Traditional Lifts...Not always

It shouldn’t be about how strong you are in the gym; it should be about the strength and power that’s obtained in the gym that can  be transferred onto the field.  In other words, do you want to be gym-strong or do you want to be field strong. And field strength doesn’t always have to come in the way of traditional lifts.


Case in point. One of my MLB athletes this past off-season did not perform the traditional chest press (flat or incline, floor or bench, dumbbells or barbells). Not a single repetition, not a single set. Instead, we created a chest press that would optimize the strength and power he already has. And in the process, give him slight gains and/or improvements that he would otherwise not acquire from traditional chest pressing. Our chest press exercise was performed with feet fixed on the ground, in a staggered stance position, to take full advantage of ground reaction forces all the while integrating muscles and NOT isolating muscles. The benefits (in addition to chest, shoulders and triceps) are brief yet impactful: Hip-flexor mobility of the rear leg, anti-trunk extension that delivers serious core stiffness and shoulder stability, and scapula mobility. The amazing thing is this, not only did we not compromise his power and strength we actually gave him improvements that enabled him to utilize more of the strength and power he already has.  Here’s what the exercise looks like… 




Although this exercise has quickly become one of my favorites, it wasn't until last Monday that I realized that traditional lifts dont  always have to rule the training program. 







It was Monday night (July 14, 2014) that the MLB client I referenced earlier, won the 2014 All Star Game Home Run Derby for the second consecutive year; only the second player to repeat and first to do so since Ken Griffey Jr did it in 1998 and 1999. 
And that client is none other than Yoenis Cespedes. One of the strongest and more powerful players I have had the privilege of training. 

Sometimes being non-traditional is more than ok - it may just provide the results you need and more. 


Felicitaciones Yoenis. Todo Potencia. 

Out Train the Game...and re-think what's in your toolbox. 

  

Yoenis Cespedes announced as 2014 All Star

For the past 2 off-seasons Yoenis has selected FTBPT for his off-season performance training. That's why it is with great pleasure that I add the title of "All-Star" to his name as it appears to the left under my training roster of clients.

Get powered by FTBPT. Yoenis has.

Out train the game.

Bodybuilding, Baseball & the Core

For the purpose of adding muscle there’s nothing better than stabilized environments such as machines and benches from where athlete can sit or lay down.  Such stabilized positions enable you to target specific, single or multi-joint muscles in isolation; the idea behind bodybuilding principles. This approach make sense for those baseball players (and other athletes) who need to add muscle, establish a strength-training base and can commit a good 6-8 weeks to this particular phase of their training program.  

Now, all that being said, please don't make bodybuilding principles the whole platform from which your baseball training programs are built. Since many of the bodybuilding exercises are performed from seated or lying down positions, they often don’t transfer very well to standing positions. Thus making the transfer of forces a bit different. In a published study, Juan Carlos Santana, Francisco Vera-Garcia and Stuart McGill found that only a fraction of our body weight can be pressed from standing positions. The participants in their study demonstrated an ability to press approximately 95% of their bodyweight in the 1RM Bench Press.

However, from standing positions they were only capable of pressing approximately 30-40% . This becomes a fairly important distinction because the limiting factor in the standing cable press is not the strength of the shoulders or chest, but rather core stability.

As I’ve stated on numerous occasions, baseball is played from standing positions and therefore should be trained from such positions (Functional Training) in order to maximize the development of core stiffness; the epicenter of force production. Furthermore to maximize the transfer of forces thru the chain of joints (kinetic chain), the joints (links of the chain) need to be stabilized; and this best accomplished from standing positions.  The importance of all this joint stability is that if  any one of these joints along the chain presents instability, then force production is leaked and thus limited. 

The take home message should seem obvious – get off the floor to train core stiffness (core stability).

Out Train the game!

Athletically Skilled or Performance Enhanced

Lazy But Talented. Really?  I just can't get behind such a message.

I don't give a crap how talented or skilled you THINK you are or how many of baseball's Five Tools you have.  If lazy is in any way shape or form is part of your DNA (in life or in baseball) then keep walking. I'd rather have an athlete that only possesses 2 or 3 of the Five Tools but understands the value of hard work, to enhance the performance skills/tools that he does have; this athlete is the first in the gym (and on the field) and last to leave. This athlete understands that it's one thing to have skill, it's another to enhance those skills thru proper integrated baseball performance/strength training.  This athlete also has what the "lazy but talented" athlete doesn't have...mental fortitude. This is the mental strength to work hard towards his goals; to work when 'lazy' is sleeping; to work when 'lazy' takes their skill-set for granted; to make grilled chicken for dinner when 'lazy' goes thru the drive-thru for fried chicken. Get the point point - It's easy to be lazy and it's easy to see. Again, it doesn't matter how good you are or how good you think you are, laziness will erode your skills.

Be committed, dedicated and responsible to your talents.

All in all, our motto is OUT TRAIN THE GAME. and leave your Lazy at home

Adam

Roster Expansion

Five Tool Baseball Performance Training is proud to announce the addition of Brandon Kloess to its roster. Brandon, spent the past 4 seasons coming out of the bullpen with the White Sox organization making it as high as AAA in 2012.

After being traded to the San Diego Padres this off-season, Brandon contacted Five Tool Baseball  to handle his off-season strength & conditioning.  4x per week...training smart, training hard all for the 2013 opening day roster.


Out train the game!

Adam

Congrats to Detroit Tigers Starting Pitcher, Anibal Sanchez and the rest of the 2012 Detroit Tigers for advancing to the 2012 World Series.

Out train the game!

Adam

Game 2 of ALCS

Anibal Sanchez goes 7 strong, keeping Yankees offense off the board while striking out 7 and walking 3. All in his first ever LCS game and on the road in Yankee Stadium.

Off-season training combined with diligent in-season training programs contributes to maintaining health, strength and power of your ball player into the post-season.

Keep strong. Keep Training.

Out train the game

AB

Curtis Martin NFL HOF Speech

 This video is Curtis Martin's Induction to NFL HOF Speech. Baseball player or not, athlete or not this video is a must see.  Captivating, compelling and moving.

Train Hard. Train Smart.

Love Life.

Adam

Why Baseball Players Shouldn't Olympic Lift | Eric Cressey

This is an excellent article from Eric Cressey, owner of Cressey Performance. 

 On June 25, 2010 I posted a blog which described my non-conforming perspective and thoughts regarding O-lifts for baseball performance strength training.

So when I read Eric's article earlier this week it was great to know that there were others (especially baseball reputable such as Eric) who shared similar views. 

Why Baseball Players Shouldn't Olympic Lift | Eric Cressey | High Performance Training, Personal Training

Spread the word. Train Hard. Train Smart.

Out train the game!

Adam