Notes on In-Season Strength Training for Baseball

 In Season Strength Training 

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the best athletes in the world put in a little bit of practice every day. Consistency is something that is required to become an elite level athlete. To maintain their offseason work and continue to operate at their peak levels, our players find the time to get their training in throughout the course of an 150+ game season. Most of these guys will play 200+ games this year, and still make time to get their work in.  

When I was with my first professional team, players execute their training in “blocks”, which are essentially lifts. They are expected to lift a minimum of 8 blocks a week. The players have the choice between doing a little something every day, or picking 2 days a week to get their lifts in. These lifts are paired with Sprinting and conditioning, depending on playing time and position. Other organizations do it differently, but all professional athletes are expected to continue training in season.  

Maintaining strength levels for our everyday players and continuing to build for those who don’t see the field as much (goal dependent) is important for sustained success. Those who choose not to do their work see their performance diminish as the year progresses. You see it in well trained athletes, so for the younger, developmental athletes such as young professionals down to teenagers – the drop off is even more substantial. 

Finding time to continue to build upon the work will continue to give players an advantage both in maximizing their potential and aiding in recovery. Most people find excuses, but winners find time. How you do one thing is usually how you do all things. So if you aren’t consistent in your work, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if your play is inconsistent as well. Sustainable success comes from taking care of your business everyday. 

Even if you haven’t started training yet, at the younger levels there is no better time than the present. Demands of most sports at the high school level are not debilitating and a quality training program supplements the on field demands. The goal isn’t to kill the athlete but find a way to continue to move their development in the right direction by maximizing what their body can do on a daily basis.  

IF the best in the world are doing it – why wouldn’t you be? 





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