Featured

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.

Muscle Balance/Symmetry and Player Screening for Injury Prevention

CI_021711-023
By bh | August 12, 2011 1:14 am | News, Training | Leave a comment

Nate Shaw, ATC, CSCS, Major League Strength and Conditioning Coordinator, Arizona Diamondbacks

Nate Shaw joined the Diamondbacks in 2005, after a three-year stint in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization, the last two as their minor league strength and conditioning coordinator. He spent his first season in the Rays’ chain as their New York Penn League athletic trainer and strength coach. While with the Devil Rays, Shaw was responsible for implementing data-based research to further.gunnertechnetwork.comelop programs and procedures in accordance with injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Nate started his work in professional sports by spending two years (2001-2002) with the Toronto Blue Jays during their spring training sessions in Dunedin, FL. He also co-founded the GHFC Sports Performance Program, implementing all key facets of the operation including marketing, sales and program design.

Shaw, 33, graduated from the University of Florida in 2001 with a Bachelors Degree in Exercise and Sport Sciences.

Symmetry is important to baseball and softball players because of the total amount of repetition and volume occurring during a full season.  For the purposes of this article, we will focus on the similarities.  At the Major League level, we have 162 games during the regular season.  With spring training and a possible post season tournament we play roughly 203 games in 220 days.  That is only through the 1st round.—it’s a grind.  At the Major League level baseball volume is one of the leading reasons that athlete’s breakdown.   Symmetry becomes important when efficiency is scrutinized.  It has been quoted that movement begins and ends with posture.  This is true in Baseball as well.  Posture is important.  Asymmetry leads to inefficiency.  Inefficiency leads to overload. Overload leads to breakdown.  When a joint lacks appropriate motion to create and dissipate force, synergistic structures in and around the joint are forced to assist.  With proper alignment and symmetry in involved structures the cumulative effects of volume are minimized because each muscle is functioning properly and is not assisting with other functions.  Quite simply, having things line up in the right places means less wear and tear on the body.

Symmetry In a Side-Dominant Sport

In baseball and softball, there is side dominance; i.e., a player will hit and throw from one side for the most part. Often, if a player hits and throws from the right side, they will exhibit an increase in internal rotation on the L hip and an increase in R shoulder external rotation. These two adaptations often accompany each other.  Sport Specific adaptation is a very interesting debate topic.  Could these adaptations be the reason the athlete excels, or has the body adapted for preservation?  Regardless of what side of the fence you stand on, the next topic to be debated would be; would an athlete with perfect posture and symmetry ever suffer a non contact injury?  What should you do?  Are these corrective exercises necessary, or can you just make the athlete bench press as much as possible to fix the problem?  There may not be a definitive answer, but anecdotally we have found that asymmetry and poor posture do lead to injury.  I think that we can all agree that injuries are not good.

Every sport has specific adaptation patterns and baseball is no different.  Not all adaptations are addressed immediately due to the risk of unnecessary motor engram reprogramming.   A practical example of this would be implementing a corrective program for a player that has bad posture and causing the athlete to lose 3 MPH on his fastball.  At the major League level sometimes it is necessary to let sleeping dogs lie.  It is impossible to make everything perfect.  A good practitioner will use his experiences to sift through the pros and cons and make the right call.  Our experience has shown that faulty scapular humeral rhythm has a high correlation with shoulder injury.  Often a player’s dominant shoulder is protracted and anteriorly rotated which sometimes causes scapular rhythm to be altered. We try and address this because simply, the arm is not in the right place. A MLB starting pitcher will throw 20,000 times in a year.   Consequently, identification of small alignment problems in a timely manner can have a huge impact over a full season. Once identified, resolution becomes paramount.  Fixing shoulder problems is pretty simple; use exercise and soft tissue techniques to lengthen the short muscles, and strengthen the long muscles.  If a player has an anterior rotation / protraction in the shoulder, the treatment is to loosen the protractors and strengthen the retractors.  This will restore alignment and perpetuate better posture and efficiency.

Asymmetry Identification

Asymmetry is something we look for on a consistent basis. Much of this information is gathered during daily hands-on work with the players in an attempt to search out for potential problem areas. In spring training we have a screening process that includes posture, and various hip and shoulder measurements.   Posture is compared to a vertical plumb line and measured to confirm the digital images.  The shoulder measurements include internal (IR) and external rotation (ER) motion as well as isometric strength numbers with a digital hand dynamometer.  It is important to establish baseline information so that as the season progresses it is easier to objectify any range of motion or strength deficits that may evolve. For example, over the season a pitcher may lose IR Motion and ER strength. Obviously the goal for the strength and conditioning professional in this case is to try to minimize the loss of strength. At the major league level some strength will likely be lost, but players on a program during the year can minimize strength loss.

For the youth select level, high school and little league players, the question becomes when to start the screening process to identify problems. This is a factor of practicality, but I’m a big believer in getting information. How critical is it to know that a nine-year-old lacks internal rotation? It may not be a big competitive issue but from data perspective, it’s priceless. Keith Miester MD at the University of Florida did research on 294 baseball players age 8-16 years old with regard to humeral retroversion. The study showed that when these kids start playing baseball their humerus actually twists backward (retroversion). This study showed that adaptation to baseball starts at a very early age.

Figures 1-3 demonstrate some very basic screening measurements that can be used for young players. It is important that the person doing the tests does so in a reliable way; in other words, makes sure that its done following consistent protocol every time. If at all possible, it is best that the same individual does the tests each time. From a rehab standpoint these measurement will indicate the effectiveness of the rehab program for an injured athlete; but from a conditioning standpoint, we monitor changes in the measurements and make adjustments accordingly.  These measurements may not equate to the holy grail of sports, but any information is helpful when it comes to injury prevention.

It is a practitioners job to help foster health in young athletes and enable them to learn and experience all the values that sports have to offer.  Guiding them onto a healthy track will have no negative effects.  I would encourage coaches to conduct the some type of screening and take some measurements that are relative.  Knowledge is the answer!

 

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

The 5 Core Principles of the Overhead Athlete

pitcher2
By bh | August 12, 2011 1:14 am | News, Training | Leave a comment

Joe Hogarty, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Baltimore Orioles

Joe begins his first season as the Orioles’ Major League strength and conditioning coach and 7th seasons working in the Baltimore organization. Prior to joining the major league staff, he spent the previous two seasons as the Orioles’ Minor League Strength and Conditioning Coordinator.  While with the Orioles minor league system the past two seasons, Hogarty was responsible for implementing data to further.gunnertechnetwork.comelop programs and procedures in accordance with injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Joe spent four years as strength and conditioning coach with the Orioles’ AAA affiliates at Norfolk and Ottawa while assisting the Major League staff in Spring Training in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Previous to joining the Baltimore Orioles, Joe served as an Athletic Trainer and Strength and Conditioning intern for the Boston Red Sox in 2003.

Hogarty carries certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA).

 

The throwing motion of baseball and softball determines that athletes in these sports are overhead athletes. But other sports such as volleyball, position-specific football (quarterback), tennis, water polo, etc., also have overhead athletes. All these sports are ballistic and explosive in nature and relate to the same basic core principles. All principles must be based on biomechanics, anatomy and exercise physiology.

Core Principle #1—Training Patterns Differ from Season to Season

 

This is where training organization comes into play. Conditioning coaches need to establish a plan that is specific to the season and the needs of the athletes. Doing the same movement off-season and continuing it into the in-season may create issues of over-use injuries (tendonitis, bursitis). So, in the sport of baseball for example, the conditioning coach must be diligent in differing training patterns and exercises along with volume, load and intensity to build toward the start of beginning a throwing programs in the sports of baseball and softball toward the goal of starting fall-tryouts/camp/spring training with good mechanics and good arm strength.

Core Principle #2—Managing Pitcher’s Paradox thru the Kinetic Chain

 

The throwing motion of an eight ounce baseball at high velocity is an unnatural act. Basic mechanics and shoulder anatomy dictate this. In baseball, this Pitcher’s Paradox is compounded by the fact that the ball is thrown at maximum velocity, trying to create spin or movement on the ball while entwining the kinetic chain of hips, core, head position while accelerating and decelerating one’s arm.  Pitchers must focus on maintaining good range of motion for internal rotation and continue to strengthen the stabilizing muscle of the scapulo-thorasic joint including the rotator cuff muscles (infraspinatus, supraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis), scapula stabilizing musculature including the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, levator scapulae, and trapezius (upper/mid/lower as illustrated).  Anterior musculature is not a strong part of our training protocols with pec major and minor.gunnertechnetwork.comelopment utilized for stability rather than total power and hypertrophy.

 

Core Principle #3—Understanding the Do’s and Don’ts

Orthopeadic Doctors Yocum, Jobe and Andrews have advanced the sports medicine of the arm and shoulder in their practices. With the Baltimore Orioles we have considered the teachings of  Jobe and Andrews along with Orthopeadist Ben Kibler of Lexington KY and Physical Therapist Phil Donley in West Chester, PA. In order for these types of exercises to be useful, it’s vital to have proper throwing mechanics, which is the very first “do”. Here communications with the pitching coaches and the athletes is essential. At this level we have the advantage of video analysis, which allows us as conditioning coaches to be in tune with the skills (pitching) coach. My responsibility is to blend the arm, shoulder and core/kinetic strength with influence in.gunnertechnetwork.comeloping conditioning programs from an injury prevention standpoint for each pitcher.

EXAMPLES OF THE SHOULDER PROGRAM:

 

 

Core Principle #4—Total Workload: Determining and Communicating

 

The conditioning coach balances sports medicine, conditioning work and all throwing activity into total work load that is manageable and to the benefit of the players. This takes communication and planning and is all about being organized and creating relationships by being proactive. This leads to the important goal of gaining trust of all involved. With the Baltimore Orioles, our plan during the season is maintenance based workouts with the outcome of season long consistency. Because of this situation, we don’t change our program day-to-day or week-to-week during this time period. By introducing something new one could create an issue that we don’t need to deal with. It’s a conservative but necessary approach and helps build trust. For my part, I try to keep daily logs of workload, however, the bullpen coach does a great job of looking through the work week and putting it into a grid that gives me an idea about the starting pitchers (one through five) with regard to where their throwing workload has been for the past seven days. Since these guys are on a set schedule we can plan. I can look at each pitcher and the game activity each has been involved with including the number of pitches. I know when each is working on the side, etc. This set schedule allows for more planning. The big issue is with the bullpen pitchers and understanding where these guys are insofar as their workload is concerned and knowing how to interact with them on an individual basis.

Occasionally, I’ll have one of them come in early just to get some of the soreness out by doing some aerobic type exercises then a light workout doing our sequencing of upper, lower or total body. In addition, we might do some core work and rehab work in the form of foam rolls or low frequency vibration plate.

Part of the communication process is working with players to read their bodies and, in most cases, motivating them being proactive and interactive; again building trust. I can in real time track the game and pitchers outing that provides pitch by pitch live stats so I know immediately when any particular pitcher comes out, what he has done and combine that with the work week chart that we do. We adjust the workout accordingly.

In the area of the starters, it’s more of coming to an agreement as to what to do, showing up on time and come in ready to work with a focus on the next side mound or start day.

Core Principle #5—Training is Part of a Set Routine

 

It’s important to establish a training routine. We don’t want players to come into the weight room wanting to make dramatic changes in their program mid-course. In resistance training one finds a blend of modalities that works for a particular player. We do want freedom of movement with the athletes controlling the pattern of movement. We want to avoid flux in training patterns because we don’t know exactly how any particular individual will respond. An overhead athlete is a fine-tuned athlete and to perform at this level on a daily basis for 162 games, 30 plus starts for a starting pitcher, places a lot of demand on the individual. So consistency and trusting in your plan establishes a set routine. If change is needed, it’s a group decision of myself, the medical staff, the pitching coach (if it’s an issue on mechanics for example) and of course the player.

Part of the routine is recovery. Here rest at the right time and eating right are important. This can be a challenge because these are adults and one doesn’t want to be in their face all the time. The best strategy is education and taking advantage of educational opportunities. At Camden Yards in Baltimore the clubhouse incorporates underwater treadmills along with hot/cold contact plunge pools. These are key pre or post-game strategies of recovery and regeneration. They are also used if an athlete has some sort of injury issue where aerobic and anaerobic work can be done underwater in the patterns they are accustomed to and without the stress of normal treadmill running in the lower half of the body. A new thing that some teams have gone to is anti-gravity treadmills. These treadmills have a system call Alter-G. This consists of a moveable enclosure where an athlete can run with 20 to 30 percent of their bodyweight. This concept is similar to an assisted pull-up only it involves total body running. These are major investments, but we are dealing with million dollar athletes so the cost is more than justified.

Appling Core Principles to Young, Developing Players

This is a tough question. Currently, there are advertising campaigns out of Dr. Andrews’s clinic in Alabama to minimize injury to throwing athletes at the little league level that require operative intervention. Other efforts include the MLB/U.S. Government “Let’s Play” campaign. Recently we had an in-house event, which featured Michelle Obama, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Orioles. I don’t blame athletes for wanting to get better at the sport. However, in my opinion, the key concept is that players should strive to get better at many sports. This means that at an early age, young athletes should diversify their physical activity by playing multi-sports and going out and having fun. This flies in the face of one of the core principles of establishing a pattern of training and not varying from it, especially during the long baseball season. But these younger players are at a totally different level and I’m not taking just about workouts—but life in general and youth.gunnertechnetwork.comelopment. Playing multiple sports will add to a young player’s athletic ability. For the young athlete who plays spring and fall baseball, it might advisable to add a sport in-between the seasons. The rule of thumb here is that baseball is a power sport so the selection of another sport is to select a power sport. For example, a baseball or softball player might do track but not cross-country endurance running.

In regard to resistance training, there are organizations that provide good guidance. In Baltimore, Cal Ripken and his baseball training center in Aberdeen, MD try to teach kids how to play correctly and, in addition, the right way to train, eat and hydrate. Cal is a huge advocate of proper.gunnertechnetwork.comelopment as illustrated by his continuous play for 21 years. The question as to when to start training and conditioning for a sport I believe is somewhere around age 13 as the athlete enters high school. This decision to begin resistance training should be done based on where an athlete is at in his or her level of skill. For younger, growing athletes it’s important to consider total workload and the stress their young,.gunnertechnetwork.comeloping bodies are under.

By following the basic/core principles an overhead athlete can survive and thrive in the competitive environment regardless of level and age of the athlete.

 

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

 

Weight Carrying Capacity: A Revolutionary New System of Looking at Body Weight, Height and Body Types in Athletes

scale
By bh | August 12, 2011 1:13 am | News, Training | Leave a comment

Dave Ellis R.D., L.M.N.T., C.S.C.S., Applied Sports Nutrition Specialist, President, Sports Alliance Nutrition, Lincoln, NE

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.

 

Coaches often try to categorize the amount and composition of an athlete’s body mass based on the event or position they compete. All too often athletes who do not have the stamina or speed to move the way the coach wants find themselves attempting to lose body mass to “lighten the load” or being moved to a slower position where they are asked to add additional body mass. Or in the case of cycling participate in a different event.  In reality, body mass may have had nothing to do with why the athlete was not moving well; it could be due to injury, illness, stress, etc. If there were a way to illustrate to coaches and athletes how much potential to carry body mass each individual has based on their mature skeletal dimensions, it would be easier for coaches to more objectively place athletes in the correct events, positions or weight classes in the first place as opposed to the subjective process of trial and error that currently takes place.

As you can imagine stature (height) is the measure most coaches currently equate to weight carrying capacity and yet we see tremendous variability in net body mass for the same heights. Obviously other segmental and body breadth measures must come into play in more accurately predicting frame size and subsequent potential for gains in fat free mass (FFM). Imagine if a coach could rank the skeletal frame sizes of his or her athletes in a manner that highly correlated to their potential to carry FFM. The coach would be able to rank frame sizes from high to low on a team as a way of determining who has the potential to be the largest (FFM and total body mass) athlete to the smallest at each position or event. Even if an athlete has not yet accrued the FFM through maturation and training, the coach would have the ability to determine what the net potential of the individual’s frames might be. Maybe, more importantly, an objective method would exist that could illustrate a point of diminishing return for continuing to focus on adding mass to a frame that is carrying a high ratio of grams of FFM per cc of frame volume. This is a growing problem in male power sports.

Continued subjectivity by coaches and athletes in estimating potential to carry body mass can result in some very negative outcomes. On a clinical level these outcomes have surfaced with dysmorphic-dissatisfied body images of male athletes as they quite often strive for a body mass that is completely unrealistic and quite often unattainable. Whether self-imposed, societal-induced or coach-stimulated, these unrealistic images of what the composition of body mass should be is a rapidly growing problem in western society. We need a new measuring stick to more realistically put into perspective just what a realistic weight range could be relative to volumetric representation of our skeletal dimensions.

Determining robustness of a frame apart from stature is still a problem that challenges the forensic and anthropological community. Much of the error in accurately predicting weight relative to stature has surrounded the individual geometrical variation of the trunk. Some of the more high-tech solutions to this age-old issue seem to be surfacing in the research associated with three dimensional body modeling techniques used by computer animators and medical imaging (DEXA, MRI & CT). Until these techniques are more common and cost effective to evaluate healthy athletes, a more simplified anthropometric means of assessment seems to be the practical solution. Because athletes are so heavily muscled the use of circumferences are highly variable and typically better suited for predicting total body mass.

The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of taking into consideration the unique geometric variances of the trunk that based on my experience and data can better correlate and predict what a male athlete’s capacity to carry FFM is in comparison to traditional non-geometric methods (height, wrist circumferences and elbow breadth). Historically, the efforts to predict a functional relationship between weight (total or lean body) and concomitant anthropometric measurements have received great attention due to military, design and health interests. However, as far back as this research goes come comments that illustrate the shortcomings of only using stature in this estimation process. “…Fundamentally weight must be proportional, not to length nor surface, but to cubic mass” (Gray & Walker ’21). And thus efforts began to factor in multiple skeletal dimensions and circumferences to better predict total body mass most of which utilized some measure from the trunk (primarily breadth measurements).

As early as this need for volumetric frame estimation was identified, we read sixty years later: “…Data relating to the quantification of body frame size are scarce. The commonly used frame size standards rely almost totally on self-appraisal. To our knowledge even these self-appraisal frame size standards have never been discussed or subjected to quantification. To adequately define body size, frame size must combine a measurement of stature and width in some mathematical and logical way. Additionally, frame size estimation must be essentially unrelated to body fat and be subject to quantification, statistical manipulation and population norming. The relationship between frame size and body composition has never been documented, although it seems logical to expect that frame size should vary as a function of the lean body mass component.” (Katch & Freedson ’82).

We needed something that was more geometric (three dimensional) when assessing an athlete’s frame, not just height. If you look at what is out there, body mass index, (height squared divided by bodyweight) you get a non-geometric, two-dimensional way of looking at the body and its weight carrying capacities. This is not to say it isn’t a valid way of looking at height in relation to total body weight, it just doesn’t tell the whole story especially when working with muscular populations like athletes. But it’s a three-dimensional world and we need to look at the body in three dimensions (Figure 1) to give us accurate assessments in dealing with athletes.

Weight Carrying Capacity in Three Dimensions

You can think of the body’s structure as being similar to scaffolding on a building. Some scaffolds are designed to carry large amounts of weight; others would collapse under the same amount of weight. The whole idea in athletics is to have the right amount of weight (lean/fat mass) in relation the three dimensional capacity of their frame so that the athletes are able to move at maximal functional capabilities—to score the goal, hit the home run, kill the ball or sprint across the finish line winning the yellow jersey.

In today’s training practices with emphasis on hypertrophy (muscle mass.gunnertechnetwork.comelopment), periodization, special nutritional supplements like creatine, and other advanced training methods, there is created a situation where an athlete may carry too much lean tissue and body weight to be at optimal level of functionality based on his/her sport. In addition, with too much weight come joint, tendon and ligament problems in the later phases of an athlete’s career. In early phases, it may just be a performance issue wherein the athlete is not getting the job done on the field, court, diamond or course.

Recently we have seen problems with athletes carrying too much lean mass in relation to performing in hot weather environments. In a contact sport, lean mass comes in handy when generating force to knock someone over, but there is a cost of keeping this large mass hydrated, cooled and buffered. There is a point of diminishing return in acquiring more lean mass. These include orthopedic concerns, diminished performance movement capabilities, environmental issues, and for endurance athletes, metabolic factors. All these factors are more or less severe depending on the sport.

Key Is In The Trunk

Independent of height, what is going to help us differentiate weight carrying capacity of males and females are variations in the trunk. In other words, how much of an individual’s height is trunk as opposed to legs. For our purposes, the trunk is defined as the area of one’s body from the top of the head down to the end of the tailbone. This is a very big factor and needs to be assessed when considering an athlete’s weight carrying capacity. Pearsal reports: “In particular, the trunk represents a segment with the greatest divergence of reported mass values: for instance, the percentage of body mass assigned to the trunk have ranged from 43.6% to 52.4% for males.” (Pearsall ’94).

The number of anthropometric measures necessary to replicate the human body model used in this industry is well beyond what any coach or practitioner has time to acquire (Yeadon ’90). In Yeardon’s example, the 95 measurements taken comprise 34 lengths, 41 perimeters, 17 widths and three depths and requires between 20-30 minutes of the subject’s time. Current under construction on our web site fuelingtactics.com details on how to size up these male frames in an interactive manner will be available in the near future (Table. 1). Trying to describe how to take these measurements and turn them into geometric solids for upper and lower body segments is best done with animations. It’s the three-dimensional perspective of sizing up an athletes frame that has to be considered. A person with a longer, more robust trunk is going to carry more weight in relation to height than a person with a shorter trunk and longer legs.

 

Table 1. Geometric Skeletal Measurements

 

UPPER SEGMENT SOLID
X – Xyphoid Level Chest Depth (XCD)
Y – Biacromial Breadth (Width of Shoulder) (ACB)
Z – Seated Height (HTSIT)

LOWER SEGMENT SOLID
X – Hip Depth (HIPD) of Abdomen at Pelvis in Supracristal plane estimated from Bi-iliac Breadth (BIB) * .5 (Waist)  = HIPD
Y – Bitrochanteric Breadth (Width of Hips) (BTB)
Z – Lower Limb Length (LLL) estimated from Height (HT) – Seated Height (HTSIT) = (LLL)

 

How the Nature of a Sport Affects Weight Carrying Capacity—Considerations for Baseball/Softball, Volleyball, Cycling and Soccer

By the time athletes reach the professional or Olympic level there is a good chance that they have already figured out what is functional for them with regard to weight carrying capacity. In the case of professionals with whom I frequently work, they tend to carry a little extra body fat but have a good read on their FFM situation. However, some take muscle to extreme. They want to put on more and more FFM to try and be a better athlete where, in reality, they might be better off putting in the time to improve movement or sport-specific skills rather than trying to make their motor bigger. As athletes.gunnertechnetwork.comelop there is a need to continually reprioritize their training. They may have achieved success by accruing FFM and think that by adding a little more they’ll get better. They don’t realize there is a point of diminishing return. By providing professional athletes with information about their weight carrying capacity, they are better equipped to understand there is a ceiling for FFM that impacts their performance potential.

In sports there are different ceilings for FFM. For example, in football the ceiling is very high but there are limiting factors. Football players, while large, still have to have a great deal of mobility, agility and ability to play in a hot environment. Even though there is a 25-second rest between plays there is also an endurance factor that is enhanced while playing the popular no huddle offense. A shot putter’s ceiling is even greater. Here the athlete doesn’t have to worry about agility, environmental factors or endurance. The ultimate lean tissue.gunnertechnetwork.comeloper is a body builder where lean tissue is the only consideration.

There are instances where I’ve been able to convince a coach as to what position on a team is best for a particular player because of the player’s weight carrying capacity. Regardless of an athlete’s speed or agility, the body isn’t going to allow that individual to be a tackle or guard in football if the frame can’t carry the FFM. Without the correct FFM an athlete will never to able to carry the mass necessary to effectively play guard or tackle at a high level.

The required amount of endurance, position played, and the competitive event all have a direct affect on weight carrying capacity considerations. In baseball and softball the position of shortstop requires a great deal of agility and mobility. First base requires less movement skill. Considerations of weight carrying capacity vary based on the two physical requirements of the two positions. A shortstop would carry less of their potential weight carrying capacity than the first baseman. In volleyball, the middle blocker and outside hitters would be similar to the first baseman while the libero would be closer to the shortstop in weight carrying capacity considerations. In soccer, the goal keeper would want to be closer to their maximum weight carrying capacity than a midfielder who has to have a great amount of power endurance capabilities. In cycling, where you have a wide variety of events and endurance requirements, a sprinter would want to reach maximum weight carrying capacity for lean tissue within the lower geometrics solids measurements. For a stage racer who has to manage mountains, every ounce of unnecessary mass becomes excess baggage while climbing. Lance Armstrong is a great example of applying “economy of mass” to achieve optimal results.

Gender Considerations

From the anthropological community come these observations: “…Because of the different proportions of the trunk (specifically, bi-acromial to bi-iliac breadth ratios) in males and females, sex specific equations should be used if possible.” (Hiernaux ’85). At this point I have not formalized calculations by sex and most of my data has been taken in male power sports like football and baseball. Why? The consideration is cultural.

In the male athletic population, the desire to gain lean tissue and add body weight is a desirable goal. For female athletes, however, the cultural situation is different. As they mature, many have a goal to blunt accumulation of sex-specific body fat that differentiates endurance, mobility and power output capabilities compared to their younger years. This population doesn’t put an emphasis on “how much bigger I can be” as opposed to the male population. It’s more of an opposite where body shaping and how one looks are the major considerations. Many female athletes want only to know “how can I keep body fat off.” However, the reality is that they may need to know even more about their weight carrying capacity to have a realistic body image and, hopefully, avoid disordered eating behaviors. They need to know that “I’m this big and will always be big. I have a big frame and you know what, I’m proud of it.” This is a healthier prospective. The situation with female athletes creates a need to collect data on them so we can gain a better perspective. We need to shake up this whole body image thing and understanding and applying weight carrying capacity principles could be the way to do it. The reality is you can alter bone density over time with diet and activity (for better or worse) but, you really can’t alter the geometry of your bone structure in rapid fashion like we can our lean and fat mass.

Practical Considerations

This information of knowing the difference in frames of the athletes is very important for a coach. Knowing this information will help prevent coaches from making unrealistic demands on their athletes to change or conform to a position/event standard that is beyond the athlete’s reach. Knowing that a certain athlete will always be smallest according to his/her frame, while another athlete will always be biggest will make the coaches job easier when choosing in what direction the athletes should be steered with regard to position or event. This knowledge will always impact conditioning priorities in the off-season.

For the most part, coaches won’t have time to do the measuring and calculations that are requirements in implementing a geometric weight carrying capacity program for their athletes. But there are some easy things a coach can do. It’s not beyond the scope of any coach to measure height and seated height. This will provide the coach with important information as to who has more trunk relative to height. Someone with the highest ratio of upper body segment to lower body segment (height minus seated height) will be the person who can carry more weight. Start tracking this information and keep a record of it. To measure seated height, have the athletes sit on the floor, tuck their tailbone against a wall and sit straight and tall. This information will help you make realistic decisions with your athletes.

List of References Cited

Gray, H, Walker, A.M., (1921) Length and Weight, Am. J. Phys. Anthropol., 6: 3, 231-238

Hiernaux J., (1985) A Comparison of the Shoulder-Hip-Width Sexual Dimorphism in Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, In: Human Sexual Dimorphism. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis, 191-206

Katch V.L., Freedson P.S., (1982) Body Size and Shape: Derivation of the “HAT” Frame Size Model, Amer. J. Clin. Nut., 36: Oct, 669-675

Katch, V.L., Freedson P.S., (1982) Body Frame Size: Validity of Self-Appraisal, Amer. J. Clin. Nut., 36: Oct, 676-679

Pearsall D.J., Ried, J.G., Ross R., Inertial Properties of the Human Trunk of Males Determined from Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Annals of Biomedical Engineering 22: 692-706

Yeadon M.R. (1990) The Simulation of Aerial Movement-II. A Mathematical Inertia Model of the Human Body, J Biomechanics 23: 1, 67-74

The Range of Motion and Length/Tension Relationship: A New Way to Look at Flexibility and Dysfunction in Baseball and Softball Athletes

image005
By mattwalker | August 12, 2011 1:11 am | Training | Leave a comment

Nate Shaw, ATC, CSCS, Major League Strength and Conditioning Coordinator, Arizona Diamondbacks

Nate Shaw joined the Diamondbacks in 2005, after a three-year stint in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization, the last two as their minor league strength and conditioning coordinator. He spent his first season in the Rays’ chain as their New York Penn League athletic trainer and strength coach. While with the Devil Rays, Shaw was responsible for implementing data-based research to further.gunnertechnetwork.comelop programs and procedures in accordance with injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Nate started his work in professional sports by spending two years (2001-2002) with the Toronto Blue Jays during their spring training sessions in Dunedin, FL. He also co-founded the GHFC Sports Performance Program, implementing all key facets of the operation including marketing, sales and program design.

Shaw, 33, graduated from the University of Florida in 2001 with a Bachelors Degree in Exercise and Sport Sciences.

One of the major concerns of strength and conditioning coaches at the MLB level is to make sure everything is working properly. It is important to have flexibility in the right areas before one starts creating unnecessary tightening of the muscles with poor exercise choices. Baseball places a tremendous amount of force on the bones, muscles and tendons in the body. It is important that all of the length/tension relationships are as close to equilibrium as possible before making muscle groups that are “baseball unnecessary” even larger and tighter.

The term flexibility is vastly misunderstood in sports. In the past the term flexibility was a catchall term to identify the way a person could move based on a specific sport.    Flexibility conjures up all different types of concepts and ideas. For example, it is generally accepted that if one can touch his toes, he is flexible; however, what does this really mean? The athlete’s hamstrings might be flexible if he can touch his toes, when in fact the athlete might have a tight hamstrings and a tremendously flexible lumbar region.  For baseball and softball, a program’s focus is on the length/tension relationship and how the agonist and antagonist interact, which is much more important than how “flexible” or “inflexible” a player is.  Muscles cross joints and have a specific action they perform. When a muscle contracts it shortens and brings its bone attachments closer to each other. If the agonist or antagonist is short or “inflexible”, their motion can be inadequate and the length and tension inappropriate. For our population equilibrium of the length and tension relationships is the most important aspect of flexibility.  Length tension discussion focuses on an individual’s normal range of motion. Having the appropriate available motion allows the proper distance for force generated and then dissipated.

When the athlete calls on the system to generate force the amount of distance is imperative.  More motion= more distance for acceleration.   The same is true for deceleration.  Having enough “braking” distance allows the musculoskeletal system to properly absorb the force.  As long as the length and tension of opposing muscle groups is close to equilibrium, the appropriate motion will be available to properly and safely decelerate over the proper distance.

 

Key Length/Tension Relationships

In baseball and softball the shoulder is the most critical joint and one that players can do a lot to damage it, or do a lot to strengthen and make the area injury resilient.

The humerus (upper arm bone) can be put out to the side at a 90-degree angle to the body and twisted up and down, which is called internal and external rotation. When compared bilaterally the degrees of motion should be equal.  If on one side an athlete can’t go into much internal or external rotation as the other side, which means the length and tension of the muscles surrounding that joint are off. What has been found with most throwers is that the total range of motion available (internal rotation plus external rotation) equals about one hundred and eighty degrees. On the dominant side, a thrower may only be able to internally rotate down to about 45 degrees whereas on the non-throwing side, the internal rotation is 90 degrees and all the way back to the table.

In an ideal situation, we find the length/tension relationship in the order of 180 degrees. The dominant arm’s motion is the same, but it is skewed towards external rotation.  This is considered a sports-specific adaptation and may make players good at what they do.

In a study at the University of Florida, Dr. Keith Meister revealed this adaptation is a result of the cumulative effects of throwing over many years. So as long as the length/tension relationship is good, meaning there’s 180 degrees of total motion.

A length tension relationship problem occurs when there is asymmetry in the sum total of rotation.  180 degrees is ideal. If one side is 220 degrees and the other 180 degrees, then there may be a problem in the length/tension relationship and there may be a greater chance for injury.

Historically players with a profound lack of internal rotation were treated and stretched to increase Internal Rotation.  This was a general rule based on a uniform standard.  Unfortunately when looking in retrospect it is possible that those athletes may not have needed to be stretched, a decrease in IROT with a subsequent increase in EROT may have been a normal adaptation to throwing.  If the non dominant side would have been measured, clinicians may have found bilateral symmetry thus negating the stretch component of the program.

The 180-degree rule presented is not etched in concrete. There are variations from individual to individual but what we are looking for is symmetry on both the right and left. It’s all a matter of balance.  For coaches application of the length/tension relationship is a relatively new undertaking—research is only now coming out on it. Consequently, application of this concept is a process of education. The intent of this article is to make coaches aware of the concept, and to consider and.gunnertechnetwork.comeloping more of an understanding.

Course of Action Based on Right Arm/Left Arm Internal/External Range of Motion

It is relatively easy to make a course of action when comparing bilateral range of motion.  Motion will either be the same, or motion will be less.   An athlete’s injury history is probably the best indicator of risk injury.  The ideal set of shoulders will be injury free and have symmetry. Symmetry could be defined as within 20 degrees.  If one side is 185 and the other 191 degrees, that is not a cause for concern. But if one side is 180 and the other 220, there may be cause for concern.  If a player’s throwing arm is looser and the young athlete has a history of injury, then it must be addressed immediately. On the other hand, if his measurements are asymmetrical and there is no injury history then it may be OK; however, this needs to be looked at from an injury prevention standpoint. Typically the athlete has less motion on the throwing side. After the athlete throws, the external rotators get fatigued and tighten, therefore causing a loss of internal rotation. Therefore, the question becomes, does this individual need to do soft tissue work, strengthening work, Stretching, or maybe some PNF, etc.? The answer is simple; probably all of the above.  We need to train the neurological system and the muscular system to act together so they have a “normal range of motion.”

Length/Tension Relationships in the Hips

Our population does not escape with only one major hot spot for injury.  In spring training I screen all of our athletes for length tension discrepancies.  Shoulders are crucial, but hips are close second.  Our screening process over the last 5 years has revealed tight hip flexors and IT bands on a regular basis.  This is probably because of the rotational component in baseball. The Hip joint mirrors the shoulder—weak muscles are weak because tight muscles are tight. So, if one wants to increase the range of motion, or maybe correct an injury caused by this lack of range of motion, a few changes are required.

If it is determined that the hip flexors need lengthening my recommend is to stretch the rectus femoris or quads (agonist) and strengthen the hip flexors or glutes (antagonists). We would approach this from two ways—stretch and strengthen. If there is a weak muscle, we wouldn’t just strengthen, we would strengthen and stretch. This way function can be restored to the system.  There is some debate about which is more important, but no one can dispute that they are both important and should both be addressed.

If an athlete has tight hamstrings, chances are the quads are weak. In that case, the quads and hip flexors would get strengthened while the hamstrings are lengthened. Also, the athlete would work on abdominal control. Many length/tension relationship problems start at the core muscles. There many contributing factors, and this is why an extensive evaluation is crucial.   A good place to start to gain hip functionality is the 4-way hip complex (see side bar for how-to do.)

Dysfunction Beyond Length/Tension Relationships

The body can respond to dysfunction in many ways and dysfunction can be manifested in many different ways in the sports of baseball and softball. It could be bad nutrition, excessive travel, overload by playing/training everyday, not enough sleep, etc. By the middle of the season everybody is tired although most become immune to it. The people that can regenerate, recover and perform without proper recovery are the ones that make it to the major leagues.

If a team played in all playoffs series to five and seven games, the total number of games played during the season would be 181. Therefore, as the season progresses the muscles get a little tighter and more fatigued. If one has tight hamstrings they will get tighter the more the athlete plays. Even in the minor leagues it’s the same thing only the number of games is less. What’s involved is a lot of time and volume.

In college they practice almost everyday with games midweek and on the weekends. If they play three or four days out of seven, that provides two days off and that’s a lot of time off compared to the major leagues where players are guaranteed one day off for every 21 worked. Volume and load are huge. In Major League Baseball, this is the biggest problem. Cumulative volumes and loads are unchanging. There is no recovery. At lower levels of play, there is more opportunity for recovery, which means the cumulative demands are lower and the strengthening volume and load can be higher. The high volume creates more dysfunction.

When an athlete has a chance to recover, the body is able to deal with the dysfunction by just saying, “OK I’m not going to beat myself down today. I’m going to rest and try to catch back up and get rid of some of the cumulative overload.” It’s like having a recovery bank account; rest is like making deposits or at least not withdrawing any money.  Working out and playing games is like shopping; you are spending your recovery.  It is important to realize that there is no overdraft protection for your body.  Injury is usually the result.

At the high school level, recovery is similar to college. But on the select team level and year round play, it’s a different situation. Young,.gunnertechnetwork.comeloping athletes just don’t get any rest because they are playing all the time. Years ago athletes would play a multitude of sports and blossom in the minor or major leagues. In years past there weren’t as many Tommy John surgeries or blown rotator cuffs. Pitch count and not being allowed to throw a curve ball are good things for young athletes and steps in the right direction. Nevertheless, there is still just too much volume at the various age levels.

Program Considerations

In writing exercise prescriptions and training plans one must be sure to understand volume and recovery. This year we had a rainout so we played a double header and then five games in a row, that’s six games in five days. The question became what can I do to help these athletes in a weight room? What they needed was recovery, but they didn’t get that because they had another game to play. So as a result why should I load the athletes up with heavy squats when I know they won’t have a chance to recover from the baseball games; never mind the demand of weightlifting?

That is why in college and high school one can do more strength training and the conditioning professional can invoke these length/tension relationships more effectively. In the Major Leagues you may have an entire workout.gunnertechnetwork.comoted to range of motion. In some cases this is all you have time for.  In MLB time is not a variable that can be manipulated.  Consequently we often do “recovery workouts” where the athletes come in and do some PNF stretching on the tight muscles, typically the rectus femoris, IT band, glutes and piriformis. It is important for the athlete to feel good. As far as resistance exercises are concerned we might work on the quads to get the hamstrings to loosen up and also do some manual stretching. The length/tension relationship plays a key role in the.gunnertechnetwork.comelopment of baseball and softball athletes. I hope I’ve effectively introduced you to this concept.

 

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