Baseball 60 Yard Breakdown: Part 2 (40 of 60 yards)

By Jack Cascio.

I am sure there are a lot of two sport athletes reading this, regardless; you probably are aware that the 40 yard dash is the football dominant test.  In part 2 of the 3 part article series that is dedicated to shattering your old 60 times, I will discuss the transition between your start and your acceleration period (0-40 yards).

After reading my first article you should now understand there isn’t just one way to train to drop your 60.  There is NO one prescription to give an athlete looking to drop their time.  As shown in the last article, you need to figure out your strengths and weaknesses as a sprinter.  If you have a bad start, gear your workout to be start dominant and vice versa for acceleration.

Here is a checklist of errors that should be corrected in your start before you even think about training your acceleration:  (checklist to PERFECT your start)

• Lacking a 90 degree knee angle of front leg
  Correction: Adjust your hip height

• Excessive weight distributed to your arms
  Correction: Raising hips upward rather than forward; straitening arms/distributing weight evenly

• Too much tension in dorsal muscles (neck hyperextension)
  Correction: Proper head alignment; eyes focused on the ground. STAY RELAXED!!

• Your first stride is a jump
  Correction: Increase your forward lean; maintain proper head alignment; accelerate your rear leg through.

• Premature upright posture
  Correction: Increase initial push off force; maintain your forward trunk lean; eyes stay focused on the ground without lifting your head

**Once you go through and understand the checklist above you can proceed onto the acceleration phase*"

After the first 20 yards of a sprint most athletes are close to, or at full speed. Checklist you will need to maximize results for the first 40 yards of your 60:

• Stride Length
• Stride Frequency
• How strong are your legs? (1 rep Squat max)
• Do you have muscle deficiencies?

Every athlete has an optimal stride rate/length ratio; both of which increase for the first 15-20 meters or 8-10 strides, from a static start. Acceleration will gradually increase up to 45 meters.

20-40 Acceleration prescription:

Tuck Jumps 2x10

• Squat parallel to the ground and jump as high as you can while tucking your knees to your chest.

Broad Jumps (consecutive) 3x8

• Get your feet about shoulder width apart flat on the ground and then jump as far forward as you can one after another.

Band Holds 3x15 secs

• Get an elastic band and tie a knot in it making it a circle. Step into the circle. Then lift one of your legs up to a 90 degree angle. You should feel a little tension in your hip flexor (agonist) and your glute/ham (antagonist). Then kick your foot away from your body to create more resistance and hold.

This is a brief workout that is geared to increase your acceleration between 20 and 40 yards. The reasoning behind this acceleration approach is to strengthen your hips so you can create more force with each stride, increasing your stride length/frequency. Do this workout 2-3x per week and you will immediately notice gains in length strength and a change in your 60 times.

As stated above, this is part 2 of a 3 part series which will break your 60 down in 20 yard increments. Stay tuned for part 3 (60/60 yards).

Jack Cascio CSCS/SAQ is considered an expert in fast-twitch muscle development. He’s the creator of the Jump Out the Gym Vertical Jump Training system and has worked with hundreds of athletes - youth through professional - who were looking to increase their sprint times, vertical jump, quickness, etc...To learn more how Jack developed a 6.4 60 along with a 43 inch vertical jump, head over to http://twicethespeed.com/baseball60training/

Also read Part one of the 60 yard breakdown

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