What type of training will get me in shape for hish school softball?

Question

I recently made a traveling softball team. In addition I am also planning to try out for my high school's softball team. I attended a meeting yesterday where I found out that there are mandatory after-school weight trainings twice a week. The coach (who is also a football coach) stated that he was too easy last year (our team lost in the final game to get to states) and this year he, if we make the team, we will be pushed to our breaking point. This is the kind of coach that I find is better for me.

What are things that I can do, in addition to travel practice and weight practices?? I would like specific exercises.
***What can I do to strengthen muscles?
***What kind of diet should I be on. (Not to lose weight but to stay healthy and have energy)
***What are some tips for nerves?
***How can I keep in shape over the winter?

Thank You

Answer 1

Baseball (or Softball) is still mostly about catch the ball, throw the ball, and hit the ball.
Volleyball is good for many of the same reflexes as softball plus it should keep you in physical condition. Be specific with the weight training with emphasis towards strengthening your wrists and forearms. Swing a bat as much as you can to tune your hand to eye coordination. Hitting golf balls can also help you develop timing.
One diet tip. Reduce your sodium intake. Unless you are in a desert climate, most people consume too much salt / sodium. It is bad for you in several ways.

Answer 2

Alright well first off you wanted to know what kind of exercises you could do to strengthen your muscles. Well from what it sounded like in the info that you provided, your coach will be having you girls weight training twice a week after school, correct? So my best opinion would be to listen to his advice and ask him some of these questions as well and see what he has to say, because since he is there and I am not I can only tell you what to do while he can show you. However I can give you a list of exercises that you can do to help tone up and strengthen your muscles overall.



Remember that to gain strength you should do 3 sets of beteen 5-8 reps for each exercises. That means that for whatever exercise you are doing you should be using a weight that you can only do 8 reps or less with before you physically can't do anymore. So if you are bicep curling 10 lb weights but you feel like you can do more then 8 reps then you need to increase the weight. To tone a muscle or to maintain what you have then your best bet is to do 4-5 sets of 10-15 reps.



Alright for the exercises themselves I would recommend doing an arm routine and a leg routine. You could do back and chest too but it would only help you minimally for the sport of softball. Arm and leg strength are more important. Some good exercises for your arms would be:



Bicep Curls: Just take a barbell or a pair of dumbbells and stand straight up slowly curling the weight up to your chest then lowering it slowly. Here is a website that shows you exactly how to do it: http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightlifting/l/blsamplebicep.htm



Another way to work the biceps and the forearms at the same time is to do reverse curls which are the same as bicep curls only your palms face outward from your body.



Skull Crushers or Tricep Dips: are good exercises to do for your triceps which is the back of the arm. Here is how to do those: http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightlifting/l/blsampletricep.htm





And if you want you can work the shoulders too by doing some of these exercises:



Overhead Press or Upright Rows shown on this page:

http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightlifting/l/blshoulders.htm





Those would be the exercises that I would do if I were you. I use those exercises as part of my workout program and they work very good for me.





As for legs I would very simply go running. Running is the best way to get your legs in great shape, especially long distance running mixed with sprinting.



Another leg exercise would be squats or lunges. Both work on endurance and will really tone your legs.



If you are looking for exercises that you can do with weights to work your legs then I would recommend leg presses, your gym or weightroom will more than likely have a leg press machine, where you sit down and press against a plate with your legs. Your coach will be able to show you this machine if you don't know what it looks like.





If you want I can give you specific exercises that are good for your chest and back too, but as I said, for softball it isn't entirely necessary.





As for your diet, I wouldn't recommend going too crazy. Try to get a lot of carbs in your diet, especially early in the morning so that you will have energy throughout the day. Try and keep your fats to a minimum and make sure you get protein after every workout. I would try and stay somewhere around 2000-2300 calories in your day, because you will be burning off a lot during practice and games. Make sure to get a fair amount of fruits and vegetables as well.







When it comes to nerves I have found that experience is the best cure. i was nervous when I first started playing varsity sports, but as you get better and get the experience on the field you will find that it's no big deal playing in front of people. You will make mistakes and people might laugh but ya know what, you are out there giving it your all and so you have nothing to be ashamed of.





It can be difficult to maintain the same level of fitness that you have over the summer during the winter months. I would say try to find a place where you can run indoors, your highschool, or a local gym. Also if you have the money to spare it can be veyr good to get a gym membership so that you can workout over the winter. Also doing things in your own home can help. A good ab routine can be done at home and depending on the intensity it can keep your endurance up, while giving you a six pack in the process. Running up and down your stairs, and other things that don't involve weights is good such as squats, lunges, pushups, and jumping rope.





Alright well I think I answered all of your questions, but please if you have absolutely any other questions at all, now or later please email me. I am always here to help, good luck again, and remember to email with any questions at all.

Answer 3

tkatt00's answer is great. purely remember once you will do those long throws which you will make the attempt to heat up effectively, fairly once you first get available. in case you have a music coach at your college and a lifting coach, turn to them for some rapid-twitch muscle exercises which you're able to do jointly including your potential (no longer bulking up, purely strengthening those muscular tissues that supplement softball) and staying power (i.e., working a pair of miles earlier each and each work out)practise . those coaches could be knowledgeable adequate to construct a application for you which will improve your middle strengths in case you're fairly committed. good success!