How important is weight

Focus on getting him strong, not chunky. Protein shakes and weight lifting should help. We got all natural protein at Whole Foods. At the time some MLBer got suspended for using protein from GNC. It had a banned substance in it.

with my son putting on weight was an issue due to playing sports year round. what he did to finally start putting it on was lots of protein shakes ( about 75 grams a day) and meats. he is working out at the gym not with weights but some program called active which basically is no weights just body movements which is building lean muscle, not bulking muscle. too many of his teammates are gaining pure bulk which is hampering their play. 

 

Also focused on gaining 1.5 lbs a month which would get him to 210 or so by Senior year which should be perfect for his height and body type (started at 165 March this year). having that small goal has helped greatly.

+1 .. my 2017 is the same weight as your son, but not quite 5' 10".  He is very thin and lean, so obviously your boy is that and more. My kid is just too busy in the spring to work out much, so our goal is to get another 10lbs or so on him during the summer. He'll do some weights and lots of body weight and plyometrics.  We always keep protein powder and protein bars around. Even better there are always nuts,  yogurt, eggs, cheese, and boneless chicken breasts. 

Don't worry about it.  Call it upside - the coaches will.

I'm curious as to why a kid wouldn't lift weights if he needs to gain weight. High protein diets are good but body weight plyometrics alone won't build muscle. The "weight lifting is bad for baseball" nonsense was debunked decades ago. Bigger and stronger is always better.

i don't believe that lifting is bad, he just prefers to not lift all the time. He does indeed lift every other day at home but prefers to stick with say benching 190 with more reps than say moving up to 250 with less reps. I don't pretend to be in the know, i footed the bill for him to meet with a trainer and agreed to the regimen. 

 

Between baseball, football, soccer and track not to mention genetics its been difficult to keep the weight on, even with a 4500 calorie a day intake. What he is doing now along with Yoga twice a week seems to be working. Muscle is increasing, Weight is sticking so he is happy. Kid is still 15 im sure things will change over the course of the next few years.

I think this was directed to K-Dad more than me, but...  if you think body-weight doesn't build muscles you should look at some gymnasts.  My 2017 has a shoulder condition that makes military and bench press problematic, so he's been forced to come up with body-weight alternatives.  So he does both, plus some yoga that his HS baseball coach taught him.  My 2015 (who is not a baseball player) has added 10-15 lbs this school year using body-weight only, (his choice, not anybody else's) and he certainly has put on a heck of a lot of muscle.  He's gone from being a kid who couldn't do more than a one pull-up to being able to do 20, and he's getting to look really cut or  "yoked", as the kids say. 

JH - Is this equally true for pitchers?

Make sure you know what you're doing when lifting weights.  There are baseball specific, even position specific, workouts designed by the strength and conditioning department of most MLB clubs.

 

Search Barr with Tampa Bay.

Kevin Barr is a well known strength and conditioning coach most recently with the Tampa Bay Rays.  He has a website that is very good.  I think it costs to be a member, sorry, I don't know the price.

 

Here is the website If you're interested: http://thebbr.com/homepage/index.php

 

 

 

100%. Pitchers need to be strong just like everyone else. Everyone should lift weights. Bigger, stronger, faster = better. Anyone, and I mean anyone, who says "weightlifting is bad for baseball" (not directed at anyone here, just have heard it said many times like I'm sure everyone has) has absolutely no clue what they're talking about.

 

Body weight exercises certainly aren't a bad thing…many exercises help enhance athleticism and, if a player has a lack of muscular strength, actively using those muscles will strengthen them to a certain extent. But nothing replaces lifting weights for strength gains. 

 

As PGStaff alluded to - lifting "properly" is obviously extremely important, as there is always a risk factor involved in weight lifting and there are most certainly programs that are more and less beneficial than others. Kevin Barr is a very good resource. In the public sector, I've leaned on information from Mike Reimold and the incomparable Eric Cressey for several years.

 

To answer the OP - there is absolutely no such thing as being too strong in baseball. I would encourage everyone to lift and be as big and strong and physical as they possibly can.

 

The reason I mention Kevin Barr is 1. We know him very well and 2. His credentials are about as good as it gets for baseball.  He has spent many years working with Major League investments (players)

 

I haven't checked his site lately, but a while back it had the various training exercises with photos and video that displayed the exercise being done properly.  So rather than explain in words or even with voice, it actually showed the exercise being done.  I thought that was a great idea.

 

We actually have a former PG staff member that went on to be the MLB strength and conditioning guy for the Cubs.  He also used to play for me in college.  However, he is far from Kevin Barr when it comes to this stuff.

 

Once again, I don't know what Kevin charges to be a member.  I'm certainly not trying to sell anything.  He is just the best I have run across when it comes to strength and conditioning for baseball and we have run across many of them. I'm sure there are others that are excellent.  Strength and conditioning has become vitally important to MLB clubs.  There is a ton of money invested in those players.  So if your not excellent you get replaced.

I have found that one of the biggest differences in incoming college freshmen and veteran college players including Juco transfers is the strength and the more mature thicker muscle mass of the older guys. So I would immediately start lifting weights under the guidance of an experienced trainer, coach or veteran college level player. High school age guys burn so many calories in day to day activities that they must ingest many more calories to gain size especially muscle size.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that it is not uncommon for the thinner guys to lose weight over the course of the college season when they play 50-60+ games and of course are not able to lift as heavy and often as the off season. My son started the season at 177 and is down to 170 as he burns calories like a furnace. He eats plenty but the workload and travel are not that condusive to staying as built up. Then add in maybe a collegiate summer league of 40-60 more games and a slender player better have built up some extra bulk before the season or he may fade to nothing!

Thanks everyone this has been very helpful!

If your son is eating that much, then reducing activity levels, along with more rest, and more weight on the bar will equal weight gain, strength gains and more muscle.

 

Since he is a sophomore, he can probably maintain what he is doing, and he will likely gain some weight and strength by his senior year just by getting older and more mature.

 

As to the mention of gymnasts and jucos in this thread well.... if the reference was to olympic level gymnasts, then you have to consider the routes that athletes at the highest levels of their sports with the highest stakes take to reach that level. Same goes for jucos with no testing. I've heard more than once of juco pitchers losing 3-4 mph off their fastball once they transfer to an NCAA program with testing.

 

My 2017 is almost 5'10" and pretty ripped. He weighs about 150. 6 Months ago he weighed 136 and need to gain. In addition to HS baseball, he lifts 3 days a week (about 9 months now) and abs/lower back for about a year. He gained weight through muscle milk, eating peanuts, more meat, and lots of 2% milk. I'd like him to gain more weight because this summer he'll be working outside at least half-days as a skateboarding/mountain bike instructor and playing or practicing baseball 4-5 days per week. I expect he'll drop weight and muscle mass.

I thought that with my 2017 as well. He was playing a pretty heavy travel schedule over last summer, along with practices a couple of times a week. Probably 6 days a week of baseball for most of the summer.

 

I was concerned with his weight because even though he wasn't really thin - about 5'7 145 lbs. going into the summer - he had almost no body fat. I was sure he would start burning muscle if he didn't keep up his calories and protein.  Fortunately, eating isn't something he has to be convinced to do.

 

He actually came out of the summer an inch taller and 15 lbs heavier. Still very little body fat.

 

In the fall he went through a pretty tough conditioning program with his team and ended up putting on another 15 lbs of muscle. Now after the spring he is up to 180 and around 5'10.

 

He's been working with a physical therapist for the last 6 weeks due to some tendonitis issues in his throwing elbow (which the doctor feels stems from the rapid muscle growth).  He's doing weights - but for the most part nothing really heavy.  Mostly stuff geared towards strengthening his core, rotator cuff, and elbow.

 

One thing mentioned earlier is that weights are good for all baseball players - which is true.  However, you have to make sure not to trade explosiveness for bulk.  Bigger muscles are only going to help if they are trained to do the things baseball players need to do.  Bigger muscles don't necessarily move faster - you need to train them to move faster.  Pitchers especially need to make sure to maintain flexibility when building strength.

 

One thing to remember too is that you want to find a weight program that is designed for baseball.  There are specific exercises that you have in baseball programs - like shoulder cuff specific exercises that you wouldn't find in a football program. As a catcher, that is a specific area that your son should be sure to work on.

Often the ability to gain weight will have genetic restrictions. When I was in high school I was a defensive end who only weighed 165 at the beginning of my junior year. I stood 5' 10". I ate like crazy, lifted four days a week, drank three protein shakes a day (they were called "weight gain" shakes back then), and ate Crisco by the spoonfuls right out of the can every day (don't recomend that one). By the end of two-a-days I weighted 155. graduated at that weight. It was about 4 more years before I could gain weight. since he is a soph the weight could just start coming in the next couple of years.

As to a 2016 who's 20 or so pounds below collegiate playing weight:  We're talking about a HS sophomore here.  Lifting, protein shakes, etc., can all help, but honestly, time will take care of this. 

 

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was going to be about kids at the other end of the spectrum!  We should all have the problem of weighing too LITTLE!

As to pitchers lifting weights:

 

Yes, pitchers lift.  But they don't do the same sorts of workouts that offensive guys do or that football players do.  Soylent, you're in the Richmond area, right?  Take advantage of our great local resource, Bob Blanton.  He'll give your son the right workout and you'll see your son make strides without risking injuries. 

 

And beware, the injuries from using the wrong workout, or from overdoing it especially in season, can be severe.  Unfortunately I've had some close to home experience in this area.

 

So don't just go hit the weight room and work on your bench presses.  That's a great way to ruin your pitching career.

Funny you mention about weighing to LITTLE - it occurred to me later that the weight guidelines I've seen for college players height and weight are probably listing max weight, not necessarily ideal weight.  So weighing less might not be as much of an issue except for that building strength should add muscle weight which he is very invested in doing.  Good to know.

I don't know what guidelines you've seen.  I didn't know there was any general guide anywhere.  If there is one, I would question its credibility/importance.

 

The general rule is, you're in a competition to get onto the team, and then to stay on the team, and then to get playing time.  You'd better get into your best physical condition, because you're likely to fall along the wayside if someone is stronger, faster, or more athletic than you are.

 

But it's easier to gain weight, given that nature tends to help with that, and given that lifting and diet are things the college program can help with.

 

Losing weight is a bigger issue.  To me, I see too many kids with bellies that look like mine who're out there kidding themselves that it's OK because Prince Fielder looks like that.  Folks, Prince Fielder is a freak of nature.  For the rest of us mere mortals, a spare tire may as well be a sign you hang around your neck that says, "Not disciplined, doesn't work hard."

I have seen tables listing heights and weights for various positions for each division. I've seen different places, I linked to one example below.  I've seen other similar listings for baseball as well as for female fastpitch softball for DI, II, and III -but looking at the rosters of my daughter's favorite teams I have noticed that they have plenty of shorter (for example) players.  So you're probalby right - might not matter much.  .

 

https://www.triplecrownsports....uitingGuidelines.pdf

The more you can hit, the more leeway you'll have!

 

Ditto for fastball speed, or for sharpness of the slider!

If your son doesn't want to lift, they also don't want to play in college.  My daughter starts each day off at 6 in the morning lifting.  They lift as a team for over 2 hours and then get to class.  This is in season.  When they are out of season, They lift as a team year around. 

He wants to lift.  No worries there.