baseball training workouts
The UN Weight Room – Outside the Box Baseball Training Workouts
Core Power for Baseball creator Barry Lovelace is an internationally recognized fitness professional specializing in creating power and core strength in athletes. Core Power For Baseball.
I can not tell you how thrilled I was to hear about the changes that were made in the Seattle Mariners weight room. They have done away with the majority of their weight and are instead using flexible resistance to train their players.
The facility is impressive and frankly mimics the room I use for my clients whereas it is a functional space with bands coming out of the walls. I am sure that when someone first takes a look at it they are confused and possibly a bit skeptical. We associate building strength with big bulky machines and heavy barbells. This new way of training certainly forces us to think outside the box and leave our comfort zone.
The trainer for the Mariners, Dr. Marcus Elliott has lots of documentation showing increases in strength, agility, etc. and presented it all in a way that only a doctor can. I of course am not a doctor but can tell you unequivocally that the results that come from training athletes in the planes of motion that mimic their sport and with flexible resistance are astounding. Not only do these types of workouts build quickness, flexibility and explosive power they build core strength, which is the source of all athletic power and movement.
Put simply the reason that you train athletes is to improve their athletic ability, we can all agree with that. Old school techniques like bench pressing and overhead pressing are absolutely useless to a baseball player so any time spent on those exercises is time wasted. Baseball players, like any athletes, need more than just brute strength. They need the kind of power that ignites their swing at the plate and their throwing arm. They need the flexibility and balance required to field a grounder and make the throw to first base lightening fast and with authority. This kind of power does not come from lifting in the weight room. While moves like chest presses have their place in building muscle it does not address the kind of functionality that is required to play baseball at a high level of performance. To train for overall power you need to train functionally.
Fortunately we live in an age where functional training is becoming more mainstream and the change in the Mariners weight room is proof. The idea behind functional training for athletes is to train the body the way it is used during play…as a whole. Think about movement in general. How often in a day do you only use one muscle group at a time? It’s a very rare occurrence. Even carrying groceries into the house requires the use of the lower body, the back, the shoulders and the core all at the same time. This is even more apparent in athletes like baseball players. For instance, when a baseball player is going to make a throw he is planting with his lower body, engaging his core for power and using his back and shoulder to actually make the throw. The use of flexible resistance training is a way to train the body of an athlete with all of these specifics in mind. The result is an athlete who is extremely prepared and conditioned for the challenges of their sport.
When designing functional band training workouts for athletes, the movement patterns of the athletes sport should be studied. It is from these movement patterns that exercises are created. Commonly, flexible resistance and balance challenges are added to the movements as well. The result is a training program that is incredibly effective. After working functionally for baseball, a players’ body is extremely prepared, powerful and has an ease of movement about him. The result is a baseball player who is at the top of their game.
About the Author
Known worldwide as the ‘King of Core’, Barry Lovelace delivers incredible core workouts that are super effective, creative and produce fast results. NO boring gym workouts here. Core Power For Baseball.