Client #716t in Workout Questions and Answers

Client #716t
“What are some good weightlifting exercises that are good for a baseball player? I’m trying for JV and I’ve been working out for the past 4 months but I don’t know of any specific workouts that target parts of your body that are most important for baseball. Help!”

I would say from the weight training side of things size is not as important as explosiveness power and speed. You can look like a bodybuilder but if you can’t steal a base or get the bat off your shoulder fast enough, you’ll find it hard to do well in this.

Front Squat
I will start with the Front Squat and here’s why, legs in baseball can have an effect on every aspect of your game from your speed on the bases to the strength of your throw to the power in your bat. Doing front squats helps promote gaining strength and power while keeping you in a more joint friendly position.

Barbell Hip Thrusts:
These I would use a lighter weight with and gradually work up as you are comfortable with the form of this exercise. This exercise helps strengthen the glutes which in turn can give you better hip rotation yielding better bat speed as well as a faster throw.

Blackburns:
From a longevity standpoint there is a shoulder exercise known as a Blackburn which is a huge help in preventing shoulder injuries before they happen and as with any throwing athlete keeping one’s shoulder healthy is key.
Blackburns help strengthen the scapula which helps prevent shoulder and elbow related injuries before they happen.

Pallof Press- This is an exercise that is done with cables to strengthen all of your core. The key here is resisting your bodies urge to rotate with the cable and keep your core under tension. You would stand parallel to the cable machine and pull it to you pressing out in front of you keeping your core under tension and in control of the cable as you go.
DO NOT!!
Use too much weight (this is not an exercise you want or even need to max out on)
Lock your knees (tension from the cables can create knee issues and add stress to the joint)
Not fully extend your arms (if arms are not extended fully the core is not fully engaged)

Front Lunge with dumbbells
This exercise requires your front leg to absorb the force of the lunge as you move through the exercise and the same is true for your throws where a strong front leg will add velocity which is useful whether you pitch or gun down that runner to the plate from center field.

Lateral Sled Dragging
This translates to a faster first step which can be the difference between snagging that line drive and throwing the runner out or giving up a hit. You assume a ready position moving side to side dragging a weighted sled with you. This also will translate to helping in hitting and throwing as it strengthens your legs

Last but not least Farmers walk
This helps strengthen your forearms which will help with driving the ball in the batter’s box. Your forearms have to be able to absorb the ball hitting the bat and keep going as you swing for the ball to go anywhere. This ensures when you get that fastball in the batter’s box your body has the strength to do something with it.

From a speed and endurance perspective sprints on the bases help like nothing else and having the physical bag there to push off of and slide into simulate as close to game feel as you can get.

Last updated March 12, 2019