Baseball off-season is in full swing so I’m taking you through a full workout. Try this upper body training series for baseball athletes. To see the full workout with a group of MLB athletes watch the video down below. Let’s get into it:
Upper body power training for baseball
Perform 3-4 rounds of 10 seconds each movement.
- Explosive med ball chest pass: try to get as many reps as you can within 10 seconds.
- Overhead soccer toss: focus on using as much power in each rep to perform with good form.
- Lateral med ball toss: use your hips to create as much power through rotation as you can with each rep (focusing on speed for your first round – each side).
- Deceleration lateral med ball toss: for the second round, open the feet up to a wider stance outside of shoulder width this time focusing on the deceleration as you rotate to absorb the med ball off the wall.
For more, see this med ball training series here.
Upper body strength training for baseball
Perform 4 rounds of 10 repetitions each movement (each side)
- SA dumbbell bench press – keep the spine level as you lie on the bench, allowing the elbow of the working shoulder to drop past the ribcage.
- Kneeling diagonal band fly (low to high) – keep the hips level using your core to stabilize against twisting (anti-rotation), using the muscles of the upper back to pull the band across your body.
Upper body dynamic training for baseball
These final four exercises are meant to be completed as supersets. Perform 3 rounds of each exercise besides 2B*
1A. Neutral grip pull up with isometric hold: hold your chin all the way over the bar for a 1 second count, then lower.
1B. Balance waiters walks: Keep one hand on your core as you walk to keep yourself in check and keep your core tight.
2A. Balance suitcase marches: stand on a thick pad that causes just the slightest amount of instability in the lower limb to build balance and coordination.
2B. Band tricep extension: Take as many rounds as you need to perform 100 repetitions.
This workout gives you a good idea of how I like to balance and structure upper body workouts for baseball athletes. Within each workout it’s important to address push and pull, shoulders, and mobility to prepare for the pattern overload baseball athletes tend to go through throughout their season.
For healthy shoulders check out this mobility routine for baseball athletes.
This workout in particular would be great for the first two weeks of your season, focusing on quality of repetition and incrementally building up the volume over each week. If you want to skip the guess work and get the most out of your baseball season, go ahead and check out the link below for a full and effective baseball program.
