Strength and Conditioning – The Single Best Lift For Baseball Players!
by admin on Apr.22, 2012, under Baseball Conditioning, Baseball Strength Training
Having worked with many baseball players and coaches in the past that have all these crazy misconceptions on how a baseball player should train to be a better athlete makes me sick! The fact is that if you have a coach or trainer that tells you that overhead lifts are bad for your baseball career then I feel sorry for you. Now I’m not saying that you should go against your coach because this wouldn’t be an extension of professional courtesy on my part, but if you can properly learn how to execute overhead kettlebell snatches in your own time then I strongly encourage you to do so!
Best Lift For Baseball Players, Period!
Now one of the main problems I have experienced with baseball players and coaches in the past is the fear of executing overhead lifts. The last time I checked the game of baseball was played by you having to hit the ball, catch the ball, and to throw the ball! All of these skills are performed by you having to have a strong powerful core, hips, and complete shoulder stability. If any of these areas are weak or unbalanced you are going to end up with an injury, period! If you want to strengthen these areas then you have to have a smart strength and conditioning plan and this is why I want to introduce to you the kettlebell snatch!
The kettlebell snatch lift is the ultimate kettlebell lift for baseball players in my opinion. This lift is executed by you having to pull the bell from either the ground or from between your legs up to above your head in one smooth explosive movement. The key to doing this properly involves you having to engage your hips and knees in a state of forceful flexion and then immediate extension in an attempt to generate the necessary force to elevate the bell to a high pull position lateral to your head. This “high pull” position should mimic you pulling back on a bow, like with a bow and arrow. Once the bell reaches this particular peak of the movement it will stall out or reach a point of what I like to refer to as “zero gravity.” Once the bell reaches this point you will then want to vertically punch your palm towards the sky and allow the bell to smoothly roll over the back of your forearm and lock it out overhead. This incorporates tremendous shoulder stability and core strength.
If you haven’t already started to implement the overhead kettlebell snatch into your baseball strength and conditioning program then you are failing to meet your body’s fullest potential. Take the time to learn more by accessing more of my articles on the subject for free. Remember that most any baseball player can train hard, but only the champions train smart!
Article written by Brandon Richey
Knowing the Various Speed Training for Baseball Players
by admin on Mar.09, 2011, under Baseball Speed Training, Baseball Training Workouts
So you’re planning to become the next baseball superstar for this generation? You want to become the next baseball legend to grace many sports articles and sports broadcasts? You’re dreaming of becoming every baseball enthusiast’s icon? You’re feeling pretty confident that you have the talent, the guts and all the right stuff of a true blue baseball star. But just when you’re about to start off on your dreams, you hit a roadblock. You hit the hardest and the farthest but you’re too slow!
It’s a good thing speed training exists. Speed training has been used by many athletes in different forms of sports to increase their speed, mobility and endurance. It is also important that you know how and when to develop swiftness. There are numerous techniques in sprinting. These must be practiced at a leisurely pace and then ended off with bursts of runs in the maximum rate. You see, to be able to develop speed, your musculoskeletal and nervous system must be able to coordinate. For a baseball athlete to move faster, the brain needs to adapt to controlling the movements more effectively while the muscles contract rapidly.
There are many speed training exercises emerging in mainstream workouts. There is the reaction speed drill wherein athletes begin in various positions such as a sit-up position, a push-up position, kneeling position, standing position, sitting position, lying on their backs and lying on their chests.
Undergoing a speed training program with corresponding reports to your baseball coach helps you to amplify your speed to another notch and monitor the development of your rate. There is this sprinting speed training, which is done through baseball players sprinting downhill. There is also an existing seven step model that is said to improve your speed and endurance. The steps to enhancing your speed are the ones below:
- You should undergo basic training to enable your body to build up your movements to a higher level that will give you a stronger foundation. Included in this are programs that are utilized to boost muscle strength and endurance.
- The next workout you should undergo is the functional strength training. Workouts that are up against resistance that range from medium to heavy could also be helpful.
- Ballistics training is also used to help enhance rapid movements.
- The fourth step is to engage in Plyometrics. This exercise is done through explosive jumping, hitting, kicking and hopping.
- You should also train to improve your sprinting form and speed endurance to enhance your sprinting techniques and lengthen your muscles’ ability to maintain speed.
- The training sport loading is also helpful to improve a specific speed weakness. Whether you’re up to 100 meter runs or even a marathon, this exercise can help you perfect your speed flaws.
- The last but definitely not the least is the over speed training. This training entails methodical use of speed that go beyond the maximum speed through the utilization of a variety of speed training techniques.
There are also available combination exercises that can help you improve your speed. One of these known exercises is the Kettleball Snatch and Squat jump combo. For this exercise, you need a heavy kettleball and the perseverance of a true athlete.
With the various exercises mentioned above, all that you will basically need is to be persistently conforming to a well designed speed training program. Above all, you have to be determined, optimistic and strictly follow your exercise regimen. Getting the speed that you want and achieving your dreams of becoming the baseball superstar is feasible as long as you know what you want and work hard for it.
Using Off Season Baseball Workouts to Their Fullest Extent
by admin on Mar.01, 2011, under Baseball Conditioning, Baseball Training Workouts
As with any sort of athlete, baseball players can never truly relax; they have to work at keeping themselves always in shape. Even when not playing the game regularly, there is the need to stay fit; otherwise, you run the risk of losing all the strength, flexibility, body control, and so on that you’ve worked so hard to build up. So, off season baseball workouts can help you do just that.
Targeting Areas
In baseball, the arms and upper body are most critical. This is where the strength to hurl the ball and swing the bat comes from, and do both accurately. That’s what separates baseball from mere body building; brute strength isn’t enough. So, set up a program of exercises that you can do three times a week, and be sure to rest at least a full day between each session.
A Typical Program
This is by no means the best of only of the off season baseball workouts, but it’ll give you an idea of what to make use of in your routine. First, for the legs, do three sets of squats, leg curls, and leg extensions. With the squats, do ten to twelve reps; with the other two, twelve to fifteen is good. Next, for the chest, a basic barbell bench press is good. Do four sets, and gradually step down the reps. A typical pattern is twelve, ten, eight, and then six. For your back, a bent over barbell row is god, and you do the same number of reps as for the chest. In terms of reps, a fifteen, twelve, ten and eight pattern is fine.
As the arms are vitally important, you’ll want to do several exercises to target them. First, for the traps (trapezius), a dumbbell shrug is ideal. Be sure to not use too much weight; you may want to check with a trainer first in order to get a proper weight range set up. Then, do three sets, and use twelve, ten and six reps. To work your triceps, a lying tricep extension is perfect. Do three sets, and do ten, eight and eight for the reps. With the biceps, a standing barbell curl will keep those muscles firm and toned. So, do three sets, and follow the same rep cycle as the triceps. The forearms are a critical aspect of baseball playing; so a barbell wrist curl will help keep those muscles fit. But, you also don’t want to over do it; so, only doing two sets of fifteen reps each is best. If the forearms gets too “bulked up”, you’ll lose some of your flexibility and dexterity, and these are critical to playing baseball. Finally, decline sit ups are ideal for working your abs. do three sets of them, and twenty to twenty-five reps each time.
Words of Warning
As stated above, use one of the off season baseball workouts three times a week, and rest for at least a day between each session. This is important; your body builds up its strength during the recovery phase between workouts. If you exercises too often – say, every day – your muscles will end up getting injured, not improved. Next, follow the motto: “Train, not Strain”. Many people push themselves to their absolute limit, and even beyond it and get hurt; they feel that’s how to build up their muscles quickly. It isn’t; it’s a recipe for disaster. Any of the good off season baseball workouts will stress keeping the level of your efforts reasonable – especially as concerns your arms. Damaging or tearing muscles and/or ligaments can result in you being unable to play baseball (or anything else); so always exercise with care.
Myths About Speed Workouts for Baseball
by admin on Feb.22, 2011, under Baseball Speed Training, Baseball Training Workouts
In baseball, speed is part of the game; batters must have enough speed to get from one base to the other quickly, and players must be able to quickly react to the movement of both the batter and the ball, and move and throw the ball as rapidly as possible. To that end, many exercises are designed to boost a player’s speed. Yet, there are some misconceptions floating around that need to be addressed.
Static Stretching is Enough
Some people feel that merely stretching the muscles is all you need, but that’s not the case. You need to do a dynamic warm up, then basic exercises, and some powerful, explosive moves to truly loosen up your muscles.
Speed Training is Impossible
Many people feel that you can only move with a certain degree of speed – whether you’re talking about running, jumping, or any other form of body movement. There’s an old myth that speed is genetic. So long as you meet with a trainer and use one of the speed workouts for baseball that are available, you can significantly improve your speed.
Slow Training can Make You Fast
In many high-impact sports, people think you should run many laps at a slow steady pace. This can help build endurance, but not speed. To do that, your training needs to mimic your anticipated level of physical activity in the sport. That’s why speed workouts for baseball have you jog for a time, then sprint at your maximum speed for about twenty to thirty yards, then run, reduce to a jog, and repeat the process for several repetitions.
Training Every Day is Fine
Too often people forget that the exercise portion of one of the speed workouts for baseball is merely the most obvious element of the workout. After all, it’s the part that everyone feels the most. Yet, the recovery time between workouts is really the critical aspect. It is during that period – generally thirty-six to forty-eight hours – that your body makes its improvements; the muscles build and strengthen. If you train every day, the muscles never get that chance; so, instead of getting stronger, they weaken, and injuries can result.
Young Children Can’t Strength Train
This is a still long held myth – if little children, under about age ten, make use of speed workouts for baseball, they’ll stunt their growth. Now, it is true that children should not do heavy weight lifting, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make use of exercises to boost strength and speed. The key here is tailoring the workout to their body size and level of development. So, things like sit ups, lunges, and push ups are ideal for improving the strength and coordination for children, enable them to recover faster, and boost their overall speed.
No Pain, No Gain
This is a myth still touted by the military. The feeling is, if you’re not hurting from a workout, it hasn’t been effective. In actuality, the really effective forms of speed workouts for baseball – and any other sport, for that matter – are “Train, not Strain”. If you exercise to the point that you’re about to collapse, pass out and/or puke – you’ve gone too far. Remember, the best speed workouts for baseball allow you to recover within a maximum of two days. So, you want to push your body to its limit, but not cross that line. If you do, you’ll end up injuring your muscles, tendons, and maybe even your bones.
Speed Training Equals Interval Training
In interval training, you run sprints of a specific distance – 100 meters, 200 meters etc – and then rest for short periods. That’s not speed training. All forms of speed workouts for baseball incorporate a brief time – from two to eight seconds – of running at your highest possible intensity, and then do some light dynamic moves for a minimum of two minutes. This is how you improve speed.
Training for Baseball
by admin on Feb.08, 2011, under Baseball Training Workouts
Training for baseball includes strength training, agility training and speed training. All three of these are important aspects of baseball. It is important to remember that your goals for your training should be to improve your game.
Training for Baseball – Strength Training
Strength training is an important part of training for baseball. You want to make sure you have outstanding core strength as well as upper body and lower body strength. Below is a routine for strength training for baseball. You should do it 3-days per week:
- Squats – 3 sets (12, 10, 10)
- Leg Curl – 3 sets (15, 12, 12)
- Leg Extensions – 3 sets (15, 12, 12)
- Barbell Bench Press – 4 sets (12, 10, 8, 6)
- Lying Trice Extensions – 3 sets (10, 8,
- Bent-over Barbell Rows – 4 sets (15, 12, 10,
- Dumbbell Shrugs – 3 sets (12, 10, 6)
- Standing Barbell Curl – 3 sets (10, 8,
- Barbell Wrist Curl – 2 sets (15, 15)
- Decline Sit-ups – 3 sets (25, 25, 20)
This workout should take about an hour. Make sure you give your body 1-day rest between routines. Use light weights, your goal is not to build mass.
Baseball players need core strength. You should do abdominal crunches and rotational twists with a medicine ball to increase your strength in your core.
Training for Baseball – Throwing
There is considerable stress placed on your shoulder (especially for pitchers). You need to make sure your rotator cuff muscles are properly trained. Throwing a baseball is actually one of the fastest movements we do with our bodies. You want to work out your shoulders, especially the muscles most associated with deceleration of your arm.
Plyometric exercises are great for the shoulder including the rhomboids, lats, and pectorals.
Training for Baseball – Batting
Swinging a bat properly and well requires good lower body strength, core strength and upper body strength. The training requires high-velocity, explosive movements. Strong hip and leg muscles are needed to initiate your swing, then your body uses your hip and torso and upper body to complete the swing (in that order).
It is important that you engage in a strong core workout. This can include:
- Cable kneeling chop
- Glute bridge march
- Mountain climber (on bench or swiss ball)
- Plank with Diagonal arm lift
- Side planks
- Single leg side plank
- Single leg-lowering
- Slide Bridge
- Swiss-ball knee tuck
You also want strong lats, forearms and triceps which you can do with muscle-specific exercises. These can include:
- Dips
- Pull-downs
- Palms-down dumbbell wrist curls
Swinging with weighted bats can also help you develop strength and speed with the batting motion.
Baseball Training – Cardiovascular
Baseball players must be in excellent shape. You should engage in 30 – 50 minutes of cardio training at least 3 days per week. This can include running, swimming, jogging and jumping rope.
It is important that your training for baseball include activity-specific training as well as overall fitness training as outlined above.
Weight Training for Baseball Players
by admin on Jan.30, 2011, under Baseball Strength Training, Baseball Training Workouts
Weight training for baseball players is different than weight training for other athletes. Baseball players have certain skills that are essential for success which means the player’s workout routines must focus on those skills.
The most essential skills for baseball players are:
- Speed (base running and outfield)
- Agility (batting, base running, batting and infield)
- Strength (batting)
Typically a baseball player is not going to want to add mass. It is important for them to gain strength and speed without adding bulk. This is done by doing the right weight training at the right weight.
Weight Training for Baseball Players – Speed Training
Speed training is something all baseball players should do. You want to maximize your sprinting speed. You do this with both weight training and with sprint training. Weight training can be done 4 to 5 days per week.
If you are going to do your full legs at one session (rather than break them up over 3 sessions, one each for quads, hamstrings and calves) you want to make sure you give your legs at least 1 – 2 days of rest between workouts.
Your goal is not to build mass so do a lower amount of weight and more repetitions per set.
Sprint training should be done 1 to 2 days per week. You want to focus on establishing proper form and explosive initial speed. Top speed is not as important for baseball players.
Weight Training for Baseball Players – Core Strength
A baseball player must focus on their core strength. The core of a baseball player is what helps in batting, fielding and running. Make sure you engage in core training at least three times per week.
Core training can include:
- Abdominal crunch
- Dumbbell crunch
- Glute bridge
- Lateral role
- Modified and side planks
- Single leg and double leg abdominal press
- Supine twists
- Swiss ball exercises
Weight Training for Baseball Players – Strength Training
Strength training is important, but again it is important to remember that your goal is not to build muscle mass. Muscle mass can hinder your swing and your throwing motion so focus on building strength without excess mass.
You should engage in strength training three to four days per week. Make sure you do not exercise the same muscle group two days in a row. It is typically a good idea to give a muscle group 1 to 2 days of rest after working out.
Weight Training for Baseball Players – Bottom Line
The bottom line for weight training for baseball players is you want to engage in functional training. You want your workout routine to focus on the range of motion and skills you need to succeed. Do not build mass, but build strength and power in the muscle groups most important for the sport.
Follow these guidelines for weight training for baseball players and you can increase your performance on the field.
The 4 Kinds of Workouts for All Baseball Players
by admin on Jan.27, 2011, under Baseball Strength Training, Baseball Training Workouts
It takes more than swinging bat skills and chasing after a ball to become an excellent baseball player. It requires a multi-factorial discipline. It takes patience, dedication and loyalty to the sport, and a love for the game to be in it and actually last. And it also takes a body in great shape, a very fit that can perform over and over even with injury. Mind you, not some random squat thrusts there and push-ups here. Training and strength workouts in preparation for baseball competitions should be specific to the needs of the players.
Baseball workout trainings are not the same to everyone, as different player positions require different fitness characteristics. For obvious reasons, everyone in the baseball team should have excellent hitting skills. And the rest should be a combination of endurance, speed, explosive power, attentiveness and agility. This article will illustrate the important components in the workout program specially formulated for baseball players.
Mental Workout
The demand for concentration when baseball players are in the game field can choke non-athletic people. The mental workout for its athletes should not add another arm of stress, but instead prepares them for the upcoming season. It is, no doubt, a waste of time for players marching to the ground, physically prepared but are mentally disorganized. Despite the noise in the background, thanks to the cheering fans and frequent unavoidable comments from the opposing players, quick thinking and decision making are still popular in this sport.
Strength Workout
Perhaps one of the most rigorous categories of workout for the baseball players as immense strength is a need, not a want, in this team game. When muscles are strong and agile, the opportunity for exposure to ligament injuries, sprain and strain actually subsides. Right strength workout gives the players’ body parts vital to the baseball sport such as arms, legs, lower backs, and shoulders, from overusing and poor posture. This training focuses on the core strength of every player.
Speed Workout
What else could be more disheartening for a baseball player though possesses obvious sturdy musculature, but is a slow runner on the field? Time is the number one enemy in any other sport, and not the opponent. If you have the ability to run in one quick swift motion, you own the field. And when you own the field, the likelihood of winning increases from zero chances to fifty percent.
Agility Workout
Agility is defined as the gracefulness of a player that is quick and nimble. When on the field, you expect the athletes to be running from to and fro, one spot to another and changing body positions from time to time. In order to execute those smoothly, without ligament glitches and later on body complaints, baseball players should submit themselves to any workout that centers on agility.
The stated workouts are done in combination to enhance the mentioned characteristics needed by every player in the baseball team. It is not advisable to focus primarily on strength or speed alone, as this will cause troubles later on the actual performance. Rather, workout training ought to start way ahead to give ample time for speed, agility, strength and mental capabilities to be developed to the maximum.
While under these workouts, baseball players, no matter how great the desire is to be the next Alex Rodriguez, thought not impossible, should not submit to trainings intended for Alex Rodriguez and his teammates. There is a designated workout for every category and age level. Brush up with the basics, then after you have mastered under that level, you may now climb up the ladder for advanced trainings. Hence, the term ‘advanced’. It is the responsibility of the coaches to take good care of the workout regimen of the players and make sure that after the training, baseball athletes will be fully equipped to play minus the twisted connective tissues.
Arm Health and Conditioning
by admin on Jul.14, 2010, under Baseball Conditioning, Baseball Strength Training, Baseball Training Workouts
Arm injuries have become a major issue in youth sports. With the development of year-round baseball, travel teams, playing on multiple teams and a complete dedication to baseball specialization, issues caused by repetitive stress are becoming both more prevalent and more severe. With the arrival of Major League Baseball opening day and youth baseball in full swing, examining overall arm health is more important now than ever. That’s why I want to share with everybody the teachings of Alan Jaeger and his viewpoint on arm strength and conditioning.
Mr. Jaeger, as a personal trainer and consultant for nearly 20 years, has worked with over 70 professional baseball players, including Barry Zito, Andrew Bailey and Dan Haren, and countless amateur athletes. There are three significant components to the complete Jaeger Program:
1. The Mental Game
2. Yoga
3. Arm Development
Obviously, all three elements are highly interrelated and the ultimate accomplishments in each facet will contribute to the overall success of each athlete in the program. Yet, because of its unique aspects, after touching on Alan’s philosophy on the Mental Game and yoga, the focus of this article will be on the Arm Conditioning curriculum.
The Mental Game. As previously discussed, baseball is the ultimate “spotlight sport” (Pressure in Youth Sports, May 2005) and creates tremendous stress on young kids. As players continue to develop and mature, they are separated less by physical differences and more on mental differences. The ability to stay focused during their preparation and throughout the game is the missing link between having potential and realizing potential. To maximize performance, Jaeger emphasizes meditation, breathing and visualization. These calming techniques work to simplify the game and can be transferred, through breathing, from practice into game situations thereby enhancing focus and performance.
Yoga. Yoga provides the bridge between mental preparation and game performance by coordinating breathing, flexibility, balance, strength and endurance. Alan notes that “if a player wants to maximize their arm strength, then they also need to build strength in their lower back and core muscle groups that are all a critical part of the kinetic chain.” The core of Yoga is proper breathing, allowing increased concentration and focus, which provides the connection between physical and mental well being. The increased physical conditioning, along with better oxygenation, will help in injury prevention. In addition to the obvious strength and flexibility benefits, Jaeger also believes that properly incorporating yoga into the program will add at least 3 MPH to a pitcher’s fastball since a relaxed muscle is obviously quicker and more efficient.
Pros Learning New Yoga Techniques from Alan
Arm Strength and Conditioning. A cornerstone of the Jaeger Program is the idiom that players shouldn’t be throwing to warm-up, but should instead be warming-up to throw. Arm strength is a key element of any complete player and is just as important to work on as hitting or fielding. Unfortunately, most players, especially kids, neglect their arms. The goal of the Jaeger Program is to have players “thrive on throwing” by following a strength and conditioning agenda designed to build a strong base in the off-season and to establish a maintenance program in season by using a series of arm circles, J-Bands, mechanics, and a committed long toss plan.
Arm Circles. Arm circles must be completed properly before there can even be a thought of picking up a baseball. General physiology now requires a dynamic warm-up before any type of static stretching can take place. A set of arm circles is the first exercise that is done to warm up the smaller muscles in the shoulder to maximize the benefits of the J-Bands. Essentially, arm circles consist of 16-20 revolutions in progressively larger rotations, from very small, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and then full circles. This should be done both forward and backward to build flexibility, balance, strength and stamina in the rotator cuff muscle group.
J-Bands. Exercises with surgical tubing (J-Bands) are an important part of preparing for long tossing. Originally made popular by the renowned orthopedist, Dr. Frank Jobe, J-Band exercises are a series of strength, conditioning, and flexibility movements designed to isolate the specific muscles in the arm, back and shoulder that are used while throwing. The purpose of these exercises is to rehabilitate, develop and prepare the arm before any throwing takes place.
Long Toss. There are two main phases to this part of the program:
1) stretching out; and
2) pull-downs.
While stretching out, the goal is to “massage” the arm as you move further away from your throwing partner. This is done by listening to the muscles and throwing as far as your arm allows. Rather than straight baseball throws, each repetition should be made up in the air and allowing the arm to make a full range of motion. As distance is added, throws should be with proper mechanics and using a “crow-hop” to reduce any stress on the arm. As each player opens-up, the muscles begin to lengthen. It may take a few weeks to build up a solid base and substantially increase distance, but that is the goal of this part of the exercise. During the pull-down phase, you’ll throw on a line as you move back toward your partner about 10 feet each toss. This will help generate arm speed, strength, and acceleration through the release point. Doing this program regularly will certainly help any players arm health and strength. Alan Jaeger states that “arm health is about being proactive, being really smart about a few things, including using proper mechanics and what you’re trying to accomplish with long toss”.
Pros Focus on Alan Jaeger’s J-Band Workout
Throwing so much (a solid long toss session may take 45 minutes or longer) seems to contradict much of the current philosophy relating to repetitive stress arm injuries. Yet, Jaeger contends that properly conditioning the arm by throwing is preventative, not causational. If a proper base is built in the offseason and maintained, a player can consistently throw. However, Alan also acknowledges that it is imperative to understand the variables related to pitch counts and the suggested American Sports Medicine Institute (“ASMI”) recovery periods, which among other things, recommend no overhand throwing at all for 2-3 months a year. Perhaps most importantly, Jaeger states that kids need to try to be more aware and that they should not be throwing on sore or fatigued arms.
The training program should be done frequently. While throwing off a mound is contingent on pitch counts and recovery, for the most part, everybody should simply throw at least five times each week, but at least three times each week if they want to develop their arms. While it may take 3-6 weeks to get into shape and build the base, after that it is okay to throw almost every day. Jaeger explains it this way: “runners want to run, bowlers want to bowl, the muscles want to work and the more a player throws the better they will feel”.
Alan’s message to kids is that if they’re truly committed to finding out how good they can be and care about the game, then they have to be proactive in some of the more neglected parts of baseball. While each player has to hit and take grounders, the truly successful players are the ones that work hard at the more subtle parts of the game. Kids need to know, if they want a future in baseball that they can’t play if they can’t throw so they need to learn how to take care of their arm. Also, they cannot ignore the mental part of the game, which becomes even more important as they get older. So, they need to learn about breathing and mental conditioning. Given the busy schedules that all kids have, make the mental game a priority, even if it’s only for five minutes a day.
Coaches and parents have to be more aware as well as begin to understand that all sports performances should be evaluated on the “process” rather than the “results”. This will allow for a healthier mental approach to baseball. The bottom line is that today’s players have a tremendous amount of information on how to improve and stay healthier. The Jaeger Program is a great example of how kids can stay healthy, improve arm strength and begin to truly excel through mental conditioning and yoga. Needless to say, other than a glove and a bat, the most important baseball-throwing arm conditioning equipment belonging in your baseball bag is the J-Bands.
Article written by Sita Ram
Things to Consider in Baseball Weight Training
by admin on Jul.14, 2010, under Baseball Conditioning, Baseball Strength Training
Every time people, especially non-athletes, hear the word baseball and weight training at the same time, they either raise brows or shake their heads. Maybe because they do know how serious the sport of baseball is to players, and how much more serious weight training is. But when you ask coaches and players, they would, without a hint of skepticism, how effective and efficient this program is when done properly.
But of course, as like many other workout programs, there are many considerations when you are doing weight training and at the same time you are a baseball player. These concerns should not be neglected; otherwise weight training would not yield productive results as expected. This article will give you the points to ponder during weight training in preparation for baseball season.
1. There is a limitation in every player
The training for pros is only intended for pros. Weight training for baseball players is by no other means easy. Coaches should put the limitation of its athletes first before coming out with a regimen workout program. The tiniest injuries can cause serious damage to the players. Now that is a not very good situation to put the athletes into. Coaches should understand that although an increase in strength and stamina of the players is deemed vital for their upcoming performance in the baseball season, once the training is taken outside the borders of their limitation, players will be too strained or injured to play for the actual game.
2. No to overtraining
The reason for training is to prepare the players in its fittest possible state for the baseball season. Fit also means healthy. A three to four sessions per week is enough, running not more than 2 hours every session. Anyhow, do not be too ambitious with the results, as the expected upgrading of the force and endurance does not occur overnight. Give the players ample time to rest between workouts. Overtraining will not bring additional fruitful results. It will only to lead them to become dysfunctional and overstressed athletes in the end.
3. Training workout should be varied
Do you know anything more boring than a repetitive exercise regimen? If this is the case with your weight trainings, chances are only selected muscle groups will be developed, while the others will be gain little development or none at all. Plus, a non-varied exercise regimen will not be posed as a challenge to the players anymore, because sooner or later, they will surely master the routines. Do not be afraid to incorporate other weight training workouts from other sports, as long it has the same or similar goal as yours—intensify the strength of the players’ muscles. Not only with the act of routines, but in speed, too. It is like hitting the two birds in one stone, the goal is to develop muscle strength, but with the variety of the program, flexibility or speed could be also enhanced.
4. Mind the quality, not the quantity
How many times players and baseball coaches have to be reminded that the number of repetitions is pretty useless if it the strength training regimen is being done in an accurate manner? Your muscles may have wonderfully grown a life of its own, but it does not necessarily mean it grew stronger too. Focus on ‘how it is being done?’, and not ‘how many?’
5. Force is the final output
The main principle behind the weight training being implemented in baseball players is the force produced in the end. Since these athletes are more likely swinging bats in the game, not only their muscle strength should be given attention, but also how the force their arm can be able to deliver in haste. This is the primary reason why coaches insist on weight training, to achieve a 100mph or more bat swing record.
The Performance of Baseball Training Aids
by admin on Jul.14, 2010, under Baseball Conditioning, Baseball Training Workouts
There is so many unqualified and inexperience coaches and baseball training aids involved in teaching the game it is hard to determine which one is a waste of money and time. When it comes to finding the best, many factors have to be considered and the most important is experience.
When an inexperienced coach or training aid is used by a player, then the performance of that player will not show on the field. The player may even find themselves falling back in their skill level. This will only frustrate the player or cause them to quit the game all together.
Baseball is a game of basics when it comes to the fundamentals of pitching and catching. There are certain ways to catch and throw a baseball. When these basics have been perfected it will only make the game more enjoyable for the player. After this has been mastered then an experienced coach will begin teaching the basic fundamentals of hitting the ball.
Most of the coaches found at the beginning levels may have only played the game or may not even have played the game at all. This is because they are volunteers. When money is being spent on the improvement of players on the field, it is imperative that the people involved are qualified and not just there to show up.
A personal coach has to show that they have had previous results before being considered a good teacher of the game. This can be done by asking past students what the results of the coach’s instructions did for their performance. If a personal coach is not willing to give out the names of their past students then one should not consider them.
The other things that should be considered when looking to spend money on personal training aids is their durability and does the equipment actually teach the player something. There are too many products and coaches who do not really care about the improvement of their students.
The baseball league should look at the qualifications of a coach or equipment before determining whether they are going to actual improve the players on their respective teams. The league is also somewhere a player should go to find out or get recommendations about the best private coaches in the area.
So much money is spent on the wrong baseball training aids that many players become unsatisfied with baseball that they decide to stop playing. This is disturbing because the game of baseball is something that can be done throughout the life of a player even if it is not done at the professional level.
Article written by Joseph Harrison Jr.
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