Fast forward 28 days (because Bill needed to wait for his sore hamstring to calm down) to the second step along Bill’s rise to greatness.  The setting: Hudson High School track…The competitors:  THE Bill Whitney, CP Vice President Pete Dupuis*, and Middlebury College Baseball Player Grant Nishioka…

Here’s a taste of some pre-race interviews:

Once Bill had completed his foam rolling on the side of the track, a full dynamic warm-up, a brief bathroom break, the brutal sacrifice of an innocent goat, and a handful of starts/side-shuffles, it was go-time.  This time around, the race was shortened to 60 yards to accommodate three athletes who really have no business sprinting 100% for any other reason than running like a bear is chasing them.

As you can see in real-time, the race came down to a photo finish…

Since freeze-frames don’t lie, you can see that the VP took the victory by roughly the length of a toenail.  Bill came through the finish just a fraction of a second behind, with Grant (a 19 year old collegiate athlete, mind you) taking up the rear.  However, Grant does earn bonus points for slamming his headband on the ground in disgust and eventually going all Bobby Knight on an innocent hurdle at the conclusion of the video.

* The lesson to take away from this result is that it is ALWAYS a good decision to squat, deadlift, push the prowler on the low-setting, and then consume 20oz of chocolate milk immediately prior to any footrace.  ALWAYS.

Newton’s Travis Dean weighs options as Yankees’ pitching draftee

Landers rehabbing repaired shoulder

So, the young man who previously lived in Blue Jays gear has traded up to a Tomahawk.  Tim was part of a 5-player deal which will ultimately send him to Atlanta’s Double-A affiliate, the Mississippi Braves of the Southern League.  Be sure to read the ARTICLE outlining the details of the trade and watch the interview with Tim from yesterday afternoon where he sets a new record for the most times saying “you know” in a 4:27 span.

Or, on a more flattering note, JP Ricciardi had some high praise for Tim on Sportscenter shortly when asked about the trade.

Congratulations, Tim.

Thank you to the 22 interns who’ve helped to create an unparalleled training environment.  Some of you were here before we discovered the entertainment value of watching interns compete for the best time in our “Intern Death Circuit”, while others were not so lucky…

Whether you were forced to coach in a ridiculous Halloween Costume, or clean up vomit after a new client learned the consequences of pushing the sled on a sticky day in the gym, you all brought a good attitude that our clients have appreciated each and every day.  CP wouldn’t be what it is now without your help.

More specifically, thanks to: Kyle Arsenault, Matt Cooney, Danielle DelPonte, Phil Gauthier, Wendy Hering, Chris Howard, Sean Lacey, Eric Lagoy, Sam Lahey, Kevin Larrabbee, Henry Lau, Roger Lawson, Ben Markle, Leon Mullaley, Alex Nash, Kevin Neeld, Matt Nickerson, Chris Pothier, Brian Reddy, Mike Roncarati, Connor Ryan, and last but not least, Brian St. Pierre.

Thank you to Lincoln-Sudbury Regional HS head baseball coach Kirk Fredericks and the first few LS athletes and parents who took a chance on the “new guy in town.”  Without your appreciation for the value of strength training for your young athletes, CP may never have stumbled upon the ever-evolving niche of baseball strength & conditioning.

Thank you to the significant others of our CP staff members.  You’ve always been understanding of the excessive hours and 6-day workweeks and we can’t emphasize our appreciation enough.

Thank you to the inventor of the HD Flip Cam.  Without this device, I never would have been able to relive many of the preposterous antics that have taken place within the confines of CP…

Thank you Brian St. Pierre for all that you did for CP.  You set a high standard for professionalism and attention to detail during your 2+ years on staff and you can be sure it did not go unnoticed. Plus, you sold the crap out of the CP Microfleece…

Most importantly, thank you to all of our clients from the past three years.  We’ve had the pleasure of seeing over a thousand different faces come through our doors over the past 36 months and your support, feedback, and commitment to training hard makes it fun for us to come to work every day.

There are obviously many individuals I failed to mention here, and I apologize for that.  I just want to make sure you know that we appreciate all of the support and are excited about the future of CP.

Again, THANKS!

“The term genius is thrown around far too loosely in every field. But to say that Eric Cressey and Tony Gentilcore are geniuses of the strength training and performance enhancement game is anunderstatement. I’m proof that their programming and philosophy are magical.

Before discovering Eric and CP, I was a 30-something desk jockey whose main concern was being lean while developing bigger arms and a solid chest. High reps and medium weights, however, were getting me nowhere. But after spending an entire weekend reading Eric’s articles on tmuscle.com, I saw the light with his philosophy: Get strong first, and all of my other goals will fall into place.

It made perfect sense. I knew then that Eric was the guy I wanted to design my program.

The two days I spent at CP forever opened my eyes. I learned to stop working out and start training, realized what true intensity meant, and the staff helped me shore up (more like overhaul) the technique on all of my major lifts.

I arrived at CP a 6’5”, 204-pound weakling with a ton of structural issues; I left  knowledgeable and confident that I could reach my goals, thanks in part to Eric’s “focus on what people can do, not what they can’t do” approach.

In the few short months since that initial visit, I’ve been blown away by the progress that Eric’s programming has provided. My deadlift and squat are up over 100 pounds, my max-rep pull-ups have gone from zero to eight and my bench is up 33 percent. (See? Magic!)

Most important, however, my posture is no longer Neanderthalish, I’m stronger, faster and leaner than I’ve ever been, and trainers ask me who designs my workout. Not to mention, I feel healthier overall and have the added mobility and stability as proof.

Before CP, I’ve never considered being an online client. But these guys are prompt in answering my questions—and there are many — consistent in providing feedback, including positive reinforcement, and are incredibly easy to work with and fun.

I’ve spent hundreds of hours reading various coaches’ training philosophies and programming — and have even tried several well-known programs over the last year — but none gave me the results that Eric’s has provided.

When friends ask how happy I am with my “personal trainer,” I say two things: (a) What Eric and Tony do is more “life changing” than training and (b) CP is the only facility on earth that I would trust to create my programming.”

Ronell Smith
Orlando, FL

Reason #1

STRENGTH: This is an obvious reason but deserves to be at the top of the list.  You WILL get stronger here than at any other gym. Every exercise is what I would call cutting-edge since Eric and the rest of the CP strength coaches are constantly in contact with coaches from around the country discussing new research, trends, and training philosophies that have proven to be most effective. The CP staff regularly attends strength & conditioning conferences as part of their commitment to continuing education.

Lastly, the strength gains I’ve achieved have been most impressive.  I’m amazed by how much stronger and better I’ve felt since beginning my training regimen.  In just three months at CP, I put on 18 pounds of good weight and all my lifts increased dramatically.  In short, if you stick with the CP program, you will see incredible results.

Our first, and arguably most painful endeavor as a team was the CP 16×16 sled relay. This event involved 16 individual pushes (4 trips for each team member) for a distance of 16 yards as fast as possible. We pushed a drive sled loaded with 180lbs of weight on rubber flooring. Since completing this relay in early March of ‘09, a number of different four-man teams comprised of clients, interns, or a combination of the two have attempted to best our time. Unfortunately for them, our record of 4:31 continues to reign supreme.

We decided to revisit the four-man relay concept this past Saturday during the staff training hour.  Instead of pushing a sled, we chose to do farmer’s walks.  The format was similar: 4 trips for each team member, 45-yards of turf to work with, 200lbs of weight in each hand.  Hooray for callouses!

This time around, Eric and I were joined by a couple of CP regulars for the punishing activity.  Please note Tony casually completing his foam rolling in the background while we suffered.  While I’m at it, I should just go ahead and address the fact that I’ve completely failed to respect the “T” portion of the lifestyle my tee shirt insinuates I lead…I guess the season for that sort of thing is still young.

1. Farmer’s Walk: 90lbs on each bar – 1-trip down the turf and back (90 yards)
2. Front squat: 115lbs x 20
3. Prowler Sled Drag: 140lbs on the sled x 32 yards of pulling
4. Tire Flip x 12
5. Pushups x 30
6. Slideboard x 50-touches side-to-side
7. Lay on the turf complaining that the sled-drag shouldn’t have immediately followed the front squats

All three interns performed valiantly and posted respectable times. When all was said and done, Sam Leahey walked away with the title of CP Intern Death Circuit Champion for the 2010 Winter Internship, posting a time of 5:13. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any epic fails making for material as entertaining as the Roger Lawson Experience but I’ve posted all three videos in case anyone feels like picking apart their pushup form, depth on front squats, etc…

The Winner:

First Runner-Up

Second Runner-Up