Baseball players now do weight training for strength which is needed for improving performance. However, most players strengthen mainly the major muscle groups of the legs, midsection, back and arms; rarely is high priority given to strengthening the relatively small muscles of the fingers, hands and forearms. But yet, these body parts are often the key to success when hitting the ball (in addition to throwing and catching). Healthy and strong fingers and hands are indispensable for maximizing force in the hit and for executing the finer aspects of hitting.
Development of the fingers and hands is usuallly taken for granted, based on the assumption that they will become stronger the more they are used. But, as many athletes find out much to their dismay, the fingers and hand muscles do not keep pace with the development seen in the larger muscles. They must be trained separately in order to get stronger and more powerful to enhance and/or to display the power of the larger muscles and to prevent injury.
Finger and grip strength is very important in baseball and softball hitting to ensure full transfer of the forces generated by the body into the bat. The grip must be very strong (tight) at the moment of contact. Where there is a loose grip the forces at contact will be absorbed and the ensuing ball distance will be diminished greatly.
The grip is tight only during the contact phase. During the stance and forward stride, the grip is relatively loose to enable a full range of motion in the wrist joints and to keep the body somewhat relaxed prior to contact. Too tight a grip during the swing inhibits the amount of wrist break that is possible.
The need to strengthen the finger and hand muscles becomes even more evident when you look at the high number of hand and finger injuries that typically incur in baseball and softball. As many of you have probably experienced, when you have a finger or hand injury, it often becomes impossible not only to play but even to exercise.
Most important is to strengthen the finger muscles in their gripping action and the wrist muscles for the wrist cock and the wrist break. This includes finger flexion (gripping), strengthening the thumb (which also plays an important role in the grip), wrist radial and ulna flexion, the key actions in the wrist cock and wrist break respectively, and supination and pronation of the forearms (hands) to allow for a full natural swing and follow-through.
Finger Flexion (Gripping) To strengthen the fingers select a round ExerRing with the needed tension (according to the diameter) and place one in the hand. The ring should be situated against the middle pads of the fingers and the base of the thumb and palm. When in position, keep the elbow bent and then squeeze the ring maximally. In the ending position your hand should be in a fist and the ring should be the shape of a paper clip (elongated rectangle with rounded ends). After strongly contracting the finger muscles, relax your grip so that the ring resumes its round shape and then repeat for the desired number of repetitions. (See Figure 1, a, b) Change the positioning of the ring on the fingers for different effects.
Thumb Strengthening To strengthen the thumb use the flat ExerRing and place it between the fingertips of all the fingers. Place the backs of the forefingers on a tabletop or on your thigh with the thumb uppermost. When you are ready, press down with the thumb to flatten the ring and then let the ring return to the original position and repeat. This exercise isolates the action to only the thumb. For variety, hold the flat ring against the lower digit with the opposite side against the fingers and then repeat. (See Figure 2 a, b)
The Wrist Action Because cocking and breaking the wrists are such general terms many players get confused as to what exactly occurs in the wrists. For example, some believe it is wrist flexion that occurs (an action in which the palm of your hand moves toward the forearm). Even specialized pieces of equipment exist to duplicate this action. These wrist flexion exercises supposedly improve your wrist strength to get a more powerful wrist action but in hitting, the actions are very different. The main wrist action in the wrist break is known as ulna flexion, the act of bringing the little finger sides of your hands toward the forearms while the hands remain in line with the forearms. The opposite action, radial flexion, in which the thumb side of the hand moves toward the forearm occurs when you cock the bat in your stance and initial forward stride.
To test yourself in these actions, hold the bat in your regular grip and then raise the head of the bat while the club is pointed directly in front of you. Keep the hands in line with your forearms when you raise and lower the bat in this manner. You execute radial flexion on the up movement and ulna flexion on the down movement.
To enhance your ability to get a stronger cocking action of the wrists you should do radial flexion and for a stronger wrist break do ulna flexion, both of which are specialized exercises that duplicate these actions. Keep in mind that if you desire functional strength of the muscles, ie., strength that can be used directly in the swing, the exercise must duplicate exactly what happens during the swing. Thus doing exercises such as radial and ulna flexion duplicate the exact wrist actions that occur in hitting.
The wrist cock is extremely important in batting as it holds the bat back to create a short lever as you rotate the shoulders prior to beginning the arm action. If you did not hold the bat back it would take longer to execute the total swing. Prior to ball contact or as the arms extend, you must forcefully execute ulna flexion to bring the bat around so that it is perpendicular to the ball at the moment of contact. This will not only produce great force but ensure a hit to center field. If your wrist break is too slow you will contact the ball before the bat is square to the ball and you will hit to right field. If you execute the wrist break too fast or too soon, you’ll pull the ball to the left or to left field.
The ulna flexion exercise helps you to accelerate the bat greatly. This action is a key feature in batting, especially to get the most out of the arms and wrists. By doing a combination of sequential body actions together with a strong wrist break you will maximize the force applied to the ball and thus increase hitting distance.
Ulna Flexion (The Wrist Break) To execute, hold a Strength Bar with the arm alongside the body and the weighted end pointed to the rear. Keep your arm straight and then raise the weighted end of the Strength Bar as high as possible using only wrist ulna flexion. Lower the bar under control until the wrists are fully cocked and then raise again in a repetitive manner at a moderate rate of speed. When you raise the weight all the way you will also feel the triceps undergo a strong contraction. (See Figure 3 a, b)
Radial Flexion (The Wrist Cock) To execute, hold the Strength Bar with a straight arm alongside the body and with the weighted end in front. Keep the arm straight and raise and lower the weighted end with only wrist action. The range of motion in this exercise is not great. The key is to completely ulna-flex the wrist as you lower the bar and then raise until the bar is approximately level. This is the greatest range of motion that you can go through with radial flexion, or the wrist cock while keeping the arm straight. (See Figure 4 a, b)
Supination/Pronation As you make contact with the ball and into the follow-through the forearms and arms roll over one another in actions known as supination and pronation. For a right-handed batter, the left forearm undergoes supination and the right forearm undergoes pronation. These actions are very important for a safe follow-through (to help prevent injury) and to ensure a smooth swing. However, these actions do not contribute additional force to the hit. Thus you should do the supination/pronation exercise to enhance the natural forearm action.
Forearm pronation can be done individually or it can be combined with forearm supination to provide full forearm development. To ensure balanced development of the forearm muscles supination/pronation will be described in one exercise.
To execute, kneel in front of the long side of an exercise bench and place the forearm across the bench seat so that your wrist and hand are clear of the seat. Hold the Strength Bar in your hand in a neutral grip — that is, with your thumb uppermost, the bar vertical and the weight at the top end. (See Figure 5a) When you are ready turn your hand palm-up (supinate) until the shaft of the bar is almost level or in line with the bench. (See Figure 5b) Be sure to keep your forearm and elbow in contact with the bench as you do this action. Then turn the hand palm-down (pronate) so that the bar is once again vertical and then go beyond until the bar is once again level to the bench.(See Figure 5c) In this way you execute pronation through a full 180 degrees range of motion. If you have good forearm flexibility the bar can also go below level, increasing the range of motion as often occurs in many pitches.
After reaching the lowermost position, turn the palm up again and repeat, maintaining a continuous turning of the hand palm-up and palm-down at a moderate rate of speed. Be sure to keep your shoulder over your elbow so that you maintain a 90 degree angle in the elbow at all times and so that the elbow remains in contact with the bench. Repeat with the other hand so that you do not over-develop the muscles in only one arm.
Supination/pronation should not be done with a dumbbell because the resistance lever arm is too short. In essence, the closer the resistance to the hand, the easier it is to turn your hand and the less the muscular development that will occur. When you use the Strength Bar, you can adjust the length of the lever by holding the weighted end closer to or farther from your hand.
Inhale and hold your breath during the latter lowering and raising action in both supination and pronation. Exhale as you approach the vertical position. Holding your breath will help to stabilize your body and allow you to generate greater force and to handle the weights safely and effectively. Note that in pitching the breath is held during the actual throwing phase.