I’m not sure if it’s the semi-persistent ringing of the age-old mantra, “No pain, no gain!”, or just a belief that always doing less is a bad thing, but the word “deload” tends to be a borderline dirty word to some athletes and coaches. It shouldn’t be. Deloads are a necessary part of training and a...
Velocity Based Training – or VBT – has slowly been gaining popularity as athletes and coaches look for the most cutting edge methods to train their athletes. With VBT, instead of training for maximal strength, athletes train for maximal speed. In theory, this trains more fast-twitch mus...
In Part One, I explained velocity-based training (VBT) and why we’ve decided to implement it with our athletes. Today, in Part 2 I will explore how to program VBT individual athletes to best improve their performance. (This article was written by Jack Scheideman, High Performance Trainer at Drivelin...
We have all heard the saying “you have to row to grow.” While this statement holds truth, rowing exercises play a pivotal role in performance, injury prevention, and movement quality. Rowing variations are also one of the most commonly butchered exercises, and without proper technique, the carryover...
Weighted balls are a useful tool for developing velocity as part of a training program, however, as with any tool, the effectiveness is dependent on correct implementation. There are plenty of ways in which weighted balls can be used incorrectly. Below are six often overlooked facets to a strong...
It’s mid-March and baseball season has officially begun. The college season is well underway, most high-school tryouts have completed, and spring-training games, along with the World Baseball Classic, have all kicked off as well. It’s one of the best times of the year and one of those times that giv...
Strength and conditioning is tough enough in the offseason, but once you have to focus on practices, bullpens, batting cage time, skill development, and playing games, training for strength and speed becomes nearly impossible! I’m a huge supporter of youth athletes picking up multiple sports i...
In an excellent (and controversial) post about Crossfit for baseball athletes, Eric Cressey talked about why Crossfit’s Workout of the Day is a poor way to train for baseball for many reasons. One such reason was: 3) I have huge concerns about poor exercise technique in conditions of fatigue i...
Another excellent article by Eric Cressey is available here: Should Pitchers Bench Press? Most of my clients are interested in throwing hard, hitting a ball farther, and developing as a baseball player. However, most of my clients are also high school or college players who have egos and dreams of b...
Our baseball athletes undergo a rigorous offseason workout schedule that incorporates a ton of heavy weight lifting – mostly done with barbells, but we use dumbbells for single-arm exercises (rows) and pressing (bench press with the neutral grip and the occasional push press) as well. Most of...
