Friday, December 30, 2011

Baseball Agility

By Tom McGilliray

Baseball players may not be gymnasts, but the benefits of having extended levels of flexibility will give you an edge over your competition. Keep your muscles warm, stretched, and flexible. This allows you to make more natural movements such as tracking a fly ball, going deep in the hole, or running out an infield hit, as well as hitting.

Exercises that emphasize stretching and flexible resistance are important in developing flexibility. Flexibility and agility will help you with the following:

1. Speed - A big portion of being agility is your speed. Being able to move quickly and effortlessly is important, especially in team sports. Increasing the speed of your movements, gives you an increased chance of making the play. A good jump rope used in conjunction with gymboss is superior for building speed and overall fitness. Also, Drill exercises, such as jumping from one portion of the ground straight up in sets of 10 - 20 or running sprints will increase your speed. Interval training using the gymboss is exception for this.

2. Reaction - Training yourself to decrease your reaction time and increase your reflexes is one of the best ways to improve your agility. Plyometric drills teach a player to react quickly and will increase their overall conditioning. A quick reaction time will also allow you to recover faster.

3. Drills - Some common drills used to increase speed and reaction time are used for many sports. One of the drills (mentioned earlier)is a pyrometric exercise. This is done in the standing position, then squatting down to jump straight up in the air as high as you can. Other drills one can utilize are ladder drills, cones drills, basic form running, and working on lifting your knees high. Kettlebell training is a form of training gaining in popularity yet offers athletes a different option for training.
Having a variety of exercises and workout routines, is pivotal to keep from getting bored, and promotes a better level of conditioning.

4. Conditioning - As an athlete you are only limited by your own thoughts. Baseball players will work on their physical conditioning, but will also work on fielding, hitting, and base running. Everything you will do in a game they work on.

Today's athlete trains all year round to ensure they are in peak condition before the season starts.
Remember that agility is more than one element-it is balance, coordination, strength and speed all working together to improve the overall athlete.
Tom has been involved with coaching youth baseball for 20 years, all age levels. You can visit his website at http://www.lefthandbaseballgloves.com
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1 comment:

Jodi Murphy said...

Improving reaction time is very important for baseball players. You have to be able to go from stationary to sprinting at the drop of a hat and having good reflexes is essential.