pre-season Archives - The Lending Coach

The high school baseball season is right around the corner, as most programs out west start in February…and there’s still time to make sure that your body is ready for the season.

Your body must be ready to handle the ups-and-downs of the condensed 20 game season.

I’ve compiled a number of links that the baseball minded will find worthwhile and I highly recommend that you check them out.

The first is a piece with accompanying video from Stack.com regarding a 6-week pre-season program. Their program utilizes medicine balls to build baseball specific strength.

“Developing stronger baseball-specific movement patterns comes with a bonus: it helps to prevent injuries. By improving often-hurt areas like shoulder and back muscles before camp starts, you’ll reduce your chance of breaking down over the course of a long season.”

http://www.stack.com/a/6-week-baseball-workout

From the HSBaseball web – they talk specifics about particular muscle groups that get used more than others. During pitching and batting, it’s the chest and shoulders, particularly the rotator cuffs, pecs and triceps. Players also need good torso strength, i.e., a strong back and abdomen – and leg power will get you going with those bursts of speed needed to run bases.

Jeff Holt, a fitness trainer and owner of Personal Health and Fitness Inc. in Hendersonville, says a training regimen for softball should focus on improving overall strength and flexibility.

http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/pre_season.htm

Here’s a great PDF from WPA Baseball for both players and parents.

Youth baseball has become increasingly competitive over recent years, joining other sports in which athletes are frequently exposing themselves to overuse injuries.

They state that pre-season conditioning should start 8-12 weeks prior to the start of your season and give a great outline of what that training program should look like.

http://www.wpabaseball.com/files/SportsPerfArticles/Conditioning(1).pdf

Finally, here’s a great Sports Illustrated article on Evan Longoria that highlights his specific pre-season workout regimen.

“It’s taken a lot of years for me to understand what my body needs,” says Longoria. “I don’t want to put 500 pounds on my back and squat because it doesn’t translate for me on the field. My workout program is tailored to being baseball strong.”

It goes into very specific detail that is eye-opening for those who think baseball players aren’t in great shape!