Baseball Training Exercises

By Jon Doyle, MA, CSCS

There is not exact rulebook for baseball training exercises in terms of what will work best for you. Ultimately, the routine that produces the best results for you and the one that you enjoy doing the most will be different from the next guy down the line. However, there are certainly plenty of tried and true guidelines that you can follow to make sure you don't do anything wrong that can lead to injury, stress or poor results. Take a look at these quick tips to make sure that you make the most out of all of your baseball training exercises and workout routines.

1. Baseball is a game that's played on your feet, which means that you should be training on your feet as well. You want to be training your body in a way that can be transferred over to your on the field performance. Far too many people make the mistake of just exercising for the sake of it, as opposed to tailoring their workouts and baseball training exercises to what they need to perform for. There will certainly be some exercises along the way that will be exceptions - the occasional bench press comes to mind - but stick to training on your feet.

2. It's time to forego using all of those fancy new machines at the gym, in fact you shouldn't be using any machines at all. Machines are tempting because they seem nice and easy, and allow you to perform certain baseball training exercises you might not do otherwise. However, they place your body parts and muscles into an exact range of motion and they don't require the usage of stabilizing muscles and other secondary and supporting muscle groups outside of the intended target area.

Instead of machines, you should stick with free weights, medicine ball exercises and body weight exercises. You'll find that all baseball training exercises that can be done on a machine can be replicated, and replicated to better effect, with one of these options. Occasionally a cable or pulley based exercise however can find a good home in the midst of your full training routine.

3. Baseball is a game that is played in small fractions of a second. The difference between a hit and a strikeout might but a tiny piece of reaction time, or speed with your swing. The difference between stealing that base or catching that fly ball is the same. Therefore, you want to train your body in an explosive fashion. This means replicating what you're doing on the field in the training room by focusing on powerful bursts and movements, explosive baseball training exercises and more as opposed to slow, steady speeds.

4. Posture is one of those areas that is overlooked by nearly everyone, just ask that elementary school teacher or parent always telling their kids to sit up and stand up straight. Well, it's important when you're on the field because without proper posture you are sacrificing a great deal of your power and your strength. You can also be putting yourself at risk for an injury.

You can perform baseball training exercises for posture on the field by demonstrating posture when you're working out. Once again, train the way that you play, so you can really transfer over the benefits directly. Focusing on core exercises for all of your abdominals and your lower back will provide a solid base for you and will help improve your posture even when you're tired out.

5. Increasing your weight load the next time you perform some dead lifts might be an effective way to increase your power and strength, but performing actual baseball movements with heavier weights than normal is only going to throw you off kilter. Don't try to train for a quicker swing by using a 60 ounce bat. You're going to mess up your mechanics and you can injure yourself. When it comes to throwing the ball or swinging the bat, stick to practicing with the tools of the trade that you actually use.

Within these quick guidelines there is certainly plenty of room for you to go about finding perfect baseball training exercises that you can utilize that suit your own needs. But always stick to these basic rules. You will avoid injuries and mishaps that commonly occur, and you will improve your strength, power, speed and much more. Train in the right way and you're your performance will absolutely be raised.

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