Baseball Workout Tips for Injury Prevention
Springtime is almost here and you know what that means—baseball season is right around the corner! Baseball is unique in that it’s played almost every single day throughout the entire season—no other team sport plays games as frequently as baseball. So you need to make sure that your body is ready to take on all that game time and keep it in the best condition possible. One of the easiest ways to take your baseball game to the next level is to prepare your body for the stresses and demands on the field by finding baseball workouts that work best for you. Committing to an effective baseball workout will increase your flexibility, strength, speed, agility, balance and power.
How Will Workouts Affect My Game?
The better physical shape you are in, the better you will perform in the big game. When you make an effort to make your body stronger, you will be able to run faster, hit the ball further and throw the ball faster. Another positive to being in good shape for baseball is you will be less prone to injury. You will be less likely to pull a muscle if that muscle has been worked out properly.
Common Baseball Injuries
Although baseball isn’t considered a contact sport, injuries can results from contact with the ball, poor form, or an incorrect move of a limb. Some of the most common baseball injuries include injuries in the shoulder and elbow, knee injuries, muscle pulls, ligament injuries, and even concussions. Exercise will aid in preventing such injuries.
Work it out with Strength Training
The best strength training exercises for baseball players include total body functional movements such as squats, lunges, pushups, pull-ups and core exercises.
- Shoulder Strength—the shoulder is one of the most important parts of the body when it comes to baseball. Baseball players pitch, hit and dive for the ball, so it is important to build, maintain and protect the shoulder. Band pull aparts will strengthen the scapula and can be added into your warm-up and active recovery between sets during your workout. V ups, flies (front flies and bent over flies), and throwing with a weighted ball are all examples of exercises to build shoulder strength.
- Leg Strength—glute and leg force play a major factor in throwing velocity, bat speed, and running to home base quickly. Lower-body strength training is crucial to incorporate into training for baseball. Squats, deadlifts, lunges, and glute hamstring raises are examples of lower body exercises all baseball players should be doing.
- Core Strength—core exercises are essential for any baseball player to increase pitching velocity, hitting power, or explosive running speed. Front planks and side planks are essential for building core stability and overall strength and is an easy exercise to modify to increase difficulty. Medicine ball rotational throws really work on engaging the core muscles when you rotate, and hanging knee raises target the entire ab region.
- Kettlebells—kettlebells can benefit the entire body. Using kettlebells correctly can improve your strength, power, speed, and coordination which in turn can improve your performance playing baseball. The best kettlebell exercises to do include the power clean, front squat, kettlebell swing, shoulder press and the reverse lunge.
For success on the baseball field, get stronger to develop better quickness, explosiveness, and reactivity.
Courtesy of Ideal Physical Therapy
