Baseball Lifting and Exercises - Hitting

Lifting weights in any sport has become vital for an athlete's success. The most important areas to work in terms of baseball is definitely the core and the legs. Most of a players power, about 60-70%, will come from these two areas. The rest comes from hand speed and the arms.

There are many exercises that a player can do for their core. Any abdominal workout is good for core, but I prefer pole twists along with any other rotating abdominal workout. Other exercises include Russian twists, wood choppers, and your typical crunch. This will allow the muscles to become more accustomed to moving in a manner similar to the hitting motion. Another positive to doing core is that it will help with balance and balance is the important aspect of hitting.

For the arms, extending exercises are best for baseball and for hitting. When you hit a baseball, you extend your arms. Curling or pulling exercises are not best for baseball however they do need to be done to keep the body proportional in strength. If the body is not proportioned well, it has a tendency to get tight in the areas of greater strength due to the contracting of the muscles. Stretching is important. Stay loose. It is not only important for the body, but also in baseball. The more loose and relaxed you are, the quicker your hands can be.

Some of my favorite exercises for baseball are compound exercises. My favorite is the clean and jerk. It provides explosion in all sports. It is easy to get hurt if you do not do the exercise properly though. You do not have to use heavy weight. Just use something moderate and do 8 - 12 reps. I did these my senior year of high school and I could tell quite a difference of power.

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