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3-Day Full Body Program (minimal equipment) – Phase 1

3-day Full Body Program

PHASE 1

With gyms closing all over due to COVID-19, and athletes not having training facilities at their disposal, we are providing the following 3-day program for those with access to little or no equipment.  The workout addresses Speed and Power, the two training residuals that dissipate the quickest (7-14 days).

FYI, don’t get too crazy worrying about max strength losses at this time, you’ve got approximately 30 days before they start to fall off. Hopefully this will help manage training residuals until all systems are “go” again. Continue reading “3-Day Full Body Program (minimal equipment) — Phase 1”

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How to Analyze Baseball Swing Mechanics in 15 Steps

baseball swing mechanics

Hitting an MLB fastball requires the application of a huge amount of energy in the blink of an eye, roughly 130 ms to be exact. That’s about a 1/8th of a second. Only through a coordinated series of contractions involving not only muscles but joints and connective tissue traveling up the kinetic chain into the hands and ultimately the bat can we achieve adequate bat speed and quickness to hit a baseball traveling at speeds north of 90 mph. This article is meant to familiarize you with the 2 distinct phases (stride and swing) and 15 positions in baseball hitting and baseball swing mechanics that we review when analyzing video. Continue reading “How to Analyze Baseball Swing Mechanics in 15 Steps”

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Baseball Hitting Mechanics… How to Address Sway?

baseball hitting mechanics

In this series of short articles and video analyses, as a part of assessing our hitters, I will be going over different components of baseball hitting mechanics, while Nunzio will help highlight potential issues and correctives both inside and outside the nets. Today’s topic on hitting mechanics is Sway, and it starts at with the stance and set up… Continue reading “Baseball Hitting Mechanics… How to Address Sway?”

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How We Assess Hitters at RPP Baseball

hitting assessment

As an athlete, you are not able to move efficiently if your body isn’t in a position to do so. Incorporating assessments, strength training and data analytics into how we train players is a bit of an art. Since each and every player is different in every way, the key is to parse through the information and determine which pieces are relevant for each player. Below is a typical assessment for position players at our facility and it’s broken up into several sections:

Let’s review these with some specificity… Continue reading “How We Assess Hitters at RPP Baseball”

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3 Questions When Analyzing Kinematic Sequence with K-Vest Baseball

k-vest baseball

HITTING IS HARD! Fortunately, technologies such as K-Vest Baseball, Blast and Rapsodo allow us to measure many metrics and movements, thus, giving the hitter a better chance to succeed. Unless you can understand and incorporate data into your training the value of data would be meaningless.  I should also add that it is easy for hitters to get lost in the numbers unless the collective data is properly incorporated into their training.

As an athlete, you are not able to move efficiently if your body isn’t in a position to do so. In terms of timing, if your lower half isn’t in a strong stable position to efficiently transfer energy and allow the upper half to move, then you will have a tough time hitting at any level.

It is important to understand how the lower body is behaving and how it should behave when a player is “on time”.  Here are 3 questions to ask when analyzing timing through the Pelvis of a Kinematic Sequence as measured by the K-Vest Baseball: Continue reading “3 Questions When Analyzing Kinematic Sequence with K-Vest Baseball”

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What to Ask When Selecting a Pitching Program

A few years ago, all you could expect from your pitching program was to help you with your mechanics. That’s just about what most people expected and looked for in a pitching program. Fortunately, times have changed. Today, pitching mechanics are only a piece of the overall puzzle.  There is much more to training pitchers than simply teaching them proper mechanics.  Whether you’re looking for an off-season pitching or throwing program, here are six questions you can ask pitching coaches and some guidance on what to look for… Continue reading “What to Ask When Selecting a Pitching Program”

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What to Do With All the Data Coming Out of Showcases?

During the past year several showcases announced partnerships with technology companies, whereby participants skills are measured during their events.  We’re not talking about the usual 60-yard dash.  We’re talking about esoteric topics like vertical bat angles of a swing and spin efficiency levels on a pitch.  On the one hand this is great news for the game. Technology is changing baseball for the better and the data can be invaluable for both training and evaluation. On the other hand, although I am a big believer in tech and the value it brings, there is an issue. Continue reading “What to Do With All the Data Coming Out of Showcases?”

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Educating Your Staff… The Palooza Experience

For the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of presenting with some of the brightest and innovative minds in baseball. Always being a big believer in educating my coaches and athletes, last year, I brought two of my coaches from RPP along with me to listen and learn when I spoke at Pitch-A-Palooza.  If you’ve never heard of it (hard to believe), Palooza is Lantz Wheeler’s 3-day extravaganza that brings together 500+ (it grows every year that I’ve presented there), forward-thinking coaches, trainers, PT’s and data/tech analysts.

The “take-home” for my guys was so beneficial that it prompted me to bring 5 of them this year. My strength coach, 2 pitching coaches, my hitting coach and a data intern all accompanied me to grab some knowledge and just as important bond as a unit. Palooza is somewhat of a “meeting of the minds” looking to both listen to and share with each other different mind sets on making players and coaches healthier and more efficient at what they do. It’s a welcome break from the world of social media we live in where many times, people troll each other’s posts simply to stick out their chest and criticize each other.

At the end of the event, I asked my guys for their impressions and their favorite presentations.  Here is their feedback.  Enjoy… Continue reading “Educating Your Staff… The Palooza Experience”