Our next contributor to the Essential Reading List is Eric Cressey. Many of you may know Eric, as I have referenced his works and website several times. I met Eric last year at a conference and was impressed with his knowledge and passion about strength and conditioning. He recently spoke at my MGH Sports Medicine meeting and did an outstanding job. Eric runs a training center, Cressey Performance, outside of Boston and has an amazing website and blog.
Eric offers another perspective on our essential reading list, but you can start to see the overlap between the disciplines of physical therapy, athletic training, strength and conditioning, and fitness. There is certainly some overlap, but that was my goal – to see what a group of experts would recommend and what books would be great across disciplines! Below is Eric’s list with his own comments, he provides a lot of insight into his selections. Thanks Eric!
Eric Cressey’s Essential Reading List
I suspect that my list will be somewhat similar, and somewhat different in comparison to the other contributors to this series, as I’m a strength and conditioning coach. That said, we do borrow a ton from the physical therapy and athletic training realms, but have to integrate it with our strength and conditioning and nutrition backgrounds.
1. Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes (Sahrmann) – I love Sahrmann’s work because she really makes folks think about movement inefficiencies and not just what the MRI or x-ray says. This book probably influenced my overall thought process more than any other that I’ve read, and is quite possibly the most comprehensive resource available for spotting musculoskeletal dysfunction.
2. Muscles: Testing and Function with Posture and Pain, 5th Ed. (Kendall) – This is just a true classic that everyone needs to own – whether you’re working with healthy or injured people (or both). It is one of those books that I continually refer back to when my brain gets rolling and I want to confirm or refute an idea I have.
3. Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance (McGill) - With the prevalence of lower back problems in the general population, all of Dr. McGill’s works are must-reads. I tend to favor this one over Low Back Disorders because it’s updated more frequently (third edition, now), and places a big emphasis on prevention and not just treatment.
4. Essentials of Strength and Conditioning (Baechle & Earle)– This one pretty much has to be included simply because it’s the resource our industry uses as the study guide for its “gold standard” certification (CSCS). I completely refute a lot of it (particularly the nutrition and periodization stuff, which are grossly outdated, conservative, and lacking in real-world efficacy), but appreciate the fact that it is the minimum someone needs to learn before they even think about train athletes.
5.Strength and Power in Sport: The Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine (Komi) - An incredibly thorough textbook with some excellent contributors. If the Essentials book from above is basic math for strength coaches, this is algebra.
6. Supertraining (Siff) - A true classic from the late Dr. Mel Siff. While it isn’t a book that says “do this,” it is a resource that will make you think about all the competing demands athletes face, and how you’d rationalize what you program for them. I almost feel that up and coming strength coaches should read this simply as a way to honor the man who was probably the most brilliant mind strength and conditioning has ever seen.
7. Physical Therapy of the Shoulder (Donatelli) – I took a big interest in the shoulder early on in my career, and following its recommendation by a physical therapist friend of mine, this book really helped get the ball rolling with this specialization. It also serves as a great, more “general” lead-in to those of you who plan to read The Athlete’s Shoulder.
8. Precision Nutrition (Berardi) - If someone had asked me to make nutrition resource recommendations around 2004, I’d probably have listed a dozen or more resources. However, John Berardi came out with Precision Nutrition and literally changed the entire nutrition world with the most comprehensive set of resources for which one could ever hope. It’s actually a collection of DVDs, books, audio CDs, and tech support with a huge focus on individualized nutrition.
9. Anatomy Trains (Myers) – We all spent a lot of time in school learning all about muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments, and nerves, but nobody ever spent much time talking about how all these structures interact with the fascia system.
10. How to Win Friends and Influence People (Carnegie), Made to Stick (Heath), Never Eat Alone (Ferrazzi), Raving Fans (Blanchard) and all of Malcolm Gladell’s books – I bunched these all together because they follow a similar line of thought. Whether you’re a physical therapist, athletic trainer, strength and conditioning coach, or massage therapist, how you interact with your patients/athletes/clients is a huge determining factor in how good they perceive you to be. In fact, the research shows that rude/arrogant doctors are sued for malpractice more than those who are simply bad at what they do. In other words, you’re better off being stupid than you are being a jerk. Getting good with people is important, and these books definitely can help with that.
Honorable Mention:Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance (McArdle, Katch, & Katch), The Stress of Life (Selye), Basic Biomechanics (Hall), Bulletproof Knees (Robertson), Designing Strength Training Programs and Facilities (Boyle), Science and Practice of Strength Training (Zatsiorsky)
About Eric Cressey
Eric Cressey, MA, CSCS is the president and co-founder of Cressey Performance, a strength and conditioning facility in Hudson, MA. While Eric deals with a wide variety of athletes from youth sports to the professional and Olympic levels, he has gained the most notoriety for his work with baseball players.
Cressey received his Master’s Degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science through the University of Connecticut Department of Kinesiology. As an invited guest speaker, Eric has lectured in four countries and more than one dozen U.S. states. A world record-holding competitive powerlifter himself, Cressey has deadlifted 650 pounds at a body weight of 174. He publishes a weekly newsletter and daily blog at www.EricCressey.com.
Eric offers another perspective on our essential reading list, but you can start to see the overlap between the disciplines of physical therapy, athletic training, strength and conditioning, and fitness. There is certainly some overlap, but that was my goal – to see what a group of experts would recommend and what books would be great across disciplines! Below is Eric’s list with his own comments, he provides a lot of insight into his selections. Thanks Eric!
Eric Cressey’s Essential Reading List
I suspect that my list will be somewhat similar, and somewhat different in comparison to the other contributors to this series, as I’m a strength and conditioning coach. That said, we do borrow a ton from the physical therapy and athletic training realms, but have to integrate it with our strength and conditioning and nutrition backgrounds.
1. Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes (Sahrmann) – I love Sahrmann’s work because she really makes folks think about movement inefficiencies and not just what the MRI or x-ray says. This book probably influenced my overall thought process more than any other that I’ve read, and is quite possibly the most comprehensive resource available for spotting musculoskeletal dysfunction.
2. Muscles: Testing and Function with Posture and Pain, 5th Ed. (Kendall) – This is just a true classic that everyone needs to own – whether you’re working with healthy or injured people (or both). It is one of those books that I continually refer back to when my brain gets rolling and I want to confirm or refute an idea I have.
3. Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance (McGill) - With the prevalence of lower back problems in the general population, all of Dr. McGill’s works are must-reads. I tend to favor this one over Low Back Disorders because it’s updated more frequently (third edition, now), and places a big emphasis on prevention and not just treatment.
4. Essentials of Strength and Conditioning (Baechle & Earle)– This one pretty much has to be included simply because it’s the resource our industry uses as the study guide for its “gold standard” certification (CSCS). I completely refute a lot of it (particularly the nutrition and periodization stuff, which are grossly outdated, conservative, and lacking in real-world efficacy), but appreciate the fact that it is the minimum someone needs to learn before they even think about train athletes.
5.Strength and Power in Sport: The Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine (Komi) - An incredibly thorough textbook with some excellent contributors. If the Essentials book from above is basic math for strength coaches, this is algebra.
6. Supertraining (Siff) - A true classic from the late Dr. Mel Siff. While it isn’t a book that says “do this,” it is a resource that will make you think about all the competing demands athletes face, and how you’d rationalize what you program for them. I almost feel that up and coming strength coaches should read this simply as a way to honor the man who was probably the most brilliant mind strength and conditioning has ever seen.
7. Physical Therapy of the Shoulder (Donatelli) – I took a big interest in the shoulder early on in my career, and following its recommendation by a physical therapist friend of mine, this book really helped get the ball rolling with this specialization. It also serves as a great, more “general” lead-in to those of you who plan to read The Athlete’s Shoulder.
8. Precision Nutrition (Berardi) - If someone had asked me to make nutrition resource recommendations around 2004, I’d probably have listed a dozen or more resources. However, John Berardi came out with Precision Nutrition and literally changed the entire nutrition world with the most comprehensive set of resources for which one could ever hope. It’s actually a collection of DVDs, books, audio CDs, and tech support with a huge focus on individualized nutrition.
9. Anatomy Trains (Myers) – We all spent a lot of time in school learning all about muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments, and nerves, but nobody ever spent much time talking about how all these structures interact with the fascia system.
10. How to Win Friends and Influence People (Carnegie), Made to Stick (Heath), Never Eat Alone (Ferrazzi), Raving Fans (Blanchard) and all of Malcolm Gladell’s books – I bunched these all together because they follow a similar line of thought. Whether you’re a physical therapist, athletic trainer, strength and conditioning coach, or massage therapist, how you interact with your patients/athletes/clients is a huge determining factor in how good they perceive you to be. In fact, the research shows that rude/arrogant doctors are sued for malpractice more than those who are simply bad at what they do. In other words, you’re better off being stupid than you are being a jerk. Getting good with people is important, and these books definitely can help with that.
Honorable Mention:Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance (McArdle, Katch, & Katch), The Stress of Life (Selye), Basic Biomechanics (Hall), Bulletproof Knees (Robertson), Designing Strength Training Programs and Facilities (Boyle), Science and Practice of Strength Training (Zatsiorsky)
About Eric Cressey
Eric Cressey, MA, CSCS is the president and co-founder of Cressey Performance, a strength and conditioning facility in Hudson, MA. While Eric deals with a wide variety of athletes from youth sports to the professional and Olympic levels, he has gained the most notoriety for his work with baseball players.
Cressey received his Master’s Degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science through the University of Connecticut Department of Kinesiology. As an invited guest speaker, Eric has lectured in four countries and more than one dozen U.S. states. A world record-holding competitive powerlifter himself, Cressey has deadlifted 650 pounds at a body weight of 174. He publishes a weekly newsletter and daily blog at www.EricCressey.com.
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