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Offseason Conditioning That Produces

Champions

The game of baseball is played in a series of short quick bursts, so as coaches, why notcondition athletes in the offseason to enhance those attributes in players. The goal is to turn

average players into contributors and good players into great players.

Utilize a lifting program three days a week--Tuesday, Thursday and Sundays

Similarly to many other programs with time and facility limitations, the entire body can be

worked in these three days. On alternate days, Monday and Wednesday, the agility program is

used. Split the entire squad into two groups and work for one-half hour. In agility workouts, usemany exercises that improve players' reaction time, power and explosion.

Two workouts are recommended

The first workout is a station workout, and the second workout is a stairwell workoutaccompanied with plyometrics. In the station workout, the players exercise at each station for

one minute (2 to 30 second sets). In between each station, the players run a backward lap on the

track. The stations are as follows:

1. Two laps in 25 seconds each (track 1/11 of a mile)2. Medicine ball abdominal work - 10 pounds. Two players back-to-back passing the ball

over head (one set) and waist high (one set)

3. One legged dot-to-dot (both legs)

4. Jump rope5. Reverse curls - wrist rolls with straight bar

6. Mountain climbers7. Plyometrics - 12 inches, 24 inches, 36 inches only (one set on top, one set up and over)8. Two-legged dot-to-dot (both feet each spot)

9. Throw-downs (abdominals)

10. One-legged half squats11. Lateral hops over a 12-inch cone

12. Step ups - 24 inches

13. Side crunches with 10-pound medicine ball

NOTE : In the complete workout, run over a mile backwards.

The Stairwell Workout is as Follows:

• Two-feet bunny hop every step, two times.

• Two-feet bunny hop two steps, two times.

• Two-feet bunny hop three steps, two times.

• Two-feet bunny hop four steps, two times.

• Two-feet bunny hop as many as possible, two times.

• One-legged hop alternate legs, two times.

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• One-legged hop two steps alternate legs, two times.

• One-legged hop three steps alternate legs, two times.

• HOP up three steps, down two steps.

• HOP up two steps, down one step.

• Sit ups 15 second sets for three minutes.

PLYOMETRICS:

Box Height - 12 inches, 24 inches, 36 inches, 48 inches, 54 inches.

Workout - six times through, jumping on top of boxes and six times jumping up and over the boxes. The boxes are placed three feet apart.

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Baseball is a game of speed and strength. Whether you're a

singles hitter, power hitter, a power pitcher or finesse pitcher, you

need to have a combination of speed and strength. The problem

is most of the workout routines that I see have pitchers and hittersmoving very slowly. We want to put our bodies in fast motion.

Think about how a baseball game is played. You almost go fromvery little action to immediate ballistic action as in a pitcher throwing a baseball, a hitter taking a swing, or a runner having tosprint from one base to another. I have devised five power movesthat I know will help you become a more agile, stronger andpowerful baseball player.

Power Move # 1 - Squat, to-Jumping, XStart in squat positionwith your rear end between your knees. Your knees should be alittle bit wider than shoulder width. From there explode up,extending your legs and your arms out forming an X. Make a softlanding and repeat. Do this for up to one minute.

Power Move # 2 - Backwards RollStart standing with your feet

about shoulder width. Drop down to your rear end, then roll up.Using your hands, point your heels to the sky (lower back shouldbe off the ground) and then come back to a standing position,rolling as fast as you can. You can do this for up to a minute.

Power Move # 3 - Jumping SquatStart with your arms extendedout in front of you with your legs together. Jump as far forward asyou can, moving your arms back in a rowing motion. Squat and assoon as your arms come back up and your body straightens out,hop back to the starting position.

Power Move # 4 - Power Push-UpSet up in a push-up positionwith your chest low to the ground. Using your arms, spring your entire body and feet up off the ground just about an inch. Comedown and absorb the impact in a soft landing.

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Power Move # 5 - 10-pound Ball SlamI love this exercise. Get a10-pound medicine ball. Your feet are about shoulder width apart.You're going to rock the ball between your legs and then backover your head and then come through and slam it down into the

ground. You can repeat this about 10 or 15 times.

These are five great power moves that will help you become a

more powerful baseball player.

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George Carlin did a classic bit of comedy on the differences

between the sports of baseball vs. football, giving the impression

that the two sports couldn't be more opposite in terms of pace,

terminology and other factors. We agree and would add that thetraining for each sport has to be different as well. Both sports are

power oriented sports, but there are differences in how that power

is expressed and trained.

Sport & Athlete Needs Assessment The trainer has to assessthe unique needs of the sport and allocate time to improving eachquality within the athlete. Athletic abilities assessment should be

made for each athlete to match the athlete's needs to the sportbased on the level of competition. Then the athlete has a clear roadmap of where they are and where they wish to go based ontheir motivation and goals.

All sports differ in terms of the relative importance variousphysical skills contribute to the game and to individual athlete'sperformance. The movements in baseball are ballistic in natureand involve full-body activity. The ability to repeatedly performnear maximal level with limited rest bouts is necessary for baseball players.

Baseball players should not be trained to build excess bulk or muscle mass. They should focus on improving quick, reactivemovements, increasing explosiveness and injury prevention, aswell as improving speed and trunk rotation. This will lead toimproved bat speed and ball velocity.

Energy Systems Because of the anaerobic nature of the game,baseball players use the phosphagen system as the primarysource of energy. About 80% of the body's metabolic energy willcome from the phosphagen system. Training programs involvingsprinting and plyometric exercises under 10 seconds in duration

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that provide complete recovery are indicated. This type of trainingwill improve speed and power development.

Rotational MovementsOne of the key differences in baseball is

that the main activities of hitting and throwing occur in arotational plane of movement and are very ballistic or explosive in nature. Therefore, baseball players need to trainrotationally with light weights and high speed. Exercise thatemphasizes rotating the hips and torso using resistance fromcables/pulleys, dumbbells and medicine balls are effective.

Players often lack abdominal or core strength. Abdominal

crunches and various rotational twists with a medicine ball shouldbe used to develop a strong muscular base in this area. This willfocus on improving strength and power in the rotational musclesof the core area that are vital for swinging a bat or throwing a ball.

Shoulder Stability & Rotator Cuff Work Another key differenceis the unusually high stress placed on the shoulder joint generally and the rotator cuff muscles. The act of pitchingoccurs at an angular velocity at the shoulder joint approaching

7,000 degrees per second (almost 20 full circles) and is one of thefastest human movements. This places the shoulder joint andsurrounding muscles at significant risk of injury from repetitivestress.

Exercises that strengthen the anterior and posterior shoulder muscles in a balanced manner are vital. The shoulder should beflexible to allow for adequate external rotation necessary to throw

at high speeds. Deceleration is the phase of pitching mostassociated with injury. Specific exercises to develop the musclesresponsible for deceleration (mainly the rotator cuff and scapulamuscles) are crucial.

Plyometric exercises for the shoulder and upper body are useful

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due to the explosive nature of the pitching motion. Exercises for the rhomboids, lats, pectorals and shoulder area are necessary tothrow at high speeds.

Bat Speed TrainingSwinging the bat is a skill that is uniqueto baseball . Players need good lower body and core strength todevelop power in the swing. These muscles need to be trainedrotationally in a high-velocity, explosive manner.

Strong hip and leg muscles will initiate the swing, the core areathen sequentially transfers the rotational speed to the torso andthe arms to complete the swing. The efficient transfer of force

from the lower body to the upper body, known as the kinetic chainprinciple, requires that there be muscular balance for optimalsequential transfer of forces.

Strong lats, triceps and forearms will help to continue batacceleration through ball contact. Squats, bench presses, pullups, forearm and triceps exercises will develop the potential for power. Bat Speed Training with heavy and light bats within aprescribed range will transfer that potential to the actual sports

skill in a specific manner.

Ball Velocity TrainingThrowing a baseball with high velocity is an explosive, full-body movement that requires total body development. Strong leg, hip and core muscles are crucial totransfer power from the ground, through the lower body to thetorso and eventually to the arm and hand to provide a fast, whip-like release of the ball. The efficient transfer of force through the

proper sequencing of body parts through the legs, hips, trunk, andupper limb to the ball is crucial.

In addition to strength training, a weighted ball program or medicine ball throwing progression can be utilized to improvevelocity. This will improve the ability to generate power in the

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throwing muscles. The combination of a heavy load to build power and a light load to build arm speed, thrown in a prescribedmanner, has been shown to improve throwing velocity safely.

The athlete should train for proper trunk rotation during armcocking as well as strength and flexibility in order to generateangular velocity within the trunk for maximum ball velocity.Training should involve trunk rotational exercises to develop theobliques so that maximum arm speed can be generated.

Biomechanical AnalysisWe use video analysis of the pitchingand hitting mechanics of each player for technique analysis, fault

correction and feedback, as well as for assessing progress at alater stage of the program

Visual Skills TrainingWe also incorporate visual skills training for batters since the ability to accurately track the baseball andpredict where it's going to be is crucial to a hitter. Without thisunique skill, all your other training can be rendered useless. Manyof the exercises are easy to perform and do not require expensiveequipment.

Mental and Emotional Skills TrainingWe introduce mental andemotional skills training to help players deal with both successand failure, as well as to deal with game pressure. Baseball isunique in that being successful three times out of ten gets you tothe Hall of Fame. Players have to deal with consistent failure andstill remain confident.

The following are the basics for a Baseball / SoftballConditioning Workout:

Cardiovascular Training: Sprints and interval training, not longdistance runningStretching: Important for increased flexibility andinjury prevention.Strength Training: Important for increased

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maximum strength. Begin with bodyweight exercises andprogress to weights.Medicine Ball Exercises: Important for rapidpowerful upper body movements to develop increasedexplosiveness and rotational forces.Plyometrics: Used in

conjunction with strength development in an integrated programto improve the link between the strength developed in the weightroom and the ability to develop explosive power, speed andagility.Speed, Agility and Quickness Training: When it comesto baseball, speed and agility are important on both sides of thefield. Speed is important in the field where hit balls must bedefended. On offense, speed puts pressure on the other teamand distracts the pitcher and catcher; this help the hitter get better

pitches to hit. The development of speed and agility is as vital asthe development of batting power and throwing arm stability.

When you translate the strength developed in the weight roomwith the speed developed during the plyometric training and thenadd proper batting and pitching mechanics, you will have astronger, more powerful, more productive player.

All training needs to be integrated with sports skill training. You

cannot do either area in isolation without leaving the player'sdevelopment lacking. Trainers need to work closely with the teamcoach and medical staff to ensure a balanced, effective trainingprogram. Nutrition and diet and various recovery methods shouldbe discussed with appropriate professionals in those fields.

Return to Main Articles

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. MEDICINE BALL OVERHEAD TOSS (2 Handed)

This movement is the perfect way to train all the muscles used in throwing a

baseball. Use a weighted medicine ball, and aim for 4 to 6 sets of between 30 to

45 seconds each. If you're training with a buddy, the two of you can just playcatch-if you're alone, just catch your own rebounds off a wall.

HOW TO DO IT: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and your knees

slightly bent. Raise the medicine ball above your head, and pull it behind just as

you would to throw a baseball. With both hands, explode your arms forward in a

throwing motion.

2. WALKING LUNGESStrengthening the legs is hugely important for increased speed, better reactions,

and higher vertical jumps-and it's especially important for pitchers. The great

thing about this exercise is that it not only works and stretches the leg muscles

specific for running, but also mimics the lower body position of the pitching

motion. Remember, the stronger you can push off the rubber or the ground, the

faster and farther your throws will go!

Shoot for 3 to 5 sets of this exercise, and gradually increase the weight as theweeks go by. Work the weight up until you can manage only 6 to 10 repetitions.

Keep in mind that muscular endurance is just as important as muscular strength;

so at least once a week, devote a leg workout to endurance. A series of 15, 30-

second sprints with 30 seconds rest between each sprint will work fine.

HOW TO DO IT: Grasp two dumbbells in your hands. Take a large stride

forward, and bend your front knee until it is at 90 degrees. DON'T LET YOUR

KNEES TOUCH THE GROUND! Then bring your back foot forward as you standup. You should end each rep with your feet together in an upright position.

3. TRUNK ROTATIONS

Trunk rotation is perhaps the most important aspect of off-season baseball

training. Think about it: whether your hitting, throwing, running or fielding, your

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body is twisting in some way. The muscles of your torso-abdominals, hips, and

lower back-are essential for all baseball activities.

Seated medicine ball rotations are an ideal exercise for training your trunk. The

key here is to gradually add speed to your rotations, not resistance. Heavy trunk

work only adds unnecessary strain on your spine, and doesn't do anything to

help your performance.

HOW TO DO IT: Simply sit on the ground with your feet flat on the floor-your

knees slightly bent as if you were about to do crunches. Take a weighted

medicine ball and twist to one side. Tap the ball on the ground at your side, then

lift it, and twist all the way to the other side. Tap the ball, and repeat.

4. WRIST CURLS

Whether it's turning over your wrists during your bat swing, or releasing the ball

during your throw, wrist and forearm strength play an important role in baseball.

Wrist curls are the best way to strengthen both your wrists and forearms.

HOW TO DO IT: Sit on a bench with your elbows resting on your knees, and grip

a barbell (palms facing upward) with your hands at shoulder width. Using only

your forearms, curl the barbell up, and slowly let it down.

5. CABLE CUFF ROTATIONS

The importance of off-season training is not only to improve your performance,

but also to lessen your chances for injury. As we all know, the shoulder-

especially the rotator cuff-is the most common place that players hurt

themselves. To prepare your shoulders for the season, you should perform at

least three sets of cable cuff rotations, each with 12-15 reps.

HOW TO DO IT: Just stand by the cable machine and grip the handle with your

outside hand. Holding your elbow at your side and bent at 90 degrees, pull away

from the weight stack rotating your shoulder outward.

If you incorporate these exercises into an overall workout, your performance is

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guaranteed to improve-and your chances of getting injured will shrink. Keep in

mind, weight training is an important aspect of off-season baseball, but so are

your skills. Train with weights, but keep throwing, hitting, and running to maintain

your sport specific abilities. That way, when spring rolls around, you'll be ready to

rock and fire!

Tips to Train Safely (From American Academy of Pediatrics)

1.Before beginning a formal strength training program, make sure your doctor

has approved you to train with weights.

2.Be sure and do aerobic training as well, if you want to get the full benefit of

training.

3.Warm-up before every training session with stretches, and cool down at the

end of every workout. Jumping rope or a slow jogging is a great way to do both.

4.Do not increase your weight until you can complete 8 to 15 repetitions of an

exercise with good form.

5.If you ever notice any sign of injury or illness during training-light-headedness,

shortness of breath, or pain-stop immediately and do not train again until you

have seen your doctor.

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Tuesday, Thursday, Friday @ Hare Field

Week 1 (Both)

7 min. MileSprints x5 20 yd. 30 yd. 40 yd.

Week 2 (Both)6:45 min. MileSprints x3 20 yd. 30 yd. 40 yd. 50 yd.

Week 3 (Both)

6:30 min. MileSet of Lines x3 10 yd. 20 yd. 30 yd. 40 yd.

Week 415 min. 2 Mile (Pitchers 2 out of 3 days, only Cond for the day)Set of Lines x3 20 yd. 30 yd. 40 yd. 50 yd.

Week 514:30 min. 2 Mile (Pitchers 2 out of 3 days, only Cond for the day)Sprints x2 40 yd. 60 yd. 80 yd. 100 yd.

Week 6 14:15 min. 2 Mile (Pitchers Tues & Thurs, only Cond for the day)Set of Lines x5 10 yd. 20 yd. 30 yd.

Sprints: Sprint to distance, walk back to goal line and repeat

sprint, Do as a team-wait till last player gets to the line, hurryup if needed. Coach stand on distance, players say “go” atgoal line.

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Conditioning Drills with the Chicago White Sox

Time to start conditioning for the baseball season. Better go hit the track and start

running laps, right?

Think again, pal. You're a baseball player—train like one. Do you ever jog around the

base paths? Yeah, maybe when you go yard, you run the diamond with the lumbering

grace of the Great Bambino—your reward for blowing up the opposing pitcher. But for

the rest of the game?—you need the wind and conditioning to perform at top speed.

Getting into baseball shape comes not from training like a marathoner, but from sport-

specific conditioning drills—which is where Allen Thomas steps in. As the strength and

conditioning coach for the Chicago White Sox, Thomas is in charge of keeping his

players in tip-top shape all season. His recipe for superior baseball conditioning? Lateral

speed-agility drills.

"These drills put you through every angle you would take on the baseball field," Thomas

says, "whether it's swinging and coming out of the box, getting in a pickle or taking an

angle on a ball in the gap. You'd be crazy not to train in those ranges."

By performing the drills two days a week, the White Sox maintain great speed andagility while increasing their lung capacity, which gets them moving fast and keeps them

moving fast throughout the 162-game season.

Thomas has more drills than we have space to cover, so we chose the following four

goodies for you to get ready to dominate the diamond.

Wheel DrillThe wheel drill is elementary, but vitally important. "The whole purpose of

the wheel drill is to develop lateral speed-agility without creating a false step," Thomas

explains. "It's very simple, but the repetition in this drill definitely eliminates a false stepand increases your lateral speed-agility. It's unbelievable."

According to Thomas, the Wheel Drill delivers benefits in every facet of the game, from

a pitcher coming off the mound to field a ball, to a catcher moving to block one in the

dirt, to an infielder moving laterally to stab a hard liner, or a runner stealing a base. The

drill promotes quicker movement in all situations, while simultaneously improving overall

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conditioning.

Perform 3 reps of the drill for each leg 2 days a week. Rest 30 seconds between reps to

get full conditioning benefits.

Wheel DrillSet up 12 cones like the dial of a clock

Stand in middle of circle in two-point stance

Keep right foot planted, lunge left foot to 12:00

Step back to start position

Lunge step to 11:00 and back to start position

Repeat for positions 10:00 through 6:00

Repeat with right leg keeping left foot planted

Lunge right foot to 12:00 and back

Lunge step to 1:00 and back

Repeat for positions 2:00 through 6:00

Pro AgilityThe Pro Agility effectively develops quick changes of direction and rapid

acceleration. The variations train different movements. Perform 3 reps of 2 different

variations 2 days per week. Rest 10-15 seconds between reps.

Set up three cones five yards apart

Start at middle cone in two-point stance

Sprint five yards right or left to outside cone

Plant, touch line and sprint 10 yards in opposite direction to far cone

Plant, touch line and sprint five yards in opposite direction through middle cone

Pro Agility with ShufflePerform drill with shuffle step

Pro Agility with CariocaPerform drill with Carioca step

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Pro Agility with Sprint/BackpedalPerform drill with sprint-backpedal-sprint pattern

ZigZag DrillsEvery variation of a ZigZag Drill teaches different elements of body

awareness.

No Plant/Cut—Emphasizes quick chopping of the feet, so you can change direction

without a pronounced plant or cut.

Plant/Cut—Teaches how to stop fast, change direction and accelerate in a new

direction.

Forward/Backpedal—Develops the ability to move in and out of different movements as

well as picking an angle of direction when you can't see which way you're moving.

360's—Helps you pick a new angle of direction rapidly when coming out of a reversepivot.

Perform 2 reps of each variation 2 days per week. Rest 30-60 seconds between reps.

ZigZag Drill with No Plant/CutStart at first cone, sprint to next cone at 45-degree

angle

Turn around cone, sprint to next cone at 45-degree angle

Do not cut or plant during turn

Keep chopping feet to execute turn

Repeat pattern, zigzagging through each cone

ZigZag Drill with Plant/CutStart at first cone, sprint to next cone at 45-degree angle

Plant on outside of cone, cut

Sprint to next cone at 45-degree angle

Plant on outside of cone, cut

Sprint to next cone at 45-degree angle

Repeat pattern zigzagging through each cone

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ZigZag Drill with Forward/BackpedalStart at first cone, sprint to next cone at 45-

degree angle

Pass cone, then backpedal at 45-degree angle to next cone

Pass cone, then sprint at 45-degree angle to next cone


ZigZag Drill with 360'sStart at first cone, sprint to next cone at 45-degree angle

Pass cone, turn clockwise, reverse pivot, sprint to next cone at 45-degree angle

Pass cone, turn counterclockwise, reverse pivot, sprint to next cone at 45-degree angle


Crown RunsThomas says, "Most of the time, players don't run straight through the bag.

When they run out of the box while the ball is in the air or gap, they run along a curve

like a 'C'." This drill mimics that path, which makes stretching a single into a double

easier. Perform 4-6 reps 2 days per week. Use walk back to the start as your rest.

Set up two cones 30 yards apart

Place third cone in middle and to the right

Sprint from first cone to last cone in arc motion around middle cone

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Exercises

ZigZag Drill with No Plant/Cut

Zigzag Drill with Plant/Cut

http://magazine.stack.com/Exercises/2363/ZigZag_Drill_with_No_PlantCut.aspx

http://magazine.stack.com/Exercises/2362/Zigzag_Drill_with_PlantCut.aspx

http://magazine.stack.com/Exercises/2363/ZigZag_Drill_with_No_PlantCut.aspx

http://magazine.stack.com/Exercises/2362/Zigzag_Drill_with_PlantCut.aspx

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Zigzag Drill with Forward/Backpedal

Zigzag Drill with 360's

Wheel Drill

Pro AgilityPMore exercises:

Crown Runs

http://magazine.stack.com/Exercises/2361/Zigzag_Drill_with_ForwardBackpedal.aspx

http://magazine.stack.com/Exercises/2360/Zigzag_Drill_with_360s.aspx

http://magazine.stack.com/Exercises/2359/Wheel_Drill.aspx

http://magazine.stack.com/Exercises/2358/Pro_Agility.aspx


http://magazine.stack.com/Exercises/2361/Zigzag_Drill_with_ForwardBackpedal.aspx

http://magazine.stack.com/Exercises/2360/Zigzag_Drill_with_360s.aspx

http://magazine.stack.com/Exercises/2359/Wheel_Drill.aspx


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