Whatever the age or ability level of your son, an athlete should always look to improve core strength, upper and lower body strength, aerobic fitness, and speed (anaerobic fitness).

When designing and observing the fitness program one should initially have the guidance of a certified strength and conditioning specialist, a physical therapist or a sports medicine physician. One should not follow an online workout or a teammate’s workout as every athlete has his/her own strengths and weaknesses. Everyone has a different baseline strength and level of fitness.

Exercises to avoid when beginning the program include:

  • clean and jerk exercises
  • Weighted squat jumps
  • rapid-fire weights.

WHY?-As the technique is difficult to master and therefore leads to a significant number of avoidable injuries.

There are 5 areas to look at:

  1. upper-body strengthening
  2. lower body strengthening
  3. flexibility
  4. aerobic Fitness
  5. anaerobic fitness in  (Sprint/speed).

These workouts are designed for youngsters ages 11 and up.

Equipment needed

  • Resistance bands
  • free weights (1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 pound)
  • box for step-ups.
  • Access to a bar for front and back squats.

Core strength is probably the most important aspect of the workout year-round for baseball players. The core muscles include the abdominal muscles, the low back muscles to hip flexor muscles, the gluteal muscles, the quads, and the hamstring.

A good workout is three times per week- year-round. The exercises include:

  • regular glute Bridge,
  • glute bridge with a ball between knees,
  • glute bridge with the leg to 30 degrees.

There are two types of planks to do:

  • plank holds,
  • planks with leg range of motion.

-A typical plank would include one set of 3 or 30 seconds front plank, right flank, Left plank, and reverse plank.

-A second higher-level plank would include a front plank with leg range of motion, one set of 10 on each side. And side planks one set of 10 on each side.

Upper-body strengthening is important for all baseball players. A workout should include working the large and small muscle groups.

The small muscle include rotator cuff muscles and the workout would include:

  • internal and external rotation exercises with weights, 3 sets of 10, 3 days per week.

Large muscle groups include chest, pectoralis muscles. The exercises would include:

  • Bench press 3 sets of 10 3 days per week. Proper posture seated or standing is essential.

This can be done with dumbbells or with a  bar.

-standing rows are important

and

-stability ball.

One problem that might occur is an imbalance of chest muscles relative to the shoulder blade muscles (scapular stabilizers). The shoulder blade muscles act as a break or stabilizer. If the breaks or stabilizer do not function well there will be increased stress in front of the shoulder and therefore create an injury.

Lower body strengthening includes lunges, squats, step-ups.

With all lower body exercises, no weights should be done initially. Once proper form is demonstrated, weights can be initiated. One can do

  • Front and back squats.
  • A standard bar weighs 45 pounds.
  • Walking lunges
  • Forward lunges
  • Backward lunges
  • Forward and side step-ups on a bottom step or a platform.

Flexibility This is defined as placing muscles through a range of motion.  An optimum set should consist of 15 to 20 seconds with three repetitions. Less than 10 seconds does not provide any mechanical advantage while more than 30 seconds and can cause injury to the muscle. One should not do ballistic stretching as the technique is difficult to perfect and leads to unnecessary strains and sprains.

Aerobic activity Is defined as continuous movement lasting more than 20 minutes. For baseball, running offers the most functionality. However, biking, elliptical, or swimming can be substituted for that. This should be incorporated three times per week. To break up one’s workout, an athlete can combine treadmill running, outdoor running, or trail running to provide variety. I have found it particularly useful for one to run with a partner which is good for motivation. In addition, one should do a timed one or two-mile run at the beginning of pre-season and then in the middle and towards the end of pre-season to watch your fitness progress.

Anaerobic Fitness is the ability to do maximum exercise over 20 to 30 seconds.  This is critical in baseball when running from the batter’s box to first base, or running in the outfield to catch a ball.  I advise athletes to do these workouts with a partner in order to decreases boredom and to stimulate interest. Again, one should time 30 and 60-yard sprints at the beginning of pre-season at the middle and towards the end.  This keeps the athlete motivated and goal-driven.

Areas to  consider for the strength and conditioning program include:

Safety- includes a number of factors: proper technique, no maximum lifts.

Effectiveness-injury prevention, performance enhancement

Design-concept of periodization (achieving peak strength prior to season and maintaining during the season).

Safety

One of the biggest questions that I get from parents and coaches is:  

Is weight training safe? 

Coaches and physicians often believe that weight training stunts a child’s growth; this  is simply not true. In fact, weight training/resistance training is a safe activity.

Proper technique is the most important aspect to prevent injury and to optimize results.

  1. Proper posture seated or standing is essential.
  2. One should start out with weights that one can handle comfortably.
  3. Performing exercises, 3 sets of 10.
  4. One should not do a maximum wait to start. One often does this for football but certainly should not be done for baseball training and conditioning.

Effectiveness

One may ask how effective these weight training programs are. At any age one can gain strength  after 8 – 12 weeks of training two times per week. The key is not to get injured in the process of gaining strength. Another important factor is to retain one’s strength gains during the in-season. This can be achieved by working out at 10 to 20% less weight one to two times during the week, during the season.

Do the strength gains translate into hitting a ball farther and throwing the baseball faster? 

Design

The routine and simplicity of the program are key for compliance with the program. To achieve optimum results, one should work out/weight-train/resistance train 3 times per week. One should plan on having an aerobic warm-up and cool down. Large muscle groups should be worked out first, followed by smaller muscle groups. A bench press exercise should be done before rotator cuff exercises.

During the off-season, one should work out with weights three times a week. During in-season, the athlete should do resistance training/weight training one to two times per week.  The same body parts should not be worked out on consecutive days.