Specialized strength exercises for baseball are the next step in improving player performance on the field. They follow general strength exercises that are used to strengthen the muscles and joints to prepare the body for specialized strength work.
It is now universally accepted that baseball players can improve their performance greatly by gaining additional strength. Thirty years ago the baseball world believed just the opposite; lifting weights would limit flexibility and interfere with proper execution of the basic skills.
In fact, I can recall taking a lot of heat from baseball coaches when I wrote about the need for baseball strength in strength and conditioning magazines. The coaches were quite vociferous in their opposition to gaining greater strength. They insisted that training should consist of only practicing baseball and playing the game in order to improve one’s abilities.
Today not only is strength training well accepted but there is much debate as to which exercises are best and which exercises are more specific to baseball. To answer these questions it is necessary to look more closely at how players can improve their performance on the field. This in turn will dictate the type of strength training program that should be undertaken.
For example, there are two proven ways to improve performance on the field. They are: improvement of skill execution (perfecting skill technique) and development of the physical qualities specific to the skill execution. This means development of the physical qualities that are specific to the athlete’s technique of skill execution.
Exercises that fulfill both objectives are known as specialized strength exercises. They duplicate the skill execution involved in hitting or throwing or running etc. and develop strength in the same range of motion as it is displayed in execution of the hitting, throwing our running.
For example, some exercises that are specific to hitting include:
• side lunge with Active Cords
• hip rotation with Active Cords
• Russian twist
• shoulder joint medial and lateral rotation with the Strength Bar
• bench press with a weighted bat
• ulna flexion
Some of these exercises are also is specific to throwing
Exemplary exercises for running include:
• knee drive with Active Cords
• pawback with Active Cords
• calf raise
By doing these exercises you will see almost immediate improvement in your performance on the field. This is one of the greatest values of doing specialized strength exercises. The effect is much faster than doing general strength exercises because they duplicate exactly what the player athlete does in execution of his skills during game play.
For more information on execution of these and other specialized and general strength exercises see Biomechanics and Kinesiology of Exercise and the Specialized Strength Exercises for Hitting DVD.