It’s that time of year again when you hear the sound of leather hitting wood and leather on leather while playing catch. Spring training for baseball players is just around the corner, and after all these years it’s still one of America’s biggest pastimes.
Professional baseball, in its current form, has been around for 123 years. 162 plus postseason games, and that’s a lot of games. There is a lot of history, nostalgia and tradition behind the game of baseball, which are some of the reasons why it still prevails in the age of social media and the smartphone.
Major League Baseball is playing regular season games in 180 days. And don’t forget the travel required between games. It’s a lot of games and travel and not a lot of recovery time. Although baseball does not require as much athleticism (but still a lot) as other professional sports, baseball players must be in excellent physical condition for a grueling, tiring season.
Both factors make strength training as important as ever, from the professional player to those swinging the bat in rec leagues.
Here, three strength coaches, Robbie BagbyMS, CSCS, Pn1, Tony GentilcoreCSCS, owner of Core Collective in Brookline, MA, and Taylor LewisPh.D., ACSM-CEP, CSCS who have all trained their share of great ballplayers, share why strength training matters for baseball players.
The physical demands of baseball
Baseball is a repetitive one-sided game that requires bursts of action followed by short to extended rest. According to Bagby, players need strength in multiple directions: rotational for throwing and swinging, linear for sprinting/jumping, and lateral for side-to-side movements.
“Depending on the position, some players will see more action than others. Pitchers and hitters participate in every game and perform many repetitive motions. Outfielders may not be affected as much, but are expected to be able to spring into action when necessary. Bagby explains.
Gentilcore further elaborates on the physical demands of throwing a baseball very hard.
“Throwing a baseball is one of the most ‘violent’ actions placed on the body. Each pitch, for example, is placed over 7200+ degrees of the internal rotation force in the shoulder. This means that if the rotator cuff muscles were not there to do their job, the glenohumeral joint would complete 20 full rotations.
Additionally, when a pitcher is in a full layback position during a pitch (visualize the lower arm being horizontal to the ground as he is about to release the ball), the amount of force on the elbow at that moment is the same as hanging a 30-pound dumbbell by a string from the hand’. explains Gentilcore.
Benefits of strength training in baseball
Gentilcore grew up and played in an era without an emphasis on strength training.
“I grew up in an era when the traditional thinking was that baseball players should avoid the weight room for fear of getting too bulky. Even more disgusting was that pitchers were encouraged to run poles (back and forth, back and forth) in the outfield. Better time would have been spent building a rock garden.”
Now, times have changed. Strength training is critical to helping baseball players be more explosive and helps address the compensations for performing exceptionally well in a specific set of motions to reduce injury risk.
Gentilcore, Lewis and Bagby agree that throwing baseballs hard and hitting them far (not to mention sprinting) requires getting up, carrying and exerting force quickly through the body. Bigger and stronger athletes tend to do all of these better.
Additionally, the baseball season (especially in the professional ranks) is gruelingly long, with players playing upwards of 140-160 games in a season. There is a lot of wear on the body. Athletes who take the time to build a solid base of strength tend not to break down as quickly or immediately as Lewis explains.
“Fatigue during a game has been shown to reduce proper baseball mechanics, reducing power output and increased risk of injury . Repetitive timing of the kinetic chain requires optimal strength and endurance to produce high-level forces consistently throughout the season,” says Lewis.
Strength Exercises Baseball Players Should Avoid
As great as strength training is for baseball players, not all strength training is great. The game requires a lot of rotation and movement from the joints, and any exercise that doesn’t allow the joint to move freely is out, according to Bagby.
“I like to avoid pressing or pushing the bar as the bar will lock the arms and shoulders in ONE position. But in baseball, the joints have to move in multiple directions, which will put less stress on the shoulder. Any exercise that doesn’t allow the arms to rotate is out.” Bagby explains.
Tony Gentilcore has a slightly different take with a twist.
“I don’t feel there are any contraindications to exercise for baseball players. Deadlifts, squats, bench presses, overhead presses, single leg work, you name it… Regardless of the sport, athletes should use the weight room to develop/refine their skills and work on any apparent weaknesses that must be addressed.
Baseball players should avoid those exercises that resemble the swing or pitch in the weight room. The weight room should be used to enhance the body’s ability to develop and transfer force (not coincidentally, bigger muscles have more potential to do this…hint, hint, hint), not to duplicate actions of the sport itself”. says Gentilcore.
What do baseball players need?
“Baseball players must build muscle strength and coordinate the musculature to communicate with the forces and demands that baseball places on the player. To optimize baseball mechanics and improve performance, athletes should focus on exercises that strengthen the internal and external obliques, transverse abdominis, scapulae, quadratus lumboris, latissimus dorsi, and rhomboids.
These major muscles enhance the proximal stiffness around the spine to bear loads and create force production. The curl, side plank, bird dog and deadlift help build core strength and maximize power potential. Additionally, performing hip extension variations and hip abduction-based exercises such as clamshells coordinate the hips and core to generate and distribute power to the arms and legs appropriately.” explains Lewis.
Using that logic, here’s an upper-body-focused workout to boost your power and production on the baseball field.
Focused upper body strength training for baseball players
After a warm-up, perform each superset three times, resting one to two minutes after each.
1A. Yoga pushups 12-15 repetitions
1B. Shell Side Plank 8-12 reps per side
2A. Single Arm Cable Row Split Stand 16 reps per side
2B. Bench T Spine Mobility 8 reps
3A. Ab Rollout 6-8 reps
3B. The suitcase is 40 meters per side.
