What are good things to do to get ready for the upcoming HS baseball season?

Question

Are there any strength/conditioning/flexibility exercises or programs that I should be doing to get better and faster and more coordinated? What muscles groups should I focus on? Will losing extra weight help me get faster or have no effect because I'm losing muscle as well? I haven't been in the weightroom lately but I'm willing to try anything.

Answer 1

I don't know how far out you are from your baseball season, but I've always used a plan where I start getting back into playing shape about three months before practices start.

During the winter and what not you can let the whole staying in shape thing slide as long as you're still hitting in the cage and off tees and playing catch at least three times a week.

But at about three months out it's time to get the body back into shape.

I usually start off by implementing a lot of the basics you already mentioned. Running is good to build up the stamina and endurance. I start off light with a few miles of light jogging about three times a week and mix that in with lifting weights once every other day. I try to do a lot of weights and other workouts that focus on the core and the legs. It's important to build up arm-strength but getting too bulky can limit your movement, so it's better to build good lean muscle than trying to get huge.

After a few weeks, I step up the running to a few more miles and I try to mix in some sprints. If you've ever played basketball and done one those line-to-line sprints with the push-ups at each line...that's a great exercise to shift in at this point. If the weather permits, I also try to get onto the field and do some running of the bases. I know it doesn't seem like a good workout, but just to get your body in sync with the feeling of running the bases early helps...I'd also put a lot of emphasis on strengthening the legs at this point. Strong legs are very important no matter what position you play.

After awhile of that I really get intense with the throwing. Lots of long-toss and lots of hitting off the tee and soft-toss for the hand-eye coordination. Tons of sit-ups and crunches and that type of stuff to continue toning the core and getting yourself in the best playing shape possible. It's also important, if you can, to increase your mobility and flexibility at this time. You've been working out solidly for about two months and you know what your body can and cannot do. Now is when you implement something like yoga. I'm not talking about putting your legs behind your head or anything, just some beginner stuff. If you can increase your range of motion and flexibility it will help prevent injury as the season drags on. It doesn't have to be a big part of your workout, but I'd at least consider it. It's prevented plenty of injuries.

Finally, with about a three weeks before practices start, I really kick it up. Running should be everyday at this point, not necessarily as far...b/c your stamina should be built way up...but at a faster pace and with more intensity. The long-toss and live hitting should be going full-tilt. If you're an infielder this is a good time to implement both basketball and football exercises for foot-work. It will get you shuffling your feet so that you can move quickly to the ball. If you're an outfielder this is the time when you need to be practicing shagging balls in different directions and acclimating yourself to the outfield grass...unless your school has tons of money, the outfield is going to be different every year...new bumps and holes and whatnot.

If you stick with this routine and combine it with a relatively healthy diet you'll be well on your way to getting into great playing shape.

As everyone suggested, always stretch before and after every workout, it gets the muscles used to what's going on and saves you a lot of wear and tear down the road.

Also, if you have a couple of buddies who are into getting into shape as much as you are...set up a plan together. It's a lot easier to do this if you have a bunch of guys who are committed. I used to have two friends who would join me and every year once February hit, we went into our "Baseball Boot-Camp" mode to get ready and it worked out pretty well every year.

The hardest part is doing it and staying at it.

Good luck and I hope it works.

Answer 2

I saw in one reply that you are 13? If that's true, the biggest thing you really need to be doing is increasing your endurance. That comes from things like running, swimming, or biking. The other thing you need to be doing as a growing man is to learn to strengthen your fast-twitch muscles. Baseball is a game of fast-twitch muscles. You need quick, efficient reactions to catch, throw, and hit. The best thing for that is repetative sprinting. Run ten 100m dashes. When your body is growing, you loose coordination, and you have to basically re-train yourself to do those things. Your best bet right now is to train your muscles to do things you will need in baseball. And talk to another personal trainer or your baseball coach to see what they would have you do. Every body and position in baseball needs different things. It's too hard to just guve one overall thing to do. It's more likely to hurt you than to help you.

Answer 3

speed comes from your core, the abs and lower back muscles. Building those muscles and losing extra weight will give you more speed. Pushups are good to do everyday because they work your arms muscles and your chest. Do normal crunches and also run. That should get it done.

Answer 4

Go to hsbaseballweb.com. It is a great website that gives you tips and drill for High School and College.

Answer 5

lay on back and throw baseball in the air and try to hit your hand. put bat against belly and a wall and try too swing it with out hitting the wall... shortins swing.