Lifting for Football during Baseball

1. Does your high school team lift in any type of maintenance program? There are several different types of programs but the general concensus is that you take you max x some percentage to maintain your strength and therefore, not "bulk up."

2. You will have a long time before football starts and, if you have maintained, after a week off, you should be able to jump start "bulking up" again. (Bulking up is a poor phrase - sorry.)

3. I face this very issue and I am going to ask my players to not do it. I want them on my program. Rational, I had a kid that injured himself and missed 3 weeks last year. Despite repeated attempts to have him do his baseball lifting, he chose to sneek in and do the football. Maybe he tore his muscle because of this or maybe he didn't. I don't know. However, try as I might, I can't help but think that we would have gone to state if he hadn't done it. I know this isn't fair and I try not to think that way but I'm being honest. We have a successful lifting program proven over time and so, I just don't get it. JMHO!

"There comes a time when you have to stop dreaming of the man you want to be and start being the man you have become." Bruce Springsteen

No our baseball team doesnt have an in season weight training program thats why i am concerned i will lose quite a bit of my strength and have to basically start all over. I meant should i be going to the Y after baseball practice and getting my football lifts in, i didnt mean not doing my coaches baseball work out and doing the football. Our coach doesnt even have an in season work out.

Raider05, really, I don't think that lifting should even be a question in your circumstances. Yes, you should lift. Many coaches that are "old school" feel that it will inhibit a player's performance. Quite the opposite is the truth. I would scale everything down and not "max" at all of the weights. However, there are as many ideas on this as there are days of the week. If I can, I would ask that you sit down with your coach and get his feeling on this and share yours. Be upfront and let him know you are troubled about losing what you have gained. I do know this, if you aren't lifting, many programs are and those that have the best endurance and strength are usually those that win the most. JMHO!

"There comes a time when you have to stop dreaming of the man you want to be and start being the man you have become." Bruce Springsteen

Thanks for the advice coachb

Raider05 ,
First of all I am very sorry that it has taken so long to get back to you . In regard to you weight program , there are a couple simple suggestions . First of all , with the positions that you play in both sports , they should compliment each other in the weightroom. As a quarterback , shortstop , and pitcher you are looking to improve your arm strength . The exercises are the same for what your are trying to achieve . I would stay away from the overhead lifts , such as Military Press , Lat Pulldowns , Clean & Jerk , and Push Press type lifts . The question seems to be : Can I be a pitcher and still be strong ? Well the answer is YES . Right off the top of my head I can think of atleast 5 pitchers that threw atleast 96 MPH or harder , and could Bench Press 225 lbs. for atleast 15 reps . It doesn't matter what sport that you play , that's good endurance . Even if Football is the sport that you would like to play in college , the lifting will have alot of similarities . Make sure that you're staying on a good Flexibility program , Shoulder Program , and Long Toss program . If you have any other questions , please never hesitate to ask , and I promise that I will try to answer in a more timely manner ,
Best Wishes ,
Kerry

Kerry,
Thanks for getting back to me. I guess one of the questions i had was would it be smart to try to increase my strength during baseball for example high weight low reps or should i focus on just maintaining my strength until after baseball season then getting back at it in the summer. I would really Appreciate a sample workout for 3 days out of the week if possible. Thanks youve been a huge help to everyone on the site.

Raider