Strength and Power for Baseball Players

Every baseball player wants to be bigger, faster and stronger. Sometimes, this desire causes some athletes to want to speed up the process. This article series does not promote the use of steroids or human growth hormone to build up your body in a short amount of time.

Rather, the training methods described in this series are based on science, current research and empirical evidence. I will show you how to build an athletic body that will endure through the competitive years of your sport.

And, if you use these training methods, your body will remain “lean and mean” after your playing days are over. I should know. I trained hard (not using steroids, etc) when I competed in high school and college athletics. And, I continue to use many of the same (and better) training methods today when I exercise.

Every baseball player can improve strength and power (speed strength) with hard work and the proper training methods. Even though genetics plays a key role in an athlete’s physical makeup, improvements can still be made by anyone with proper training. Furthermore, physically gifted athletes can also make significant performance improvements.

Strength and power training allows the athlete to lessen her or his risk of injuries. Research has shown that most injuries occur in the transverse plane of motion during eccentric muscle contractions (force reduction).

A sport such as baseball is a transverse plane dominated sport (rotations, twists, etc.). Traditional training techniques, such as those with weight machines, have focused on the sagittal plane of motion (backward-forward and up-down motions) and concentric muscle contractions (force production).

IF MOST INJURIES OCCUR DURING ECCENTRIC MUSCLE CONTRACTIONS, THEN ATHLETES’ TRAINING REGIMENS SHOULD INCLUDE MORE EXERCISES THAT PLACE MORE EMPHASIS ON ECCENTRIC CONTRACTIONS. MUSCLE CONTRACTIONS AND PLANES OF MOTION WILL BE DISCUSSED IN MORE DETAIL IN LATER PARTS OF THIS SERIES.

Integrated, progressive training techniques should focus on flexibility, strength, balance, endurance and power for the body’s muscles in all three planes of motion (sagittal, frontal and transverse).

While accomplishing this task, specific attention should be given to training the baseball player's dominate plane of motion used in the sport. Training methods described in this series apply to both male and female baseball/softball players unless otherwise noted.

In part 2 of this series, I will discuss planes of motion as they relate to baseball players.

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Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Dynamic Balance and Proprioception

In my opinion, athletic balance (dynamic balance) and rate-of-force production (power) are the two greatest physical predictors of athletic success.

The best running backs, tennis players, basketball players, shortstops, etc. all have great dynamic balance. Having great dynamic balance means that the athlete is able to maintain her or his center of gravity over a constantly changing base of support.

Thus, quickness and agility drills help the athlete to improve dynamic balance while not wasting motion. As with all training, balance can be improved by creating challenging training environments.

Kinesthetic awareness, or the ability to know where your body parts are in 3-dimensional space, is required for all movement. This is especially true for athletes.

Athletes can be trained to improve proprioception (joint and limb position sense) without using all of the fancy gadgets on the market today. Better proprioception brings about better balance and reduced risk of injuries for the athlete. Balance training also improves the athlete’s core strength. Balance exercises should closely mimic those actions required by the athlete’s sport.

Good balance exercises are one-legged exercises, exercises performed on different surfaces, exercises performed with eyes closed and a host of sports agility drills.

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Female Athletes Should Develop Strong Hamstrings

Females demonstrate a lower hamstring to quadriceps ratio. This means females typically have weaker hamstrings compared to males. Females demonstrate different muscle activation patterns compared to males. Females are typically quadriceps dominant athletes. This means females use their strong quadriceps muscles and do not use their weak hamstrings enough.

How does this affect Anterior Cruciate Knee injuries? The hamstring muscle group acts to protect the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and the quadriceps muscle group places STRESS on the Anterior Cruciate Ligament.

Therefore, quadriceps dominant muscle work demonstrated by females places excessive stress on the knee's ACL. Research suggests that the hamstring muscle group should be 60%-80% the strength of the quadriceps muscle group.

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Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Build Your Athletic Body With Time and Hard Work

There are no quick fixes for building your athletic body for sports competition! Steroids and growth hormone are just window-dressing for your body.

Trust me, your body will break down prematurely and you will have a host of other health-related issues with the use of steroids and growth hormone. It takes time and hard work to build an athletic body that will last through the years of grueling competition. Your athletic body will also benefit you after your playing days are over, if you build it the right way.

The three building blocks of integrated training for the athlete are:

STABILIZATION – Primary goals are to correct muscle imbalances, joint dysfunctions, postural distortion patterns, improve kinetic chain integrity and reconditioning/rehabilitation.

STRENGTH - Primary goals are to improve stabilization strength/endurance and increase muscle hypertrophy (growth) and strength.

POWER - Primary goals are to enhance neuromuscular efficiency, increase power production, increase speed strength and create neuromuscular adaptations throughout the entire range of motion.

All 7 phases within the 3 building blocks of training may not be necessary for all athletes. For example, some sports do not require optimum levels of muscle hypertrophy (growth).

The training program should be Multi-Planar (sagittal, frontal, transverse), Multi-Joint (exercises such as bench press, squats, lunges), Multi-Dimensional (stabilization, strength, power) , Proprioceptively Enriched (high neural demand) and Sport-Specific.

There are no shortcuts to building the athletic body you will need to compete!

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The Importance Of Reaction Time In Sports Performance

Reaction time is the ability to respond quickly with proper posture and control to a stimulus such as sound or sight. In many instances, quickness is more important than straight ahead speed.

In many sports, maximum speed is rarely reached or needed, but explosive reaction is often necessary. Athletes can improve reaction times by training to make the right choices (choice reaction). Here are some examples:

1) A defensive back makes an interception because he reads the quarterbacks eyes/motions, reads the receiver's body moves, postions his body based on the receiver's actions and reacts to the thrown ball. These different stimuli could happen in any order. The most successful defensive backs anticipate, react quickly and explosively with proper posture and control.

2) One of the most important decisions a batter makes at the plate is to "go" or "no go" i.e., whether to swing the bat or not swing. The most successful hitters are able to wait longer and react quicker. This allows the batter to read the pitch (fastball, curve, etc.) and "go" or "no go". When facing a 90+ per hour fastball, there's not much time to react.

3) Reaction time drills should be done from an athletic stance, staggered stance, kneeling position, back-to-ball position, eyes-closed position, two-point stance, etc. to simulate game-time situations.

Reaction time and explosive quickness is an important part of overall speed training and the best athletes have this quality.

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Tips To Improve Speed, Agility and Quickness for Basketball

Speed, agility and quickness (SAQ) are necessary components that all successful basketball players have. Fortunately, SAQ can be trained for and improved. You must be able to move fast, quick and efficiently while changing direction, shuffling or backpedaling. Here are some basic tips to improve the SAQ of basketball players:

1. Running mechanics in basketball must be mastered just like dribbling and free throw shooting.

2. Basketball drills designed to improve speed should be more than just "suicide drills." Game-time situations in basketball require the player to be quick and fast in many directions while controlling posture. They also have repeated short sprints following walking, running or jogging.

In order for you to be explosive, you must train for game-like situations. Drills such as cariocas, shuffles, lateral speed drills, back pedals, cone drills, etc. should be incorporated into the basketball player's training regimine.

3. Core strength is critical for basketball players too! A strong core will lessen risk of injury, allow you to have stronger limbs and allow the player to perform game moves with speed and explosion. The cross-over lunge (shown below) is a great leg and core exercise for basketball players.



4. Speed drills should be performed while you are still fresh. Performing speed drills at the end of practice will only serve to increase the player's endurance. You must train fast in order to be fast!

Now, get yourself ready to play basketball!

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Do This Simple Workout To Increase Speed

Here is a simple strategy to improve your straight-ahead speed and speed endurance (the ability to maintain speed for a prolonged time). Remember, you must train fast in order to get faster.

Do each sprint with 100% maximum effort. If these sprints are part of a workout, then do these sprints first while you are fresh. If you perform these sprints at the end of your workout, you will probably improve your endurance (not speed endurance) and not your running speed. Perform your sprint repetitions this way:

1. Run an eighty yard sprint and walk or jog back to the starting line (that is one repetition). Do this 8-10 times. Rest at least 8 minutes between sprints to recover.

2. A progression of this workout can be done on a hill or stadium steps to further challenge yourself.

3. Do this speed workout 2 times a week.

4. Some sports, such as soccer and basketball, require repeated sprints with intervals of walking or jogging. So this would be an ideal workout for those sports.

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Master Running Mechanics To Improve Speed

If you want to improve your running speed, you must first master the basic mechanics of running. Running mechanics have three main components: Posture, Arm Action and Leg Action. Listed below are some key checkpoints of proper running mechanics:



Checkpoints for proper running posture:

1. At maximum speed, the head should be held high. Also, the head should never sway from side to side and the jaws should be relaxed.

2. The head should be in line with the torso and the torso should be in line with the legs at all times.

3. There should be a slight body lean when starting and accelerating. At maximum speed, which usually takes about 4-5 seconds, the body is more straight up with tall hips.

4. The feet should be dorsiflexed (pointed up) at all times except when striking the ground. Feet should strike the ground on the balls of the feet.

Checkpoints for proper arm action:

1. Use the shoulders (and not the elbows) to pump the arms as fast as possible. The hands should be relaxed in unballed fists with the front hand rising up to about nose level and the back hand passing the buttocks.

2. Move each arm as one piece with the elbow bent at 90 degrees. Arm action should be straight forward, up and down and never flailing side to side.

Checkpoints for proper leg action:

1. The faster the running speed, the higher the heel on the rear foot should kick up. When the foot leaves the ground, it should follow a path straight up to the buttocks. It should not flail from side to side.

2. The knee raises up to where the thigh is parallel to the ground. The foot then drops down below the knee (knee angle is about 90 degrees).

Your foot should land under your hips. Drive your foot to use the ground to give you power. Don't overstride or it will cause breaking.

The more force you apply to the ground, the more the ground will "give you power."
When you run, don't lift your knee past your "thigh being parallel" to the ground. This way, you will use your "power center" (glutes and hamstrings) to apply force to the ground instead of the less powerful hip flexors. In other words, running "with high knees" is not the best way to run! Also, step over the opposite knee and drive the foot down into the ground to create maximum force. Your heels should never touch the ground.

3. At top speed, the drive (pushing) leg should be fully extended to the ground.

It's a good idea to practice running mechanics before, during and after workouts.

Train hard and smart!

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Improve Core Strength and Balance With Superman on BOSU Ball

The Superman (or Superwoman!) on BOSU Ball is a great core and balance exercise. Spice up your core workout a little with this exercise the next time you are at the gym.




1) Start position: Lie face down on floor with hands down at sides.

2) Raise your chest and head off the floor keeping feet in contact with floor. Contract your shoulder blades together.

3) Return to start position.

4) To increase resistance, extend your arms and place hands overhead.

5) Do not raise your head past 8-12 inches (excessive hyperextension may cause injury). To vary exercise raise feet while raising trunk.

Go for it!

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Improve Your Core and Hip Strength

The body's core consist of the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex. So, it is important to strengthen the hips, shoulder girdle and core areas. The Elevated Prone Hip Extension exercise is one that you should add to your athletic exercise program if you are ready for it.



1. Start by placing your hands on the ground and your feet up on the wall.

2. Proceed to bring one knee in towards your chest and then kick your leg back to the wall using your glutes.

3. Repeat for the desired repetitions and then repeat with the other leg.

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Do Burpees and Exercise Go Together?

This core exercise sounds kind of gross but its good for you! Burpees! Ughhh! Seriously, always do this exercise under control with good technique.



1. From a standing position, jump as high as possible and land with your feet and hands on the ground.

2. Kick your feet back. For a moment, you will be in a push up position. Jump back up again as fast as possible.

3. Repeat for the desired repetitions.

This core exercise requires good coordination, balance and strength.

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Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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