| ************* | | | | activity. That burning feeling you get when you lift |
| Train for POWER | | | | weights really hard is a result of a buildup of lactic |
| ************* | | | | acid, a by-product of that (and other) short-term, |
| Baseball and softball are not games of strength, | | | | intense types of exercise. |
| but of EXPLOSIVE POWER. Just how strong do | | | | Have you ever heard of a ball player complaining |
| you have to be to pick up a 5 oz baseball, or a | | | | of this problem? |
| 30 oz bat? On the other hand, propelling that 5 oz | | | | Consider the baseball pitcher: it takes about 0.15 |
| ball 90+ mph, or hitting a ball 400+ feet with that | | | | seconds from the time the front foot contacts |
| 30 oz bat requires tremendous power - the ability | | | | the ground until the ball is released. Very little lactic |
| to perform work. In this case, the work of | | | | acid can be built up in this short burst of activity. |
| playing baseball and softball at a high level. | | | | The primary source of fatigue in pitching is not |
| In both games, while they can be slow in duration, | | | | metabolic, but neural. [1] |
| the various activities that comprise a game are | | | | Again, why does this matter to you? |
| short and quick. Rarely does a play take longer | | | | Because studies show that LSD training |
| than 6 or 7 seconds. There are exceptions, of | | | | significantly detracts from power, strength, and |
| course - an inside the park homer, or an | | | | speed development. |
| extended rundown or "pickle." But, for the most | | | | Reduce these characteristics, and you educe your |
| part, things happen very quickly on the diamond. | | | | ability to throw with high velocity, hit with power, |
| Why does this matter to you? | | | | and run at high speed. Look at the bodies of |
| Well, let me ask you this: how often have you | | | | sprinters vs. marathoners. You don't have to be |
| heard coaches tell pitchers to condition | | | | built like a sprinter to be successful as a ball |
| themselves by running laps - Long, Slow Distance | | | | player, but this illustrates how training affects |
| (LSD) training, or to spend a lot of time pedaling a | | | | one's body, conditioning, and hence, ability to |
| bike? | | | | perform. |
| If you've been around as long as I have, you've | | | | Put another way: Train Slow, Perform Slow. |
| seen this a lot. Here's the problems: these | | | | As mentioned earlier, aside from the game itself |
| coaches (and many players) incorrectly think that | | | | (which can be be long and slow) things happen |
| LSD (or aerobic) conditioning improves player | | | | quickly on the ball field. Playing softball and baseball |
| performance. In fact, studies show the aerobic | | | | requires high velocity, ballistic movements like |
| demands (the amount of oxygen needed by the | | | | throwing a fast, well located pitch, taking a hard |
| body) of baseball and softball to be very low. | | | | swing at this high velocity pitch, and exploding out |
| In fact, the oxygen uptake of a baseball pitcher | | | | of the batter's box to sprint down the first base |
| (the most active position) is a low 45% of the | | | | line. |
| maximum needed. Apparently the rest pitchers | | | | So how should you train? |
| get between each pitch and in-between innings is | | | | To augment the aforementioned activities, |
| sufficient to replenish the main energy system | | | | concentrate on developing power, flexibility, and |
| used. | | | | speed. Weight lifting, plyometrics, flexibility, and |
| Baseball and softball are considered to be "alactic | | | | short burst sprint interval training should form the |
| anaerobic" sports in terms of the energy system | | | | basis of conditioning for baseball and softball |
| utilized, with pitchers in both sports the busiest | | | | players. |
| players on the field. What this means is that there | | | | [1] Gambetta, V. A Big Windup. Training & |
| is little to no lactic acid buildup as a result of this | | | | Conditioning, p. |