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Off-Season Training for High School Ball Players, the How , the Why and the When…

Note: Please note that at the end of this article there are two webpage links with access to exercise videos referred to throughout this article for novice and intermediate / advanced athletes.

Why it is important?

According to Escamilla JSCR ’12 Young athletes participating in a strength program increased velocity in a much safer manner than those who participated in a throwing program only.

Here is why!

Continue reading “Off-Season Training for High School Ball Players, the How , the Why and the When…”

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How Strong is Strong Enough?

Why Do We Test Strength?

To better maximize our training time in the gym, we need to focus on only what the athlete needs without taking away the attributes that they are already good at.

Testing max strength helps us determine what the focus of training will be throughout the upcoming training period. This enables us to prioritize the athletes “lowest hanging fruit” when it comes to Strength (> 80% 1RM) vs Power (between 30-80% 1RM). We utilize VBT to help better pinpoint specific strength zones. Continue reading “How Strong is Strong Enough?”

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How to Improve Pitchers Shoulder Mobility

pitchers shoulder

Today, we’re going to review some of the topics we look at during an assessment in regard to pitchers shoulder mobility as well the major players that can affect it. The four big guys are as follows:

    1. Shoulder
    2. Scapula
    3. T-Spine (Extension)
    4. Lumbo-Pelvic Control

Let’s review and discuss each and go over a handful of shoulder exercises that may be helpful for each segment.

Continue reading “How to Improve Pitchers Shoulder Mobility”

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Profiling Pitchers and Players… The RPP Assessment

Most often pitchers and position players associate their pitching velocity, bat speed or exit velo with their pitching or hitting mechanics. As our understanding of the body and technology has improved over the years, it is now more apparent than ever that your velocity ceiling, whether it’s pitching or hitting, is limited by your physical ability more than anything else.

If your velo is stuck… let’s find out why!

Continue reading “Profiling Pitchers and Players… The RPP Assessment”

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How to Build Athleticism in Young Athletes

A couple years ago, I wrote an article about youth strength training covering all the related myths and facts.  I have been asked several times since then what my young athlete should be doing if he or she is too young for the weight room.  There are four basic movements that every young athlete can master using their own body weight as resistance in order to better build his or her athleticism. Becoming athletic takes time at any age, but the good news is that young athletes have a higher window of adaptation at this age, allowing for giant leaps in athleticism over a short period of time.

Continue reading “How to Build Athleticism in Young Athletes”

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What to Consider with In-Season Baseball Workouts

At this time of the year, after a full off-season of strength training, upcoming tryouts and practices, sitting on the bench in a kyphotic posture and waiting to get your reps on the mound are a few of the variables that can wreak havoc on an athlete’s body and more importantly his arm/shoulder. There are several considerations when you’re looking to maintain your strength and mobility with in-season baseball workouts.

Enter your email address below to receive your 9-page hard copy, which includes several workout video links.

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How to Get Better at Stealing Bases by Improving Your Running Technique

When I think of some of the biggest bangs for the buck, I often think of my time studying the principles of speed and quickness with Lee Taft. Many of the principles that I learned from Lee have been implemented into our Speed Program which we run in Jan and Feb. Below is a brief summary of some of the principles that we incorporate on base stealing in our speed program to help our athletes become faster on the field.

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How Do You Stack up?

How do you stack up?  Enter your email below and find out for yourself where you stack up in weight, height and physical ratio vs. Freshmen college players at the Top 20 Division I, II and III baseball programs.

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How to Optimize Core Training for Pitchers and Position Players

Rotational power is pure gold for training rotational athletes such as baseball players. Whether you are a pitcher or a position player, it serves not only as the bridge for transferring lower body strength and power to the upper body, but also is ground zero for initiating that force and sending it into the lower half to be absorbed by the ground. This is known as Ground Reaction Force, a major player in helping to increase angular velocities up the chain and eventually into the ball and bat.

Continue reading “How to Optimize Core Training for Pitchers and Position Players”