Continuing on the theme of tackling the unknown during these unprecedented times, I want to discuss the next 9-12 weeks college baseball players have until summer ball hopefully begins. As mentioned in my previous post on Covid-19’s impact on summer ball, these unforeseen times have drastically altered the college baseball universe as we know it. Undoubtedly, the abrupt shut down of the collegiate season will dramatically increase the importance of this summer, which prompts a critically important question. How should players prep for perhaps the biggest summer of their lives without traditional facilities available? The coming 9-12 weeks pose an interesting obstacle and opportunity in player development as we are forced to adapt and overcome in these trying times. Although there are inherent obstacles to overcome, the next couple months create a tremendous opportunity for players who understand skill development and implement proper training protocols to make significant gains in time for summer.
Understanding Skill Development
Defining how an athlete improves must come first. For the sake of this post, I will focus solely on the physical aspects of baseball. Whether the goal is to improve throwing velocity, bat speed, or running speed, at a macro level, there are only two variables that can be manipulated: mechanics and athleticism. By mechanics, I mean the specific movement patterns that allow an athlete to perform a certain task. By athleticism, I mean the power or explosiveness that one possesses. If either of these variables are manipulated positively while the other is held constant, performance will improve. At its core, the goal of player development is to improve both; however, given the limited access to equipment, the inability to work individually with coaches or trainers, and no group/team practice, improving mechanics over the next 2-3 months will be inherently difficult.
However, there is no reason to think that overall athleticism cannot be improved during this baseball hiatus. Remember, keep it simple. If the motor is improved, everything can happen more powerfully, faster, and/or for a longer time. While loss of skill during the downtime is feared, it is unlikely to occur. Our ability to master any task, say catching a ground ball, throwing a cutter, or hitting a breaking pitch, is a function of the neurological pathways we have created (often referred to as muscle memory). It’s not as if a baseball player is going to forget how to throw, catch, or swing. Unless the shutdown continues for years, no truly mastered skill will be lost. That said, recent swing changes or modifications to a pitching motion that have yet to be engrained may very well revert back to their pre-shutdown levels. But there is no reason to believe that these newly acquired skills cannot be quickly hardwired once normal baseball activities resume. By all means, if players have a net or a tee, continue to throw to maintain chronic workload or get some swings. However, for hitters continuing to work on their swings or pitchers working on a specific skill, be careful not to create a new, flawed neuromuscular pattern by overdoing a certain drill or feel. Examples might include overdoing velocity focused tee swings leading toward extreme linear or rotational actions, or shaping a breaking pitch on flat ground fueling improper trunk tilt. This stresses the importance of matching practice mechanics precisely to those of a desired “live” environment. Remember, as long as skill remains relatively constant, players will still improve coming out of this period if their athleticism improves. Thus, it is time to make building athleticism the top priority.
Training Protocol Implementation
Energy Systems
If the goal is to build athleticism, a simple understanding of energy systems is a good place to start. The body operates with multiple energy systems to fuel movement that vary in importance based on the task at hand. To keep it simple, we will stick with the three most general systems: phosphagen system, glycolytic system, and oxidative system.
The phosphagen system fuels short burst, high intensity activities lasting typically 6 seconds or less, but never more than 10ish seconds. As a result, this is the energy system most used in maximal effort events. The phosphagen system is the first to provide energy at the initiation of any movement. Also, because the phosphagen system produces energy at such high rates, it also takes longer to regenerate. Common work-to-rest ratios during training are between 1:12 to 1:20 per the NSCA guidelines for the phosphagen system.
The glycolytic system can be broken down further into more distinct energy systems, but for sake of simplicity in this post, we are going to leave it as one. Glycolysis is the breakdown of carbohydrates (carbs) from either glycogen stores in the muscle or from glucose delivered to the muscle in the blood to resynthesize ATP and fuel muscle function. Glycolysis does not provide energy as fast as the phosphagen, but it can provide more energy over a longer period of time. Once the phosphagen system has consumed its energy store to power any movement, the glycolytic system kicks in, making it the primary energy system in activity durations in the 30 second to 3 minute range. Common work-to-rest ratios for training range from 1:3 to 1:5.
Finally, the oxidative system is the primary energy source while at rest and during low-intensity, long duration activities, commonly over 3 minutes in length. The majority of energy in this system during high levels of aerobic activity is derived from carbs, whereas fats are the main source at rest. Training protocols call for work-to-rest rations between 1:1 and 1:3.
table from NSCA Essentials of Strength and Conditioning 4th Edition
Muscle Fibers
At the absolute most basic level, the human body has two types of muscle fibers, slow twitch and fast twitch. That said, there are a handful of fiber variants so we will examine three easily categorized types in this post: type I, type IIa, and type IIx. Type I muscle fibers are slow twitch, oxidative (aerobic), and the most fatigue resistant. Type IIa and IIx fibers are fast twitch and operate for the most part anaerobically, or with the absence of oxygen, making them most important to baseball. Type IIa is a bit of a middleman as it can operate with a moderate fatigue resistance; however, much like type IIx, force production, contraction speed, and fiber size is significantly greater than type I. For a more detailed breakdown, examine the "Muscle Fiber Type Comparison Chart" below from Stacey Penny’s NASM article titled “Fast-twitch vs. Slow-twitch Muscle Fiber Types + Training Tips.”
Since baseball is all about explosiveness, it should be rather obvious that the majority of performance training in baseball should be centered around both type II muscle fibers, with a primary focus on type IIx. It is important to recognize that fibers operate on a continuum when it comes to training. While it is impossible for any athlete to ever make a complete transition in all of their muscle fibers from type I to type IIx or vice versa, research has shown that athletes can significantly shift their percentage of type I and type II fiber composition based on how they train. Since type IIx fibers have the greatest contraction speed, size, and power, training to focus on these muscle fibers is most important for explosive athletes such as baseball players.
Application
Now to pair our energy systems discussion with our muscle fibers discussion, let’s think of an at bat. A hitter does not swing a bat repeatedly like a Bugs Bunny cartoon, nor are pitches made rapid fire like Buddy the Elf in his notorious snowball fight. Conversely, each swing and each pitch is performed at near max effort. Also, hitters and pitchers alike have time to regroup between each pitch. So, while a pitcher takes less than 2 seconds to go through his motion and hurl the ball towards home plate with max intent, a hitter is trying to get his swing off in an instant to obliterate the baseball, followed by a roughly 20+ second break in action before the next pitch is thrown. The max effort nature of this pattern is ideally suited for type IIx muscle fibers, making training within the phosphagen system of premier importance.
The same applies to running the bases. In even the most extreme instances, an inside the park home run takes at most 17 seconds to play out. This means the majority of the action is driven by the phosphagen system and type IIx fibers, and after about 8-10 seconds, the glycolytic system and type IIa fibers will play a greater role. But even in these incredibly rare occasions of a longer than 8 second energy exertion, a break will always follow before the next pitch is thrown. So if there are extremely short bursts and long breaks already written into the game, it makes little sense to devote much time to train for anything different. Both type II fibers will always power the vast majority of all baseball movement, and the energy to support these movements will be supplied by the phosphagen and glycolytic systems.
Training
I will start this section on my soapbox, so I apologize in advance. While aerobic capacity plays a vital role in cardiovascular health, aside from extreme cases, there is no reason for baseball players to train within the oxidative system. This means traditional poles or distance running serve no purpose in baseball performance training. In fact, this type of training is often detrimental to athletic development. Muscles adapt to whatever training stimulus imposed upon them. Aerobic based training relies upon the oxidative system and over time, triggers our bodies to convert some of our fast twitch muscle fibers to slow twitch fibers. There may be a time and a place for these training styles in other in rehab or sports (say distance swimming, endurance focused biking, cross country running, etc.), but baseball PERFORMANCE training is not one of them.
As stated previously, there is no reason to look at the current shutdown as a detriment to improving as a baseball player. Even though gyms and training facilities are closed, almost everything needed to become a better athlete is available for less than $60 by purchasing some bands and a medicine ball. The reason: contrary to common convention, over a 3 month period, speed, explosiveness, and power do not require excessive loading whatsoever for maximal benefit. What is most important is performing each rep and set as close to 100% effort as possible, while allowing ample recovery time (to maintain the impact of the phosphagen system, allow roughly 1 minute for a max effort/max intensity exercise that takes 5 seconds to perform).
In order to take the greatest advantage of speed and power training, exercise selection is key. If each rep and set is to be performed at max effort, the entire training program should allow for that. As a result, the focus should turn toward plyometric and ballistic training. Plyometric training involves the stretch shortening cycle to generate power as seen in a standard vertical jump (shown below this paragraph in top video), while ballistic training requires an explosive movement from a pre-loaded position such as a seated box/bench jump (sideways variation shown below this paragraph in bottom video). From an upper body perspective, most medicine ball push or toss variations will be plyometric, whereas an explosive pushup from the ground or a band exercise starting from a “dead” position is ballistic in nature. Sprints (60 yards or less) are also great during this time, as well as multi-directional jumps.
When it comes to more traditional weight room style lifting exercises for either the lower or upper body, these movements can be adjusted without any appreciable loss in efficacy through a principle called time under tension. Simply put, time under tension is how long an exercise is loaded. So, in my side lunge video, you can see the varied times under tension to elicit a different neurological hit from exercise. The shorter time emphasizes pure explosiveness, whereas the longer hold adds more of a strength component. When using bands, increase the strength stimulus by making the concentric move (muscle shortening—the push out on a band press or the pull in on band row) as fast possible and then either make the eccentric move (muscle lengthening—the back to chest move in a band push or release out in a band row) on an extended count or implement an isometric hold at the point of maximal muscle engagement. Implementation of a slow eccentric move is shown below in a band sword pull.
Another reason this style of training will be so beneficial—beyond its focus on the energy systems and muscle fibers most necessary to a baseball player—is that it is likely significantly different than what most players do in the weight room on a regular basis, creating an entirely new exercise stimulus and eliciting neuromuscular adaptations. Even in the baseball programs lucky enough to have certified strength & conditioning (S&C) coaches, time often becomes a greater factor than utilizing the most ideal training protocols. This is not a knock on the S&C coaches as all they can do is make do with the time they are given and offer the best program possible. In most cases, due to confined spaces and limited time, common college S&C training is much more focused on getting the workout done, rather than reaping the benefits of every rep and set. Consequently, most S&C programs at the collegiate level, unintentionally or not, prioritize strength and endurance over speed and power. Thus, by complimenting the strength base of most athletes generated over the fall and winter with a 2-3 month training period focused on speed and power this spring, athletes will be peaking just in time for summer ball.
Based on the information provided, my few exercise examples, and a little help from YouTube, any coaching staff can create a pretty solid program for lower body speed/explosiveness training. The greater challenge comes with upper body, which is why I feel a $60 investment in bands, a carabiner and a medicine ball can go a long way. With this equipment and a fence, a complete gym is available just about anywhere.
In review, there are two broad variables that can be manipulated for an athlete to improve: skill (mechanics) and athleticism (power and explosiveness). At a time when sport specific resources to aid mechanical improvement are limited, players should focus on improving their overall athleticism. In order to reap the greatest benefits of training without equipment, S&C programs should be centered around speed and power. To properly train for speed and power, exercises do not require significant loading and every rep and set must be performed as close to maximal effort as possible. Doing so allows us to target type II (fast twitch) muscle fibers and to train within our phosphagen and glycolytic systems, the systems most important to baseball.
If you have questions or would like to discuss programming ideas, feel free to shoot anything my way. I would be happy to help.
Adam Moreau, MBA, CSCS
Director of Player Development and Recruiting Coordinator
Eckerd College
419-250-7243
Sources:
NSCA Essentials of Strength and Conditioning 4th Edition
Fast-twitch vs. Slow-twitch Muscle Fiber Types + Training
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