A couple times in the past I have written posts about the importance of switching up your workout routine in order to target different muscles and give your baseball muscles a break. I’ve said before that I am not a big fan of year-round baseball. More doctors (and scouts, and college coaches, etc.) seem to be in agreement.
With this in mind, I am once again going to repost the original one I did a few years ago that was based on a book called Strength for life by Shawn Phillips.
(Originally posted 9/26/12)
This time of year, baseball players should start planning out their off-season workout programs. Of course, every player is going to differ in terms of experience with all this as well as differ in their overall needs. I came across a podcast in which a fitness expert was interviewed. His name is Shawn Phillips. In the interview, he was talking about his book Strength for life. There were a lot of good tips for anyone interested in improving their overall fitness and strength but one concept struck me as particularly beneficial to baseball players. He referred to it as “Seasons of Strength.”
Many injuries in sports are related to the concept of “repetitive motion.” For baseball players, especially pitchers, the repetitive motion of throwing overhand wears down the muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the elbow and shoulder and too often lead to injuries. In my opinion, the increasing focus on year-round training just makes this problem even worse. Even though skills and knowledge improve with private instruction and year-round playing, the repetitive motion continues on. This is where “Seasons of Strength” can be beneficial.
The main idea of Seasons of Strength is to frequently change the body’s activities to address different muscle groups as well as cut down on the monotony of normal workouts and repetitive motions. The author suggested using the seasons of the year as a guide to these changes. Below are the seasons and some activities I came up with that can be done to fit each season:
Of course, these activities are not all inclusive. Everyone can adjust the activities to fit their needs, tastes, and resources they have available. Varying the activities each season has the following benefits:
It breaks up the monotony of doing the same workouts all year long. (big reason why most people don’t stick with working out)
It gets you outside to enjoy the world, nature, etc.
Different activities surround you with different people and get you away from socializing with just other baseball players.
Different activities target different muscle groups which cuts down on the repetitive motions.
It strengthens the muscles that surround and support the “baseball muscles.”
It creates a season of recovery (Fall), a season for building size and strength (Winter), a playing season that focuses on maintenance (Spring), and a fun season where anything goes (Summer).
It replaces the common phrase – I have to “start” working out – because you never stop. You just change the intensity and the activities but never really “stop” exercising.
Tomorrow’s post: Baseball By The Yard bats 1.000!
