BASEBALL STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING
Baseball, like other sports, utilizes the body as a whole. Power is generated through the legs and up through the core. Core strength and leg strength develop all the power for throwing and hitting. If a baseball player is having a hard time throwing hard or driving the baseball, often strength is an issue. A strong core and strong hips are necessary for a baseball player to perform at their best. Baseball players need to be explosive at the plate and on the field so it is important to never underestimate the importance of strength and conditioning. The video below contains a series of exercises that can be done after practice, during a practice session, or at home to get an extra workout in. Use the Kbands to enhance workouts.
BASEBALL STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING EXERCISE
Kbands Squats: The squat is a compound full body exercise that strengthens the muscles in the glutes, hips, thighs, trunk, core, and hamstrings. This exercise works the whole body not just the legs. It also helps strengthen the tendons, ligaments and bones in the lower body. Make sure to do the squat correctly because a lot of things can be done wrong and they will prevent the positive effects from the squat or could cause injury. Begin this exercise in a standing position with legs apart. Kick hips back and the knees must stay behind the toes. Keep the chest up with the arms straight out from the shoulders for balance. Bend the knees and hips to lower the torso then return to the standing position. The best squat is completed when the hips get to the parallel position and then back up again to the standing position. Squats will help build muscle, gain strength and flexibility throughout the body, and improve body control by improving hip stability.
Kbands Lunge: The lunge is a great resistance exercise that builds muscles in the thighs, hips and glutes. Lunges work a big portion of the body by doing easy movements. The lunge will improve posture, improve coordination and balance, and strengthen and tone the glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings.
Stand up straight with hands to the side and feet about six inches apart. Lunge out with the left leg while keeping the back and head straight. Bend at the knee until the front thigh is parallel to the floor or ground then stand back up. Do not let the front knee go past the toes and the back knee needs to be as close to the ground as possible without actually touching. When working for depth it is important to sink in the hips. By striding out as far as possible while still maintaining balance and body control, a baseball player will improve hip strength and leg drive. Throwing velocity is generated with a split leg position. Use the lunge to enhance strength and body control for throwing accuracy and velocity. Alternate legs until the set is complete. The Kbands allow for full range of motion and will help stimulate the leg muscles with the added resistance.
Kbands Modified Lunge and Reach: Lunge out on one leg and arch back while reaching both arms up and back. Do not just reach high, but drop the chest while turning the core on to help with balance as the arms cross the midline. The front thigh is once again parallel to the floor, the front knee will shift slightly forward near knee position, and the back knee needs to be as close to the ground as possible without touching just like the regular lunge. It gets tough to balance after crossing the midline so take it slow and really work to fire the core and maintain balance. Do the sequence alternating sides. Refer to the video for a visual aid.
Kbands Obligue Knee Up: Begin by standing with the one leg in front of the other about two feet apart with toes facing forward. Stretch both arms upward and twist the torso back to open up the obligue. Bring the back leg up and the hands down until they meet in the middle. Work hard to drive the knee up towards the midline and bring everything back together to work the core while twisting. This exercise will help the hip flexors, get the obligues firing, and strengthen the core. Using our leg bands here will take what feels like an easy movement, and turn it into an effective core building exercise. Every motion in baseball requires rotation in the trunk. When using resistance bands in this twisting motion, baseball players will feel immediate benefit from this exercise.
Kbands One-Legged Physioball Squats: This exercise is performed standing up with the small of the back pressing the Physioball against the wall. If the Physioball is up towards the high part of the back when squatting down, the ball will roll up towards the back part of the neck. So make sure to start with the ball on the small of your back. Drop the hips and move into a squat with one leg lifting off the ground out front. This requires a lot of balance. Some baseball players may need to start with both legs on the ground if lifting one leg is too difficult. Get the hips down in the parallel position. Be conscious of the knee of the bent squatting leg. This leg may shift from side to side if the baseball player doesn't work to control the knee. Be sure to hold the knee steady and controlled. This exercise will improve balance, body control. and strength.
Physioball Bounce: This exercise is great for strengthening the shoulders. Grab a bouncy Physioball or something smaller as long as it bounces. Take the ball up on the wall in the arm slot side. Keep the arm in an L where the elbow is directly level with the shoulder and bounce the ball against the wall over and over again. The catching effect of this drill will help improve shoulder stability and increase range of motion in the shoulder. Be sure to let the shoulder slightly externally rotate on the catch. After the catch phase is complete toss the ball back against the wall. This drill must be completed with no pain. Do not fight through pain or discomfort to complete this drill. This drill is for a healthy shoulder. Be sure to check out our shoulder strengthening video and our shoulder stretch video to keep your arm strong and injury free.
Improve Baseball Skills | How To
The best baseball players aim to increase batting speed and improve throwing velocity. Continuous throwing places a huge amount of stress on the shoulder. It is easy for a baseball player to overuse their throwing arm so baseball players need to adopt a good strength and conditioning training program with Kbands that will prevent and decrease injuries. A good strength and conditioning program with Kbands will help prevent and decrease injuries. The best strength and conditioning routine will target the correct movement patterns and work the correct muscles. With Kbands Training resistance techniques, baseball players can mimic baseball specific movements and patterns that they will use on the field and at the plate. Baseball players need strength, endurance, stability and flexibility to be the best that they can be. The exercise examples in the video above are great for in season and offseason strength and conditioning.