In season workout

I would utilize complexes.

You must maintain a strong neurological conncection in-season w/o frying your central nervous system. Complexes can do just that and are very, very efficient.

These are difficult to explain on paper and typically must be seen and experienced to truly gain benefit from.

Jon, Where would one get more info on complexes?

Woody,

Your initial question was an excellent one.

What does your current off-season and in-season training look like?

Jon, It's actually my son I'm trying to get some info for. He has been working out at his high school which has a wonderful weight facility. They have a trainer that has them doing a workout geared towards baseball three times per week--with one of those days mostly running and core work. As far as weights go, I can't be too specific because I only saw his workout journal briefly, but I think it's a lot of dumbbell work like flyes, incline presses, etc. They also do some arm and shoulder work utilizing surgical tubing.

I'm asking because he wants to continue working out during the season, though I don't know if the team does so formally once practice and games begin. He will only have a short period of time to use the facility so it has to be fast. He's seen some nice strength and muscle gains since he started and he wants to be sure to maintain what he has accomplished. Thanks!

Woody,

I would focus on "Money" exercises. Multi-joint movements such as squats, deadlifts, cleans, snatches and push press (all versions of these) is what I recommend in-season, among others.

Some will disagree w/ me on this, but if you only have a few minutes these exercises train movements, do not fry the central nervous system and provide a stimulus to keep the neuromuscular system firing at the rate it needs to.

The last thing he should be doing in season is isolated movements or internal rottaion work such as flyes or incline presses. He gets enough during baseball movements and should focus on balancing out his training instead of further developing imbalances that will lead to poor performance and injury.

Someone just showed me where Dr. Coleman, the Astros strength coach, recommends squats, lat pulldowns and bench press as the must-do exercises if you have limited time. I guess the combination pretty much works the whole body. Your thoughts Jon?

I do not like bench in-season due to the internal rotation issues I spoke of previously.

I love squats and pulldowns are ok, but I would rather see pullups.

Deadlifts should be done. The posterior chain certainly needs to be addressed.

Of course, this is assuming these exercises are used with proper technique.

Just to clarify, lat pulldowns also work internal rotation to a certain extent, so certain types of pullups utilize less internal rotation and develop scapular muscles.

Could you use a hex bar for deadlifting instead of the regular bar during the season?

Yes. You can use hex bar off-season as well. Great tool, especially for someone who is just starting off with the deadlift.

quote:

Originally posted by Jon Doyle:
Yes. You can use hex bar off-season as well. Great tool, especially for someone who is just starting off with the deadlift.

Well I've been deadlifting with the bar for quite some time, but are weight room, got hex bars, and I just like using them more. Is one more effective then the other?

The only time we use the deadlift instead of the hex bar at our school is when going to Weight Meets. Other than that, it is all hex bars here. I hate that lift the most.

Jon, and others chip in too (kerry if you're out there)
What percent of max should the in-season baseball guys be lifting?
Also: should they be cleaning much?

Good question Trojan, also, how many times per week should a player workout in season, and when with respect to games -- meaning day before a game, right after, day of a game, etc.

It truly depends on the player's strengths/weaknesses but I will use a range of 30-70% of 1RM in-season.

I can easily use 30% one week and then 70% the next week with the same individual.

I also do not suggest high reps in-season, although many will suggest this. It simply fries the CNS too much and performance drops and fatigue sets in. Tough place to escape once you are there.

I like cleans year round. Mainly, I only use hang cleans w/ baseball players and never go over 65% of 1 RM anyway, so going heavy is never an issue.

I am not saying cleans are in every phase of every program. But I am not opposed to using them in-season. They are a very effective and efficient exercise; two keys to in-season training.

Some say speed never slumps. I disagree. Most coaches out there have witnessed a player lose speed at different times during the season. Injuries aside, this loss of speed is typically due to fatigue (re CNS), poor neuromuscular response or a combination of the two.

Adding explosive cleans at 30-50% for low reps works extremely well to get the athlete "dialed back in" speed wise. This is because the hang cleans, done properly, stimulate the posterior chain. The hamstrings, which are a large part of the posterior chain, play a huge role in running speed.

Also, utilizing a stomp when performing the hang clean will increase force production into the ground. The amount of force you can put into the ground is largely responsible for the speed (or lack thereof) at which you move.

I hope this answers your question. Please let me know if you need anything else.

Jon: excellent answer. I'm forwarding it to our weights coach (football coach) for some guidance with my guys in-season. thanks.

Wow... I couldn't stand doing 30% of my max for a clean. I'd have to do it like 15 times. We do a max of 5 reps per set on clean and hex bar. That is the weight room in general. I don't weight train specifically for a sport because I play 3 sports.

My max clean is 205. I did that yesterday, in fact, twice. I did 300 today once for parallel squat. That, too, was my max. I tried 200 for bench which would have also been a record.

Bulldog athletes do not hang out on plateaus! We beat records! Supposed to beat 8 records a week! That is yearround; not just offseason. The only thing that changes between in-season and off-season is the number of sets we do. Offseason we'll do 5 sets of 5 instead of 3 or we'll do 5 4 3 2 1 instead of 5 3 1.

Middle of January I was squatting roughly 200 pounds; I am now squatting 300. Was in-season the whole time. My clean has jumped 35+ pounds in that same time period.

Bulldog,

Good work. But the point of my post was not to break records in-season.

My goal of in-season training is simple
1. Keep the athlete fresh and fast
2. Keep the athlete on the field
3. Have the athlete actually get "stronger" as the season progresses.

Yes, I understand what you are saying and I am presenting an opposing side to it.

If I was to do 30-70% of my max "in-season" I would not get much stronger. I would only have two months to really push any weight and that wouldn't do me or the team any good.

Bulldog,

You are in the same quandry many athletes are in especially in smaller schools where kids participate in multiple sports by choice or by necessity.

Your 'in season' program has to be "cycled" much quicker but efficiently in order to keep seeing improvements. Your coaches have evidently done a very good job of this. Many of us in the profession take a fairly conservative approach in-season especially on forums such as this due to rampant overtraining.

Personally I have gotten away from athletes regardless of sport working toward a "peak". Every peak has a valley that follows and some athletes respond better than others to the valleys.

Jason
www.360performance.net
jason@360performance.net

As Jason touched on playing multiple sports is tough with weight training.

However, you would be suprised on the kind of "strength" gains you can make using 30-70%.

Almost impossible to explain on a forum, these techniques keep my athletes fast, fresh, injury-free and yes, they do make strength gains.

But I will be the first to say if something is working for you stick with it. Keep us updated on your progress.

doing lighter weight and doing it faster is putting out a lot of force production and training the fast twitch muscle fibers. What else could you want, especially in-season?

well said s2fmf

Indeed s2fmf. I don't know too many baseball players who want their hands to get slower in season!

Many players and coaches place far too much emphasis is placed on the weight on the bar. That is only one aspect of "strength"

Here we go again Jon....base strength or maintenance and the sacrificial lamb is power.