Let’s continue working on advancing some of the ground work we’ve been laying in practice and in workouts.
Training for Week 1:
Hitting – the best thing you can do to become a better hitter is to swing a bat. Swinging hard along with envisioning a pitch coming in will help you get stronger, correct mechanics, and prepare you mentally.
Your routine should look like this:
1) Get in your batting stance
2) Look towards where the pitcher would be
3) Picture a pitcher going through a wind up
4) Load and swing
If you are hitting off a tee – that’s great. If not, this is still an amazing way to train.
For this week, I have a tip that will dramatically speed up your mechanical improvements.
Find a 2×4 (these are also very cheap at Home Depot) or somewhere else you have to balance. Do the above routine on the 2×4. This will force to keep your balance which will fix many mechanical flaws and improve your power big time.
Aim for 50+ swings per session at least once / week.
A few important notes:
You do not have to hit baseballs off a tee. Plastic or other lightweight balls are fine.
If you have a cushion or net you can hit the balls into, that is great.
If you don’t, get a 3 foot string and a wiffle ball. Loop one end of the string around the base of the tee and the other around wiffle ball loops. Now you can hit without having to run down the ball.
Throwing / Pitching
We are keeping the same throwing exercises that we’ve been working on. If you haven’t watched the YouTube videos, take another look. Getting these drills right is going to have a big impact on your velocity.
We are also adding the rotator cuff exercises that we have been working on in practice below.
- 15 rotational throws
- 15 overhead throws
Medicine ball – rotational throw:
While these are ‘medicine ball’ drills, we are using a soccer ball/volleyball/basketball for now.
Start from the stretch position, cock the ball back to your ear and use your body rotation to throw the ball.
Here is a resource: https://youtu.be/_SgVlerT6jk?list=PLaF1d8EePXKiNbfaS5YJEF-KpaH11eOKb
Medicine ball – overhead throw:
Use the same ball you used above. Start from your landing position, pull your upper body back and explode forward.
Here is a resource:
Strength / Fitness
Break each one of these into as many sets you need. If you can
- 50 push-ups. (Do plyo-pushups if you can)
- 50 renegade rows (use lightweights or no weights
- 50 squats
- 50 sit-ups
Rotator Cuff:
You can do these with a band, a small weight, or no weight at all. The key is to keep good form. Do each exercise for 15 reps on each
References:
http://www.youthpitching.com/armcare.html?fb_comment_id=853013334735228_857408920962336
See if you can get to these 4 exercises at least 2 times this week.
That should do it guys – each of the 3 components should take 10 minutes or less.
You can likely do this all together in 1 30 minute session but if you want to break it up, that’s fine too.
Let us know if you have any questions!
Pressure Baseball 