| What is strength in baseball? | | | | overhead split squats, push ups, and pull ups, and |
| Baseball strength training is necessary for players to | | | | medicine ball work. |
| develop the specialized skills needed to be competitive | | | | Don't Over Train |
| in the sport. Baseball has special requirements that | | | | Once your form is no longer what it should be it is time |
| other sports do not. Building strength for a baseball | | | | to stop the lift. Let your body recover, or lessen the |
| player is going to involve improving all of the areas | | | | weight. Never lift with bad form. You risk injury when |
| below: | | | | your body is unable to maintain proper mechanics. It is |
| -Powerful Legs | | | | important not to overtrain your body. |
| -Powerful Core | | | | Baseball players require explosive force for most of |
| -Flexibility | | | | their actions, like swinging a bat, throwing a ball, and |
| -Linear Speed | | | | running bases. |
| -Quick Reflexes | | | | With proper training the body can produce this |
| -Fast Feet | | | | explosive force on its own during game conditions. |
| -Explosive Lateral Movement | | | | That is what you are training for. Functional strength. It |
| -Great Hand-Eye Coordination | | | | is the power needed for your sport. You must be |
| Baseball Strength Training: Core is Key | | | | quick, explosive, forceful, fast. |
| Your core consists of your hips, buttocks, lower back, | | | | Speed and reactive strength can be taught to the |
| and abdominal muscles. Developing a strong core is | | | | body through your neuromuscular system. You can |
| important for all athletes. The first action you do before | | | | train your system to create large impulses in very |
| you can move your body is to tighten your core. Only | | | | short times. This is how you develop speed strength. |
| then you can move an extremity. In baseball this needs | | | | Important Guidelines to follow: |
| to be done at lightning speed. You need to train your | | | | -Variety - Use freeweights, body weight exercises, |
| body so that the core responds quickly and powerfully. | | | | medicine ball, kettlebells, and resistance bands. |
| Baseball players need maximum speed of muscle | | | | -Protect against injury - Avoid shoulder complications |
| contraction in order to have quick reflexes. There are | | | | by restricting pressing motions to light weights. |
| different ways of training that will produce different | | | | -Lower Body - Train with heavy weights. |
| results. You need to focus on producing quick | | | | -Upper Body - Train with light weights when your |
| explosive movements. | | | | shoulder is involved. Emphasis forearm and grip work. |
| Strength Training Tips | | | | -Core - Don't neglect your core. It's crucial to explosive |
| I am here to show you ways that you can use | | | | power. |
| baseball strength training to develop explosive power | | | | -Rotator Cuff - use light, 3-5 lb weights to train this |
| and speed from your workouts. | | | | area. |
| I have witnessed even a small increase in an athlete's | | | | Baseball Strength Training: Weight lifting |
| power improve his performance in all areas. | | | | Finding the right lifting routine is crucial to a baseball |
| Training sessions should focus on the areas of | | | | player. Done improperly and you could have serious |
| strength that a baseball player requires: | | | | negative consequences. |
| Muscle strength, Speed strength, Starting strength, | | | | One concern is lifting weights over your head. Many |
| Reactive strength | | | | players use too much weight on their overhead lifts. I |
| In order to be competitive in your sport you will need to | | | | have seen several rotator cuffs damaged this way. |
| find a balance in training all of those areas. | | | | The rotator cuff is a very important muscle for |
| Think about not training muscles individually, but training | | | | baseball players. It helps keep the arm in the shoulder |
| your body to move. Exercise your body in patterns | | | | socket. |
| that you will be using on the field. To get the best | | | | To avoid damaging this valuable muscle, don't lift heavy |
| effect train your body holistically. | | | | weights over your head. |
| As baseball players, your legs are going to need more | | | | Lower body exercises like the squat, dead lift, and leg |
| that just lifting weights. They need to develop multi-joint | | | | press are great for building powerful legs. If you have |
| strength and also anaerobic/sprint work while | | | | a spotter it is OK to go heavy with these lifts. Always |
| conditioning. | | | | learn and practice the proper technique before lifting |
| The purpose of your strength training is to develop | | | | with heavy resistance. |
| over-all stability, strength, and power. To achieve this | | | | The purpose of your strength training is to develop |
| goal focus on complex movements that keep you in | | | | over-all stability, strength, and power. To achieve this |
| proper alignment. Maintain good posture throughout the | | | | goal focus on complex movements that keep you in |
| exercise with core strength. | | | | proper alignment. Maintain good posture throughout the |
| A few good exercises for this are front squats, | | | | exercise with core strength. |