You must have been living under a rock for the last 8 years if you’re involved in any way in the fitness industry and have never heard of Eric Cressey.  Eric is one of the smartest minds in the business, he has been a huge mentor for me for the last 6+ years, and he is just a great person that will go out of his way to help people.  I must say that I owe him a lot and if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be where I am today- literally; he got me an internship in 2007, and put me in touch with Kevin Neeld, who ended up hiring me for the job I have today!

Eric was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to participate to my rapid fire series which, you’ll see, turned out to be more than one-line answers for most questions!

Here we go:

What does your current training look like?

I generally lift four times per week, with two sessions being lower-body and two sessions being upper-body.  I’ll usually do some sprint work or some kind of conditioning (been rowing more lately) on two other days per week, and have one complete day of rest.

What’s your favorite song to lift heavy things to?

I’ve always been a big Linkin Park guy, so any of their stuff is good.  Honestly, though, I have heard so much music in my time in gyms that I’m just about desensitized to it by now!

Was it Linkin Park playing in the background?

What would be your best advice to an up-and-coming strength coach who wants to make it in this business?

Find mentors.  You need people to not only educate you on how to assess, program, and coach, but also how to approach your professional goals and development.  I’ve been very fortunate to have a few people take me under their wings over the years, and wouldn’t be where I am without them.

What’s your passion, or second passion in life after health and fitness?

Well, I’d say that health/fitness obviously comes after family.  So, that aside, I’d say that I am very fortunate that my profession and my passions are closely related, as I am a huge baseball fan and train a ton of baseball players.

Who are your 3 most influential mentors?

Alwyn Cosgrove was a tremendous mentor for me on the business side of things.  I think Alwyn recognized that I was an effective technique with entrepreneurial thoughts, but realized that I didn’t know how to be a manager or manage effective systems yet.  He was extremely influential in guiding me as we opened Cressey Performance.

What’s the biggest mistake you see athletes who want to make it to the next level make?

They assume it is going to be easy, and talk more than they work.  I actually wrote a blog post about it HERE. Sadly, we have a generation of athletes who really don’t know how hard it is to actually make it to that next level.

What’s you favorite supplement?

I’m a fan of Athletic Greens.  I think it’s a great “catch-all” supplement for those who have gaps in their diets.  Of course, fish oil and vitamin D are essentials, too.

What’s the most overrated exercise?

I can think of loads of often injurious exercises – upright rows and flyes, for instance – but I don’t know that we can really say that something is “overrated” for EVERYONE.  It’s really just a matter of individual needs.

What’s the most underrated exercise?

I might actually say sled work.  You can push/drag it, pull it, side step with it, and row with it. You can use it to get strong or to get conditioned. And, there is very little eccentric stress, so it doesn’t make people sore – which makes it a good in-season training option.

What book are you currently reading?

I usually have a few books going at any given time – usually one training and one business.  My training one is actually more of a sports psychology book, called “The Mental ABCs of Pitching.” It’s a very popular book in the pitching community and one that I should have read quite some time ago, as it’ll help me learn more about what our athletes go through on the mound and how they need to respond to it. In the car, the Steve Jobs biography is in the CD player.

Eric, thank you so much for your time!

If you want more info on Eric, check out his website HERE.  And if you’re interested in his latest product Functional Stability Training for the Core, check it out HERE; it’s a pretty cool product to learn more about REAL effective core training!

…..Aaaaand lastly don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter.  Just enter your info below, it’s FREE, and you’ll receive my 3 reports on speed training, soft-tissue work and injury prevention for the shoulders!

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