Tag Archives: Core

Quadruped Opposites

Train Your Core with Anti-Rotation Exercises

When it comes to core training for baseball, incorporating explosive medicine ball exercises is a great way to work on rotational power that can translate to greater power at the plate and better pitching velocity off the mound.

However, baseball players need to train for stability through the core as well.  Lack of stability through the pelvis, hips, and low back can lead to unwanted issues with the lower back and legs.  And when problems arise in these areas, it can cause a lot of frustration for baseball players.

One of the best ways to incorporate core stability training is with anti-rotation exercises.  Let’s take a look at a few examples that you can include in your next training session.

Quadruped Opposites

Quadruped opposites challenge balance and coordination while requiring good rotational stability of the core to maintain proper form.  It is great for athletes beginning a training program or for more advanced trainees to include in a pre-hab routine.

Stability Ball Rollout

The stability ball rollout requires excellent control of the hips and lumbar spine.  Many athletes will find that their low back wants to sag toward the floor or that their hips want to rotate. Stay tight through your middle throughout the movement as you would if you were holding a plank.

Pallof Press

With the Pallof press, you want to maintain a neutral spine while resisting rotation.  As you push your hands away from your body, the intensity of the resistance will increase and you’ll have to work harder to prevent any rotation.  The video shows the exercise being performed with a cable, but you can use a band or manual resistance as well.

Wide Stance Anti-Rotation Chop

The wide stance anti-rotation chop is definitely a more advanced exercise.  You’ll need to have a good understanding of body awareness and be able to control various segments of your body separately.  Be sure to get those feet extra wide to challenge you even more, keep your hips and torso locked down, and only move the arms through the movement while preventing any rotation through your middle.

 

Stability Equals Strength

There is no doubt that baseball players definitely need core power to hit and throw harder.  But, it is core stability which can help balance out your training with all of those rotational reps you get from swinging a bat, throwing a baseball, or even dominating your medicine ball exercises.  Stability equals strength.  And staying strong and injury-free keeps you on the diamond and enjoying the game of baseball.

Knock the Cover Off the Baseball with Medicine Ball Exercises

Knock the Cover Off the Ball with Medicine Ball Exercises

 

So you want to be like Roy Hobbs and knock the cover off the ball, huh? Well, you’re going to need some unbelievable hitting power. And how do you develop hitting power? It all starts with a strong core and your ability to generate rotational power through your hips and torso. One of the best ways to develop this rotational power is with medicine ball exercises.

You should know by now that the mechanics of hitting make baseball a rotational sport. By increasing core strength and coordination, you can make your body more efficient at transferring the strength and power you have in your legs through your torso and into your upper body where your hands hold on to the bat and the bat makes contact with the pitch. This is where the power generated by your swing transfers to the ball – or should we say makes the ball explode!

Developing rotational power is not easy. To begin, you need to have a solid core program that strengthens every part of your hips and torso. From that foundation, you can begin to incorporate medicine ball exercises into your strength and conditioning program to work on developing speed through the transverse plane.

Take a look at the following four examples of medicine ball exercises that you can use to take your rotational power from good to great the next time you step in the batter’s box.

Step-Behind Rotational Med Ball Shotput

Hot Feet Recoiled Shotput

Split Stance Medicine Ball Rotational Throw

Rotational Medicine Ball Slam

 

Remember, the game of baseball is built upon quick bursts of speed followed by extended rest periods. That means you should be taking adequate rest between your medicine ball sets. Pick one to three exercises above to perform in a given training session. Perform 3-4 sets of those exercises with 5-10 reps per exercise. Rest 1-2 minutes between sets, and then attack it again!

TRX Baseball

TRX for Baseball

TRX for BaseballMany athletes are beginning to include more bodyweight training into their strength and conditioning programs. Baseball players are no exception, and the TRX Suspension Trainer is one of the tools baseball players and strength coaches are using to incorporate bodyweight training.

Baseball is a sport that requires strength, mobility, and the ability to rotate powerfully. Baseball players definitely need to lift heavy weights during the off-season, but utilizing a piece of equipment like the TRX can help incorporate bodyweight exercises as well. Some of the TRX movements used by baseball players can also help reduce the risk of injury.

Depending on the time of year (off-season, in-season, pre-season), the type of athlete, or the training program itself, a baseball training program can include various TRX exercises. In some rare cases, baseball players can even perform an entire baseball workout with just the TRX.

Portability

The TRX is lightweight, portable, and easy to set up. It also fits into its own carrying bag, so ballplayers who own one can take it with them anywhere. This gives ballplayers the ability to maximize their training time with full body, efficient workouts wherever they are – in the gym, on the field, or even when on the road for those travel teams, college players, and pro athletes.

Versatility

Whatever level of the game you play, the TRX can adapt for any level of baseball fitness. Baseball players can train in three planes of motion with the TRX, allowing various muscle groups to work together to build muscle strength and core stability – not to mention flexibility and balance.

There are literally hundreds of exercises that can be performed on the TRX. Once younger athletes learn and master the more basic movements, they can try more advanced movements or combine different TRX exercises to create challenging movements that can be included in a baseball training program. For baseball players, the greatest benefit of the TRX comes with incorporating mostly back, core, and posterior chain exercises.

Put a TRX in Your Baseball Bag

Now don’t go thinking that the TRX is the end-all-be-all for baseball strength training. Baseball players still need to lift heavy weights, throw medicine balls, and push sleds. However, the TRX can be effectively included in a well-designed baseball training program. To learn more about the TRX and how it can benefit you, check out the TRX Training website.

Baseball Core

Strengthening the Core for Baseball

Baseball Core

Core training for baseball has come a long way from situps and crunches. In today’s world of baseball strength and conditioning, strength coaches teach their athletes that the core is the center of power. We are not just talking about the abs here. When discussing the core, you need to think about the hips, abs, obliques, low back, and even the scapular area. Some ballplayers have trouble relating the athletic movements needed to hit, throw, and run with core exercises that can improve these attributes. Again, core training is more than just situps.

The Core as it Relates to Baseball

Most know that the core muscles help with rotating the body for swinging and throwing. However, another important function of the core involves power transfer. The legs generate the initial speed and power, but the core helps transfer that power from the legs through the torso and into the arms and hands. This is where bat speed is created for hitters and where arm speed and velocity is generated for pitchers. Needless to say, if you have a weak core, you will not be able to effectively transfer power created by your legs and apply it to your baseball-specific skills.

As we mentioned before, situps are a thing of the past for ballplayers looking to strengthen their core. Instead, baseball players should incorporate movements that involve rotation, flexion, and lateral flexion to enhance the similar movements we see in hitting and pitching.

You need to be selective with these exercises, though, as you do not want to cause overuse injuries to the core muscles that also stabilize and protect the spine. To strengthen the core stabilizers, you can perform anti-rotation, anti-lateral flexion, and anti-extension movements.

3 Sample Baseball Core Exercises

Whether reinforcing on-field movements or stabilizing to protect against injury, baseball core training can use medicine balls, cables, power bands, or just the athlete’s body weight. Let’s take a look at 3 sample baseball core exercises that you can begin using in your strength and conditioning program today.

Pallof Press

Split Stance Medicine Ball Rotational Throw

Body Saw

Core Power for BaseballCore Power for Baseball

If you are looking for more ways to help create a stronger core, check out Core Power for Baseball. With this program you’ll learn core training and baseball training exercises designed to drastically improve your throwing power and bat speed.  This program includes videos detailing every exercise with progressions so all levels of athletes can perform the designed baseball workouts.  Check it out today!

Good luck!