"True success is one of our greatest needs. Success is not something you stumble into or come by accident. It is something your sincerely prepare for day in and day out, game after game, season after season."

Reggie Jackson
Baseball Great

The game of baseball/softball is at a crossroad. For years baseball coaches and players never believed in the benefits of a comprehensive strength training and conditioning program. Now within the 10 years strength training and fitness programs in the major leagues is catching on. More and more Major League Baseball teams are hiring strength coaches. Most of the MLB stadiums have a well-equipped strength training and fitness center for their players to use during the season. Some even have two, one for the home team and one for the visitors to use.

But, just when baseball is starting to see the light and coming into the modern era of the benefits of strength training, we are bombarded with one of the evils of the strength-training world - steroids and illegal growth hormone drugs. MLB has a major drug problem that it must address and work to clean up. It is only going to help the game of baseball.

Coaches of any sport will tell you what separates the best players from the average player is pure god-given athletic ability. This is why coaches and programs of any sport spend thousands upon thousands of dollars scouting and looking for talent that will help their team win the next championship. Unless you are the New York Yankees, then you just go out and buy the best players. Scouts are always looking for the special player who has the speed and power of Joe Morgan, the brute strength of Ted Kluziewski and the durability of a Johnny Bench. These players are not born with these skills, but they were born with the capability to achieve them. If they hadn't drilled their speed, honed their strength and built their power through hard work and conditioning, they would never have become the valuable players that they did. Baseball "iron men" Nolan Ryan, Carlton Fisk and Cal Ripken all profess to the benefits of a daily ritual of pre-game and post-game strength and conditioning workouts - even after extra inning night games.

During the '70's, coaches beliefs gradually changed. Thanks in large part to coaches Boyd Epley at the University of Nebraska, Dan Riely at Penn State (he also has worked for the Washington Redskins and Houston Texans of the NFL), and Kim Wood of the Cincinnati Bengals. Now almost every high school, college and professional sports team has a well-run, year round, strength training and conditioning program.

For a baseball player, a complete conditioning program helps to improve base-running speed, fielding reaction time, speed and power at the plate or on the mound as will as a sound nutrition program. The old school players like a Babe Ruth and John Kruk saw conditioning as an unnecessary evil.

Most of today's coaches know that solid methods of strength training and conditioning will do nothing but help their player swing the bat harder and hit the ball farther, or pitch or throw harder and faster. The player with greater speed improves his base-stealing potential and can run down more balls in the field. Increase flexibility allows a player to reach and stretch farther for those oh-so-close outs at the base. And of course, during a long-season, the well-conditioned player will less likely succumb to injuries, allowing him to play his best for the whole season. It is the player who works smart, not just hard, who succeeds in the game of baseball as well as any other sport.

CONDITIONING OVERVIEW

SKILL	Major Muscle Group	Sample Exercise
1. Running	Quadriceps Gastronomius Hip Aductors/Abductors Gluteus Hamstrings	Leg Extension Calf Raises Hip Adduction/Abduction Leg Press Leg Curl
2. Batting	Latissimus Dorsi Spinal erector Abdominal External Oblique Deltoid Group Forearm Group Gluteus	Lat Pull-down Low Back Extension Sit-ups Twisting sit-ups Lateral Raise Wrist roll Squat
3. Throwing/ Pitching	Gluteus Deltoid Group Forearm Group Latissimus Dorsi Bicep Triceps Abdominal External Oblique	Leg Press Lateral Raise Wrist roll Grip Strength Bent-over-row Bicep Curl Triceps Extension Crunches Side Bends
4. Catching	Forearm Fingers	Hammer Curl Ball Squeeze
5. Energy Systems	A. ATP-PC system B. Lactic Acid system C. Aerobic system	10 to 60 yd sprints 200 to 400 yd runs 800 to 1.5 mile runs

Sample Baseball Strength Training Program

INJURY REPORT

A. Approximately 1.1 percent of all baseball injuries require surgery.

B. Approximately 1.4 percent of softball injuries require surgery.

C. 32.4% of injuries to females occur during fielding and 19.4 % to males.

D. Baseball players are more likely to be injured while throwing 20.4% than softball players 11.0%.

E. Injuries to the player's forearms, writs and hand account for 25.1% of injuries in baseball and 24.2% in softball.

F. Breakdown of injuries:
   Forearm/Wrist/Hand 24.2%
  Shoulder/Arm 18.9%
   Hip/Thigh/Leg 16.8%
   Face/Scalp 11.2%
  Ankle/Foot 10.0%

G. Injuries by position:
   Pitchers 21.6%
   Centerfielders 10.5%
  Shortstops 8.6%
  Catchers 8.6%
   Right fielders 8.6%

H. 47.8% of all injuries occur during practice

Strength Training Guidelines:

A. Train to muscular failure - cannot do another good rep.
B. Train through entire range of motion of exercise.
C. Gradually increase amount of weight.
D. Supervision - train with a partner/coach.
E. Chart your progress with amount of weight used and reps done.
F. Use good training form and technique.
G. Push weight up to a 2 count, pause 1 second, lower to a 4 second count.

Have a great workout!

Train Smart.