Baseball/Softball

Baseball and softball are sports that involve quick, explosive, and reactive movements. After a complete screening by a CORE performance specialist, a plan for a corrective exercise program to address asymmetries and faulty movement patterns along with a plan for you to reach your optimal performance and prevent injury will be provided. CORE training programs will employ interval strength, proprioception, explosiveness, neuromuscular coordination, speed training, reactive and plyometric drills, with a greater emphasis on speed, agility, quickness, and trunk rotation. Due to the anaerobic nature of these sports, our programs involve sprinting and plyometric exercises under 10 seconds in duration that provide complete recovery.

Throwing and hitting occur in a rotational, or transverse, plane of movement and are explosive in nature. Therefore, baseball and softball players need to train rotationally with light weights and high speed. To allow for the proper transfer of energy, optimal neural recruitment is critical. So, CORE Fitness will ensure that your sequencing is accurate to achieve optimal transfer. Additionally, because power transmission through the kinetic chain is a function of strength and speed, both must be trained adequately to allow for the greatest efficiency.

Pitching, one of the fastest human movements, occurs at an angular velocity at the shoulder joint approaching 7,000 degrees per second (almost 20 full circles). Therefore, the shoulder must be trained appropriately to prevent injury. The shoulder should have enough mobility to allow for the adequate external rotation needed to throw at high speeds as well as for stability and eccentric control due to the rapid deceleration, most associated with injury. Lastly, plyometric exercises are critical for the upper body due to the explosive nature of throwing, pitching, and throwing.
The CORE team will work closely with your coach to ensure you are combining the proper training with skill to reach your peak performance. We welcome the opportunity to view a video analysis of your pitching and hitting mechanics to allow us to correlate your physical limitation with your swing or pitch mechanics.

 

Bill Bowden, CORE Fitness client

 “I'm 52 years old and I started training at Core Fitness two days a week in late September 2009. I play baseball from early spring through early fall, and was looking for a program that improved my balance and flexibility and maintained or possibly improved my strength. I really didn't know anything about core fitness training when I began this program. I had been working out regularly at the local gym for the better part of the last 18 years to stay in shape, which involved 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of weight lifting [chest, shoulders, arms, etc]. I thought I was in pretty good shape.
Believe me when I say, this is easily the best training program I've ever been involved with. It's much, much more challenging than the approach I have followed over the years, and I've found it much more rewarding and a lot more fun. There are a bunch of different exercises you can do with this program, so each session is always fresh. And not only has my balance and flexibility improved, but so has my range of motion and my strength. I now use the exercises and techniques I've learned at Core Fitness when I work out at the gym during lunch and on the weekend.

One other benefit I have to mention. I've had some trouble with the meniscus in my left knee over the last couple of years. I've also had some lower back pain. I've found that the Core Fitness program has so greatly strengthened the muscles and tendons in my knees and abdomen so that my knee and my lower back are nearly never bothersome anymore.

One last point. I had never worked with a trainer before I started at Core Fitness. I've always pushed myself pretty hard when I work out. The trainers I've worked with at Core Fitness have pushed me even harder. They know what they're doing, they enjoy what they do, they're terrific at their job, and they make trainer at Core Fitness a great experience.”

--Bill Bowden