With the World Series coming up, were going to look at a few things that can help with training for the greatest sport of all, Baseball!

First off, we know that there is a lot of rotation that takes place in baseball.

Even though there is a lot of rotation that takes place in this sport while throwing and hitting, this does not mean that we should solely work on exercises that include rotation. Mobility, strength, and power are also major aspects of the sport and its demands.

Think of a pitcher’s hips and thoracic cavity during the pitching delivery. During this movement, both the hips and shoulders must be able to rotate and even dissociate from each other in order to develop the most amount of power. In turn, it will create more velocity on the pitch.

Pause the television next time while watching a baseball game at any point before the pitcher delivers the pitch and look at the hips and the shoulders. There is a lot of separation that takes place throughout the pitching delivery. Moreover, there is a lot of stress placed on the shoulders and elbow if you are a baseball pitcher. Knowing that throwing a ball overhand is not easy on the shoulders, and being able to maintain or gain mobility through the thoracic cavity will help not only increase velocity but help maintain good shoulder health too.

Pitchers do need to develop strength in addition to mobility to be able to reach top velocity.

The power comes from the ground up. If we can develop a good lower body strength, the pitcher will be able to produce more power and velocity on the pitches. A great strength training exercise that can help with this is the deadlift.

Lastly, pitchers are not the only players on the field who need to keep their shoulders in mind while training.

If you really pay attention to a player when they dive, you will notice quite a few arm angles that may look like they hurt. Thus, our training program needs to include not only complete shoulder strength and stability but mobility as well. Including this into our training programs will allow the body to withstand these awkward positions that the body takes on during a game or season.

When creating your exercise programs for your sport, try to think of all aspects of the game including the minor details. By doing so we can hopefully improve your ability and your durability to play longer with fewer injuries. Come in for a free fitness assessment at your nearest FAST location and gain the competitive edge that you desire.

With the Waste Management Open and Spring Training right around the corner we thought it’d be a great idea to show you a few of our favorite rotational exercises. These exercises are great for the golf or baseball player that is trying to add more distance consistently to their ball. When we are strong and powerful through the entire range of motion the ball will fly farther more often.

The first two videos show a couple medicine ball exercises. The reason we like using the medicine ball so much is because you can throw the ball with as much force and power as possible. I really like using the D-Balls because they don’t bounce, so you don’t have to worry about it bouncing back at you really hard. This exercise allows us to train at a high intensity that mimics the swing very well. Remember to push off your back foot and rotate at your hips first before you throw the ball straight into the wall. Do 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps on each side.

The next 3 videos demonstrated are done with a cable column. They are all done very similarly by initiating the movement by pushing off your back foot, rotating your hips and finishing with the arms.  The power to hit the ball far is generated by your hips so the initial push off the ground and rotation of the hips is very important.  Putting the pulley high and low will give you different angles of the swing and will mimic either the start or finishing parts of your swing.

Here is a sample routine we typically would do with one of our golf/baseball clients. We will typically start them off with the lower number of sets and reps if they are a beginner and add more as they progress in their training.

Monday:

A1- Medicine Ball Scoop Throw – 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps each side – Rest 30 seconds

A2- Medicine Ball Reverse Scoop Throw – 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps each side – Rest 1 minute

B1- Squat – 3-5 sets of 6-10 reps – Rest 1 minute

B2- Lat Pull Down or Pull-Up – 3-5 sets of 6-10 reps – Rest 1 minute

C1- Reverse Lunge – 3 sets of 6-10 reps each side – Rest 30 seconds

C2- Inverted Row – 3 sets of 6-10 reps – Rest 30 seconds

C3- Cable Chop – 3 sets of 6-10 reps each side – Rest 1 minute

Wednesday:

A1- 1 Arm Rotational Row – 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps each side- Rest 30 seconds

A2- Bench Press with Dumbbells – 3 sets of 6-10 reps – Rest 1 minute

B1- Barbell Romanian Deadlift– 3-5 sets of 6-10 reps – Rest 1 minute

B2- Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 3-5 sets of 6-10 reps – Rest 1 minute

C1- Leg Curl with Physioball – 3 sets of 6-10 reps each side – Rest 30 seconds

C2- Pushups on TRX – 3 sets of 6-10 reps – Rest 30 seconds

C3- Cable Lift – 3 sets of 6-10 reps each side – Rest 1 minute

The rotational exercises are italicized.  We, of course, want to be strong throughout our entire body to hit the ball far, so this is why we recommend more traditional exercises (squat, pullups, pushups, bench press, deadlifts, etc.) along with the rotational exercises.

Try these out for at least a month in your upcoming workouts and let us know if you notice any difference in how you’re hitting the ball. And if you’re looking for further guidance, contact the team at South Chandler today!