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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.

Core Stabilization – Progressive Method

CoreStab_01
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

Measuring and Preventing Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit (GIRD) in Pitchers

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By bh | August 12, 2011 1:16 am | News, Training | Leave a comment

Several studies show that the dominant arm in baseball throwers have increased external rotation and decreased internal rotation compared with their non-dominant arm.  (4,5)  This loss of internal rotation on the throwing arm compared to non-throwing arm is defined as GIRD, or glenohumeral internal rotation deficit.

For measurements of glenohumeral internal rotation, the athlete is placed in the supine position with the humerus abducted to 90 degrees.  A towel roll was placed under the distal aspect of the humerus maintaining the humerus parallel to floor.  The elbow is flexed to 90 degrees and the humerus is internally rotated until the coracoid begins to move.  The measurements are made using a goniometer with a bubble level indicator.  Please consult with a qualified medical professional in order to obtain results from this objective test (Figure 1).

There is a big debate in the sports medicine field regarding GIRD and it being caused by capsular, muscular, and osseous (bony adaptation) or a combination of all three adaptations.  Due to these stresses placed on the shoulder during the throwing motion, previous studies have revealed that adaptive changes occur within the humerus know as humeral retroversion.  This allows for greater shoulder external rotation and less internal rotation as compared to the non-throwing shoulder. (8)

We, as athletic trainers/physical therapists, can affect motion if caused by either capsular or muscular tightness.  Some believe that a posterior inferior capsular contracture.gunnertechnetwork.comelops due to repetitive distraction causing micro-trauma in tension during the follow-through phase of throwing.  This occurs due to Wolf’s law, the SAID principle, as glenohumeral distraction force is equal to or greater than the pitcher’s body weight. (6)  Others believe that due to the high eccentric activity of the posterior cuff during the follow-through phase of throwing, this may cause a rise in muscular tension and an associated loss of internal rotation range of motion.  (7)  Competitive overhead throwing athletes perform at the extremes of glenohumeral motion and place tremendous repetitive stresses on the shoulder.

Regardless of what causes this deficit, this contracture produces altered glenohumeral kinematics that may lead to injury.  There is also debate on how the humeral head is altered due to GIRD.  One theory, due to the posterior shoulder tightness, the humeral head translates anteriorly during end range cocking phase applying stress to the posterior rotator cuff.  This may also place increased stress on the anterior capsule causing symptomatic anterior instability.  In contrast, others believe the posterior capsular contracture with decreased internal rotation does not allow the humeral head to rotate externally into its normal postero-inferior position in the late cocking phase of throwing.  The decreased internal rotation caused by this posterior capsular contracture causes a posterior superior obligate migration of the humeral head in maximum external rotation.  The posterior superior shift causes the SLAP lesion via the peel back mechanism.  This may predispose the thrower to an internal impingement type injury.  Continued internal impingement leads to deepening of the tear and extension of delamination.  Further microtrauma, or continued throwing, may produce a full thickness rotator cuff tear.  (1)

What we, the San Francisco Giants Medical Staff are doing are measuring all athletes at the beginning of spring training as well as the end of the season.  If athletes have a GIRD of 20 degrees or more (Figure 2), we mandate them receiving hands-on stretching at the beginning and the end of each day.  If an athlete has a GIRD of 18-20 degrees, we have them perform the sleeper stretch regularly and then re-measure in 3 weeks time.  If their GIRD is less than 18 degrees (Figure 3), they are no longer required to stretch regularly, just perform the self sleeper stretch.  Over the past 2 years, our organization has decreased our shoulder surgeries by 76% by implementing a more regimented, required stretching program.

We have noticed that new draftees signing with the Giants organization, from either college or high school, have increased GIRD measurements.  A regimented stretching program for baseball players with greater than 18 degrees of GIRD to be stretched prior to throwing as well as after throwing at the collegiate and high school level may prove to decrease career ending injuries to the shoulder.  It is our goal to not allow an athlete to throw until his GIRD measurement is less than 18 degrees.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, notes that GIRD maybe associated with elbow valgus instability as well.  That being said, an internal rotation stretching program at the high school and collegiate levels may also assist in preventing the epidemic of ulnar collateral ligament injuries.  Their has been a big push by sports medicine specialists limiting pitch counts, not allowing curve balls to be thrown at the little league level, etc.  I would like to see a shoulder internal rotation stretching program at every high school and college training room in order to allow our young athletes to stay healthy and dream big.  O

 

 

More Information Please!

Please email Ben Potenziano with any questions at bpotenziano@sfgiants.com.

 

References

  1. Lintner, David, Mayol, Magdiel, Uzodinma, Obinna, Jones, Rex, and Labossiere, David.  Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficits in Profressional Pitchers Enrolled in an Internal Rotation Stretching Program.  The American Journal of Sports Medicine.  2007; volume 35, No. 4: 617-621.
  2. Dines, Joshua S., Frank, Joshua B., Akerman, Meredith, and Yocum, Lewis A.  Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficits in Baseball Players with Ulnar Collateral Ligament Insufficiency.  The American Journal of Sports Medicine.  2009; Volume 37, No. 3: 566-570.
  3. Reinold, MM, Wilk, KE, Macrina, LC, et al.  Changes in Shoulder and Elbow Passive Range of Motion After Pitching in Profressional Baseball Players.  The American Journal of Sports Medicine.  2008; Volume 36: 523-527.
  4. Crocket, HC, Gross, LB, Wilk, KE, et al.  Osseous Adaptation and Range of Motion at the Glenohumeral Joint in Profressional Baseball Pitchers.  The American Journal of Sports Medicine.  2002; Volume 30: 20-26
  5. Reagan, KM, Meister, K, Horodyski, MB, Werner, DW, Carruthers, C, Wilk, K.  Humeral Retroversion and its Relationship to Glenohumeral Rotation in the Shoulder of College Baseball Players.  The American Journal of Sports Medicine.  2002; Volume 30: 354-360.
  6. Morgan, Craig.  Presentation at ASMI Injuries in Baseball course 2003.
  7. Reinold, MM, Wilk, KE, Macrina, LC, Sheheane, C, Shouchen, D, Flesig, GS, Crenshaw, K and Andrews, JR.  Changes in Shoulder and Elbow Passive Rom of Motion After Pitching in Profressional Baseball Players.  The American Journal of Sports Medicine.  2008.  Volume: 36; 523-527.
  8. Crockett, HC, Gross, LB, Wilk, KE, Schwartz, ML, Reed, J, O’Mara, J, Reilly, MT, Dugas, JR, Meister, K, Lyman, S, and Andrews, JR.  Osseous Adaptation and Range of Motion at the Glenohumeral Joint in Profressional Baseball Pitchers.  The American Journal of Sports Medicine.  2002.  Volume: 30; 20-26.

 

What to do with GIRD information?

 

The previous overview provides coaches, players and athletic trainers with more information on how they can assist their players. The coaches should assist their players with an intervention plan of sleeper stretches as well hands on stretching if an Athletic Trainer is available.

The San Francisco Giants stretch all their players that are red flagged. These players are stretched by the Athletic Trainer or Physical Therapist on staff. Those players that have been noted as being tight are taught how to perform the sleeper stretches on their own. We advise them to stretch prior to stretching and after their session. The sleep stretch in our opinion is a valuable component of our overall shoulder program. We have seen a decrease in shoulder injuries since implementing the program throughout the system. The Giants medical staff believes this is an important part of a throwing program for a high school athlete to a professional baseball player.

There are several stretches that we perform and the Internal Rotation Sleeper Stretch will be the first that is shown. The athlete performs this stretch while he/she are lying on their dominant throwing side. Let’s assume this player is right handed. They would lay on their right side with their arm at 90 degree with their body over their shoulder. They would push their wrist downward. Be sure to hold the stretch for a minimum of 20 seconds and a minimum of 5 times/day.  The athlete should feel the stretch in the posterior shoulder. I have included the photos so you can see exactly how these stretches are performed.

The other stretches that have been added are the Pectorals Minor and Major stretch. We also include an elbow stretch which you will see in the final two pictures.  They are Elbow Extension stretch which can be done with a bat and a dumbbell. The dumbbell stretch should be done with a towel under the elbow. The dumbbell should not weigh more than 5-10 lbs.

The San Francisco Giants Medical Staff has been applying these stretching methods throughout our system and have seen significant gains.

We recommend an Athletic Trainer or Physical Therapist perform these stretches.

 

 

If you were told you have tight internal rotation of your shoulder, perform the following stretches and follow-up with us for new measurements in 2 weeks to track your progress.  If you have any questions regarding proper form, please ask a trainer to assist.

 

Internal Rotation Sleeper Stretch   In side lying position with arm up in range of 75 -110 degrees with elbow bent to 90 degrees with body leaning over shoulder, push wrist down with opposite hand.   Hold stretch for 20 seconds and perform minimum of 5 times/day.  (Especially important to perform before and after each throwing session)

 

 

 

 

Pectoralis Minor stretch   Place half foam roll on table, line up foam roll with spine and lay on top allowing your shoulders to wrap around roll.  Lay there for 5-10 minutes every day.

 

Pectoralis Major Stretch   Stand in doorway and place front of shoulder and inside of bent arm on surface of wall.  Position bent elbow around the same height of shoulder, lean into wall allowing shoulder to be pushed back.  Hold stretch for 20 seconds and perform minimum of 3 times/day

If you were told you have limited elbow extension, perform the following stretches and follow-up with us for new measurements in 2 weeks to track your progress.  If you have any questions regarding proper form, please ask a trainer to assist.

 

Elbow Extension Stretch   In sitting position with towel roll just above elbow joint, grasp end of bat and push into elbow extension with other hand holding opposite end of bat.  A variation of this stretch would be to hold a 5-10 lbs weight and allow to extend elbow.  Hold stretch for 20 seconds and perform minimum of 3 times/day.

 

Ben Potenziano, M.Ed, ATC, CES Strength and Conditioning Coach

 Ben Potenziano has been with the San Francisco Giants for 6 seasons. This is his fifth as the team’s strength and conditioning coach. Currently in his second stint with the Giants organization, he had spent five seasons overall in the club’s minor league system. He has previously served as head athletic trainer in the San Francisco system at short-season, single-A, double-A and the club’s affiliate in the Arizona Rookie League. He is a member of the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society and National Strength and Conditioning Association and the National Athletic Trainers Association. Ben is a graduate of the University of Maine at Farmington with a bachelor’s degree in Community Health Education and a Masters of Physical Education with a concentration in Exercise Science from the University of Maine at Orono.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Major Responsibilities of Minor League Conditioning Coordinators: Developing Young Players

LOS ANGELES DODGERS VS CINCINNATI REDS
By bh | August 12, 2011 1:15 am | News, Training | Leave a comment

Sean Marohn, M.S. CSCS, Cincinnati Reds Minor League Conditioning Coordinator

Sean has served as the Cincinnati Reds Minor League Conditioning Coordinator since 2005. He coordinates all aspects of flexibility, strength, conditioning, and diet for the Red’s minor league system. In addition, he hires and supervises 6 strength coaches who are assigned to each minor league team. Among his duties is to move into each city minor league club to evaluate players’ health as well as the strength coach performance at that affiliate. Prior to becoming minor league coordinator he was strength and conditioning coach for the Reds AAA minor league team, the Louisville Bats. His duties included home and on the road strength training, agilities, flexibility, conditioning and rehabilitation.

Sean came to the Reds from the Pittsburgh Pirates organization where he was strength and conditioning coach for the Williamsport Crosscutters. In 2001 he served in the same capacity for the Milwaukee Brewers/Ogden Raptors short season A team. Sean earned a Master of Science degree in Human Performance/Sports Medicine from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. While at the University of Tennessee he assisted with.gunnertechnetwork.comelopment and training of athletes in the men’s athletics department and implemented training regiments for athletes.

PC: Sean please explain your duties as a minor league strength and conditioning coordinator since this is a relatively new position in the world of baseball.

SM: My position entails coordinating the strength and conditioning program, which includes strength, conditioning, flexibility, speed, and agility programs as well as dietary issues whether it be weight gain or weight loss. In addition, my staff including myself will physically evaluate players coming in whether they are 16-year-old Dominican players, kids from the states or collegiate four-year players coming from elite programs. Also, because of trades we might have a new player coming in from a different organization where the philosophies might be a little different. I need to see where they are coming from and implement what we are doing here in the Reds organization.

On another side of it, I hire six strength and conditioning coaches for our affiliates so each location has a strength coach. As the new coaches come in I introduce, teach, and implement our program with them. We have 30 days during spring training to do this. We know that coming in these new coaches have knowledge in the area of strength and conditioning. My job is to make sure they apply this knowledge to our program making the proper adjustments to what we want. As they leave to go to their particular locations, I make sure that they know their players and are implementing individualized programs based on individual needs.

PC: What are some of the challenges you face with such a diverse group of players ranging from young 16-year-olds to seasoned four year college players?

SM: The first thing we do is evaluate the players by doing some basic field tests. Table One outlines the tests and the standards we look for while Table Two provides some interesting comparative data of the progress of athletes from spring training to spring training.

This provides a basis of the type of athlete I’m beginning to deal with. The height and weight provide.gunnertechnetwork.comelopment data. We have kids coming in that are still growing and coming into their own. Once the testing is done we can see any deficits that are going on in the athletic parameters such as flexibility, speed, etc. We then start formulating a program for that individual. For the more.gunnertechnetwork.comeloped players we start refining what they have done in the past and address deficits based on their age or position. Here we get more position specific. We also communicate with our field managers, pitching and hitting coaches to see what they would like us to work on as well. It’s a combination of testing data and evaluation by the coaching staff that really is the seed of formulating a strength and conditioning plan and identifying what’s most important and where to start. For example, the younger players who have never lifted and are strength deficient we would start on basic functional movements and core stability before any type of large volume work is implemented. Once they get established with the basics we can move them on accordingly and at their own pace of.gunnertechnetwork.comelopment. In the area of weight we look an athlete’s ability to gain or lose weight and adjust accordingly based on our dietary plan.

PC: You may have athlete coming in with poor lifting and training habits and techniques that might create bigger issues than an athlete with no training background. How do you handle this challenge?

SM: Like anything else, we get kids in from programs that have provided strong mechanical backgrounds with excellent techniques for their athletes. Others may come from schools where the sheer numbers of athletes per coach make if very difficult to learn proper techniques.

Take the squat for example. I have to watch the athletes first. If they show any deficits, we immediately stop and go back to basics. We break it down starting with proper squatting technique in a squat with no weight, work on a physioball squat and leg press until I feel we can start loading the athletes. We have to restart and retrain that movement to make sure they are not putting themselves at risk for any type of injury.

SC: Since you have to identify early and late maturity levels with athletes coming in from a wide variety of backgrounds, how does the maturation process create a challenge for you in establishing your program?

SM: I look at growth in the first six or seven months (a full baseball season). If one shows huge growth spurts I know the maturation process is still occurring. With such an athlete we will be more conservative on the side of volume and loading. I’m especially tentative with the Dominican kids since they are generally unde.gunnertechnetwork.comeloped. If their maturation process hasn’t finished or has just begun, it changes the program drastically because you can tell in their movements that their body hasn’t caught up. We have had Dominican kids come in and they will grow two to three inches in one season and up to three to four inches in one full year! They may not look young but you have to be aware of at what stage of.gunnertechnetwork.comelopment they are in. A lot of this has to do with their nutritional background and their lack of accessibly sound nutritional practices.

Due in large part to training techniques and nutrition in this country, athletes can start to mature at age 13 or 14 and many are well.gunnertechnetwork.comeloped by the time they are 18. I witnessed this through my work at the University of Tennessee. With many of our Dominican kids their chronological age doesn’t match their maturation age.

PC: Tells us how testing fits in to all this. Is testing integrated into maturation determination?

SM: Testing is critical because, based on our historical data we know what deficits we have with each athlete. The kids we sign at an early age obviously have talent for this game. My role, once they get here is to build on that whether it is speed, power, lateral movement, etc. We focus on baseball skills such as acceleration to run down a ball or leg strength for the catcher and hip rotation power in the hitters. With the base data we immediately identify where we can enhance those baseball skill strengths.

PC: Do you keep data from year to year for comparison purposes and to create benchmarks for use in the rehabilitation process if injury should occur?

SM: Correct. Over time we are able to determine where athletes have excelled and where they might have deficiencies. Year to year and over multiple years we are able to gain good insight into the players. It’s also a great tool in that if an injury does occur it gives us the baseline numbers to tell us where we need to be in the recovery process.

PC: Let’s talk about your working relationships. It is obvious that you have a lot of people to work with. You have coaches at different levels for hitters, position players and pitchers. What challenges arise from this multi-boss scenario?

SM: The biggest thing to do when you sit down with coaches is to understand what their goals are for any particular player. I’ve been working with coaches since 2003 in the Reds organization and I’ve learned that in creating good relations with the coaches is to understand their point of view. This includes their concerns about certain.gunnertechnetwork.comelopmental issues and to make sure that you, as strength and conditioning coach, are able to communicate to them what is going to help a particular athlete overcome certain.gunnertechnetwork.comiancies that the coaches have pointed out.

Communication involves all the staff and not just coaches. I must understand what they are asking and answer their questions in a language they understand and can use. It’s important not to be too scientific in your response. They want to know what you are going to do and how they can effectively communicate this to their athletes. My job is to make sure everybody understands the programs being implemented. If you start using too many scientific term with kids coming out of high school or from the Dominican Republic you’ve lost them.

PC: With an individual athlete do you work with one coach or a multitude of coaches; i.e., position coach, hitting coach, etc., for that athlete?

SM: We have a field coordinator, a pitching coordinator, a catching coordinator, and a hitting coordinator, They are the first group I go to because obviously they have their certain groups that they work with. As I rove through the year in and out of all the affiliates, I touch base with the pitching and hitting coaches and managers to make sure they don’t see anything that needs to be worked on. If there is something we want to implement, I’ll communicate this issue back to the field coordinator and help to determine what we can do. I’ve created great relationships through the years and they know where I’m coming from. My job is to make sure everyone is in the loop. This most definitely includes the strength and conditioning coaches at these affiliates.

PC: How do you handle the issue of total workload and volume in a sport where activity and playing is almost constant month after month? And how do you coordinate baseball skill loading with conditioning loading in order to avoid overuse and over training?

SM: We are very aware of rest intervals. For athletes in peak shape I’ll give them the ability to take their heart rate during a workout for a 10 second interval. I give them a certain number, for example 24 to 27 heart beats in 10 seconds, which gives me a simple way of determining where I want their heart rate for a minute. This is for conditioning. If I want to increase the fat burning affect from training I’ll lower the expected or goal heart rate a little. For an athlete who is out of condition I can tell they are struggling, I’m not so concerned about the heart rate but rather the workload itself. A pitching coach might notice that after 35 pitches a player’s legs are starting to go and mechanics are starting to change a little. For that individual I start to get their conditioning levels up a little. In addition, a player’s position is of importance. For starting pitchers their workload is going to be very different than that of a reliever or for position players infielders are much different than catchers. I have to be aware of what each player’s workload is on the field. From there I adjust the conditioning as necessary to recover properly.

PC: What is the communication relationship between yourself and the major league strength coach?

SM: Matt Krause, our major league strength and conditioning coach, and myself have been working together since 2002. I’ve been very lucky in the fact that I have great communications with him. Within the 40 man roster I have 15 in the minor leagues. I’m in communication with Matt as to what goals he has in mind and what adjustment need to be made to meet those goals. Thus, once they get to Cincinnati they are on the right track that will benefit the team in Cincinnati.

PC: How does the program design element work? Is it top down or down to top? What are the lines of program.gunnertechnetwork.comelopment?

SM: The program philosophy for the Cincinnati Reds is the same from top to bottom—it’s just a matter of making adjustments to the individuals to fit within that philosophy and that program. So, when an athlete comes up through rookie ball all the way to the Big Leagues, everything is very familiar and very consistent. When a player gets to Cincinnati the program is not changing, it’s just a matter of making small adjustments as necessary. This avoids surprises and big changes.

PC: What is your overall philosophy?

SM: Our philosophy is very progressive in nature. The goal of each athlete is to increase strength, power, lean body mass, agility, flexibility and endurance, and baseball specifics. On the mental side, it’s an increase of self-confidence and mental toughness. Within the program there’s discipline, accountability, consistency and dedication to the program. These qualities are extended throughout each year over the long term and all in a positive, progressive manner.

PC: Let’s talk about dedication to program. Beyond the fact that these players are professionals and there’s a dollars and cents issue, how do you insure dedication?

SM: It’s all communication and trust. If athletes know you are there for them and have their best interests in mind, dedication will be there. It’s a matter of you being a strength coach who is available, accountable and consistent.

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

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

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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