Many players will give you the following response when asked to develop strength as a player. "My coach says I need to get stronger so I need to lift weights. It doesn't matter what program I follow. I just need to get stronger, so I need be lifting a lot of weight. Then I'll be a better player."
Sport specific weight training speed and agility training has evolved dramatically over the last 10 years. Many players and parents today do not understand that in order to maximize the benefits and minimize injury, strength training must be designed to meet the specific needs of the baseball player, and in some cases may even involve exercised specific to one position or another. Most of the time, the real risk in weight training many lies in the unknown. Parents, players, and even coaches often times do not realize that certain while a lift can be extremely harmful for one sport, that exact same lift is an integral part of training for another. I keep referring to baseball specific training because baseball is a skill set that requires that all players retain full range of motion. A player's ability to maintain balance, change direction, explode, coupled with developing and maintaining precise hand eye coordination down to the thousandth of an inch, will determine his success. Breaking down one small aspect of the game in the following most basic way illustrates the counter-intuitiveness of baseball and the difficulty of being successful at it. Taking a round bat, hitting a round ball and hitting it square is no easy task!
Many players today are using generic workout routines not realizing that they are abiding by programs developed for football, basketball, middle-aged men, or someone who just wants to look good on the beach. Each of these programs contains elements that render potential benefits. However they also often include elements that can be detrimental to growth and development of a youth baseball player.
So what should I look for?
Using dumbbells is great for baseball players. Executing lifts with dumbbells activates the stabilizer muscles in and around the joints to engage. These types of lifts include dumbbell bench press, fly, press, curl and extension. Straight overhead bar lifts can put the joint, and more importantly the tendons and muscle around the joint, in awkward positions, which overloads pressure on the joints (I.E. the shoulder) and calls on smaller muscles to act in ways they were not designed. Case in point straight bar bell bench can strain the labrum of a baseball player. While a strained labrum to a football player would not alter or harm his performance or ability to play. A strained labrum to a baseball player could cost an entire season.
Dead lifts and power cleans are incredibly efficient exercises that promote timing and explosiveness, as well as core strength. However, if executed incorrectly, both exercises can place a great deal of overload on the rotator cuff (Shoulder) and elbows due to inward rotation at the top of the lift. A baseball specific lifting program always needs to work around the health of the shoulder. All exercises in a baseball specific training program should allow for the shoulder to work independently. Shoulders should never bear the entire lift load.
Core strength development is vital to any baseball specific conditioning program. The rotational nature of both throwing and hitting require a baseball player have solid core and lower back.
Squats and lower half lifts cane be beneficial, but I advise players to proceed with caution when executing these types of lifts. Proper form must always be maintained. Try to work the lower half using lower weight and high repetitions. When using heavier weight use a leg sled machine with back supported throughout the lift.
Use these tips to streamline your workout routine and to make it baseball specific. Please do not mistake my advice to imply baseball players do not need to work hard in the weight room. On the contrary, in fact for many players, the lack of time spent working hard in the weight room is the only thing stopping them from being great. Baseball players need to work hard, but keep in mind that more is not always better. More can be less. I can't emphasize these last few things enough. Always use proper form when in the weight room. Never increase weight if you cannot maintain proper form. If you have a question ask! If the person you ask doesn't know, then find someone who does. Strength and conditioning is like baseball, and baseball is like church... many attend, few understand!
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