A Minor Set Back... Fall Ball Begins

This week is a big week for the Trinity University Baseball team. We start our month of fall ball this Thursday at 2 pm. But I will not be able to participate in practice for at least 2 weeks because I was diagnosed with a hernia around my right groin. I got surgery Tuesday morning and should be out for a few weeks. Hopefully not the whole fall so I can get some at-bats and plays in the field. Anyways I will continue to give advice on training and updates on how the team is looking this fall.

Photo taken by Kelly Woodruff

Last post I talked about the importance of doing leg exercises to build strong leg muscles to endure a long season and perform well on the field. However you also need a strong upper body. When swinging you use your forearms and arm strength to get the bat quickly through the zone and use your shoulder and back muscles to pitch the ball off the mound or throw it across the diamond. The muscles that are key to these successes are your shoulder, rotator cuff, forearm (as a whole, top/bottom), and your upper back (or lats). Last post I mentioned what a W.O.D. or a "Workout of the Day" was and how it is beneficial to baseball players. There is another type of workout that is just as helpful, if not better. They are called supersets. A super set consists of 2-3 lifts that work opposite or the same muscles. Doing more than one workout for a muscle set really builds strength. The way supersets work is you will do one lift, then the other right after. When you finish a round, you can take a short break (no longer than a minute). This is more for improving muscle size and pure strength than muscle endurance (aka WOD). A typical superset looks like this:

(Photo taken by Shari Robertson)
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Superset:
Single Arm Row 3x8
Pull-ups 3x10

Forearm Superset:
(45 lbs) Plate Hold 3x Max hold
Forearm Curls 3x15

A normal workout would consist of 2-4 of these supersets. They are a great workout and really build up muscle. Together with WODs, these workouts get you in great physical condition for a long season.

"Any time you think you have the game conquered, the game will turn around and punch you right in the nose." - Mike Schmidt