Show and Go: Eric Cressey Interview

I've had the opportunity to interview Eric Cressey, creator of the Show and Go Training Program.  Check it out:

Eric, first of all, why don't you introduce yourself to my readers. Don't be humble--I want them to know your accomplishments: who you've trained, your own athletic achievements, etc.

Okay, well in that case, here’s a modified bio!

I am the president and co-founder of Cressey Performance, a facility located just west of Boston, MA. At “CP,” I see healthy and injured athletes and regular weekend warriors alike. We’ve got athletes from all levels - from youth sports to the professional and Olympic ranks - in a variety of sports. I’m probably best known for my work with baseball players, though, as we have over 40 professional baseball guys who travel to our facility each off-season from all over the country to train with us.

I received my Master’s Degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science through the University of Connecticut Department of Kinesiology, the #1 ranked kinesiology graduate program in the nation. At UCONN, I was involved in varsity strength and conditioning and research in the human performance laboratory. Prior to that, I graduated from the University of New England with a double major in Exercise Science and Sports and Fitness Management. I’m a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

I’ve written several books, hundreds of articles, and co-created multiple DVD sets. I’ve also been published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, and lectured nationally and internationally on all sorts of topics related to fitness, athletic performance, and corrective exercise.

Eric Knows Something About Lifting

As a competitive powerlifter, I’ve still got state, national, and world records – even though I’m semi-retired from competition. My competition bests were 540-pound squat, 402-pound bench, 650-pound deadlift, and 1532 total in the 165-pound weight class – although I now “live” around 190-195 pounds.

My writing and work with clients have been featured in such local and national publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, ESPN, T-Muscle, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, Baseball America, The Worcester Telegram, Perform Better, Oxygen, Experience Life, Triathlete Magazine, Collegiate Baseball, Active.com, The Metrowest Daily News, Parents and Kids, and EliteFTS.


Why did you create the Show and Go program?

In the marketing world, it’s been said that if you try to be appeal to everybody, you wind up appealing to nobody. It’s a valuable message, as very few products are truly universal – and even if they were, not even large companies have the marketing budgets to make reaching everybody cost-effective.

And, when I started creating this product, I had that message in mind: you can’t be everything to everybody.

Here’s the problem: there are a lot of things in a comprehensive strength and conditioning program that everybody needs to utilize. From the minutia to the big picture, I could go on all day: foam rolling, mobility warm-ups, single-leg training, more horizontal pulling, fluctuation of training stress, sufficient deloading periods, extra posterior chain work, a balance of open- and closed-chain upper body pressing, glute activation, rotator cuff strength – the list goes on and on.

Wait a second…aren’t fat loss programs supposed to be entirely different from mass-building programs? And aren’t powerlifting programs supposed to be a stark contrast from those followed by endurance athletes? Yes…sort of.

If we are talking about the meat and potatoes differences, the big disparities really come down to the supplemental energy systems development/cardiovascular conditioning, supplemental plyometric training, and the total volume in the program – and what you eat. In other words, the “constants” I outline two paragraphs ago – pretty much everything that’s done in the gym – really do hold true for all these populations, whether they’re trying to get huge, look good in a bikini, dunk a basketball, bench press 400, or knock ten minutes off their best 10K time. So, that’s what I considered when I created a product that – with a few easy-to-apply modifications – could give people the Show and the Go.

How do you think Show and Go stands out among other strength training and/or bodybuilding programs?

This product is crazy versatile. It consists of four 4-week phases, and it offers five different supplemental options to accommodate the fat loss people, the get bigger/stronger folks, and the competitive athletes in the crowd. It’s got 2x/week, 3x/week, and 4x/week training options to work with the schedules and competing demands (or lack thereof) in these different populations. Plus, there is an entire chapter devoted to exercise modifications to help trainees work around equipment limitations (e.g., training at home with certain equipment) and mobility shortcomings. And, there is an online video database of the more than 175 exercises featured in the program so that you can not only learn the technique for each exercise, but also quickly and easily find substitutions for exercises that might not work for you. Many who have purchased the program thus far have said that this video library alone is worth well more than the price of the resource in its entirety.

There are also foam rolling protocols and full mobility warm-ups for each one of the four week phase. Most programs completely neglect these crucial areas – but Show and Go really emphasizes their importance.

In short, this is a “modifiable” resource, not just a static book. You’re keeping the meat and potatoes, but changing the portion sizes, the side salad, and how frequently you eat them.

Is Show and Go for beginners or intermediate/advanced lifters?

It is certainly geared more toward those with some resistance training under their belt, but that’s not to say that a beginner wouldn’t be able to apply this with great success if he/she simply is conservative with weight selection and really focused on perfect technique. I put several beginners through the program with great results, and we also had “guinea pigs” who used this program to get their bench presses up over 300 pounds and squats and deadlifts up over 500 pounds. So, it has some merit across the board.

One guarantee that I’ll make is that everyone – even those utilizing this for fat loss – will get stronger along the way, and that’s going to carry over to athletics for sure. That said, the exercise selections definitely have an “athletic flavor” to them, and by selecting the appropriate supplemental conditioning option, you’ll get even more carryover to athletic performance and the real world.

I'm sure you've seen a lot of guys training. What are some of the biggest mistakes the average trainee makes?

There are a ton, but the biggest mistake that I see is that folks think that if something works, it’ll work forever.
Here’s an example…

Beginners can make strength gains on as little as 40% of their one-rep max. Past that initial period, the number moves to 70% - which is roughly a 12-rep max for most folks. Later, I’d say that the number creeps up to about 85% - which would be about a 5-rep max for an intermediate lifter. This last range is where you’ll find most people who head to the internet for strength training information.

What they don’t realize is that 85% isn’t going to get the job done for very long, either. My experience is that in advanced lifters, the fastest way to build strength is to perform singles (sets of one rep) at or above 90% of one-rep max with regularity. As long as exercises are rotated and deloading periods are included, this is a strategy that can be employed for an extended period of time. In fact, it was probably the single (no pun intended) most valuable discovery I made in my quest to get stronger.

I’m not saying that you should be attempting one-rep maxes each time you enter the gym, but I do think they’ll “just happen” if you employ this technique.

Like I said, there are a lot more – but the program takes all the guesswork out and includes them.

What can a typical trainee expect if he/she tries your program?

They can expect to look, feel, and move a lot better – and be able to lift some much heavier weights in the gym. And, in the process, you’ll learn a lot of new exercises and training techniques that they’ll be able to carry forward to the rest of their training career.

We test-drove this program on a lot of people before releasing it, and the feedback was outstanding.

Anything else you would like to add?

Yes; accompanying the product are some pretty sweet bonuses:

1. Five Fantastic Finishers, by Tony Gentilcore – Tony pulled together some crazy innovative add-ons for the end of training sessions to keep things interesting.

2. The Top Five Glute Exercises, by Bret Contreras – Bret offers some forward-thinking lower-body exercises in light of some detailed research he’s done.

3. Innovative Soft Tissue Strategies for Health and Performance, by Chris Howard – Chris is the massage therapist at Cressey Performance, and in this write-up (which is accompanied by several videos) he details some new strategies you can use for self-myofascial release (in addition to the foam rolling techniques I teach you in the main manual).

Show and Grow Bonus Material

4. The Show and Go Quick Exercise Reference Guide, by Eric Cressey – As I noted, this is a collection of links that go directly to every exercise in the program so that people can quickly refer to it when they’re at the gym and using an iPhone or Blackberry to get an exercise technique refresher.

5. 2x/week Show and Go Training Programs, by Eric Cressey – This is available for all four phases, and these are perfect for in-season athletes and endurance athletes.

The product will is available at an introductory $50 discount off the normal retail price through Friday, September 24th at midnight only. So, you’ll want to get in on the action sooner than later.

Thanks for having me, Kevin!

Thanks so much for your time, Eric.  Just CLICK HERE if you want to check out the Show and Go program.