#baseballfitness

After a long, hard winter nothing compares to the clink of a baseball off of a bat.  As the Nats and so many baseball teams and leagues around the nation brush the dirt off their cleats, we all could learn a lesson or two about the importance of strength and conditioning.

The sport of baseball requires strength, agility & quickness (to go from a standstill to a sprint as fast as possible, often requiring quick change of directions and accelerating), flexibility & mobility (having the range of motion of the hip and shoulder torque of pitching and throwing), and deceleration to transfer energy from throwing and swinging. Baseball players should be training more like sprinters, not long distance runners and focus on ground based, multi-joint movements that will mimic movements during game play. 

To prevent injury and improve your field skills & play, add my Top 6 Strength & Conditioning essentials like the pro’s perform and your little leaguer should learn some noticeable game improvements.

Lisa’s Top 6 Strength & Conditioning Essentials for the Baseball Player! 1)     Dynamic Warm-up including Mobility Drills & Flexibility: Warming up properly through sport movement patterns.

♦     Mobility is key to staying injury free. Most players maintain their strength, but lose their mobility (overcoming muscular imbalances) One example of an dynamic warm-up/mobility drill to be incorporated in a baseball warm-up: ♦     Range of Motion Improvement- Foam Rolling, Stretching, Balance & Stabilization

2)     Agility, Quickness & Speed (goals: change of directions, speed, accelerations all while maintaining form and eye contact).  A full recovery between reps & sets is a must to assimilate energy system.

♦     Cone & Foot Work drills: Figure 8, Diagonal Cone Runs/Shuffles, vary the patterns-play catch, hop scotch, etc

♦     Acceleration Drills (Example: getting up from ground to sprint, hops to sprint, reaction drills)

3)     Speed, Power & Explosiveness. ANY athlete will need a solid foundation of total body strength before increasing the rate of force development. Speed x Strength = Power!  Explosiveness is to react quickly while using strength and force to propel you.

♦     Olympic lifts & Plyometrics (example-Box Jumps) *Jumping & landing techniques are crucial ♦     Resistive Band and sleds (Sprints/Shuffle/Side Running/Reaction, etc)

4)     Core Power ♦     Medicine Balls Explosive Throws & Slams (use the wall for Side to Side throws, ¼ turn to throw, Overhead, Ab Throws) ♦     Reverse Back Extentions & Glute Bridges (advanced- add weight) 5)     Total Body Strength Training: Strength is the foundation upon which speed and explosiveness is built from. ♦     Squats, Lunges, RDL’s, Bench, Pull-ups, Rows, Shoulder & Wrist exercises ♦     Correct imbalances of thoracic spine and shoulder: TYI, foam roll, pre-hab specific exercises on the position you play.

6)     Nutrition! ♦     Eat a meal 2-4 hours before game: High in Complex Carbohydrates, Low in fat, moderate protein & Low in Fiber. Examples: turkey sandwich with slice of cheese, cereal and low-fat milk, pasta with tomato sauce.

♦     Eat a snack 1 hour before game. Examples; fruit (low in fiber- plums, melons & peaches), toast with peanut butter, or granola bar(cliff bars). Avoid sugar.

♦     Refuel within 30 minutes post game. Examples: 8 oz low fat chocolate milk, banana with peanut butter, Pb & J sandwich, recovery drink

♦     Hydrate always with water. Drink 12oz 2-3 hours before game & 4 oz every 15 minutes. *Only for training more than 1 hour, drink 8-10oz. of electrolyte replacement or nibble on fig newtons. For every pound lost after training, drink 16oz. water.

For sport specifc workout including baseball for all ages, Contact Lisa at www.lisareedfitness.com Watch Lisa’s segment on Let’s Talk LIVE on thee tips above!

Pitching involves a short burst of explosive movement down the mound in order to throw with high velocity.  A pitcher relies on his legs to drive quickly down the mound in order to accelerate the throwing arm around and deliver the pitch.

Remember that Force = Mass x Acceleration, so the goal is to create explosive movements that accelerate the arm, which in turn boosts velocity while allowing the body's bigger muscles (legs & hips) to take stress off the arm.

The pitcher’s motion lasts less than 2.0 seconds on average, and lasts less than 1.3 seconds from the stretch. This type of movement relies on fast-twitch muscle movement more than maximum strength. Therefore, in order to build the fast-twitch muscles necessary to repeat a delivery, a pitcher would benefit more from explosive training in the weight room over mass building.

In addition, a pitcher’s training should emphasize the functional strength necessary to maintain balance and posture throughout an explosive pitching delivery. Since the pitcher is mostly on one leg at a time, functional strength training should attempt to isolate each leg separately.

For lower body functional strength training, some dynamic exercises include:

For lower body explosive strength training, some powerful exercises include: 

Take a look at Mets pitching sensation Matt Harvey, who uses a very smooth and balanced, but explosive and continuous, motion to deliver fastballs up in the 99 mph range. This intensity with the lower body is a common trait among all high velocity pitchers.