BioMechanics

[hiddengem]

Could some of you Biomechanics guru's(JB,Englishbey) clue us in on the most important muscles to have strong for a high level swing? What would you focus on most in the weight room during the season?

[jbooth]

Could some of you Biomechanics guru's(JB,Englishbey) clue us in on the most important muscles to have strong for a high level swing? What would you focus on most in the weight room during the season?

The muscles that make you rotate need to be worked the most. The muscles in the hip joints and your stomach and sides and lower back.

You need to add in plyometrics also. Plyometrics is a fancy name for doing some common old exercises, FAST and explosively. Instead of just doing a normal slow leg squat, plyometrics has you bend into the squat and then leap. (Like you were trying to slam dunk a basketball from a standing jump.)

There are many exercises you can do with the plyometric method. Hop up and down on and off a platform at different heights etc. Hop up and down using one leg at a time, etc.

Here are just a FEW exercises to help you rotate faster in the baseball swing;

stomach - do bicycle crunches or cross-over situps. Bicycle crunches are where you are on your back on the floor and have your hands behind your head and you bring your left knee toward your head and bring your right elbow across to touch it while you are in a crunch and you extend your right leg. Alternate back and forth, left elbow to bent right knee, left leg extends, and back to right elbow to left knee and right leg extended. Your legs move like you are pedaling a bike and your elbow touches the opposite knee each time it comes up.

Cross over situps are similar. Lay on your back with your knees bent and sit up and touch your right elbow to your left knee, and then go back down and up and touch your left elbow to your right knee.

Get a 6 or 10 pound medicine ball and hold it in front of you while in your basic batting stance and concentrate on just using the muscles in your torso and not your arms or legs and rotate your shoulders and see how quickly and hard you can throw the medicine ball to a partner or against a cement wall. Do it from the right handed AND left handed stance so you work all the muscles. Try not to use your arms to make it move, create the move from the torso muscles.

Hip joints - you can use strap-on weights, or rubber tubing, and move your leg in many different directions focusing on using the muscles that connect your upper leg bone to the hip socket. Do moves that pull your leg away from your body, and ones that pull the leg into the body. Do moves similar to kicking a soccer ball, and punting a football. Also, bend at the waist to a flat back and keep your leg straight and lift it up and down from vertical to horizontal with or without weights. If you use weights, use light ones and do the move quickly and explosively.

These are just a few, but they help. Remember that the swing is quick and explosive, so that's how you have to do the exercises so your muscles develop quickness as well as strength.

[hiddengem]

Thanks Jim. Do you like the Power Swing Training program? The one where you mix in a very heavy bat, your regular bat and a undeweighted bat, to increase power and bat speed?

[jbooth]

Thanks Jim. Do you like the Power Swing Training program? The one where you mix in a very heavy bat, your regular bat and a undeweighted bat, to increase power and bat speed?

From what I understand from researching it, it works. However, you said VERY heavy bat. The studies done by a couple of different researchers, found that the best results come from only going over and under a small amount. I don't have the book handy, but I believe you were supposed to add and subtract from your regular bat, not more than 15%.

So, if you swing a 31 ounce bat, the heavy practice bat would be 35 or 36 ounces, and the light practice bat would be 26 or 27 ounces.

Also, the sequence of training is important. You do the heavy practice first, then the light, then finish your session with your regular bat.

[hiddengem]

From what I understand from researching it, it works. However, you said VERY heavy bat. The studies done by a couple of different researchers, found that the best results come from only going over and under a small amount. I don't have the book handy, but I believe you were supposed to add and subtract from your regular bat, not more than 15%.

So, if you swing a 31 ounce bat, the heavy practice bat would be 35 or 36 ounces, and the light practice bat would be 26 or 27 ounces.

Also, the sequence of training is important. You do the heavy practice first, then the light, then finish your session with your regular bat.

This was taken from Nyman: Go down to page 6 & 7. It describes his program. Thoughts?
http://www.setpro.com/UPLOADS/SETPROUG.pdf

[dacoolman88]

thanks.....

[jbooth]

This was taken from Nyman: Go down to page 6 & 7. It describes his program. Thoughts?

I can't find my document with the research results, but I distinctly remember that they did many studies using different combinations of workout and the;
heavy, light then normal with 15% over and under yielded the best results.

[hiddengem]

I can't find my document with the research results, but I distinctly remember that they did many studies using different combinations of workout and the;
heavy, light then normal with 15% over and under yielded the best results.

Than thats the program I'll use..thanks

[jsiggy]

Than thats the program I'll use..thanks

From what I've read, and a brief period where I used this type of program, I think some type of feedback is vital to get the best results. Getting a "per swing" batspeed reading will lead to a much more intense workout than just trying to gear yourself up for a set of hard swings without any real feedback.

Also, performing the swing sets without feedback seemed to lead to boredom quickly.

[hiddengem]

From what I've read, and a brief period where I used this type of program, I think some type of feedback is vital to get the best results. Getting a "per swing" batspeed reading will lead to a much more intense workout than just trying to gear yourself up for a set of hard swings without any real feedback.

Also, performing the swing sets without feedback seemed to lead to boredom quickly.

Yea I could see that..unless you are driven and understand the goal you are after.

[jsiggy]

Yea I could see that..unless you are driven and understand the goal you are after.

There probably are exceptions - and you might even be the exception here. But I don't believe being driven and understanding the goal guarantee results either.

The issue isn't just motivation (it very often is with kids though), it's also actual vs. perceived performance. Can you be certain when you're swinging 1-2mph faster on any particular swing? Can you tell if you've gone up or down that amount on your swing over a week period - between different workouts?

[hiddengem]

There probably are exceptions - and you might even be the exception here. But I don't believe being driven and understanding the goal guarantee results either.

The issue isn't just motivation (it very often is with kids though), it's also actual vs. perceived performance. Can you be certain when you're swinging 1-2mph faster on any particular swing? Can you tell if you've gone up or down that amount on your swing over a week period - between different workouts?

No I don't dissagree that having a Bat speed machine would be outstanding. I was addressing the issue of it being boring. You're right I have no way of telling if I've made any improvements without the proper equipment.

[jsiggy]

No I don't dissagree that having a Bat speed machine would be outstanding. I was addressing the issue of it being boring. You're right I have no way of telling if I've made any improvements without the proper equipment.

Ah.... misunderstood ya. My bad.

[Ursa Major]

HG said: No I don't dissagree that having a Bat speed machine would be outstanding. I was addressing the issue of it being boring. You're right I have no way of telling if I've made any improvements without the proper equipment.

Anyone have a good lead on machines that measure bat speed. I understand that they're great for giving kids instant feedback when their technique in practice swings is slipping. I can see it being a great tool to get kids to practice off a tee, which most dislike no matter how many times you tell them every major leaguer hits off a tee more than he does any live pitching.

Mankin advertises a SwingMate product which he claims is accurate to within a mile an hour. It's described at:

http://www.batspeed.com/products06.h...856694d4d88009

I recall that Nyman sells something, but ordering one from him now obviously bears some risks.

Any other candidates?

[jsiggy]

Anyone have a good lead on machines that measure bat speed. I understand that they're great for giving kids instant feedback when their technique in practice swings is slipping. I can see it being a great tool to get kids to practice off a tee, which most dislike no matter how many times you tell them every major leaguer hits off a tee more than he does any live pitching.

Mankin advertises a SwingMate product which he claims is accurate to within a mile an hour. It's described at:

http://www.batspeed.com/products06.h...856694d4d88009

I recall that Nyman sells something, but ordering one from him now obviously bears some risks.

Any other candidates?

I had a SwingMate... was so inaccurate (failed reads & speed readings differing by 10-20mph regularly) that I quit using it. I have heard a few folks were getting better results but most indicated they were getting similar results as I did. Good news is it apparently works well for golf and resold on eBay for nearly new price.

I have a Setpro SP-3 that I purchased used and it works very well. I know a couple of other folks with them and all have had similar good results. But as you say purchasing has some concerns... hopefully he is addressing that now.

TechnaSport sells a line of batspeed & bat quickness devices too. I have never used one but would like to know if they work well. Why don't you buy one and review it for us?

One negative I see is the laser measure any thing passing through it's path. This means it will measure different locations on the bat - which are moving at different speeds - and you will get different readings if the swing is not in the same location on each swing. Seems to me that Nymans design which measures the tip of the bat is better for consistency of readings.