By Zedrick Carter
Plyometric exercises are great for baseball players because they force a muscle to contract with full force after being loaded or lengthened; as in doing a few arm rotations, and then immediately jumping into pushups or jump squats where you must jump up vertically, directly from a squat position.
These exercises should utilize similar movements to the ones used on the field. Training for vertical gains uses essentially the muscles necessary for powerful forward movement, as in sprinting to steal a base from a lateral moving position or scooping a ball and throwing on the run. Following are three plyometric exercises that are ideal for players to build explosiveness in their upper and lower bodies:
Horizontal & Vertical Arm Rotations
Horizontal and Vertical Arm Rotations forward/backward warms up the smaller muscles in your shoulder, which build up flexibility, balance, strength and stamina in your rotator cuff muscle group (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis, deltoid). Notes:
- Warms and oxygenates your shoulder
- Provides good flexibility and range of motion
- Strengthens the smaller, weaker rotator cuff muscles by isolating them
- Provides muscle balance
- Creates endurance
- Promotes endurance and better recovery period
The lowdown: 5 horizontal 5 vertical/forward – 5 horizontal 5 vertical/backward = 1 rep (4 reps add 5 more to each rep)
Squat Mountain Climbers
Squat Mountain Climbers is a bodyweight exercise that provides overall body toning benefits. Squat Mountain Climbers effectively strengthen abs, arms, hamstrings, and quadriceps and glutes. This total body move will tone thighs and core simultaneously as well as strengthens the hip flexors. (pectineus, adductors, gracilis, rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, vastus medialis). Notes:
- Warms and oxygenates your abs and thighs
- Provides good flexibility and range of motion
- Provides muscle balance lower and upper body
- Creates and Promotes endurance and better recovery period
The lowdown: 10 Squat Mountain Climbers = 1 rep (4 reps add 5 more to each rep) (Check out the video here)
Lateral Lunge swing ups
The Lateral lunge swing up exercise assists sports performance by increasing dynamic balance and facilitating quick movements to either side. It also increases the flexibility of your hips and legs by training the hip flexors as well as your inner and outer thighs. Baseball players must develop lateral strength and explosiveness. Most of the time, they start sprinting by moving laterally, whether they’re taking off to steal a base or running to field a ground ball. The most functional way to train for this is to develop strength in the torso, hips and thighs. A good place to start: strength exercises involving side-to-side movement. Notes:
- Warms and oxygenates your abs and thighs
- Provides good flexibility and range of motion in hips
- Provides muscle balance
- Creates lower body muscle endurance
- Promotes endurance and better recovery period
The lowdown: Set two markers 30 yards apart. Start at first marker alternating legs until you reach second marker. Down and back is 1 rep, so you will do 5 reps.
These three plyometric exercises require no equipment and are easy to add to any of these training programs.
BIO
Zedrick Carter of Precision Athletic Corps has more than 15 years of athletic performance and personal training experience. Over the years he has received many accolades because of his effective and intense training programs. For years, Zedrick has been changing the bodies and lives of Atlanta athletes and residents. He is one of Atlanta’s elite Sports Performance Specialist and Personal Fitness Trainers. His mission is to not only change his client’s bodies and performance but their minds as well. Better known has Coach Carter, Zedrick develops a customized fitness program for each one of his clients. He uses a highly effective combination of fat burning cardio, calisthenics and plyometric resistance training to help his clients achieve their respective sports performance and fitness goals. Most people think their biggest issue is with speed, power, endurance, body fat, muscle tone, weight etc., but Coach Carter believes that the biggest obstacle in achieving ones sports performance and fitness goals is the mind. Once a person changes their way of thinking anything is possible.
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