Training

Training Today’s Player – At All Levels

By baseballstrength | May 18, 2012 2:42 pm | Featured, Training | Leave a comment

Injuries in baseball seem to be on the rise at every level of play and many of them are preventable.  This is a multifaceted concern with several possible culprits.  One potential issue is that athletes are designing their own strength and conditioning programs without the benefit of a scientific foundation or fundamental knowledge of exercise physiology and biomechanics. To say you don’t need a CSCS educated in baseball physiology and biomechanics would be like saying you don’t need a hitting or pitching coach.  Another common issue is that baseball players don’t train to improve stamina like they did in years past.  Ten years ago, the challenge was trying to convince players to lift weights whereas now the challenge is getting the guys out of the weight room and onto the running field. The key to preventing injury is conditioning, which involves tempo, fluidity, repeatability and helps improve recovery.  Over the past several years, we’ve found that our better conditioned pitchers performed significantly better than our poorly conditioned pitchers.  This doesn’t mean that if you run more you’ll automatically pitch better, as a better aerobic capacity will not directly improve your pitching velocity or give you the ability to throw more strikes.  Conditioning will, however, help you complete the tasks on the field, making them feel much easier.

It should be noted that the pathways we are taking toward maximizing power and athleticism do take on inherent risks.  To decrease that risk, a resistance training program for adolescents should fit the individual based on factors including, but not limited to, motor development, experience and aptitude.  By implementing a strategic program that blends both injury prevention and power producing techniques, you can help to minimize the high rate of preventable injuries.

Where it concerns resistance training injuries, the most likely cause is reported to be “inappropriate training techniques, excessive loading, poorly designed equipment, ready access to the equipment, or lack of qualified adult supervision,” according to Faigenbaum, et al., (2009) (S61).  Perhaps the biggest difference between adults and children lies in the exercises prescribed. One common mishap occurs when a youngster attempts exercises like a squat or bench press with improper technique and poor function and it goes unnoticed and/or uncorrected.  For example, due to the lack of core strength, an improperly functioning scapula can cause shoulder joint movement dysfunction, acting as the precursor to labrum and/or rotator cuff injuries later in the athlete’s career. Another potential result is knee valgus, which is common for young girls and often predisposes them to ACL tears.  A recent report, however, points out two things worth taking notice of for all of those who implement a youth resistance training program: first, prepubescent boys and girls are equally predisposed to knee valgus and second, there is no evidence of strength differences between preadolescent boys and girls (Barber-Westin, et al., 2005),  Faigenbaum, et al., (2009). Although acute injuries might not occur immediately, biomechanical predisposition and poor technique can lead to future problems for both genders.

In regards to duration, intensity and volume of training, many similarities seem to exist between both adult and prepubescent protocols.  Training volume for youths may be similar to suggestions given to adults but it is important to keep in mind that young athletes should not be treated as miniature adults.  When incorporating weight-lifting and plyometric exercises, a lower volume of training is preferred for young and/or inexperienced athletes.

When designing an effective program for a young person, it is important to learn what types of programs have shown to be effective in the past.  According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA, nsca-lift.org) (by Faigenbaum, et al., 2009), the most common programs designed for young athletes take on an eight to twelve-week training cycle, and are performed two to three days per week on nonconsecutive days.  Every training session should begin with a five to ten-minute dynamic warm-up period.  To improve muscular endurance, 10-15 repetitions are used vs. using 6-10 repetitions when strength is the goal.  To improve power, the young athlete should perform one to three sets of three to six repetitions.  In all cases, one to three working sets seem to be sufficient after the appropriately prescribed warm up set(s).  We typically begin counting working sets when using over 65% of the individuals one-rep max.  To improve strength, a variety of multi-joint upper body and lower body exercises can be performed.  Routines should involve an overall effort on improving core strength, which will be explained in further detail later.  As strength improves, resistance should increase gradually (5-10%) and we do not progress by adding weight until two sets can be completed comfortably at the prescribed rep range.  Every session should end with a cool down incorporating less intense calisthenics and static stretching exercises.

Another important priority when implementing a program for young people is having the practitioner devise a list of exercise progressions and classify each exercise based on its difficulty level.  There are a wide range of exercises available that differ in intensity.  Eccentric contractions, as well as heavy load isometric contractions, are more likely to cause muscle damage (Elsayed & Reilly, 2010).  Examples of highly eccentric exercises include weight-lifting under extremely heavy loads as well as high impact plyometrics like depth jumps and downhill running.  The presence of higher eccentric contractions involved in these exercises might make them unsuitable for the prepubescent athlete, partly because the active stretch creates more strain on the muscle fibers.  While high load, highly eccentric contractions are an effective way for well-trained adults to gain strength, this mode of training (especially performed over many repetitions) might not be best for young athletes.

It is important to also consider that prepuberty children have a faster lactate clearance rate (Beneke, Hütler, Jung, & Leithäuser, 2005).  With a high aerobic capacity and a higher resistance to fatigue, training using higher repetitions (>10) might offer a proper stimulus to increase motor unit recruitment and muscle firing patterns.  Improvements in coordination made via neural adaptations are often made best over many repetitions.  Rest times can also mimic the sport that is being played.   In the case of a baseball player, average rest time in between pitches is 20 seconds (Szymanski, 2009).

When the goal is improving strength in young athletes, it’s easy to assume that kids just need to get outside to play more and participate in team sports, but practitioners cannot solely rely on anaerobic conditioning drills.  Basketball is an effective means to improve maximal aerobic capacity and reduce body fat; however, this form of exercise will not significantly improve strength or joint mobility (Vamvakoudis, et al., 2007).  Basketball is a fun conditioning option that can co-exist with a strength building routine in an effort to improve overall fitness and prevent injuries.  Since strength is relative to mass, it is likely that strength gains achieved during pre-pubertal years will lead to an earlier development of additional lean muscle mass after puberty, if training continues.

When building strength in young people (or beginners of any age), their regime should focus on improving core stability, coordination, movement technique and reactive skills.  To that end, upper body exercises selected for youth need to focus on “core” musculature that ultimately alleviates stress on less stable joints.  Core exercises should strengthen the musculature supporting three important structures of the body: the scapulae, the spine and the pelvic girdle.   One example is a Push-Up Plank Hold (see figure 1), an upper-body exercise that focuses on core stability. For an athlete that lacks the core strength and the stamina to hold this position accurately, stress is added to the shoulder joint and increases the likelihood of injury when that athlete moves on to a more advanced exercise, like a traditional push-up.

Appropriate resistance training exercises for youth will lead to neuromuscular adaptations, resulting in increased strength.  Unilateral body weight squats are a challenging exercise that can be incorporated into youth resistance training routines in an effort to improve balance, coordination and lower limb strength.  Conversely, bilateral squats might be a safer alternative when the goal is to achieve maximum strength and power using higher external loads.  One study (McCurdy, et al., 2005) concluded that unilateral and bilateral lower body resistance training were both equally effective in improving strength during the early phases of training in untrained adults.  A typical two to three-day resistance training program for youth should strategically incorporate both unilateral and bilateral exercises.  It is anticipated that youth can experience similar neuromuscular adaptations to adults in the first 10 weeks of training.

A positive, injury-free experience is easily attained with proper exercise progressions, optimal technical performance and a strategic program formulation.  For anyone concerned about the increased likelihood of injury resulting from resistance training, it is good to know that the risk is no greater than participating in sport-related activities (Faigenbaum, et al., 2009).  New updates in research and growing support among adults continue to drive the development of youth exercise programs and fitness initiatives. In fact, physical education curricula now commonly include activities to improve muscular strength and endurance (Faigenbaum & Myer, 2010).  The growing number of youths participating in these types of activities is a positive change but it is also the probable cause for the rise in reported injuries attributed to resistance training. Creating proper exercise progressions—as well as establishing the appropriate intensity, volume and frequency of fitness regimens—remains an integral component of safe youth and adolescent resistance training programs.

References

Barber-Westin, S., Galloway, M., Noyes, F., Corbett, G., & Walsh, C., (2005, December).  Assessment of lower limb neuromuscular control in prepubescent athletes.  American Journal of Sports Medicine, 33(12), 1853-1860.

Beneke, R., Hütler, M., Jung, M., & Leithäuser, R., (2005 August).  Modeling the blood lactate kinetics at maximal short-term exercise conditions in children, adolescents, and adults.  Journal of Applied Physiology, 99(2):499-504.

Clarkson P., (2006, February).  Case report of exertional rhabdomyolysis in a 12-year-old boy.  Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 38(2), 197-200.

Elsayed, E.F., & Reilly, R., (2010, January).  Rhabdomyolysis: a review, with emphasis on the pediatric population. Pediatric Nephrology, 25(1), 7-18.

Faigenbaum, A., Kraemer, W., Blimkie, C., Jeffreys, I., Micheli, L., Nitka, M., & Rowland, T., (2009, August).  Youth resistance training: Updated position statement paper from the national strength and conditioning association.  Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 23(5). August 2009.

Faigenbaum, A., & Myer G., (2010, May-June).  Pediatric resistance training: benefits, concerns, and program design considerations.  Current Sports Medicine Reports, 9(3), 161-8.

Malina, R., (2006).  Weight training in youth: growth, maturation, and safety: an evidence based review.  Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 16, 478–487.

McCurdy, K., Langford, G., Doscher, M., Wiley, L., & Mallard, K.,  (2005, February).  The effects of short-term unilateral and bilateral lower-body resistance training on measures of strength and power.  Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 19(1), 9-15.

Ozmun, J.C., Mikesky, A., & Surburg, P., (1994, April).  Neuromuscular adaptations following prepubescent strength training.  Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 26(4), 510-514.

Ramsay, J., Blimkie, C., Smith, K., Garner, S., MacDougall, J., & Sale, D., (1990, October).  Strength training effects in prepubescent boys.  Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 22(5), 605-614.

Vamvakoudis, E., Vrabas, I., Galazoulas, C., Stefanidis, P., Metaxas, T., & Mandroukas, K., (2007, August).  Effects of basketball training on maximal oxygen uptake, muscle strength, and joint mobility in young basketball players.  Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 21(3), 930-936.

Strength Program – Youth Focused

By bh | May 1, 2012 3:51 pm | Featured, News, Training | Leave a comment

Recent research indicates that there is a shortage of training education for both youth athletes and coaches( http://1.usa.gov/InqqoO ).  Knowing this, we have posted a simple ground based training program.  The goal of this program is to create flawless movement patterns, before adding external resistance, for these younger athletes.  This should be the focus of our youth training.  As these skills are acquired and practiced, resistance can be slowly and progressively added.

This program was created by Arizona Diamondbacks strength coach Nate Shaw.  It can be found here : Bodyweight Exercise Program.

The First 15 Yards

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By bh | April 20, 2012 10:24 pm | Featured, News, Training | Leave a comment

The game of baseball is all about getting out of the box quickly and reaching max speed
as fast as you can. When getting out of the box, you need to run as hard as you can for
the first 15 yards. If you are slow over the first 15 yards, it is nearly impossible to make
up time toward the end of a run. Baseball is a game of inches, so if you can take a
tenth of a second off the first 15 yards of a run, it will make a huge difference at the end,
Think about how many bang-bang plays you were involved in last season. How often
did you start slow and try to accelerate when the fielder bobbled the ball? How often
were you safe? If you consistently get out of the box quickly and run as hard as you
can for the first 15 yards, you can significantly improve your on-base percentage.

I have recorded times from home to first and from base to base in game situations for
over 15 years. The average RHB, when he runs “all out” gets to first base in 4.35 sec.
LHBs run it in 4.32 sec. For the past five years, I have been getting splits from home to
half-way to first base (15 yards) and from half way to first base. The average player runs
the first 15 yards in 2.57 sec and the last 15 yards in 1.70 sec (total = 4.35 sec). The
fastest player, Michael Bourn, runs the first half in 2.39 sec and the second half in 1.46
sec (total = 3.85 sec.). Approximately 95% of his infield hits last season were bang-bang
plays in which he got to first in 3.91 to 4.01 sec. The slowest player, Prince Fielder,
runs the first half in 2.91 sec and the second half in 1.85 sec (total time = 4.76 sec).

Now let’s talk about why the first 15 yards are so important. Let’s assume that Michael
Bourn hits a ground ball and, because he thinks he will be out, doesn’t run hard out of
the box. Let’s say that he drops his head and runs the first half at 85% of max speed
(2.75 sec). Most runs to first base in game situations are at 85% of max speed.
Now what happens if the player drops the ball and Michael tries to accelerate over the
last 15 yards? His best time over the last 15 yards is 1.46 sec. He can’t run faster than
1.46 over the last 15 yards, no matter how hard he tries. If you add 1.46 sec to his slow
start (1.46 sec + 2.75 sec), he will get to first in 4.21 sec. If the fielder doesn’t throw the
ball away, he will be out! Why? Because his bang-bang plays take 4.01 sec or less and
he ran 4.21.

If you break hard out of the box and the infielder misplays the ball, you can continue to
run hard and have a good chance of being safe. If he makes a good play, you can slow
down over the last 15 yards if you need to. If you are slow out of the box and then try to
kick it in, you have almost no chance of being safe.
You can run the first 15 yards fast and improve your chances of being safe on a
bobbled ball, or you can run the last 15 yards all out and still be out. Either way, you
are going to run hard for 15 yards. Why not make it the first 15 yards and improve
your odds? You can be on base with a chance to score or be in the dugout out kicking
yourself for giving up an out.

Gene Coleman, Ed. D., CSCS*R, FACSM

 

How New Facilities are Changing the Game of Baseball and the Way Players Are Developed

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By mattwalker | November 18, 2011 7:32 am | News, Training | Leave a comment

Brian Jordan, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Colorado Rockies

Brian Jordan, RSCC, Major League Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Colorado Rockies. In 1998, Brian received his BS degree in Applied Exercise Science from Springfield College. Following a brief internship at the United States Naval Academy Jordan was hired in 1998 as a strength and conditioning coach for the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. Jordan began his strength and conditioning career in professional baseball in 1999 as a Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Detroit Tigers. That year Jordan was the strength and conditioning coach for the AAA Toledo Mud Hens. After the season, during the 1999 off-season Jordan was hired by the Colorado Rockies as their Minor League Strength and Conditioning Coordinator in which he served for 9 years before entering into his current position in 2009. 

For years, Professional organizations not just MLB, sent their players home for the off-season to rest, train and be ready for the next season essentially on their own. A lot of these athletes would get an off-season job, go back to school and in some cases just rest and get ready for the next season.

This brings us to present day professional sports. Most athletes today make enough money or have a signing bonus great enough to not have to work in the off-season. With that being said, professional athletes are now training year round for their respective sports. This is the result of many factors. One, not having to work frees up time and energy to focus on their physical development. Two, most athletes come to their pre-season or Spring Training ready to compete rather than get ready when they get there. This means guys need to be ready earlier if they want to win a job, not get hurt or embarrassed due to their lack of off-season preparation.  Lastly, there are facilities and expert resources available that were not as readily available years ago. Training facilities for all athletes have popped up in the past 10-15 years widespread due to the needs and desires of athletes to get proper training and resources that relate specifically to their sport. These facilities provide a common place for athletes to commune, compete and to learn about everything from proper training to nutrition and recovery.

This past spring, the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks opened the Spring Training Facility Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona. This facility marks what I believe is a shift in how Professional Organizations view the development of their athletes.

We had the opportunity to build what should be considered a state of the art Athletic Development Facility. The 85,000 sq. ft. facility consists of a clubhouse for all Major League and Minor League Players and staff, 6 full baseball fields, 2 ½ fields, covered batting cages, pitching mounds and a 40 yard x 100 yard conditioning field. The clubhouse has in it a Major League and a Minor League Training Room with a common wet area that has (4) 8 person hot/cold tank and an underwater treadmill, a full cafeteria for all players and staff, a video room and a 6,500 sq. ft. weight room. That is just on our side of the complex. The only thing we share with the Diamondbacks is the 11,000-seat capacity ballpark where all the Major League Spring Training home games for both teams are played.

A facility that was originally designed for 2 months of use to get ready for the season has now evolved into a year round athletic development facility. Our athletes will now have a place where in the off-season they can lift, run, throw, hit, rehab and utilize recovery techniques, all under the expert tutelage of our organization’s staff. This will allow for players to be smoothly transitioned from their off-season program to Spring Training to their in-season routines. Instructional and Fall League programs and mini-camps will also be run in the facility to further the young players’ development progress.

So, from the day a player signs, he will have the resources year round to develop every facet of his athletic development under one roof with the people in the organization whom he will work with for many years to come.

The Colorado Rockies are building this type of facility and concept in the Dominican Republic as well. This facility will be a smaller version of our Salt River Fields Facility at roughly 29,000 sq. ft. and a 2,400 sq ft weight room. In the Dominican we have 16-19 old athletes who will not only physically develop as I explained earlier but also develop the language and social skills to ease the transition from their country to here in the U.S.

Although the road to the Major Leagues for many will be long and challenging to say the least, today’s athletes have a tremendous opportunity to develop into the best athlete that their desires, work ethic and ability will allow.

For more information or questions, please contact me at: jordanb@coloradorockies.com

Acknowledgement: http://www.performancecondition.com/baseballsoftball

Pirates finding their (circadian) rhythm

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By mattwalker | September 16, 2011 3:47 am | News, Training | Leave a comment

By Rob Biertempfel, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 8, 2011

When it comes to sleeping, Pirates right-hander Ross Ohlendorf is a night owl. That can be great when he pitches in a late game on the West Coast but not so much when he starts an afternoon game at PNC Park.

“I tend to not want to go to bed early, and I don’t want to get up (early),” Ohlendorf said. “If I sleep 7 1/2 hours, I usually feel pretty good. Nine, I usually feel better.” The turnaround from a night game to a day game is quick, robbing players of sleep. Travel also disrupts players’ sleeping habits. A two- or three-city road trip usually involves switching at least one time zone, which throws off a person’s internal clock. Making matters worse, teams tend to fly overnight and arrive in the next city in the wee hours.

“Going coast to coast, it definitely messes with your sleep patterns,” Ohlendorf said. To help manage their sleep routines, the Pirates this year hired Bill Sirois, senior vice president of Circadian, a firm specializing in 24/7 workforce performance and safety solutions.

The Massachusetts-based company advises construction workers who toil on the graveyard shift as well as globe-trotting CEOs. Sirois’ firm consults the Cleveland Indians and three NFL teams that he declined to identify. ”We’re hard-wired to be daytime creatures,” Sirois said. “But now we work, play and do so much else at night, and that can be difficult. It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.”

Even a small change to a sleep pattern can be disruptive, Sirois said. He cited a study that showed auto accidents increase by 8 percent the day when Daylight Savings Time begins.

“Just an hour’s shift or loss of sleep can have an impact,” Sirois said. “Translate to finely tuned athletes, and you can understand why a guy will hit three home runs one night then strike out four times the next.”

That could explain why Ohlendorf’s career stats in day games are slightly worse than those in night games.

Last year, the Pirates as a team hit better in night games (.245 batting average, .683 OPS) than day games (.234, .663).

Perhaps Sirois is having an effect. The Pirates just took four of six games on a swing through Denver and San Diego. They are 5-2 in day games on the road. Just five weeks into the season, the Pirates already have won more road series (five) than they did all of last season (four). They are 11-8 on the road after winning just 17 of 81 road games last season.

Pirates head conditioning coordinator Frank Velasquez figures that in order to become winners again, the team must first become the Slumber Company. ”Not everyone has to lift weights, but everyone has to sleep,” Velasquez said. “So why not improve our quality of sleep, especially considering how much we travel?” Last season, the Pirates went 2-11 in the Western time zone, 3-3 in the Mountain zone and 8-28 in the Central zone. Velasquez puzzled over that awful road record all winter.

“We’ve researched different areas of recovery,” Velasquez said. “We do cold tanks, we do hydration and nutrition, and we stretch these guys out to keep them feeling good for as long as we can. One area we’d really never covered was sleep.” Sirois addressed the players and coaches in January at the Pirates’ minicamp in Bradenton, Fla. He continues to work closely with Velasquez, charting the players’ travel routines and their sleep patterns at home and on the road. Researchers have identified several different sleep personalities based on factors such as when a person falls asleep and wakes up without prompting and the number of hours slept. The extremes are what Sirois calls “morning larks” (early risers) and “night owls” (those who sleep in past 9 a.m.). Most people are “robins,” meaning they usually awaken around 7:30 a.m. Sirois wants players to remain on their natural sleep patterns as much as possible when traveling. On the Pirates’ recently completed Western swing, Velasquez charted game start and end times and time spent in transit. He also tried to track how each player behaved: Did he go to bed right away or stay up until what would’ve been 6 a.m. on the East Coast? ”When we go from home to the West Coast, usually the second and third days are the toughest,” second baseman Neil Walker said. “Your body starts to adjust, but you’re fighting it. By the sixth inning of that second game, it’s 8:30 p.m. but you’re working on 11:30 p.m. in your brain.”

Sirois told the players to adjust to Pacific Time by going to sleep at a “normal” time (around 1 a.m. after a game that ends around 11 p.m.) and not setting the alarm clock.

There’s a bigger challenge when the Pirates return from California because the time zone change costs them three hours. The effects of jet lag can be more severe the first few days in Pittsburgh than they were in San Diego, Sirois said.

“Traveling west to east, you’re going against the grain of your biology,” he said. “The strategy is to get to bed an hour early if you can and wake up early, get some sunlight in the morning, then try to squeeze in a 20-minute nap in the mid afternoon.”

It’s too early to say whether Sirois’ program will produce tangible, long-term results. But the early returns are favorable.

“We tried to reconstruct their road routines, which can make a difference,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “You can fall into ruts and routines that are completely different than they are at home. We’re trying to keep them fresh, keep them simulated and really just play good baseball.”

 

Core Stabilization – Progressive Method

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By bh | August 16, 2011 3:50 am | Featured, News, Training | Leave a comment

Optimal core stabilization is dependent on proper inter-coordination of abdominal and respiratory musculature. Inspiration begins as the diaphragm contracts and draws down caudally thus creating a natural vacuum in the pleural cavity. The thoracic rib cage moves in a cephalad direction only as an accessory motion to normal intercostal expansion. With diaghram contraction the contents of the abdominal viscera are compressed into the lower abdominal cavity and pelvic floor. The increase in intra-abdominal pressure through diaphragmatic activation along with proper opposition via contractions of the surrounding abdominal musculature results in “stiffness” or “bracing” of the outer wall (McGill). Core function requires an individual to be able to create three dimensional expansion (Liebenson) of the abdominal wall while positioning the ribs in a caudal direction during exhalation. Core stabilization is dependent on optimal function of respiration and diaphragmatic control.  Abdominal coordination and strength may be tested by observing the athletes ability to breathe optimally and correctly utilize his diaghram as described above.  This ability to generate circular stiffness can be evaluated and assigned a simple manual muscle test value.  Functional stabilization is achieved only when all of the spinal musculature work as a one unit and the quality of motor program is undisturbed by dysfunction or pathology.

 

Diaphragmatic Control

1)    The patient lies supine with the ribs in an exhaled position. The knees are bent with the feet on the table. Instruction is given for the patient to use diaphragmatic activation to create intra-abdominal pressure in a caudal and three dimensional direction around the core during exhalation. Attention is given to providing external ques by the practitioner to guide the ribs in a caudal direction while palpating the abdominal wall to maintain “stiffness” of the oblique musculature function.

 

2)    Training of sagittal spine stabilization continues with maintaining position of the thoracic ribs in an exhaled position and continued expansion of the abdominal wall. The hips and knees are bent to 110 and 90 degrees of flexion respectively. Attention is given to training respiration and rib positioning while maintaining intra-abdominal pressure during a static supine hip flexion position (3 month.gunnertechnetwork.comelopmental position)

Strengthening

3)    Developing functional strength continues with the ability to maintain sagittal spine stabilization during functional movement patterns. The exercise increases in difficultly by alternating the hips in a reciprocal flexion and extension direction for specified sets and repetitions.

 

Endurance training

4)    Retraining of the respiratory and abdominal function is dependent on achieving endurance of the stabilizing spine musculature. The patient is directed to maintain rib positioning and intra-abdominal pressure while progressing through more difficult reciprocating movement for up to two minutes per set for a total of four sets.  Difficulty can be increased by changing surfaces and by varying levels of stability,

 

You can follow the same progression with the Franklin Balls.  These balls are positioned directly over the PSIS activating the oblique musculature.  Working up to 4 mins of time under tension is optimum.

Base Strength Training- Covering the Four Bases to Get the Most Out of Your Baseball/Softball Specific Training

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By bh | August 12, 2011 1:18 am | News, Training | Leave a comment

The biggest disconnect that I see in conditioning the baseball athlete is the immediate overemphasis on sports-specific conditioning (agility, balance, speed, etc.) done without the proper basic strength exercises.  I see an overall lack of strength in baseball.  I see this all the time at this level—not being strong enough to improve their game.  Too many players, both high school and college, are moving away from basic strength development.  One player coming into our program had not done squats in years!  When we got him back into that habit, he commented that he had not felt that good since college.  He is a typical player who got away from the basics and neither improved nor reaped the benefits of an “agility program.”  He does not have the strength to be agile.  You must have the right amount of strength to explode, change direction, accelerate and decelerate.  Just as every baseball player should have basic skills, so too every athlete needs basic strength.

 

Defining the Base Program- The Four Base Strength Exercises

What are a base program and base strength?  I have read certain numbers and definitions for what the base strength requirement is, for example, being able to squat twice your body weight, bench one and a half times body weight, etc.  These are good markers.  However, they may not be feasible due to the athlete’s medical history.  There are basic, whole body exercises that give you the strength the player needs in order to do other athletic.gunnertechnetwork.comelopment things properly and to reap their benefits.

 

Exercise #1—The Back Squat 

In my opinion, this has the greatest benefits of any exercise.  You do not have to handle twice your body weight to gain these benefits.  The rule of thumb I use for baseball athletes is to be able to squat their body weight with correct form for eight to 10 repetitions.  For a workout, I like doing sets of three to five with a high volume activity—doing 10 sets of three reps rather than the traditional three sets of 10 reps.  We also rest one minute during the base phase and for the power phase we do two to three minutes to ensure quality.  It should be noted that loading is adjusted down based on the rest time to ensure proper techniques throughout the entire training session.  This method also ensures good strength gains.  This is enough to properly strengthen the major muscle groups (buttocks, quads, hamstrings) and offers great core stability work in the back and abdominal area.  These are the muscles that are critical in sports-specific “agility type” training.  There are only a few exercises that accomplish all this at once and I prefer the squat.

 

Exercise #2—The Barbell Dead lift

The dead lift might be considered a controversial exercise.  Seven years ago, I would try to get athletes to do this exercise and they would freak out because they thought that it would hurt their back.  However, this has changed.  I know physical therapists who are now advocating the dead lift as a functional exercise used in everyday life (we pick up our children or boxes off the floor, etc).  These are all dead lifts.

There are some basic techniques that are important, and the first is hand position.  The dead lift is performed using an alternating hand grip.  I have my players place their throwing hand externally rotated (palm facing up) and the non-throwing hand with the palm facing down.  This puts the throwing shoulder in a more stable position.  Most of my players are tall, so I recommend a shoulder-width stance rather than the wide stances that you see powerlifters doing (a technique know as “sumo style”).  That is more for the shorter athletes, or under six feet tall.  The head is straight or slightly looking up and the back is in a neutral position with the bar close to the shins on the way up.  The coaching cue I use is for the athlete to think of mimicking picking something off the floor or sitting on a chair.  With good technique and proper loading progression, there is no reason why an athlete should injury themselves.  This exercise is relatively new to the Rangers, so we have the athletes do three to five reps of working up to body weight.  We do a similar set and reps workout as with the squat—10 sets of three reps with one minute expanding to two to three minutes and increasing the load.

One point of emphasis is the concept of a neutral spine.  The idea is not to have a lordosis situation of the lower back where the spine curves in toward the mid-line of the body.  We emphasize this by keeping the athlete’s eyes and head looking at a specific spot dictating to the position of the lower spine.  I also feel that this prevents curvature of the cervical and theoretic upper areas of the spine.  This too creates an advantageous neutral spine.  The second part of this is to have the athlete tighten up the abs.  It is the coach’s job to ensure the back’s position does not break down.

 

Exercise #3—The Push up

This is a basic exercise that requires no loading.  Once an athlete is able to do 30-40 reps, we do plyo push ups (clap hands) and reduce the number of reps to five or six with multiple sets.  Many athletes will combine this with the bench press and do benches first, followed by a set of plyo push ups.  We do three to five reps (light) on the bench followed immediately by five or six plyo push-ups.

Readers may wonder why the bench press is not part of the four base exercises.  I believe that the bench is a good exercise as long as it does not interfere with the throwing motion.  I did not do benches when I was a player because it bothered my shoulder.  However, I have players who are not affected by it.  That is why the push up is the primary exercise and the bench press is “supplemental.”  It is a matter of the athlete’s specific needs/situations.

 

Exercise—#4 The Pull up

Many players cannot do a single pull up.  We want to achieve the ability of doing the exercise 8-10 times with good form.  This is a good indicator of overall body strength.  Once the athlete achieves 10 pull ups, we load the athlete and have him do sets of five reps.  This allows the athlete to gain more strength and rest between sets (they are not doing as many reps).  You can use a kettle bell with chains or weighted vests to load.  We do approximately 30-40 pounds.

 

Putting the Four Base Exercises Together

My basic philosophy is to do legs and back on the same training day.  I learned this from Vern Gambetta.  He believes that the back and legs are the bigger muscles and linked together.  This makes working them both a matter of efficiency.  We have one back/leg day when the squat is heavy and the dead lift light.  The next workout, it is just the opposite—heavy dead lift and light squat.  We would start with power clean, do the heavy/light squat/dead lift sequence and finish with pull ups.  This is a great total body, multi-joint program done in a very time-efficient matter.  On the “chest” day, we do a push press, the bench press, plyo push ups (super setting) and finally, shoulder presses.  This is a program for position players whose shoulder concerns are less of a factor.  Pitchers are more sensitive about doing overhead lifting, such as the shoulder press.  I believe that done correctly, the shoulder press does not create shoulder impingement—improper throwing does.  I should also point out that high volume in lifting should be discouraged.

I am not afraid to do any exercise as long as I trust the player to give me honest feedback and that the player is physically able to handle it.  This goes back full circle to having base strength.  You start the off-season with base phase strength for six to eight weeks and then add some of the other things such as agility, or plyo-type training.  The base strength program is still done, but the volume decreases and the weight increases; the coach can use the agility work as part of warm-up.  This is ideal because the athlete is fresh and can concentrate on their movement mechanics.  Plyometrics can be done in conjunction with the lifting.  We do super sets of squats with box jumps doing five to six reps, for example.  We also do endurance work at the end of the workout.

 

Maintaining the Base

Strength work is less of a priority during the season, yet it is important to maintain it.  I pick one of the Four Base exercises, the squat, which is the most important lift.  Let’s say an athlete does 300 pounds for five reps starting in April.  If the athlete can do 275-300 five times in September, the strength has been maintained.  I give the players this long-term outlook.  We adjust form based on how the season progresses.

 

The players with the best results in these four exercises are the ones who have the best vertical jumps indicating lower body power, the best 10-yard sprint for speed and the best 5-10-5 agility runs.  The players who do the exercises and handle the weight are the ones who do best in these athletic skills tests.  One of the things that I did in a research study with Jay Hoffman, PhD was to correlate slugging and on-base percentages with overall leg power.  This study will be published in a scientific, peer-reviewed research journal later this year.  At this time, the four players on the Rangers who are hitting over .290 are the ones who have vertical jumps over 28 inches and these are the guys who effectively do the Four Base Strength exercises. We tested players from the rookie league to the majors and the results are very interesting.  This is an important first step to scientifically validate the relationship of strength training, lower body power and on-field performance.  It is very exciting information and will give reason to make the Four Base Strength Program an important part of every player’s baseball and softball development.

Jose Vazquez PT, CSCS, member of the PBSCCS

Vazquez spent four seasons with the New York Mets and is now is in his second season with the Rangers.  He served as the Mets’ Director of Rehab (2005) and was the club’s Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coordinator (2002-2004).  Before joining the Mets, he was the Sports Physical Therapist at the Therapy Center in Knoxville, TN, and at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge, TN.  He co-founded TNT Sports Specific Training in Knoxville in 1988.

After earning second team All-American honors at the University of Tennessee in 1992, Vazquez was selected by St. Louis in the 42nd round of the 1992 draft.  He played professionally for three seasons as an outfielder for the Cardinals organization and for the Northern League’s Duluth club.

Article provided by Performance Conditioning Baseball/Softball www.performancecondition.com/baseballsoftball the Official Publication of the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society

 

 

A Long-Term, Comprehensive Approach to Developing Young Baseball Players

GUILLEN GILLETT
By bh | August 12, 2011 1:18 am | News, Training | Leave a comment


Getting to First Base-Developing the Athlete’s Batters Box through the B.A.S.E.S. System

The five athletic skills are Balance, Agility (movement), Strength, Explosiveness and Speed, which I call B.A.S.E.S.  It is critical to find a good starting point when developing the young baseball player.  The young player will eventually need to address athletic development beyond the skill of baseball/softball or just lifting weights.  The first and foremost starting point is Balance and core stability.  Beginning strength training involves slowing things down.  The same is true in hitting.  The coach will tell the player to slow things down to gain control before moving to game-action bat speed.  This begins the learning process of body control in preparation for moving through space and making changes in direction (Agility).  Just as the pitcher and catcher are referred to as the “battery” on the field, Balance and Agility are the battery for further improvements in the most sought after athletic skills: Strength, Explosiveness, and Speed.   Before moving around the bases there is no reason a young athlete should load their body unless they can stabilize their joints and move them properly.  Then, first base will be developing Strength and Power, second base will be improving Explosiveness, and third base will be maximizing Speed.  Through proper progression a youth athlete can reach their goals quicker avoiding unnecessary injuries.

Balance and core stability training begins the moment we are born but making further improvements as an athlete can start as young as eight to ten years of age.  Seek the right professional in the athlete’s area who knows how to develop a young player, though this may not be easy.  Do they have experience in the sport being trained (in this case baseball/softball)?  Does the professional have the education such as a degree or formal certification through creditable organizations geared toward athletic development and not just personal training?  Find out what sports they have worked with in regards to conditioning and if they have worked with children.  Ask for a résumé.  What are their goals for the young athlete?  Also consider asking where they are going to start with your child.  Will they test and which tests will they use to evaluate the young athlete?  The final question is what the plan is based on the test results.  If they do not talk about starting with balance and stability, it is time to walk away.

If the young athlete is in the eight-to-ten year range, training must also be fun.  Simply lifting weights isn’t fun for eight-year-olds.  Look for ways the athletic professional will incorporate fun activities such as playing with footballs, basketballs and soccer balls—not just a baseball or softball.  They may not learn an organized sport, just something that will make them a better athlete.  They should do sports that incorporate shooting, dribbling, and running to improve agility.  Karate is great too!  This coordination practice will improve power and speed without ever lifting a weight.

Proper Position-A Natural Progression

Once this base has been established, the natural progression is to add difficulty.  So adding weightlifting is common but should only be to the point of being able to maintain the proper positions. Proper positioning makes the athlete more efficient, stronger and they will improve on-field skills as they develop.  You don’t have to always increase weight to get stronger though.  Other ways to get stronger without adding weights: 1) make the exercise more difficult by taking a leg off the ground, 2) perform the exercise for a longer duration, 3) speed the movement up a little bit.

Starting Exercises-The Athlete’s Batters Box

Through the careful planning and development, the young athlete can lay a good foundation to pursue their passion- lean and clean.  The Athlete’s Batters Box is the area that must be concentrated on and developed from the very beginning (see Figure 1).  The three areas that form the box are the scaps, spine and hips—the baseball/softball athlete’s core.  Most people think abs are the core, but it is much more comprehensive.  The first exercise is the iron lunge (Figure 2).  This works the hips in the batters box for a stable, balanced position with no movement and hands to the side.  The athlete holds this position for 30 seconds.  Figure 3 shows the iron lunge with the arms extended, which is the first progression.  This will be challenging for an eight-to-ten-year-old.  For the spine aspect of the batters box, the first position is to get into the push up position and hold for 30 seconds (Figure 4).  For the scap, we do a Retraction (pinching scaps together) and hold for 30 seconds in the extended position (Figure 5).

Now it is time to add movement.  The iron lunge becomes a normal lunge; this can be walking or stationary.  The next progression to add more strength and improve a youngster’s explosiveness would be split squat jumps (Figure 6).

The following progression is for the spine—a walking push up or bear crawl off the ground or using a Bosu ball (Figure 7).  You can add difficulty to the scap retraction by moving through a range of motion similar to a bent over fly.  Once this becomes easy then add light dumbbells (Figure 8).

These starting exercises form the foundation on the B.A.S.E.S. system.  We usually start out by practicing movement over 15-20 reps and then we add weight and decrease to 10 reps.  Sets vary from 1-3 sets for each drill or exercise depending on the time of year and experience level of each athlete.  Big Leaguers are always incorporating simple movements and doing body weight exercises to help their performance. Starting at an early age with proper progression is the key to the success of the young athlete to establish a lifestyle that is lean and clean.

Javair Gillett, Major League Strength Coach, Detroit Tigers

Article provided by Performance Conditioning Baseball/Softball www.performancecondition.com/baseballsoftball the Official Publication of the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society

Fueling Tactics Three Winning Steps to Performance Eating- Step Three-Select A Lean Protein Source

CI_021711-023
By bh | August 12, 2011 1:18 am | News, Training | Leave a comment

Dave Ellis, RD, CSCS, PBSCCS Advisory Board Member, Colorado Springs CO

Dave Ellis is an accomplished Sports Dietitian and President of Sports Alliance, which provides consulting services to athletics and the food industry.  Dave has earned a reputation as a pioneer and leader in the field of applied sports nutrition and is celebrating his 25th year of practice athletics in 2006.   As the Director of Performance Nutrition support services at the collegiate level (20 years combined – Nebraska and Wisconsin Universities), Ellis orchestrated the most highly evolved performance nutrition and body composition support service models in the country.  Dave also Chairs the Nutrition, Metabolism & Body Composition Special Interest Group of the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) and is an advisor to the Professional Baseball Strength & Conditioning Coaches Society (PBSCCS) Advisory Board, USADA and the Taylor Hooton Foundation.-ed

The second step revealed how carbohydrates are an important part of fueling tactics.  Also presented was the fact that all carbohydrates are not created equal.  In nutrition you have to think about the meals at home and on the road, and be involved with keeping a team or your athlete fueled throughout the year.  It becomes a tactical experience of management.  Fueling tactics is a three-step system.  Every time we write a menu, whether we’re eating at home or on the road, these three steps are accomplished with regard to the food items offered at the meal.   Before moving to step three be sure to review the information presented in step two.  Fueling tactics is all about supporting the athletes through the rigors of the day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month training.  If the athletes have less down time due to illness, better energy levels and faster rates of recovery they will have the potential to outwork the competition.  Smart work, and more of it.

This is the step that most Americans are dialed into with the new food labels that focus on fat grams.  Fat has been focused on because it yields about twice as many calories as carbohydrates or protein, not to mention the well documented relationship with heart disease and some forms of cancer.  That is why Americans have been trying to cut fat by selecting leaner protein sources.  We have classified protein sources as “Best Choice Proteins” if they have 10 grams of fat or less per serving while “Third Choice Proteins” have over 21 grams of fat per serving.

Choosing Protein Sources

On active days athletes have more room in their diets to eat a higher fat protein source from Second or “Third Choice Proteins”. On inactive days athletes who are trying to lower their calorie intakes predominately stick with “Best Choice Proteins”. We typically avoid slow digesting Third Choice Proteins at pre activity meals and instead stick with smaller servings of faster digesting “Best Choice Proteins” that are not highly spiced or smoked.

In addition, we typically eat our last meal two to four hours before intense workouts.  Athletes in training have higher protein requirements and need to distribute a variety of protein sources throughout the day.  To make it easier for an athlete to understand how much protein to eat, we have.gunnertechnetwork.comeloped a table that illustrates how much solid animal protein, dairy and vegetable protein they need on a daily basis.  Many of our male athletes tend to over consume animal protein sources and lack the diversity we are looking for from dairy and vegetable proteins like beans or soy protein isolates.

Vegetable Alternatives

The best quality vegetable proteins come from beans, primarily soy beans.  The health benefits of soy protein are quite unique and varied when compared to animal and dairy proteins.  The amino acid profile is also well suited for athletes as it contains a

high concentration of branched chain amino acids, glutamine and arginine.  This critical cluster of amino acids keeps showing up in research that looks at the protein requirements of hard working populations.  The high digestibility of soy protein isolates makes them the most popular way to get bean protein vs. dealing with the combustible nature of whole beans.

Protein Timing

The reason we ask athletes to distribute their protein intake among these three sources throughout the day is to help keep our athlete’s capacity for work high, while helping the efficiency of recovery.  We all know what it feels like to skip meals, then over eat later.  We feel like we need to take a nap, like after eating at Thanksgiving.

Starving all day and then over eating at night will not only lower your energy level, but also set your body up to store fat more efficiently.  Athletes are better off eating smaller amounts of food more frequently to avoid energy lows, while continually supplying the raw materials into the blood necessary for the never ending recovery process that athletes endure.

Putting it all together

All the menus we write for our athletes offer a variety of foods from each of these three steps.  To make it easier for our athletes to select foods from all three steps we actually have three separate buffets.  We group and merchandise Step #1 food first in the buffet, Step #2 foods second and Step #3 foods in the last.  Foods are also labeled so the athletes can see exactly what they are getting with regards to being a good source of vitamins A,C or E or a best, second or third choice carbs or protein. This approach also makes it easy for parents to pull together pregame meal buffets by assigning some parents one item from each step and then building a buffet in order.  Amazingly enough, just the order athletes see the food in a buffet can impact the quality of the meal they build even if they have learned these Three Winning Steps on the Performance Meal Guide Poster.

Maybe it is now easier for you to see the shortfall that constantly eating from vending machines or fast food drive throughs can create for athletes. A number four, at the drive thru diet, just isn’t going to cut it on a daily basis.  Take the time to use the Three Winning Step Shopping List so you can build healthier meals at home or pack them to go.

Article provided by Performance Conditioning Baseball/Softball www.performancecondition.com/baseballsoftball the Official Publication of the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society