It could be sprints for speed development. It could be crossovers for frontal plane strength and groin health work. It could be drags to work the quads. Or, it could be continuous work for conditioning. Lots to … Continue reading Sleds With All Athletes?

The Copenhagen Side Plank is a great side plank variation that has the added benefit of helping to strengthen the groin muscles. In our Copenhagen Side Plank progression, we typically start with a Short Level Copenhagen Side Plank, then progress to a Long Level Copenhagen Side Plank, and then go to a Copenhagen Side Plank … Continue reading Copenhagen Side Plank with Hip Flexion

Happy Monday! Like every other Monday, here are a few thoughts bouncing around in my head after a week of reading, podcasts, cruising social media and any other continuing ed. Enjoy! Exercise is just like medicine. We want to find the minimal effective dose that will allow for the maximal benefit.Coaching hack: make the weight … Continue reading Monday Musings