Baseball

Conditioning

Program

 

In the world of baseball, excelling in one’s position demands more than just raw talent and basic drills; it requires a comprehensive strength and conditioning program tailored to enhance skills, prepare the body for rigorous practices, and prevent injuries.

This type of program involves collaborations with specialized coaches who develop workouts that not only improve arm strength, bat speed, and agility but also fortify athletes against the physical demands of intense training sessions. Incorporating weight training, resistance exercises, and plyometrics, these workouts are essential for boosting performance and building endurance. With a keen focus on injury prevention, especially for common issues like rotator cuff injuries in pitchers, the program ensures that every player is both physically robust and resilient throughout the demanding baseball season.

baseball

< Evidence-Based Practice >

Traditional strength and conditioning regimens from other sports might not fully enhance the specific skills needed for peak baseball performance. Such conventional exercises, like squats and deadlifts, typically focus on movements in the sagittal plane, neglecting the frontal and transverse planes, which are just as crucial for baseball athletes. Biomechanical research has indicated that trunk rotation power is the most critical factor affecting pitchers’ throwing speed. Moreover, it’s essential that these programs are tailored not only to boost performance but also to minimize the risk of prevalent injuries in baseball, such as hamstring strains, injuries to the throwing arm, strains in the paralumbar muscles, strains in the hip adductors, and strains in the oblique muscles.

Baseball training demands specific attention to movements unique to the sport, such as pitching and hitting, which go beyond traditional sagittal plane exercises like squats and deadlifts. Research by Lehman et al. highlights the importance of lateral and rotational power, finding that lateral to medial jumps and medicine ball scoop tosses correlate with throwing velocity, which is heavily influenced by trunk rotation power. Traditional strength programs that include Olympic weightlifting might not be optimal for baseball players due to the technical complexity and potential risks to the throwing arm, specifically in positions like the snatch’s catch phase that demands extensive shoulder flexion—a common limitation among baseball players. Additionally, the valgus stress experienced in the clean’s catch phase can pose risks to the elbow, suggesting a need for baseball-specific programs that emphasize plyometrics and other modalities to develop power without compromising safety or range of motion.

    baseball

    < Exercises & Trainings >

    Strengthening Program

    Upper Body

    • BOSU Push-ups
    • TRX Y’s & T’s
    • Dumbbell Press+
    • Dumbbell Row
    • TRX Face-Pull
    • Chin-ups
    • Dips
    • Supine Skull Crusher
    • Wrist Curls

    Lower Body

    • Squat
    • Deadlift
    • Kettlebell Front Lunge
    • Kettlebell Cossack Squat

    Agility & Skill Training

    Upper Body

    • TRX Tube Explosive Diagonal Pull – Chest
    • TRX Tube Explosive Diagonal Pull – Lat
    • TRX Explosive Push-ups
    • TRX Explosive Low Row
    • Landmine Shoulder Press
    • Landmine Bent Over Row

    Lower Body

    • Jumping Squat
    • Jumping Lunge
    • Kettlebell Lunge from Launch Position
    • Power Clean
    • Box Jump

    Stability & Core Control

    • Flamingo Medicine Ball Toss – Single Leg Deadlift
    • TRX Shoulder Touch
    • Explosive Lunge Twist with Medicine Ball
    • Explosive Woodchopper
    • Explosive Russian Twist

    Shoulder Care

    • Standing Banded ER & IR 90/90
    • Seated Dumbbell ER & IR
    • Banded Wall Slide with Foam roller
    • Thoracic Kettlebell Press: Standing, Rotate + Press Up
    • Body Blade

     

    Stability & Core Control

    • Flamingo Medicine Ball Toss – Single Leg Deadlift
    • TRX Shoulder Touch
    • Explosive Lunge Twist with Medicine Ball
    • Explosive Woodchopper
    • Explosive Russian Twist

    < Reference >

    • Klein B, Cobian D, Simmons G, Reinold M. Offseason Workout Recommendations for Baseball Players. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2021;14(2):174-184. doi:1007/s12178-021-09700-z
    • Gillett J, O’Brien L, Ryan M, Rogowski J. Strategic Exercise Prescription for Baseball: Bridging the Gap Between Injury Prevention and Power Production. Strength & Conditioning Journal. 2009;31(5):81-88. doi:1519/SSC.0b013e3181a1293d
    • Moore SD, Uhl TL, Kibler WB. Improvements in Shoulder Endurance Following a Baseball-Specific Strengthening Program in High School Baseball Players. Sports Health. 2013;5(3):233-238. doi:1177/1941738113477604
    • Bakshi NK, Inclan PM, Kirsch JM, Bedi A, Agresta C, Freehill MT. Current Workload Recommendations in Baseball Pitchers: A Systematic Review. Am J Sports Med. 2020;48(1):229-241. doi:1177/0363546519831010
    • Lehman G, Drinkwater EJ, Behm DG. Correlation of throwing velocity to the results of lower-body field test in male college baseball players. J Strength Cond Res. 2013;27:902–908.