Workout for other sport

[J]

Hey my name is J and I'm new to this forum but I've looked around and love the spread of information that is going around.

I do not do gymnastics but I've been starting to set up a program on my own to help me get in better shape for baseball and Pitching to be more specific.

I'm a 16 year old, 5 foot 9 145 pound pitcher looking to get into training similar to a gymnast to improve my pitching skills. I've started to format a program as best as I could with my knowledge of gymnastics which isn't too much lol.

So here is my baseball/gymnastics strength and flexibility program.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

4 movement patterns a workout

Push and Pull

Lunge and Squat

Bend and Twist

Core

Push, Pull, Lunge and Squat workout

4-6 reps 3-5 sets

LUNGE

Lunges fwd

Lunge backwards

Diagonal Lunge

Plyometric jump lunge

PUSH

Push-up

Ball Push-up with pike

SQUAT

Single leg

Jump out of them (try to explode from the bottom not top)

Body weight squat

Jumping Squat

Calf Raises

PULL

Pull Over

Bent over Row

Pull-up

Inverted Row

Reverse Curls

CORE AND STABILZATION

Ball Crunch, left, center right 30 total

Circular Crunch- 20 ea. way

Circular Back Crunch- 6 ea. way

Back Extension on ball 10 reps

Hollow Position

Arch Position

Leg Raises

L Tuck leg lift

BEND AND TWIST

Windmill or Corkscrew 3 sets of 5

Windshield wipers or Saxxon side bends 3 sets of 6

Russian Twists w/medball failure

Wood Chop 2 sets of 10 ea. side

Ankle Mobility

Pike Calf Stretch 3 sets of 10

Ankle Mobility drill 10 forward, 10 to big toe, 10 to small toe

Hip/Groin Mobility

1 set of 10

Leg swings Forward to backwards

Leg swings side to side

Three Leg Swing and then Hold 6 seconds

Hip Flexion/Extension

Hip Flexion

Split Squats

Lateral Squats

Rotational Squats

Reverse Lunge with Twist

Cross over reverse lunge

Thoracic Mobility

Side Lying Rotations 10 reps, 2 second holds

High step rotations 2 sets of 10

Broom Twists 2 sets of 10 ea. side

Quadruped Thoracic rotations and extension 2 sets of 10

Indian Style Thoracic Mobilizations

 Sit indian style. Hands behind your head. Rotate to the right. Sidebend to the right. Try to rotate further on each rep by moving from your thoracic spine

ARM CARE – 3-4 times a week

Tubing- Internal rotation

External rotation

Lateral raises

45 degree angle raise

90 degree internal rotation

90 degree external rotation

Shoulder/Scapula and Elbow mobility

Shoulder Wall stick ups

Cross Over’s

Airplanes

Hanging arm Circles

Small, Medium and Large arm circles

Thanks in advantce for the replies,

j

[Bob Sanders]

To my knowledge pitching is a skill. So in order to become better practice pitching. Even though you might think you've got it down practice always. Practice the movement over and over. Training is only a supplement.

[J]

To my knowledge pitching is a skill. So in order to become better practice pitching. Even though you might think you've got it down practice always. Practice the movement over and over. Training is only a supplement.

Yes you are correct pitching is a skill and you need to practice it a lot and I do that.

My physical ability is holding me back right now from being able to perform the skill of pitching mechanics 100% efficiently with my whole body.

So I'm looking to get as strong and flexible as I can without to much hypertrophy.

I definitely agree I do need to still keep up the skill of pitching while along side training.

What do you think of the program I have come up with using my knowledge which is limited on Gymnastic Strength Training™?

[Scott Malin]

My physical ability is holding me back right now from being able to perform the skill of pitching mechanics 100% efficiently with my whole body.

What are you basing this statement on and could you be more specific?

[J]

My physical ability is holding me back right now from being able to perform the skill of pitching mechanics 100% efficiently with my whole body.

What are you basing this statement on and could you be more specific?

I'm basing this statement on what I can and can't do physically on the mound and what I need to improve on.

I need to be able to get lower with my back leg while striding.

OR

I need to get a stronger core so I can coil more and explode faster.

Just need a really strong full body and I've come to Gymnastic Strength Training™, since I think it's the best way to condition the body for total body movement.

Is this more specific?

J

[Bob Sanders]

OK so I guess what you're saying is you want to add more force to your throws. Well in order to build strength you need to work on an exercise for a certain periods of time to be able to adapt to it. Then after that you need to go on to the advanced variations. And keep going for long term development. For example:

push up to elevated push up to pike push up to handstand push up to one arm assisted push up to one arm push up to one arm handstand push up and so many more ideas.

Now I am not you coach and can't advise you what to do as I don't know much about baseball.. Only your coach knows. Be sure to ask him for advice and trainings. I hope I helped. Good luck and God be with you.

[J]

Titan wrote

Now I am not you coach and can't advise you what to do as I don't know much about baseball.. Only your coach knows. Be sure to ask him for advice and trainings

The problem with coaches is they don't have a clue about the mechanics of pitching mechanics and how to improve total body strength and flexibility.

Right now I'm kind of looking for more advice in the gymnastics area of conditioning more then baseball area.

The reason I'm looking into gymnastics conditioning instead of baseball and more specifically pitching is because there is to much split training and weight lifting body parts in the baseball world and not enough bodyweight and true dynamic exercises.

So that's the main reason I've come for help about a workout geared towards bodyweight and gymnastics. I think that the way a gymnasts trains are far advanced then any other athlete but I still don’t know if my workout is geared enough towards a gymnast.

[Bob Sanders]

Well yeah I get how you feel there. I was going to into wrestling and two practice it's weights and bar bell squats which I didn't even know how to do with a 45 lb plate each side. But I don't know if you can work on something like the iron cross because one it is hard and takes a long time to do and two it might build huge strength it's not really gear towards baseball specifics. But I don't understand do you want stronger arms or core or something?

[J]

Stronger Core, stable shoulders and Strong Legs that are explosive.

Not looking for size that's why when I tried to set up my program it was 3-5 sets at 4-6 reps to not cause hypertrophy in the muscles.

[langdon0555]

Baseball was always my main sport growing up. I played all the way through high school. This probably isnt the answer u are looking for but i would buy and read Core Performance by Mark Verstegen.

http://www.amazon.com/Core-Performance- ... 441&sr=1-1

Although it wasnt around when i was in high school. I graduated in 98 and i wish i had the book back then. I followed the program about 3yrs ago and loved it. It was my first program that wasnt a bodybuilding type routine. There is weightlifting in it but also alot of other things as well. I would go buy it or atleast go to borders and skim through it. I honestly think it would be ur best bet since it is heavily geared toward baseball amongst other athletes.

[J]

What does everyone think of my format and exercises right now that I have on the workout I created?

Thank you but I really want to get geared towards gymnastics not baseball, even though it will help with baseball.

[langdon0555]

May i ask why u are stuck on only training like a gymnast for ur baseball preperation? Mark Verstegen trains lots of professional baseball players. I have the book right in front of me...im gonna lay out what the book says the core workout consist of so u can see why u need to pick it up and atleast skim through it:

1. Movement Prep: an active warmup routine that replaces traditional pre-exercise stretching.

2. Prehab: a proactive approach to protecting yourself from injury.

3. Physioball routine: a series of exercises to improve hip, core, and shoulder strength and stability.

4. Elasticity: a unit to help the body generate force and make it springy, much like a pogo stick.

5. Strength: a new approach to resistance training based on training body MOVEMENTS for increased power, stability, and mobility.

6. ESD: a departure from traditional cardio work, creating powerful bursts of energy.

7. Regeneration: a series of low-intensity activities designed to enhance recovery.

If you want to get better at baseball (pitching)/and conditioning specific for baseball then u need to train specific for baseball. I love to train and incorporate coach sommer's gymnastic training but training specific is gonna be better for ur situation. The training in that book is geared for exactly what u want to accomplish. Why dont u pick up the book, train like the book lays out then after baseball start training more in a gymnastics fashion. Even though gymnast are some of the greatest athletes in the world there training is still very precise and targeted. Good luck with whatever mode ur go with.

[J]

Ok I agree that the law of specificity says train like you would in competition BUT it's impossible to simulate the movement of pitching unless you actually throw which I already do.

So for fitness for pitching you do not need to do sports specific workout like most think since it’s impossible and almost useless to do so since you can't get the movement of a pitch with any one exercise. So the goal is to become the best dynamic athlete you can and work hard on pitching mechanics.

Reason I chose to train like gymnastics is it would give me best chance to become a dynamic athelte who is super strong and flexible which is what I'm looking for. Also Tim Lincecum which most of you will not know trains like a gymnast and he is an MLB pitcher.

I still pitch all the time but I'm looking to become a better dynamic athlete which will transfer over to pitching. I’m not looking for sports specific stuff on baseball but how to train similar to a gymnast to get strong and flexible ankles, knees, groin, hip, low back, abs, shoulders, elbows, and wrists.

So I guess I’m looking for a workout that is geared around gymnastics and how they train there athletes.

Can anyone help me come up with a program to help me become a more athletic person with everything geared towards bodyweight and gymnastics?

Coach Sommer what do you think?

[Bob Sanders]

Well you have to start somewhere. You can get supper stronger and super elastic in one day and one night's rest. I don't know much about flexibility work but with strength work you can start with a frog stand and work your way up to the planche. Also do you have rings? They are great additions to your workout and it is great to add a little challenge and fun to your routine. Well actually a lot of challenge. I read some guy tried a push up on the rings and it was way harder then he had expected. He said it fried his core and that every movement felt more like a core exercise.

[J]

Don't have rings yet but I'm thinking about getting them in the future in a couple months after I have a good base around me.

[Bob Sanders]

Don't have rings yet but I'm thinking about getting them in the future in a couple months after I have a good base around me.

Well they are great tools and the only tools you'll need. I haven't gotten on either. I wish I had known sooner about gymnastics and rings. So did I helped you any bit?

[J]

Titan I'm a little confused on what you would have helped me on.

[Bob Sanders]

Titan I'm a little confused on what you would have helped me on.

Well, I guess I didn't helped at all. Lol. Sorry.

[Coach Sommer]

Baseball Preparation

J,

I have very limited experience in baseball preparation. In this instance I would certainly be inclined to follow langdon0555 superior knowledge in this area. I will say however that I found the contents of the aforementioned book interesting; a great deal of the emphasis within the book is essentially on becoming an extremely strong and flexible "spring" which is basically what gymnastics training is all about.

Some years back, I did have the opportunity to do a little training with Lance Nix (double AA at the time, shortly thereafter AAA and later played for the Texas Rangers). An outstanding young man, Lance worked extremely hard and incorporated a lot of gymnastics stretching (particularly for shoulders) and some basic gymnastics strength elements in his workouts (pull-ups on the rings etc).

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[J]

Thank you for your input Coach Sommer

Yeah I have the sports specific stuff for pitching in my workout already but I'm looking into gymnastics as my main whole body strength and flexibility program to be based around. If that makes any sense?

It's not about pitching, it's more about making me the best dynamic athlete I can be.

Coach Sommer what do you think of the workout I posted?

It's a combination of my knowledge of gymnastics and pitchers workouts I have been given by MLB players and trainers.

[Bob Sanders]

That's a lot of things you work on. What is your schedule?

[J]

Well right now I work out 2-4 times a week and have 3 games a week.