Strength Training
Strength is generally defined as your body’s ability to generate force to overcome an external resistance. Since all sports require your muscles to produce force to a certain degree, strength training is necessary to promote increased power output and safety. Through training, the development of skills within specific movements can optimize and elevate an athletes raw attributes. With the implementation of a carefully and appropriately designed sports performance training program, strength gains made in training will translate directly into athletic performance with the continuation of developing necessary on field skills.
Speed & Agility Training
One of the most critical aspects of any training program is how it approaches the development of speed. Many might think speed and strength are two separate tools that are developed separately, when they actually go hand in hand with each other. In fact, getting stronger can help build speed which is why it is important to have a training program which focuses on both. Speed in fact comes from power which can be defined as strength generated quickly. Speed is a crucial tool that can change a game at any moment which is why there is such a high demand for athletes with great speed and power.
Lower body training is not the only way to build speed. In fact, core and upper body strength helps to maintain proper torso alignment which helps to generate faster arm action that forces the legs to turn over faster and increase stride frequency. Having the right training program that focuses on speed and power equally is the best way to increase overall athleticism and put the athlete in the best position to perform at their maximum potential.
Arm Care
With throwing a baseball being the fastest movement in all of sports, it is also the most stressful. When throwing, the front of the shoulder gets worked at a high rate since throwing a baseball is a forward motion. Through constant throwing and stress to the shoulder, it is important to understand what can happen if the right approach is not taken. It is crucial to make sure that you work the back of the shoulder equally as much as the front. When the muscles in the front are constantly being used without strengthening the back, the muscles in the front shorten and begin to pull on the head of the Humerus which leads to an unhealthy imbalance.
When a ball is thrown, the humerus is pulled forward because the tendons and muscles in the back of the shoulder are not strong enough to hold them back. This imbalance leads to impingement and tendonitis which causes pain and can lead to much more serious injury. In order to maintain crucial muscle balance within the throwing arm, the athlete must strengthen the back of the shoulder while keeping the front stretched through the implementation of a well rounded arm care program. Having a quality arm care program should be one of the main priorities of any overhead athlete to ensure their health and maximum performance.