Shoulder Stability Drills for Baseball Players

It’s no secret that baseball players, more so than any other athlete, need stability in the shoulders. Baseball players are vulnerable to rotator cuff tears, impingements, and dislocations. There are even UCL injuries that can haunt a player if they have imbalance or dysfunction in the shoulder. That said, baseball players need shoulder stability drills.

In this post, I’m going to share my favorite shoulder stability drills for baseball players.

And the thing I love about these drills is that they’re so simple.

You don’t need a deep base of exercise science, or a bunch of fancy equipment to perform them. All you need is yourself, a couple of bands, and a willingness to invest in your body.

Let’s take the plunge into these shoulder stability drills for baseball players:

Wall Press

First shoulder stability is the wall press.

This movement activates the muscles of the upper back. These muscles are known asย decelerators, as they play a large role in deceleration while throwing or pitching.

Here’s how to perform this shoulder stability drill:

  • Start with your back against the wall, knees slightly bent, feet a couple inches away from the wall
  • Place shoulders, elbows, wrists, and the back of the head on the wall
  • Pin the shoulders down and back
  • Press up, like your performing a shoulder press, keeping all points of contact
  • Lower slowly back down
  • Repeat for desired reps

Dowel Rod Black Burns

The dowel rod black burn is another highly effective shoulder stability drill for baseball players.

It works similar to the wall press, except instead of against the wall, you’ll be on the ground.

For this shoulder stability drill, you’ll need a dowel rod. If you don’t have one, you can use a band as well.

Here’s how to perform this shoulder stability drill:

  • Lay on your stomach on the ground
  • Grab a dowel rod or band, and grab just outside shoulder width
  • Pick the chest up and pin the shoulders down and back
  • Start with the arms extended
  • Bring the dowel rod/band behind your head
  • Press back out in front
  • Repeat for the desired reps

Y-Cuffs

Y-cuffs are another great shoulder stability drill. This one builds stability in the shoulder by dynamically stretching the pec and shoulder, as well as building stability in the mid/upper back.

Here’s how to perform the Y-Cuff shoulder stability drill:

  • Start on the ground on your stomach
  • Pick the chest up
  • Extend the arms straight out and pin the shoulders down and back
  • Keep the arms relatively straight and flip the palms over top of you butt
  • Pause for one second
  • Reverse this process
  • Perform for the desired reps

Band Pull Aparts

Band Pull Aparts strengthen the muscles up the upper and mid back, and they’re a go to stability drill for me with my baseball guys. There are two ways to perform this one. One way is by performing the move with the palms facing the ground. The other is with the palms facing up.

Here’s how to perform the Band Pull Apart shoulder stability drill:

  • Grab a band and place your hands so there’s a good amount of tension on the band
  • Pick the chest up, and pin the shoulders down and back
  • Keeping the arms straight, squeeze the shoulder blades together by pulling the band apart
  • Reverse the process
  • Repeat for desired reps

Banded External Rotation

Here’s a pretty common shoulder stability drill. Probably because it’s so effective. This one helps to strengthen the rotator cuff, a common problem area for a lot of baseball players.

Here’s how to perform the Banded External Rotation drill:

  • Grab a band and step on one end of the band, the other end in your hand
  • Bend your elbow at 90 degrees, elbow level with the shoulder
  • Externally rotate the shoulder until the wrist is stacked over the elbow
  • Slowly lower back down so that the wrist is level with the elbow
  • Repeat for desired reps

Banded Face Pulls

This is a movement I like to superset with pressing movements such as bench. It, again, strengthens those decelerators, which can help you avoid injury. All you need to perform this move is a band and somewhere to attach it.

Here’s how to perform Banded Face Pulls:

  • Tie your band to a stable pole or bar.
  • Grab the other end of the band with a pronated grip. One hand on each “side” of the band
  • Pick the chest up, get the shoulders down and back
  • Squeeze the shoulder blades together and pull the band to your nose
  • Slowly bring the band back to starting position
  • Repeat for desired reps

How to Use These Movements

These movements are versatile, and can be used in a variety of situations. First, they can be used to warm up for an upper body day. If you use them in this way, I’d stick to 3 sets of three movements done back-to-back, at around 10-15 reps each.

Another way you can use these movements is in between sets of exercises. Usually I use them between pressing exercises to keep the shoulders stable while pressing. But, you can also use them in between pulling exercises to further activate the musculature of the mid/upper back.

If you’re using them this way, perform 10-15 reps in between sets.

Shoulder Stability Drills Aren’t Enough

To avoid injury, you need more than stability.

You also need absolute strength in the shoulders, back, core, legs to avoid injury and keep performance high.

That’s why I createdย Baseball Power Program.

It gives baseball players a complete protocol to:

  • Avoid Injury
  • Improve explosiveness
  • Pump speed into the step
  • Build core stability and strength

All things that willย raise your performance on the field.

This can lead to you hitting more bombs, adding velo to your pitches, becoming a better fielder, stealing more bases…

But, only if you’re ready to put in work.

If that’s you, head on over to the link below:

Click Here to Try Baseball Power Program

 


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