tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67949697838036512272024-03-14T00:50:18.243-07:00BASEBALLCHIRO.COM This is the Official Web Blog of Chiropractic Intern and Former Professional Baseball Player Greg Shepard.Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-72569172116938024802015-07-19T12:30:00.000-07:002015-07-19T12:45:34.079-07:00Interest vs. Commitment <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been evaluating talent for over 18 years. It started when I began doing baseball lessons, then as a scout, now as an intern. The mechanics are not much different from looking at a persons swing or their health. Evaluating is a learned skill set. So I want to address interest verse commitment. I see people all the time that are <u>interested</u> in changing some aspect of their life. They want to loose weight or get a degree so they can get that job they want, or even meet a mate. Then I meet people who are <u>committed</u> to these things. There is a huge difference and unless you are paying attention you might miss them. Here is the real bottom line. Interested people will do what is convenient to obtain what they want. If things work around their schedules, friends, family, work, and activities they will continue to chase their dreams. When things start to get in the way of their lifestyle or situations get tough and they now are going out of their way or things are not convenient anymore they give up. Committed people are a different breed. They do whatever it takes to obtain their dreams and goals. Which means when things become inconvenient and they will they change their situation, adjust, adapt, and keep moving towards the prize. The problems are not the focus they are just obstacles and the goal is always in front of them. The "Do Whatever It Takes" or DWIT is a solution based thinking. I have been in Chiropractic College for the last three and a half years. I was Committed to this process from the beginning. I have failed classes, been set back a quarter, and even failed my last set of board exams. So? My eyes are still on the prize. I am a chiropractor. I have not finished school and I do not have that piece of paper in my hand but in my mind I am a chiropractor. I've seen the graduation ceremony so many times in my head that I know it has already happened. I hope that it really is as amazing as I have imagined. I could have quit a thousand times and in the first year I wasn't so sure I was smart enough or even if I had the qualifications to even be here. I'm in class with biochemist, biologist, athletic trainers, and some other fields that I wasn't even sure existed. So of the smartest and intelligent minds I had ever experienced. I was just a former professional baseball player and baseball instructor who had been a chiropractic patient for over 25 years and had been adjusting teammates using the moves that had been done to me without any formal training. The hardest thing was I have only seen my daughter a handful of times in the last three years. We talk and text but I really miss her presence. When I came to Palmer one of the reasons was because it was close to her. Then she moved away. Another inconvenience I have had to adjust too. I have had to create a budget and stick to it. Which means many weekends spent at home, rarely eating out unless someone offers to pay, walking places to save gas, planning how many miles I have to drive in a week and planing work around this. I wasn't able to afford all the cool seminars so I looked for other alternatives. This weekend I borrowed an extremity adjusting video series from my preceptor doctor and watch that. Cost $0.00 and four hours of my time. I have found many educating doctors online. I paid for 2 years of medical training online for $99.00 over 500 lectures and I didn't start watching them until four months ago. I have obtained $400.00 medical books for $30.00 and use them weekly. I could have spent that money on shoes or clothes or my girlfriends but my focus and commitment has been constant. When my ways of being line up with my choices then I know I am committed to my wants, dreams, and goals. When my choices go against my gut feelings then I know I am off the mark. It is funny that the definition of sin is failing to hit the mark. So when I am not in line with my purpose I am actually sinning. I have seen this over and over in the last three years. I have made choices that have gone against my purpose. I once had a class that I thought was so boring that I would just sit in class surfing the Internet looking at crap. I couldn't understand how I failed the class. I had not mastered the material. Honestly I did not even know the material. The second time around I paid very close attention an obtained a B. So my money and time have really been spent doing the things that will require me to obtain my goals. I'm not saying you have to be this focused Nazi and not have any balance in your life. I have the mentality that I can have it all. I have been in relationships, played lots of baseball, trained my body into the best shape ever, traveled a little, and experienced the bay area. I have also said "No." a lot. Going out and partying it up and knowing full well that I will not be studying the next day has made me avoid this behavior. If I lived around whether things were convenient I would have quit this program in the first week. There is nothing convenient about this program. It stretches my limits all the time. Maybe I wasted days and weeks studying material in such a tired state I felt like I was not retaining any of the information. Maybe subconsciously I really was. Some people can not go through life and miss a thing. They have to go to that wedding even though it falls right before finals week. Or that concert, or trip, or even go home all the time miss because they miss their family. I laugh when they tell how much money they get and all the crap they blow it on. It's a loan. That trip to South America that cost $3000.00 today will be $30,000 with compounding interest. Or the new car or truck, all the furniture, and trips to Vegas and Hawaii. They will be paying on that stuff for the next 20 years even after they have sold it. I kept things to a minimum. I worked my butt off because I didn't take all the loans and I did not buy things with my loan money. I used my earnings. I have even maintained a $500.00 a month car payment. I should have sold it, but I like my Jeep.<br />
So I was willing to DWIT to have it. I worked late nights whenever I was called to. I umpired all spring and summer as many days a week as I could. I cooked for myself and ate lots of rice and oatmeal. I didn't get a gym membership until my last year and I only kept it for five months. I do not need a gym to motivate me. I can work out just as hard with body weight or use the free gym at the apartment complex. Today I work in a clinic that has a gym in it. It was one of the reasons I chose it.<br />
I hope this is starting to make sense. There is a huge difference between being interested and being committed to something. When you chose to do something then make sure you are committed to it. Your effort and enthusiasm will be high and positive and it will be fun. Chiropractic school has been hard but I will say it has been fun too. If you know me then if its not fun I will not do it.Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-66547800066390624362015-07-10T12:20:00.001-07:002015-07-10T12:35:12.327-07:00Why I hate the Cubs.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It all started out when I was a kid living in Battle Creek, Michigan on Vermillion Road. My best friend in the world was Greg Roderick. He rarely come over to my house and I think I lived at his. It was the sports complex of the area that was why Greg and I spent so many hours of the day together. His dad and mine had worked together at Clark Equipment together and were good friends and I looked up to him as a father figure after mine past away. Greg and I would play football across the street, basketball in his drive way and baseball in the back yard. Greg's backyard was the beginning of my displeasure of the Chicago Cubs. You see when we picked teams Greg was always the Cubs. I was everyone else. The Tigers, or Cardinals, even the Expos. I had an Expos hat from a team I would bat boy for and liked Tim Wallach. Later in life when I settled on a number that I have preferred and it was 29 for TimWallach. Greg had the Cubs jersey and hat and the pride to go with it. I just wanted to be the Cubs once and wear the hat. He was much bigger than me and showed great potential as a player. We had many battles in his back yard and even today I think about how it shaped me as a player. So I just wanted to beat the Cubs all the time. In the beginning it was just like the real season. Cubs were about a .500 team. We were even but in true Cubs fashion he would fall apart or I would get hot and well you know the story. Cubs loose. He would probably tell the story a different way and say it wasn't that bad but it was. Greg was a right handed hitter and pitcher. I was a left handed hitter and right handed pitcher. He would have to hit the breaking ball going away and his would fall inside on my front leg. A pitch that every low ball hitting lefty loves. My second reason is in 1996 I was given a private workout in Arizona with the Cubs. I came down in great shape and determined to make the team. I wanted to get on the Cubs for one time in my life. So Tom Gamboa gives me a shot. He doesn't run me or check out my arm he just puts me in a group of big league hitters. Dave Magadan, Matt Franco, and I thought the third was Tyler Houston. These guys crushed the ball and I was a little nervous and even intimidated. I preceded to foul of eight of my ten swings. Tom Gamboa is walking away now. Dave Magadan was this ball of positive energy and when I get out of the cage he pulls me aside and says, "You have a great swing kid just let it loose." Then he steps into the left side of the box and starts hitting the hardest line drives to the left center gap and have so much fun doing it. My second round starts and then after a few well hit balls Gamboa gets up and walks back over to the cage with interest peaked a little. Then round three and four with better and better results and I'm feeling good. Mags is hugging me and loving every minute of it. "This f'n kid can hit!" He walks over to Tom and says, "Gammy you gotta sign this kid, he can swing it." Now I will never forget the next words that came from Tom Gamboa. "He's too old." I was 24. I had never been drafted, played two years of Independent Professional Baseball and hit .416 and .329 in those two years and I was still refining my swing. The look on Dave Magadan's face was utter shock. The look was that look of what the heck I am 33 am I to old?" Dave was loosing his hair and was even a little grey. I would say he looked 40. I was a little disappointed too. I thought if he just wanted to see me hit then I had done a great job of showing him. I only hit one out and it was an opposite field line drive. These fields are not normal dimension of 330 feet on the lines in and 400 feet to center. This field was 360 feet on the lines and 420 in center. They want to see if you have pop or serious pop. That's when I really started to understand the power of intention. I opened my mouth and and uttered these words, "Well maybe the White Sox will sign me." Eight days later my agent called me and said I have a job for you in South Bend, Indiana. Class A for the Chicago White Sox's is the assignment. I got on the phone with the player director of the White Sox and sold him on who I was. He signed me on a phone interview and no tryout at all. So that is why I hate the Cubs so much. Funny and true story was this. Remember Tom Gamboa? Check this out at a White Sox game <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG8nYtDkkqE" target="_blank">FAN ATTACKS TOM GAMBOA </a>. That was one of my fans. No not really I just thought it was coincidence that he was attacked at a Sox game. I have no ill will towards Tom. He did my workout as a favor to my hitting coach Perry Husband. I was so upset I probably never thanked him so this is my public acknowledgment of his favor and my many thanks. I was blessed to be on the field will Dave Magadan, Matt Franco and Tyler Houston who is a personal friend today. Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-25119944912882833192015-07-03T21:31:00.002-07:002015-07-03T21:31:37.561-07:00Does anyone read the research?Sometime I am so confused by the research. One article says this is good and this is bad. Curve balls are bad to throw and fastballs are good. Another article says that curve ball are fine and its fastballs that are harder on the arm. So what's the truth? Has there been actual research and biomechanical analysis done? <br />
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Here is the Article link from American Journal of Sports Medicine on biomechanic (Abstract)<br />
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19448049" target="_blank">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19448049</a><br />
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The keypoints are in the Results, Conclusion, and Clinical Relevance.<br />
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These two articles just have Abstracts:<br />
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25251251" target="_blank">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25251251</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19741352" target="_blank">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19741352</a><br />
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Photo from zacharymagee.com</div>
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They are published articles with no bio-mechanical data just case studies and questionnaires to collect data. So when reading and comparing data sometime its like apples the running shoes. The research on one is correct and so is the other but its really hard to link them together. <br />
If you just talk bio-mechanics with torque and arm velocity and stress then a fastball is more stressful than a curve ball. That is what the data reports. So do we stop throwing so many fastballs or do we find the real culprit......overuse. Or is overuse the real culprit. I know that the same muscles in the arm are made of the same fibers as those in the legs. Runner train and train and keep increasing their speed and distance. Do runners have overuse injuries? Yes they do. They have stress fractures, (the most common one), sprains and strains to joints but rarely the tendons and muscle tear like in the classic Ulnar Collateral Ligament tear in pitchers. I personally think running 13.1 or even 26.2 miles is more traumatic then throwing 100 pitches. There are some marathon runners that go out and run 6-8 miles the day after the have run a full marathon. <br />
Training may be the key also. Alan Jaeger says players do not throw enough. I think he is right too. I think he is right about older players that their bones have stopped growing. After really studying the anatomy of the elbow and shoulder I am firm when I say this. The combination of overuse, growing epiphysis, developing muscles and tendons and lastly inflammation are the real culprits. Then the parents, coaches, and player ignore sound medical advice about dealing with an arm injury. Feeding the young player anti-inflammatory pills is not the great fix all either. It is probably a major contributor to the problem. The elbow is a high tissue turn over area. Meaning tissue in the synovial region is constantly being replaced and repaired. Anti-inflams stop that turn over to reduce inflammation. So the repair is slowed, but it needs to happen. The young pitcher feels better because the inflammation has gone away and range of motion is restored so they think, "I can throw again!" With out explaining this any farther are you seeing the problem? It really is a combination of things that lead to the demise of that pitchers arm. <br />
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Check or Zach Magee's article too.<br />
<a href="http://zacharymagee.com/trouble-with-the-curve/" target="_blank">http://zacharymagee.com/trouble-with-the-curve/</a>Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-60702503320791195472015-04-24T23:29:00.001-07:002015-04-27T07:30:30.630-07:00Just Do It. You'll never get a hit unless you step up to the plate.Tonight I am feeling pretty good. Maybe it's all the alone time I have had to reflect on how really blessed I am. Or maybe it's the two beers and the best garlic knots I ate tonight. Either way it's time to journal. There are a few people that have shaped my path at Palmer. One I want to acknowledge is Dr. Bill DuMonthier. In my first two years I have had many conversations with him expressing my concerns about how hard the program has been for me and that I struggle with "just getting by". I have always been the type of person that has excelled when it comes to just about everything. I did well in high school and even made the Dean's list in college with out much effort. In sports I can pick up any sport and become proficient at it in no time at all. I had other choices to pursue in professional sports. I was the Michigan state champ in bowling in the eight grade bowling against high school and some college amatures. I had offers to play college football, baseball, and even played one year of college basketball. Anything and everything requiring movement and sports comes very natural to me. In a six month period I studied for and passed the series 7,6,31, and 3 test and became a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley. Chiropractic College was a whole new animal in itself. I was not prepared at all for this. I had an undergrad background in kinesiology and biomechanics but had not really been in a book let alone research since 1994. It was like starting from scratch in a fast paced program where I had to learn everything again. I spent hours in class trying to stay awake only to go home and pass out, wake up at nine or ten o'clock at night and start studying till three in the morning. A common site in my trailer park room where I lived for my first year was to wake up in bed with a pile of books all over me and my laptop on the floor because I knocked it off the bed when I had fallen asleep. I barely passed most of my classes and when Part I of boards came close I expressed my concerns to Dr. DuMonthier. He had some comforting words for me then that carried me through. He said, "It is because you care so much about this that I am not worried about you. Because you care you will do whatever it takes to pass these exams." Now the number and all the stats compiled by the school were not in my favor. C average students that do not take a board review course have an 80% fail rate for Part I boards. I could not afford to pay for a board review course so I got Irene Gold and read through it over and over on my own. There were some very smart people in my class that failed Part I, but I was not one of them. Nor did I fail Part II. So thank you Bill for believing in me when I didn't quite believe in myself. I will always struggle when I have that feeling of just getting by. I always desire to be the best at what I do. Today I find myself in books learning about techniques, functional movements, rehab and core strengthening. Medical books about diseases are my new favorite. I do not want to be know as just a chiropractor. I desire to be a great doctor of wellness that has chosen chiropractic to express myself through. Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-74837391632243300482015-04-05T10:42:00.000-07:002015-04-05T12:08:18.200-07:00Placebo Effect<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I sometimes have these livid dreams. Some people would call them visions. I tend to believe they are supernatural in nature and they are streamed into me for the Most High or my higher self. The amount of information is staggering and it comes so fast I spend days going back over it. The best thing for me to do is put it on my board so it stays in front of me. So the other night I was asking Why do I make the same mistakes over and over and do it almost unconsciously. Why is the Placebo Effect more successful than actual medications sometimes? Remember the Bible quote, "Ask and Ye Shall Receive"? Well later that night between 3:00 and 4:00 am (which is when they usually come) these answers came to me. <br />
The Placebo Effect is when something is given that in reality has not real proven benefit but the person is told that it will help them. They believe it, so it is. This is another reinforcement of how powerful your thoughts really are. Person A gets a sugar pill and the reassurance that this pill will help them and they get better. Person B is just given the medication and they get better. How does person A get better without the medication? I their mind they actually believed that the pill would cure them and their biology responded to that belief and they got better. I had a friend that fought in Viet Nam. His father told him to go and protect his brother. To him the reason he believed he was their was to protect his baby brother. He had been in seven helicopter accidents, five of which he was the only survivor. He told me he started to believe that he was meant to live. He had been shot, peppered with mine fragments, claymore pellets riddled his body, and many other things designed to kill a man in the jungles of Viet Nam. I truly believe now that his belief was what sustained him and his biology responded every time he was wounded. There are many stories out in the public of how someone was diagnosed with cancer and in their mind they saw themselves as whole and by some miracle their cancer disappeared. Other will argue that they were misdiagnosed or they never had cancer to begin with. Well then their is the No-cebo effect. Where the person is told they have a disease when they do not and are perfectly healthy and their health begins to fail. When told they have this rare cancer they begin to think, "I am dying" and actually do. The biology changes as the conscious thought does. Once the conscious thought overrides the program the subconscious starts to run this program in the background. I once heard Bruce Lipton say that the Subconscious Mind's processor is running 95% of the bodies biology and the conscious is running 5%. So 95% of you is running without consciousness of it running. It's like this computer. All I see are these words forming on the screen but behind the keyboard there are a million little functions happening and I pay them no attention. I do not have to think about breathing but if I become conscious to my breathing I can speed it up or slow it down or even stop my breathing. I am not thinking about my heart pumping, If I consciously change my focus I can speed it up or slow the rate down. Once I have learned something it gets turned over to the Subconscious and starts running automatically. Driving is a prime example. When I was first learning how to drive I was focused on driving and keeping my car in between the lines. I was distracted by everything. I had to think ahead and plan things out. Today I just get in and pay little attention of driving. It sometimes scares me that I can not even remember driving to a destination. I get in and then I am there and say, "Wow! Where did that three hours of time go." I wasn't present. I was concentrating on something else. So if the conscious mind is 5% and the Subconscious is 95% and running a million times faster how can I change the biology and create wellness? This is my million dollar idea. Find the answers to the Placebo Effect and put them into everyday living and healing. On a personal note when I became aware that I had the power inside me to do this it transformed my life. I do not have time to be sick so I say, " I am always healthy". I have been sick or ill 2 times in the last seven years where I had to take an antibiotic. I just let whatever I have run its course and tell myself that my body can handle this and my body is designed to handle this. I have no doubt in my mind, I will recover. When I am run down I say to myself When I am rested I will heal. I rest and I heal. When I fractured my right ankle and had a plate and nine screws put on it, my thoughts where of winged angels knitting that piece of metal and my fibula together to make a stronger skeleton. The doctor said this break would take 8 weeks to heal. The two bone had been completely separated. I went back in three weeks and he scratched his head and said, "There is no break line anymore. Like it never happened. Your body heals very well." The day my cast came off I started walking. I wasn't walking very well but I was waking on it. Thirty days later I threw one inning of relief with no rehab. I did not go to PT one time. Here is where I also see this placebo effect, in the clinic. Patients are hurting, but when they get the clinic they say I am feeling better already. How? I have not done anything. What if they tell themselves I will feel better when I get adjusted? So for the next couple of days until their appointment they hurt and are in pain and not feeling very well. On the day of the appointment they start feeling better. By the time they get onto my table their symptoms are less severe and I adjust them. They start to smile and say thanks and walk out like nothing was wrong. I truly believe that these people delay their natural bodies process to heal by their thoughts. I'm sure if it happens with me then it happens with medical doctors too and even surgeons. People will say, "As soon as I see the doctor I will feel better." Why not just take a picture of your doctor and put it on your fridge? As soon as you see him you will feel better! What I am really trying to say is that you are so powerful as a human. You were created in God's image. If our subconscious is running 95% of our biology then it is also speeding or delaying our healing process by the programs in the background. The subconscious is really a recorder playing back the messages that we feed it. Some of those messages are good ones or good programs while others are bad. People will say, "Just think Positive!" Well I'm hear to tell you positive thoughts plus bad programming is a losing battle. You can say I want to be healthy or I am healthy everyday, but if your subconscious is saying look in the mirror fatty and the processor is a million times stronger you can see where this is going. Fatty wins out. So how do you change the programs? You do have to change the thoughts, and be conscious, as well as creative. Meditating and using theta frequencies are a big key also. The first six years of your life your brain is a recorder, this is where a lot of information is planted and the recorded starts recording. Have you ever heard this, "My little Sally is a sponge. She absorbs everything." Little Sally is 4 years old and she really is absorbing everything. She hears her father tell her mother that she has put on a little weight and I don't like it. Or she has heard her father say I love you precious, you are going to be a star. One good program and one bad. Children really do hear everything. They do things and get yelled at, "What were you thinking?" They weren't. Their brains do not have the ability to reason yet. They are recording. Do this or don't do that. This hurts me but this doesn't. That is probably why their answer is always, "I don't know why I did it." One parent sees a snake and says, "Look Sally that is a garden snake." Then picks it up without any fear and lets Sally touch it and examine it with awe. Never really knowing that there is any danger. Another person sees a snake a freaks out. Sally's recorded says snakes are dangerous and when I see one I should freak out. I grew up on a farm. I have seen snakes and spiders and step in all kinds of crap. I have no fear things like that because as a small boy I was curious and just didn't have anyone around me freaking out. My grandpa would walk over and say that's a black widow they can bite you and make you sick then he would step on it. So I natural kill black widow spiders when I see them. <br />
The bottom line I am trying to get across is that your thoughts are powerful. They can control your biology, especially the biology of healing. Have those thoughts of I am getting better, healthy, my body is healing and regenerating. Then believe the healing has happened. Envision yourself as whole and complete. Meditate and be present to the recorder or the voices that are contradicting what you believe. Believe that you are powerful and trust yourself, because you are powerful and rare. You are one in a billion. No one has ever been like you and no one ever will be exactly you again. That kind of rarity has value. In all truth you are priceless. Believe. Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-86883210839527537762015-03-13T16:48:00.002-07:002015-03-13T16:48:28.140-07:0090 days to transform your body.Although I am a professional coach and have told people that it takes around 90 days to change a habit. If you are a drug addict this process is crucial. First the body has to be cleansed, then repaired, then retrained. I am a firm believer that you and I are a slave to our habits. So if I am t be a slave then I choose to be a slave to good habits. Like eating well, getting plenty of rest, intense exercise, and practicing me art until it is nearly perfected. On December 14th I started my cleanse. I had been working out, but not what I would call regularly. It would be one day on four days off then 2 days on one day off followed by one day on and six more off. My program lacked consistency. So when I started my cleanse I also started working out. It was all cardio for the first seven days. Then I started to mix in some interval training. After 10 days my cleanse was over and I had lost 12 lbs. of garbage. Then I started juicing for the next 10 days. My work outs never suffered and I was pretty amazed on how my body actually felt. I had tons of energy and after twenty days I was down from my original 236 to 218. I started to introduce some solid raw foods back into my system after 20 days. I was still having some craving for meat. I'm not a big meat eater either so I broke down and had a steak. It tasted wonderful but tore me apart. So I salt flushed it out of m body the next day. A salt flush is 1 quart of sea salt water solution. It will empty out the entire digestive tract in an hour. If your drink the quart and nothing happens then drink another one. It will happen eventually. So today is around my 90 day mark. and I have kept the weight off. I need a new wardrobe. And you can see the lean results. 208 lbs is my official weight. That's 28 lbs in 3 months. I did it in about 60 days in all actuality. This is the first time that after is completed a cleanse I did not put back on some of the weight. I think I have finally tuned up my diet and the exercise is also the key. I am no longer training 6 days a week now. I am down to 3. This is mostly because I have board exams next week and have been studying, OSCE's on 3/18, and had been attending about every outreach clinic I can get into so I can get my credits finished. I told you I would tell you the secret. Cleansing the body will do more than just empty all the waste out of your system. It will allow your gut to heal. If you are over weight and you feel like you have to eat all the time because you are hungry all the time might just be due to the fact that your body has a malabsorption problem. The body for some reason is not absorbing the nutrients that is being put into it. So when this happens the body cries out for nutrients and signals the hunger centers in the brain. So we eat and eat and the calories add up to more than we need so the body just throws this waste in the form of fats on our bellies and thighs, chin and chest. the serious issues start to arise when the belly fat starts to deposit inside the organs. Then the organs start to also function poorly and sometime begin to fail. So cleansing the body starts the healing process. Once the cleanse is over you can not just start shoving burgers back into your mouth. The system is clean and is not completely healed yet. Juice is the next phase. Juice is easy on the system and literally takes minutes to digest and process for energy. This is why on a juice diet you must have is ever 2 hours or more. Since the body is not processing the weight in your gastrointestinal tract it now has time to work on the other neglected areas of the body. The brain, artery plaques, and excess body fat. If the system is clean this process becomes really efficient. Fat literally starts to melt of you from the inside. Your body will break it down and secret much of it in your urine. Yes I said your urine. Because the GI tract processes the food waste. The blood and kidney will process the other waste. Water is a huge key. You must consume gallons of it to flush your system. When you are cleansing going to the bathroom a lot is a key marker of how well you are doing. If you do not consume enough water then the toxins will build up and you may like me experience headaches and even flu like symptoms. The other secret is intense exercise. Exercise releases insulin like factors that also increase metabolism in the muscles and release growth hormone which in turns builds muscle mass and burns more fat. This is another reason exercise will help diabetics. If they are not producing insulin the the insulin like factors will substitute for insulin. If they have an insulin resistance the insulin like factors will again substitute for the insulin. No insulin is really needed at all. The third key is persistent and consistent effort. Small strokes fall big oaks. Weight will not fall off you in one or two days. Weight will change after 90 days of doing this. I would bet my life on it. If you have been working out hard and do not seem to be able to drop any weight then Look to see if you have one of the key features wrong. I hear people say "I eat great and work out all the time but have hit a point where they are stuck. They are either lying about their diet, the exercise program or they have malabsorption issues that have not been properly addressed. It can be that simple. Here are my results. The secret is there are no secrets. Hard work and discipline win out over and over again.<br />
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Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-59387626954098037422015-03-03T19:41:00.000-08:002015-03-12T13:11:03.294-07:00Brain Steroids! Are you kidding me?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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CLICK THE LINK AND GET SOME TODAY!</div>
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So I'm in my final year of school and this product hits the market? I'm a little upset that I hadn't heard of this stuff before a few weeks ago. Individual case studies have been done bit not any randomized control studies that I can find. The press is pretty neutral, but I'm still going to try it. I've tried a hoard of these brain enhancers to no avail. Well I guess one more can't hurt. The ingredients look promising and healthy anyways. Couldn't hurt right? I'll keep you all posted like I always do.</div>
Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-35680855489223811542015-03-02T12:41:00.001-08:002015-03-02T12:42:50.809-08:00How Stress is the Silent Killer.If you could just look at the bodies chemistry and how it changes when chronically stressed you would get scared. Some people reading this might even say to themselves, "I wonder if I am at risk because I have stress and some of these issues already." If someone reading this has these thoughts then I would says you probably are at risk. Stress is known as the silent killer. The first sign of any stress related issues is sometime death. Cardiac Arrest or Heart Attack is sometime the first sign of a chronic stress condition unfortunately. Let me explain how stress works and why some stress is normal and good and how other stress is not and what happens to the body physically. Stress is need and good in most cases. If you needed to run from danger because someone is trying to mug you then the bodies response to this is natural and needed. The brain stimulates the release of ACTH, then the ACTH stimulates the Adrenal Glads to release adrenaline and cortisol. The bodies physiology changes to think faster, be stronger, and feel less pain so it can fight or flee. Triglycerides are mobilized and glucose is used for quick energy. This is all needed and very natural. After the threat is over the body adjusts back to normal. The blood that had been shunted from the core to the extremities and brain returns to the core and growth hormone production resumes along with digestion. The parasympathetic nervous system returns the body to the rest and recovery state that it so much enjoys. So what is wrong with stress? Nothing if this is the only stress you are experiencing. If you experience this kind of stress and then experience another and another and you start to get that feeling of being "stressed out" you just might be. Stressed out is going from being late to work, traffic jam, anxiety for being late, then your deadline for work is five minutes away but you still have two days of work on it, followed by bad eating choices, then the drive home in another traffic jam, finally home to kids or you significant other that starts dumping their day on you...... I'm feeling my blood pressure rise just writing this. What if this not a one day event but an everyday event? You stop sleeping because your brain will not slow down and now you start to look for something to bring you down or at least slow down your mind. Alcohol works so you start drinking a little at first. Since your cortisol levels never normalize your adrenal gland is hyperactive. You blood pressure, pulse and respiration are gradually rising little by little day by day. This elevated pressure starts to break down the vessel walks and tears begin to appear. Since cortisol increases blood fat levels and vasoconstriction is already happening, paired with small tears in the vessel walls from the increased pressure this will create plaque formation in those constricted torn vessels. Are you starting to see how slowly over time this could lead to disaster? Also there are studies that have shown that people under chronic stress make poor choices when it comes to healthy eating. Also the heart is an amazing thing. It just keeps pumping and pumping twenty for hours a day 365 days per year. Under chronic stress the heart is working harder than its normally used to and over time this can lead to failure. Stress might not be the actual cause of a heart attack but it sure is directly related to the other aspects of the overall degeneration of the tissues. <br />
This is a list of pathological condition created by chronically elevated Cortisol levels.<br />
1. Suppressed immune system<br />
2. Hypertension<br />
3. High Blood Sugar<br />
4. Insulin Resistance <br />
5. Carbohydrate Cravings<br />
6. Metabolic Syndrome<br />
7. Type II diabetes<br />
8. Fat deposition int he neck, face, and belly<br />
9. Decreased Libido (who the heck wants that?)<br />
10. Bone Loss<br />
Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-19674588679581921442015-03-02T11:45:00.000-08:002015-03-02T11:45:41.284-08:00Inflammation, Inflammation, Inflammation!Recently I was playing baseball and a teammate slid into second base and then started flopping around like he had been shot in the leg. People were running out to see what had happened. The way he was rolling around I could see he was in a lot of pain. It was his knee. Then everyone starts yelling for me. I'm the unofficial official team doctor. I'm technically not a doctor yet but my teammates assume since I am in my last few months of chiropractic school that I am a doctor already because I treat people in the Palmer West clinic. My first questions are, "Did you hear or feel anything pop? Is there any burning pain? What happened?" That should have been my first question because from what I saw I was thinking ankle. When he told me he came down hard on it and slammed it on the hard dirt. So I asked him to lay still and I just wanted to perform a couple of instability tests on him. He was fine. He has a very bad bone bruise on the patella and the superior aspect of the patellar tendon. It was painful. Ice and compression to keep the inflammation down. Then he asks if he should start popping anti inflammatory pills. He is surprised when I say no. Inflammation is good at this point. Your knee is a high tissue turnover area and right now you do not want to turn off this natural response. He is even more confused , so I explain it to him in a little more detail that makes since and he just agrees to not take any anti-inflammatory drugs right now. So many people have the wrong information. Athletes just want to get back on the field so they say Doc just give me the cortisone so I can get back in the game. They get the shot, feel better, go back and play and all this time the bodies natural healing process has been turned off. The shoulder or knee gets worse and eventually their career ends prematurely because of arthritis pain that is unbearable and performance has diminished. Inflammation is good sometimes. When tissues are injured inflammation is a huge part of the healing process. So where in the body is inflammation bad? How about your digestive tract. If your Gastrointestinal (GI) tract is inflamed then you are going to have all sorts of problems. People with GI problems report painful joints, fatigue, muscle weakness, gas and bloating, nausea, constipation, diarrhea and many many more. Why would a chiropractor be concerned about the GI tract? People come to see us for joint pain. When I find functional and structure issues with the spine I will run a trial of care. Some time the person reports they feel better and normal after a few weeks. But I have had patients that come back and have the same complaint week after week. This is not a chiropractic problem. This is an inflammation problem. I am willing to say that ninety percent of these people have inflammation related GI problems. They are overweight, on all kinds of medications, dehydrated, report food allergies, fibromyalgia, celiac disease that is unresolved when taken of gluten. There history tells me this is the case loud and clear. I though I once had chronic neck and lower back pain. Once I put myself on an anti-inflammatory diet my problems began to go away. For one month I ate no dairy or meat. I lost twenty pounds, my skin looked younger healthier and was softer. Then next month I reintroduced dairy. I added cheese to my food and salads, butter in my coffee. The gas and smelly stools returned and my head is full of mucus. I even got sick for the first time in two years. My lungs are now full of mucus too. So I'm off the dairy again for good. I do drink coffee but instead of butter I use coconut oil and it is still creamy. I'm tired of being a nice about people's health. I'm at the point where I care about people to much to sugar coat what they are doing to themselves. If your body is in a constant state of inflammation then you are slowly killing yourself. If your body is too acidic and is a breeding ground for all kinds of bacteria and even cancer. You are consciously choosing to kill yourself buy the eating choices that you make so here is some "Tough love". Sorry to be so straight forward, I am just sick of the lies you are being told so really I'm not sorry. If your food last for months in your fridge then it is not food, it is food stuff or food product. These food products have very little nutritional value. Food spoils in days. It is living and therefore it dies. You must consume it while it is living to keep life in your body.<br />
Does this make since? Why do you think people are aging faster? People are dying faster is the reason. The human body is designed to live to 120-140 yet ours are done at 75, and its a miserable 75 years at the end. If you have questions about an anti-inflammatory diet and how to reboot your system email me at greg@baseballchiro.com. Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-30323808172068588512014-11-07T16:49:00.000-08:002015-03-02T14:20:00.380-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlMdkIZTNovUcdgItak-eht1IXrLgpy0Q7Bj-YljzJZQ_CwkgGO1DrQpEdslZH55K_7evakht-yQTxwktzzZLlq1elz24mboa2hRf5Pcob6BsgZkju4ETFkdMC1RB9i_AWMXQTN2i4U0/s1600/minimum-salary-of-players-in-major-league-baseball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlMdkIZTNovUcdgItak-eht1IXrLgpy0Q7Bj-YljzJZQ_CwkgGO1DrQpEdslZH55K_7evakht-yQTxwktzzZLlq1elz24mboa2hRf5Pcob6BsgZkju4ETFkdMC1RB9i_AWMXQTN2i4U0/s400/minimum-salary-of-players-in-major-league-baseball.jpg" /></a></div>Reason #2 why I chose to become a chiropractor.<br />
Recently on HBO there was a special report on the pay for minor league baseball players. here is the link.<br />
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=tfgsenSCyPE&app=desktop<br />
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There is a huge difference in pay from a major league player and a minor league player. I remember Carlos Castillo telling me that his check when he got called up was somewhere in the $8500 range. He had been there for two weeks. I didn't make that much for a whole season. Yes sir my first year with the White Sox I earned every penny of the $4200.00 before taxes. It was probably about $3500.00 after. Now that was only five months of work, since I signed as a free agent on May 6th. I will mention that the following year when I went to spring training I was paid $36 a week, which I had to give the club house manager $8.00. They fed all of us three meals a day which included breakfast, a sack lunch and dinner at the hotel. Who can live on $36 a week? I am thankful that The Organization paid for the hotel while I was there. When I did the break down of my last years salary with the Sox I was earning $1250.00 a month before taxes. I went to the office or the ballpark just about everyday of the season which starts the first week of April and can go to the middle of<br />
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September if team made it to playoffs. We play 140 games plus playoffs in 150 days. So lets do the math. The typical day started for me about 11:30am with flips or short toss with the hitting coach (some guy started earlier) and then early work with the positional fielding coaches, side pens with pitchers, full stretch run and throw, batting practice, break for the other team to take batting practice, suit up and then a 7:05 game start, finish by 10:00, then weights, shower, leave exhausted 11:00pm. Road trips meant morning lifting so the day started earlier and ended after the game. Twelve hours a day for 150 days equals exactly 1800 hours of work. That is only 20 hours less than an average person working 40 hours a week working 50 weeks a year. I use 50 weeks instead of 52 because everyone gets a vacation. We would get three days a season for All-Star Break. So I earned $7500.00 that season divided by 1800 hours comes out to be $4.17 an hour. Wow, what an idiot I seemed to be on paper now that I actually did the breakdown. I was worth so much more than that as a drywall apprentice. I earned $14.00 an hour doing that. As a professional hitting instructor I earned $60.00 an hour doing that. If I would have made it to the majors and sat the bench for a full season I would have earn $270,000 in 1999. I earned 2.7% of the major league minimum in 1999. I was blind a stupid, chasing my childhood dream. I was once asked if I would play professional baseball for free? I didn't think twice about my answer either. Hell No! Then I would say that my time is worth more than that. I laugh now because my time really wasn't. It was worth $4.17 per hour. So in the off season I would work my butt off saving money so I could weather spring training and the first two weeks of the season till I would receive that check. Also if you cried about it they would hand you a Taco Bell application and say, "Taco Bell is hiring why don't you go there?"<br />
So this is the second reason I decided to become a doctor. I want to receive the compensation that I am worth. I have a tremendous amount of value and I feel I should be compensated handsomely for it. I'm glad some players finally sued for wage equality. I hope they win and all of us that played receive a check for back pay. It would help with some of my current expenses as I finish my last year. The lower 10% of chiropractors earn around $96,000 per year. That is still 12 times greater than the average minor league player makes. According to MLB, the average MLB player earns $3.39 million! http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10158314/mlb-average-salary-54-percent-339-million So as a chiropractor in the lower 10% of earners this would still be 3% of what the average MLB player earns. I figure I find comical.<br />
Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-81073672424047050772014-07-22T23:23:00.002-07:002014-07-22T23:23:34.195-07:00What is Little League Elbow and How Can It Be Avoided?According to Dr. Thomas Souza DC LLE (Little League Elbow) is more like a syndrome than a pathology. It is usually an adolescent pitcher with medial or lateral elbow pain. The adolescent elbow has growth plates in it until around age 24. This information was given to me a general knowledge fact in chiropractic school. The long bone has a diaphysis, a metaphysis, and a epiphysis. The epiphysis is at the end of the bone and in adolescen children it looks like a broken fragment or chip on a radiograph or x-ray. Here is a x-ray of a normal child's wrist.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguP3g9jGOPR8ikFbReap7oh7kiczkE0zrRG8zqIUuGorsyyz2O6HCH6HvMd2GOZSu_Gv7wjKLT5Nr3YfvOQTa5gjTzj8KXIoaFUs2IIk0QvUOwXhpICOcwfyhiI_nea8gsSfY6WGonzBs/s1600/normal+child+wrist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguP3g9jGOPR8ikFbReap7oh7kiczkE0zrRG8zqIUuGorsyyz2O6HCH6HvMd2GOZSu_Gv7wjKLT5Nr3YfvOQTa5gjTzj8KXIoaFUs2IIk0QvUOwXhpICOcwfyhiI_nea8gsSfY6WGonzBs/s320/normal+child+wrist.jpg" /></a></div>The end plates of the radius and ulnar bones look broken but these are normal, these bones have not matured yet. I used a wrist because it is easier to see the plates then the ones in the elbow. The radius and ulnar have a proximal end that articulates with the distal humerus. The distal humerus also has growth plates on the distal ends of it to. With LLE there can be two major complaints. The medial or inside part of the elbow may have stretch injuries from the throwing when the external rotator muscles pull the arm back an then stretch the ligaments and then compression injuries can occur on the lateral side. There is a law called Wolff's Law that also can come into play here to. There is a non union of the immature epiphysis along with stress from throwing and stretching of the tissues. Wolff's Law works like this, when a bone has added stress to it then it will increase bone building activity and lay down additional matrix to make that bone stronger. An example of that would be to look at the tibia and femur bones of a long distant runner that is 60 and a couch potato that is 30. The 60 year old runner will have more dense and slightly larger bones from the stress of all that pounding of the body on those knees. The couch potato has really no need for this because they do not bear a lot of weight on their bones so their radio-graphs will show less density in the bones. Now add this stress to a bone that is still not finished growing and you will see that on an x-ray of a child that is right handed, hard throwing, and pitching many innings that their right elbow joint may be slightly larger than their left. It will definitely have an increase in external and internal rotational range of motion in the shoulder as well. The excessive throwing can also cause the growth plate to mature early and the epiphyseal plate will close early. Medial elbow pain is usually due to microtrauma of the medial anterior oblique ligament. The stress may also cause fragmentation of the medial epicondylar ligament. Now imagine your little league all star throws with his right arm and hits from the right side of the plate too. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmISINj7y1cCh_St-_JrudrEHsUGFPnVdCAY2IGlt2sl9iJtEZll997RnSaJ7cN0Hr5KfPwu73QpnG8Y2vFEn038Qh90DKgOzm3O1t0rP4yslQ8QfNzMdQX5YRhRDusdCMqYM7c5Mo2Q/s1600/pitch.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmISINj7y1cCh_St-_JrudrEHsUGFPnVdCAY2IGlt2sl9iJtEZll997RnSaJ7cN0Hr5KfPwu73QpnG8Y2vFEn038Qh90DKgOzm3O1t0rP4yslQ8QfNzMdQX5YRhRDusdCMqYM7c5Mo2Q/s320/pitch.gif" /></a></div> Now they are experiencing the same medial side arm stretch but holding a weighted lever. The developing arm is experiencing two to three times as much stress as when they were throwing. I hypothesize this from the fact that a baseball weighs nine ounces and a little league bat can weigh 18 to 27 ounces. Some people will argue with me that the swing has two hands involved and the throw only one. I can accept this argument to a point, but from high speed video I can still see the medial arm being stretched.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMX5K8VDZOtaVpJdGpl2CVDqCDhk8YgPhmwWHiEdFG_AMvcTBVJbufYSWi2PxhEC1_xH_btcRD-lrEuBJ6SgIUK5tcRMlG-JAauC2jm1akIa836N8EIRAaEgvK2NHX1TuHdoo3rcq3eA/s1600/blake2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMX5K8VDZOtaVpJdGpl2CVDqCDhk8YgPhmwWHiEdFG_AMvcTBVJbufYSWi2PxhEC1_xH_btcRD-lrEuBJ6SgIUK5tcRMlG-JAauC2jm1akIa836N8EIRAaEgvK2NHX1TuHdoo3rcq3eA/s320/blake2.PNG" /></a></div>As much baseball as I played as a kid and all the complete games I threw as a pitcher I didn't injure my arm until I was in college. Here is the difference. I throw right handed and hit from the left side of the plate. My right forearm muscles were getting work on both sides and avoiding an imbalance. The internal rotators involved in throwing where not involved in my hitting, when hitting my external rotators were getting the work. My pectoralis muscle on the throwing side were not getting stretched on the hitting side. I noticed also that I had more than a few students that were not pitchers that were having medial arm pain in their elbow. I thought it was strange that their arms were always hurting and they were not pitchers at all. When I asked them what they did most they said, "I hit three days a week and play tournaments on the weekends." After working with these hitters for a few months their arm problems mysteriously disappeared.<br />
Was it by chance? I really believe it was how I trained them. I used a weighted chain system and made them swing from both sides of the plate to strengthen their core muscles. In the beginning some of them complained that it hurt to much to swing with their top hand or the one stretching the medial arm side. I would have them just do the bottom hand swings with that arm. I had a one handed bat with a chain attached to it and I made them swing that from both sides of the plated using forehand and backhand. Lastly I cleaned up their mechanical flaws and made their swing more efficient. So based on my clinical experience I would train both sides of the whole arm and their arms problems resolved. They trained the accelerating internal rotator muscles and then trained the decelerating muscles. They trained the forearm flexors as well as the extensors and if they were significantly weaker with their bottom hand I had them do more reps with that hand until is became stronger. The pectoralis muscles are part of the internal chain, so the latissimus muscle on the back must be trained too. If your young pitcher is using rubber tubing then I recommend Jaeger Bands. Use these bands for resistance training then use then in the exact reverse motion. Start from the release and jump back the the wind up. The bottom line is if the growth plates are damaged at a young age then the damage may be permanent. Which can mean a lifetime of arm pain and problems. Start out slow when the arms are young and still developing and do not be in a hurry to get them to the major leagues. Baseball is typically a forward moving sport, so do not forget to train the backward moving muscle too. This will create stability and overall greater strength. I have no problems with inning restriction at the lower levels and if curve balls are going to be thrown then proper mechanics are a must. I see so many young players trying to snap the elbow and wrist to make the ball spin. This is a receipt for disaster. My personal recommendation is learn to throw a fastball consistently for strikes to locations first, then a change-up, and curve ball and slider last. I played with professional players that were in there 20's that did not throw a curve ball at all. Best pitch in baseball is a well located fastball with changes in speed. When these guys learned how to throw a slider or curve ball it just put another bullet in their gun.<br />
I hope this information was useful. I value any comments or feedback.<br />
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Ref:Differential Diagnosis and Management for the Chiropractor 4th Edition, Thomas Souza DC<br />
Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-8829058816063284872014-07-08T12:21:00.000-07:002014-07-08T12:21:02.342-07:00Why my social experiment?The Bible says, "You have not because you ask not. Ask and Ye shall receive." So whenever I have come to a point in my life where I really am in need of something, I just ask. I first voice it out loud to the universe, then in pray, then I begin to just ask people. Sometimes I tell them what I am up too and they ask me how they can support me. So I just flat out tell them how. They have a choice then. They can choose to say, "Good luck with that." or point me in a direction, or lastly pull out there wallet and be a blessing to me. No good deed goes unnoticed. Once I had a young missionary come to me and ask for monthly monetary support.<br />
I gave him and his new wife over a few dollars a month for almost two years. I would have loved to have been able to do what he was doing but I couldn't. I want to be part of the solution to the problems that he was solving so by giving I was part of that solution after all. Any time someone enrolls you or me into their vision then the vision collectively grows. I personally felt a sense of accomplishment and pride when I would get letters from Matt every few months updating me on everything that was happening. One time another group was going to Africa and reached out to the community for support. I was compelled and move into action. I did not have any extra money at the time so I looked for other ways to create income. So I had this black powder rifle that I had built with my own two hands at a cost of $250.00. I sold it for $450.00 and gave it all for the trip. When the group got back they gave me an amazing hand made basket made by one of the villagers on the trip. Every time I see that basket I smile and remember that I made a difference in someone's life. The universal power of reaping and sowing in my life has been a powerful force. One seed of corn yields 2 to 4 full husks of kernels. So I am asking now. I have been on a personal mission to start and complete chiropractic school and become a primary care doctor that specializes in the treatment of musculoskeletal and neurological issues with a safer alternative to surgery. I have plenty of friends that are and have been a blessing in my life already. But I am asking for not one ore two people to be a blessing or a change in the world. I am asking for all of you to participate. I'm am asking for the power of many to do a little which in turns becomes something very big in the end. Now if I was really brave I would ask for my whole tuition to be paid. Honestly I am looking forward to paying off my loans. I earned this debt and especially may degree that I am working on. I want the satisfaction and accomplishment of completing all of this in excellence. So how do I enroll you into my vision? I have been adjusting people since I was in high school. Mostly of this adjusting was easy stuff. My mother had been working for in a factory for years and would tell me how and where to put my hands and how to push on her back to make it crack. I was adjusting and I had no clue. After receiving a neck injury in high school my mother took me to see Dr. DeWitt. He was an old adjuster who had trained at Palmer Chiropractic College in Davenport, Ia. Dr. DeWitt adjusted me, and it hurt at first. I didn't have a clue like I due now about acute or recent injures and or chronic conditions and what to do. I will say this about Dr. Dewitt, he was honest. He told me that the adjustment may hurt. It did and I wasn't surprised. The main point is I got better. I asked lots of questions and received lots of answers. Then I would try these techniques being used on me on others. At first I was a little rough but with some practice I got better. To this day I have not had a person tell me I hurt them doing chiropractic on them. How is this possible that an untrained, unlicensed, and unskilled person could have these results? I only have one answer for that question, Intent. My intent has never been to hurt but only to heal. I have always thought that when I do this adjustment you are going to feel great. I have learned a lot in the last two years and I have 4 set of boards to pass to become a licensed chiropractic physician. For the last two years I have lived on rice, top ramen (only for the first year), lots of juice and fruit, nuts, quinoa, and very little meat. It is too expensive. When I came to school I had budgeted out all my expenses....except the board exams. There are little emergencies that I have to plan for just in case something happens so I can pay all my bills and still be able to eat. There have been some months where I have not paid all my bills and have even been negative in my bank account for more than a week. I have received food from a food bank once. I have had a few girlfriends give me their canned food that had been in their cupboards and bring me food. It gets hard around finals when I have no money for food and my brain need energy to stay sharp and study. I have met a great girl how has helped me out financially when I have really needed it. I pay her back when I can. Bottom line is I can only do so much and I only have so many hours in a day, and lastly I am not 24 years old. I am in great shape but I do not have the energy that I had in my 20's. So I am reaching out and asking for help. Seriously I am only asking for a $1.00. From 2000 face book friends. This money is only to be used for my exam fees which are $610 for part 2 and part 3, and $350 for Physical Therapy and the big on $1200 for part 4. The grand total of all these exams I have left is $2740.00 which non of my financial aid covers. So I put in long hours at my desk studying till 12:00 or 1:00 am only to wake up at 5:00 am start studying before school. I umpire as much as I can, but the summer is almost over and so are the little leagues. I cater when the opportunities come up. So i am not sitting on my butt doing nothing and expecting something. I just have short comings and gaps that I need help sometimes with. This is why I am reaching out to all those I know. If you have had a great experience with me or something I have done and have ever wondered how can I do something for Greg Shepard. This is how you can. Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-29342791324714648432014-07-03T12:23:00.000-07:002015-03-02T14:20:50.399-08:00Rehab vs. Training the ArmAlan Jaeger a personal friend, Cal State Northridge Alumni, and professional throwing trainer has put a new article worth reading. I have known many players that trained with Alan and achieved amazing results. I believe that his information has personally allowed me to keep throwing into my 40's without injuring my arm. He has many videos and even a book on throwing and they are all worth their weight in gold.<br />
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<a href="http://">http://baseballnews.com/throwing-programs-of-elite-pitchers</a>Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-45565903378718213892014-06-19T13:46:00.001-07:002015-03-02T14:21:55.337-08:00What Does It Take to Be the Best?To be the best your ways of BEING have to align with what you are trying to accomplish. For example, for me growing up I wanted to be a few things. A doctor, A professional motor cross rider, a police officer, a marine, and a professional baseball player. As I grew older I started talking more and more about being a professional baseball player then anything else. I one point I gave up riding motor cross because I feared I would injure myself and not be able to play baseball. So my ways of being started to change to conform to what I was really wanting. I like to party too, but when the partying and drinking began to affect my baseball performance then I had to cut that out too. Again partying and drinking were not in alignment of what I was wanting so I changed my way of being. I even used performance enhancers to elevate my game. Some people say, "You did whatever you had to to make it happen." It it the same with chiropractic school. The closer I get to the prize the more I see myself modify my behavior. I am on a three week break now and all I can think about is how I am going to pay my daughters medical expenses, where can I find extra work, and how many hours a day do I need to study to prepare for my next round of board exams. Everyday I do not put in the time of my craft I feel like I am going backwards. I am not wired for mediocrity. I find it hard to sleep at night just getting by in school with C's. Nobody is going to know what I received for a grade in school accept me. They will just see that I have a doctorate in chiropractic. People will just trust that I know what I am doing. Only thing is I know that I am just getting by and it bothers me. I question my knowledge of the situations. If I only know 70% of the material how can I be 100% sure I know what is going on? Maybe I am to hard on myself? Maybe I ask too much of myself? I remember training as a player and what that required. It required can't see hours. Can't see hours are hours that people can't see you working. Before people wake up and while they are sleeping at night, I was honing my craft. I remember some nights hitting with Eric Cole of the Houston Astros at 11:30 pm. I have worn out so many pairs of batting gloves I should have bought stock in Franklin, Easton, and Rawlings. That is what it takes. Champion Sports has a moto that I align with. "It takes a little more to be a Champion." They are right. There are guys with unbelievable natural talent. If they do not continue to grow, experience, change, adjust, and get better, then in a short period of time they become average players. The raw player or average player that continues to do repetitions and develop their skills will so pass the natural player that does nothing. I find myself lying in bed at night saying how am I going to get the reps I need to become a professional at chiropractic? The back and neck are not an Iron Mike with the ability to just spit out fastball after fastball. How am I going to get patient reps? How will I be able to diagnose injuries and subluxations correctly if I only have 250 treatment hours to graduate? It seems impossible to me sometimes. Then someone says, "That is why they call it a practice." I get to practice on unknowing participants. I am going to take some 60 year old woman's neck in my hands and give it just the right amount of thrust to move the bones in a way that gives her relief without giving her a stroke. Sound scary to you? It used to be scary for me. Today, two years later I know that my intention is to put life back into the body. I only with to restore things not destroy them. I love chiropractic because it has many similarities to baseball. Both are performance and result driven. Both require daily practice to improve. Continuing education is a requirement for both. My body has to be able to perform at a high level for both. Proper practice leads to better performance. I have heard people say perfect practice equals perfect performance and there is truth in this. What is really required is the discipline to be committed to what I say I want and the actions I do. I can say I want to be a chiropractor, but if I just go to school and do the minimums and then find other things to occupy my time and I really committed to what I said I wanted? Am I really doing a little more? Am I really doing what it takes to become a champion for chiropractic? If the results are not in alignment with the goal then there is only one piece of the equation to change and that would be the action. I am committed to changing the results and the action. What are you committed to doing?Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-30320810112855726492014-01-22T11:18:00.001-08:002014-01-22T11:18:11.857-08:00Online Academy has been SHUT DOWN.I have recently shut down the online academy because of the financial strain that is associated with keeping a business open while being in chiropractic school. So I have chosen to shut it down for the time being. I will keep this site open and have another site that I am working that will encompass baseball and chiropractics. I love baseball and will always be part of the game, just more on the clinical side instead of as an instructor.
Thank you for all your support over the years.
Greg ShepardGreg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-73433276925940176692013-05-06T11:22:00.000-07:002015-03-02T14:25:07.625-08:00NOS Swing Trainer by Speed Chains<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wv_-LexiVZI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> This is a great product. I own one and take it with my where ever I go. The small balls are easy to carry in a small bag or even a plastic bag.Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-24126955235544389382013-05-05T10:37:00.000-07:002013-05-05T10:37:27.618-07:00ASEA: Research from prestigious lab says, "This stuff really changes the biology of the body." <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/41735974" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
This is a great discovery.
Double blinded cross over studies are a good thing.
They test 2 groups 2 times giving them either the placebo first and then the experimental agent or the agent first then the placebo. Either way they collect data from both groups on both treatments. Some things to keep in mind. How look do the effects of ASEA stay in the body? If group A had ASEA and then was later given the Placebo, would there be any residual affects in the system and how much would this impact the results. Would the group that got the placebo first benefit from the week of training before they were given ASEA? With research you have to not only look at the variables of the research but also a bigger picture.
What things could really make the results invalid?Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-55371061735048594972012-08-25T13:26:00.000-07:002012-08-25T16:31:25.486-07:00Hitting Coach turns ChiropractorThis is just another update on what has been happening for the last five months. Five months ago I started Chiropractic School at Palmer Chiropractic College West in San Jose, Ca. I love it here. School is hard. I wouldn't expect to be any other way. Gross Anatomy I & II, Neuroanatomy and Neuroscience, Spinal anatomy and and and, oh boy I have taken one year of college in almost 6 months. It is a lot of information and it the classes move very quickly. It is medical school. Same structures, same anatomy, pathologies, diagnosis, everything that a medical doctor would learn. The only difference is I do not have to learn the pharmacology or the serious biochemistry that goes into the medical side of drug and interactions. I will not be learning surgery, or how to deliver a baby either. But in Oregon it would be okay for me to do that. Health wise I feel like I have been better. I rarely eat out anymore. I consume nuts and vegetables with lots of fruit. Oh and let's not forget the top ramen. A fine source of nutrition. I have started a juice fast and am updating people on my http://chiro-student.blogspot.com. It is going well. I'm still alive after 3 days and I feel great. I'm very tired lately so I know my body is healing and detoxing. Baseball is good. I'm playing in a league out of Oakland and it is probably some of the best ball I have seen at this level. I am a little hurt now. I have sprained my Sacro-Iliac joint. It's not a fun injury. I continue to pitch but my hitting has suffered. The day after I throw I can hardly walk.<br />
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About what I have learned. I have learned that most people are walking around with some misalignment and should get checked out and receive regular adjustments. If you decided to go to a chiropractor when you are in pain then it is too late. Now you are going to have to go on a regular plan of chiropractics that can cost more. Here is a concept. Think of Preventative Health Care instead of after sick care. By getting regular adjustments you can avoid some of health major pit falls. I have even seen a studied that was done and it showed that people with high blood pressure that received upper cervical adjustments show a significant drop in their high blood pressure. Medical doctors doing the study were amazed. They didn't believe that an adjustment worked better than drugs with not harmful side effects.<br />
I have personally noticed when I was receiving regular adjustments for Dr Ormand that my overall health was better. I did not get any sinus infections that year. I usually get one every year around allergy season. My baseball performance increased. I was able to throw more batting practice without pain or stiffness than ever before. My range of motion was the best it had ever been and I just moved better. Professional teams are jumping on board with chiropractics. Dr. Prusso, who works in our student clinic is the Oakland Raiders chiropractor, Terry Schroeder, the men Olympic Water Polo coach is a chiropractor and has had one with his team as the team physician for three Olympics now. The San Francisco Forty-Niners have a team chiro. Joe Montana and Jerry Rice are huge supporters of chiropractics. So what do these athletes know that the general public doesn't? They know in order for their bodies to perform at the highest levels the main structure of the spine and all it's important nerves need to be all working and in line. Go go see a chiropractor today. Avoid painful surgeries and medications with harmful side effects down the road. I don't claim that chiropractics is the end all. No chiropractic adjustment has ever cured cancer or stopped a heart attack. Either has any drug or medical procedure. Wellness is a choice. It is a series of choices over a life time that start to add up. What you are today a because of a series of choices you made in the past. So if you want to change your future then change the choice you are making today. I recommend better food choices, a little exercise, some quality connecting time with yourself, your significant other, your children, and even your maker. Slow down a little and take off your shoes and walk in the grass. Breathe deeper and smell some fresh air....if you city has any. Buy a good water filter and cut back on the soft drinks, energy drinks, triple shot of espresso. Most of all educate yourself. In the end your health is YOUR sole responsibility. <br />
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Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-59515440690431668912012-06-28T12:25:00.000-07:002012-06-28T12:25:29.723-07:00My Boys...16U Trosky Baseball<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpyJ1rAP_JpsXh12u1IJQb6jDa-b7_FbitJI_rXM_uU6eHVElFRPv6dOxZINdPdPqkpoJXbJp-l9xf3L4GTgvUFLK2Cm4JLPb_yxgCMgJHdb1Xbwx_2ivDtxCDdKyBJ5a-EZD0gI_mnFA/s1600/abreen3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpyJ1rAP_JpsXh12u1IJQb6jDa-b7_FbitJI_rXM_uU6eHVElFRPv6dOxZINdPdPqkpoJXbJp-l9xf3L4GTgvUFLK2Cm4JLPb_yxgCMgJHdb1Xbwx_2ivDtxCDdKyBJ5a-EZD0gI_mnFA/s320/abreen3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I just wanted to acknowledge the boys of 16U White Team for all there hard work they have put in this summer, and its only June. In the 2 tournaments that I have coached with you fine gentleman you have gone from 0-2-1 to 3-1 and a 2nd place finish. Your first tournament was not that great either. Here is what I see as an improvement so far. You are starting to play together as a team. Picking each other up and encouraging each other on. You don't panic. It's just another play, pitch, inning and you play the game very calm and cool. This will be to you advantage when the real pressure comes later. You all work hard and give your best. You are able to be coached. Between Adam and I there is 8 years of division I baseball and 17 years of professional baseball as players. Not to mention I have been a teaching pro for 19 years. All you guys ask questions and go out and try to apply this learning quickly. I am looking forward to our next outing. Keep playing hard.When you get back to school in the fall you will see the difference when you get around other players that have not used the summer to their advantage.<br />
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Featured Hitter: Andrew BreenGreg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-35346359207822219232012-06-27T01:59:00.001-07:002012-06-27T01:59:07.320-07:00BBCRAP UPDATEI thought I had included this a few months ago but I see that the original post was left in my unpublished area. I did some additional testing on the EASTON SPEED SERIES bat. I liked it a lot. I finally hit a ball 90 mph with a BBCOR bat. I averaged out at 84.85 mph. In the thirty balls that I hit clean during the test only 6 of them were 90 mph. That's on average 2 per 10. The other thing that was not so good was the number of balls I hit in the 70's. (8) which is about 3 per 10. That means 3 out of 10 times the ball is not going to get out of the infield and if it does it's not going over the outfielder's head. I am seeing more and more of these bats being used so I might not be the only person feeling this way to. My test is done from a tee with the same 10 balls. The ball have to be what I considered struck cleanly. I throw out any ball I feel is not hit near or on the sweet spot. The purpose of this test is to find out the max exit speed of what I can swing.<br />
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Average Exit Speed 84.85 mph<br />
Max Exit Speed 90 mph<br />
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I like the feel of this bat too. It has an over all good feel to it.<br />
I would swing this bat if I had too.<br />
I am no paid or endorsed by any bat company.<br />
I am a hitting advocate and want to put the best equipment in the hands of my students<br />
and hitters. <br />
My recommendation from the beginning has been start swinging wood and still is.<br />
Wood, Composite Wood, and Baum bats still outperform BBCOR bats.Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-22873414140173412642012-05-12T14:14:00.001-07:002012-05-12T14:17:48.496-07:00The Hands and why lining up the knuckles is Important.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-61941259519409735572012-05-12T13:47:00.000-07:002012-05-12T14:03:17.616-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Steve Johnston- HHN Henderson, NV 702-330-8004 <br />
Greg Shepard - HHN San Jose, CA 702-250-2678Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-50141608715414267372011-11-17T10:18:00.000-08:002015-03-02T14:26:39.571-08:00Pro Hammer Specific Results: Miles Bice<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifep6sxfQIIuezi1qQ3ETMtLqoZUJqSSKo6pcr59fiwoG75QlFcnxMuFpS4MfxbEsDL207KJpRt_Sbp76qdr8wFlAYy6R9BzsehRlZ84sTWHfxaMLuNfaeMoNMYrUrOz6GCpmpoAyZjaY/s1600/Pro+Hammer+Logo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifep6sxfQIIuezi1qQ3ETMtLqoZUJqSSKo6pcr59fiwoG75QlFcnxMuFpS4MfxbEsDL207KJpRt_Sbp76qdr8wFlAYy6R9BzsehRlZ84sTWHfxaMLuNfaeMoNMYrUrOz6GCpmpoAyZjaY/s320/Pro+Hammer+Logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676032800764152802" border="0"></a><br />
Before Video Recorded in 1000 fps. <br />
Specifically look at the head at contact.<br />
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<br />
This is after 2 months of lessons using the Pro Hammer in short toss drills.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzrWo0KJr52uDWVT-pzFrp4EOM6WHdaWq8vXGzLHeGP0BrhGBV9xnfO4AFhhux_eOYaYy1Yf4_yyjKM1sIehQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
<br />
The results are cleaner strikes near the sweet spot of the bat. <br />
Then when a bat is used there are more consistent strikes near the sweet spot<br />
producing harder hit balls more often.<br />
<br />
I'm sold. You should be to. Call me today and order you very own Pro Hammer.Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-46928789597885070552011-09-19T10:20:00.000-07:002011-09-19T11:27:03.275-07:00BBCOR or BBCRAP!Over the past few months I have personally tested and test some of my hardest hitting students with the newest BBCOR metal 5.0 bats, what I have discovered may just surprise you.<br />These are the models I have tested<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9eUS9gHAcfmwTvQlaE-0gG3xEzauoSdnjY64wDW51WqpWc0ihuOKwnAeE0FrYFbbseZgcadae7Utt7NAGLnQgQGughEe6KgtlxcJUqJPPNIN7O7zxnBdXuNTLeEK-NxvfefcxNBfMf0/s1600/5150bbcor.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 251px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9eUS9gHAcfmwTvQlaE-0gG3xEzauoSdnjY64wDW51WqpWc0ihuOKwnAeE0FrYFbbseZgcadae7Utt7NAGLnQgQGughEe6KgtlxcJUqJPPNIN7O7zxnBdXuNTLeEK-NxvfefcxNBfMf0/s320/5150bbcor.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654124436076047410" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0waOJrw2HoXkom9hYKKBDLejchrnsLfBLjGILnS_yRuP74YCiN6hcEcNtorQHQ2NY2hjgn441UC1rrhovSxkRIcIeKkloGk-1DJh9ItgvZ9bW6bQ92-JC9X30AOSKiqYy0gfYWRKXa4/s1600/exobbcor.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0waOJrw2HoXkom9hYKKBDLejchrnsLfBLjGILnS_yRuP74YCiN6hcEcNtorQHQ2NY2hjgn441UC1rrhovSxkRIcIeKkloGk-1DJh9ItgvZ9bW6bQ92-JC9X30AOSKiqYy0gfYWRKXa4/s320/exobbcor.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654124859284134578" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseiiK1hOsgPFn8eAA7JCnWz4HFjMB5wEDU7pxxgsx28Pil3MdBlZR_0it_Kj4O_5oknxVn0OpK5Vysu-VHXivs3zkknkDZ78Ubqw3vqiI4laVzaLo0rQ12DLAWHFLkzJHz1DrMNnNcgo/s1600/surgebbcor.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseiiK1hOsgPFn8eAA7JCnWz4HFjMB5wEDU7pxxgsx28Pil3MdBlZR_0it_Kj4O_5oknxVn0OpK5Vysu-VHXivs3zkknkDZ78Ubqw3vqiI4laVzaLo0rQ12DLAWHFLkzJHz1DrMNnNcgo/s320/surgebbcor.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654125275911752290" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Personally I hit over 30 balls with each bat. I understand why home runs in college baseball went down 49% this past year. I used my Zelocity Radar gun to get an exit speed off these bats. To give you and idea of my past results over the years here are some numbers. in 2010 I hit and average of 95mph with the DeMarini Vodoo, 96 mph with the TPX EXO, 93 mph with the 5150 and 91 mph with my BAUM Bat. I topped out at 103 mph with the EXO, but my average was 96 mph. With my 34 inch 31 once Baum bat I topped out at 98 mph.<br /><br />In my controlled testing I hit 10 balls with each bat 3 times and took a 5 minute rest in between rounds. If i miss hit the ball and did not put a clean swing on it I tossed out the result. My purpose was to test for clean and hard strikes on the ball to get a maximum exit speed average.<br /><br /><br /><br />5150<br />Average Exit Speed (AES): 83 mph<br />Top Exit Speed (TES) 86 mph<br /><br />Surge<br />AES:84 mph<br />TES: 88 mph<br /><br />EXO<br />AES: 85 mph<br />TES: 87 mph<br /><br />Then I tested it against a BBCOR DeMarini that was given to me on my birthday.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCiqgxw6eqWWYJr9LfCGdrXRz7TSsRFyufNjg_gSeLY6o7W1yD-PJMiF9R6MqeGC4cp-ZsOqrTzxPHofhbODUxFdVvLVRY_SJR8Vc18KPmxoJFXLGiWa-xwqjGV4bvYmY4G2YhlZN0V9I/s1600/wood+bbcor.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 251px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCiqgxw6eqWWYJr9LfCGdrXRz7TSsRFyufNjg_gSeLY6o7W1yD-PJMiF9R6MqeGC4cp-ZsOqrTzxPHofhbODUxFdVvLVRY_SJR8Vc18KPmxoJFXLGiWa-xwqjGV4bvYmY4G2YhlZN0V9I/s320/wood+bbcor.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654129708747896642" border="0" /></a><br /><br />AES: 87 mph<br />TES: 90 mph<br /><br />What bat got the best result? It wasn't a metal bat at all. It was the Baum Bat and the new on I just got has a BBCOR 5.0 stamp on it. The model is a AAA Pro Standard Knob.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJL7mBb-fAPYJkbw2tWWd-NKSL8pX7C_b0ICiMZdHaCTAzvU-_iNv6YLrVaxkdOywHSrI0iwcnGPYhp21QLBS-cUPB_EXiM845gsi_imjLd2pcr5wxrxl032yIKrmI96AjP128Xhed0Q/s1600/baum+bat.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJL7mBb-fAPYJkbw2tWWd-NKSL8pX7C_b0ICiMZdHaCTAzvU-_iNv6YLrVaxkdOywHSrI0iwcnGPYhp21QLBS-cUPB_EXiM845gsi_imjLd2pcr5wxrxl032yIKrmI96AjP128Xhed0Q/s320/baum+bat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654134824278437490" /></a><br /><br />AES: 90 mph<br />TES: 94 mph<br /><br />What do these speed mean? Well a ball traveling at 90 mph at 45 degrees of angle will travel on average about 360 ft. A ball traveling 85 mph at 45 degrees of angle will travel on average about 280 ft. Clearly 90 mph has a chance to leave the yard a lot more than 85 mph. Bryce Harper hit a ball at Tropicana Field with an exit speed of 105 mph and it hit up in the top of the stadium some 470 ft away with a Non-BBCOR DeMarini Vodoo. <br />So my advice is to swing wood. It will hit the ball harder and force you to change your swing to one that drives the ball. The days of the ball exploding off the bat are over thanks to BBCOR. I prefer the Baum Bat because it is an composite that last a long time. Hits consistently the way real wood does but does not have the breakage that real ash or maple does. I test other students and the results were very similar that is why I am just sharing my numbers.<br />In conclusion these $300.00 to $400.00 BBCOR bats are straight crap. My students are going to wood and I think you should too.<br />The Baum Bat is also a great way to learn how to swing a wood bat properly with out breaking bats in the process. Metal bats are great because in the past they have been explosive when the ball is hit in the sweet spot and forgiving when hit on the handle or end. I have seen balls leave the park when not even hit that well or even above or below the sweet spot of the barrel. Wood bats are not forgiving at all. If you hit a ball to far down on the handle the bat cracks or even breaks in half. If a ball is hit on the end the same result happens and there is no chance that ball is going to leave the yard. BBCOR bats perform truer to traditional wood, but based on my testing results they under perform overall.<br />I will preface this also. I am not paid by any of these companies to test these bats or sell these bats. I am a professional hitting instructor that only wants to see my students perform their best. I think these new BBCOR bats actually hurt their chances of being seriously scouted by college and professional teams because they perform below what I would consider a Major League Baseball standard.Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6794969783803651227.post-53976799634437295022011-07-26T20:25:00.001-07:002011-07-26T20:43:22.518-07:00WAY TO GO KRYSTAL!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxV6mCkytzZCby89oSUOiHQZ1EpKT3DRgjbDHcvMcuroU6KnsxRHIgApq7H_Lkcr9TA9I5BLOZjEzJFhOVY58Sv-mHlU2CxNuKG3_UhYar7JgsRO7WRzI-WV2xhTOSpt80b6OA11P574/s1600/CIMG0311.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxV6mCkytzZCby89oSUOiHQZ1EpKT3DRgjbDHcvMcuroU6KnsxRHIgApq7H_Lkcr9TA9I5BLOZjEzJFhOVY58Sv-mHlU2CxNuKG3_UhYar7JgsRO7WRzI-WV2xhTOSpt80b6OA11P574/s320/CIMG0311.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633869814920245394" /></a><br />Krystal came 4 weeks ago to get some softball hitting lessons. She has worked so hard and this past Sunday she hit a hard hit that tied the game and set up the next hitter to hit the game winner. I love to here success stories like this. <br />Awesome job!Greg Shepard Professional Baseball Instructor and Future Chiropractorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04698274038861386317noreply@blogger.com0