Physical Fitness Test

We do this as well. Under a 8 minute mile and all you do is condition until you hit this. We have a Freshman that is 6'3 and 280. He made it!! if they want to they will make it.

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Under a 8 minute mile and all you do is condition until you hit this.

What does an 8 minute mile have to do with playing a baseball game?

Bulldog...its huge. A kid "******* air" is worried about his next breath, not whatever he's working on or the game. I've seen 60 yr olds walk an 8 min mile with a cigar in their mouths.

Come on,get real, an 8 min mile is 30 seconds more than the bare minimum to be accepted into the military....even as a geek. How can a kid be a "varsity athlete" and not meet the minimum for military recruitment?

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Bulldog...its huge.

I hate to buck the system, but long distance running does quite the opposite for baseball players. Research has shown strong results that distance running decreases long-term development potential and increases risk of injury. High intensity interval training is the optimal way to get players into baseball shape.

http://www.ericcressey.com/the...running-for-pitchers

Bulldog I'm sure can extrapolate further, I don't have the background or expertise to give the specifics like he does.

No offense guys but the long distance running isn't there for any kind of physical development. It is one hundred percent a mental challenge to see if they truly want it or not. While the 8 minute mile isn't the hardest challenge in the world you still have to be in pretty good shape to do it.

Best example of why you do an 8 minute mile is Albert Haynesworth when he was with the Redskins and he couldn't pass the physical test that Shannahan put in place. He wanted to be a punk and skip it but Shannahan wouldn't let him do ANYTHING until he was able to pass it. Haynesworth looked like a selfish fool when Mike Golic did it on his show (granted he cheated slightly by not quite going to the line but he still proved the point).

I understand completely the situation Harv is in and his program will never realize it's full potential until he can get his players to buy in. I'm willing to bet that the ones kissing their girls in the parking lot are his better players and the ones at workouts are his weaker players. In an ideal world the weaker players will improve so much they beat out the "better" players thereby inspiring them to start going to the workouts. Sadly that is the exception rather than the rule. So he wants to put in place something that he hopes will motivate all players out there so the program can get batter.

I'm willing to bet also that once they make the time they will never do the 8 minute mile again due to the things you guys are saying - it really doesn't benefit players physically. But the 8 minute mile is there to test the mental toughness and commitment to the team.

Harv if I have any of that wrong please forgive me and clarify anything I'm wrong on or clarify more. Really didn't intend to speak for you.

Also, if you don't mind me making a suggestion how about getting with Bulldog 19 and coming up with a physical test that is more baseball specific. That way you can challenge them mentally and get some physical benefit from it as well. If you read his posts you will see he knows what he's talking about. JH might be able to chime in and help some with his extensive playing experience.

coach2709- I understand what you're saying but there are many other ways to condition his players that would be more beneficial to the sport. An 8 minute mile may test mental toughness, but it won't do anything for the players as far as development for the sport of baseball.

A physical fitness test is a great idea if conducted appropriately. There are more than enough ways to test a baseball player's overall fitness and stamina, and running long distances is not one of them. As a college pitcher I have run more miles than I can count and I can promise you that if I was ever a head coach of a baseball team, long distance running would literally be the last thought on my mind for my players. It's just not a test of stamina for the sport of baseball at all, regardless of the player's level of physical fitness.

I personally know several professional baseball players that would not be able to complete an 8 minute mile because they have trained their bodies anaerobically for baseball competition, and an aerobic exercise is not something they would be able to handle. If you put them through a baseball conditioning test, however, they would probably finish first.

My college coach, a highly respected veteran, had us complete a 14 min two mile conditioning test 2x a year(the day after we reported in the fall and the day we reported from semester break). Any player who didn't complete the test would attend early morning conditioning workouts for 3 weeks; afterwards, he would test again. There were no hard and fast rules for what would happen to those who never met the 2-mile benchmark. I finished 4th from last (18 min +/-) my first attempt my Fr. year; the 3 guys I beat comprised our weekend rotation (finished 5th in nation in ERA - Div.I).

Most players, whether they completed the test or were members of the "breakfast club," questioned the correlation between one's ability to run distance and his ability to compete on the diamond.

As I matured (it took a few years), I realized any conditioning test serves two purposes: 1) provides a snapshot of an athletes general cardio fitness level and 2) more importantly, guages an athlete's mental stamina. The first few times I attempted to pass the 2-mile test, I seriously considered falling into the steeplechase pit or faking injury just so the pain I felt in my lungs and legs would stop.

As a Sr., having failed to complete the test in my first attempt the previous 3 years, I simply decided I would pass the test on my first attempt and did so. I had a mental "breakthrough" that day; realizing that physically, I was capable of much more than I had previously given myself credit; didn't fail a conditioning test the rest of my career.

I spoke with my former college coach about a couple years ago for the first time in 10 years since I played for him. I mentioned the resonating effects passing the dreaded 2 mile had on me in the years following the end of my college career. He had no doubts as to the merits of his reasoning, though it took most of the 18-22 yr old kids he coached several years to come to similar conclusions.

cmcconnell- Good story, but it doesn't convince me of a benefit to long distance running. The same mental breakthrough and maturity could be reached during a difficult high intensity interval training circuit.

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I finished 4th from last (18 min +/-) my first attempt my Fr. year; the 3 guys I beat comprised our weekend rotation (finished 5th in nation in ERA - Div.I).

That kind of says something to me...

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1) provides a snapshot of an athletes general cardio fitness level

Running long distance is an aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercises are movements that involve cells requiring oxygen to fuel the metabolism. Baseball is a game that involves numerous short bursts of 100% energy at high levels of intensity at various times. That type of exercise requires the body to use energy found in other areas than oxygen (generally speaking, natural body chemicals create this energy system). This is known as an anaerobic exercise. The cardio fitness that is involved in long distance running is the exact opposite of the cardio fitness that is required for optimal performance in baseball.

JH, I think you inferred too much from my story. My intent wasn't to convince anyone that distance running (2 miles is hardly distance running) should be the staple of a pitcher's conditioning program; I have gotten completely away from "distance" running for pitchers in recent years, due largely in part to articles/research similar to that which you cited.

This thread was about physical fitness tests, not conditioning programs or strength training or aerobic vs. anaerobic exercises (thanks for the tutorial). I see great value in any coach having his players complete some sort of mentally/physically demanding activity prior to the start of a season, if for no other reason than to see who crumbles and quits when his body starts to hurt a little. The activity could be as arbitrary as jumping rope for an extended period (15 min) or lunging 400m; each of these has the same correlation to baseball as a 2 mile run - little if any. Often times the most valuable information you can gather on a player is not whether he passes the test or not, but how he responds to the challenge of passing the test.

But if you can't "pass" or "fail" that test, then it won't do any good. You showed above that your coach's test couldn't be "failed."

So you'll do one of two things by adding something like a 2-mile run...

1) You'll get your athletes hurt from overuse.
2) You'll look like you are showing favoritism towards those who do not meet the "standard" but still get to play.

I never said that long distance running has anything to do with baseball. To me it is more of a mental situation and a conditioning issue.

It appears from the posts, regardless of what form a test takes, that you guys agree a "start of the season" physical fitness test is appropriate.

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It appears from the posts, regardless of what form a test takes, that you guys agree a "start of the season" physical fitness test is appropriate.

100% for it. I think it's a great idea.

Harv - Did you get a fitness test worked out that was more specific than just running an 8 minute mile? How is it woking out for you so far?