Do you want to reduce your risk of injury while playing baseball? You might think you need to focus on strengthening your rotator cuff. But unless you are exercising your whole body, there is still a risk.
Prevent injury, increase your throwing velocity, and improve your batting performance by following these suggested exercises. And because seeing exercises in action makes them easier to understand, follow along with these videos featuring André Labbé, PT, MOMT!
André has consulted with Olympic athletes and a number of NFL and golf professional athletes. He served as the team physical therapist for the New Orleans Saints. Plus, André is an international instructor for the TheraBand Academy and the owner of A&K Physical Therapy.
“The key to all of this is the throwing athlete must be trained from the ground up with an emphasis on balance, hip activation, core activation, and equal and opposite arm training. We feel that typical arm care programs spend too much time on shoulder and elbow strength and miss the origin of poor mechanics and power, which usually begins far away from the area of pain and injury.” - André Labbé, PT, MOMT
1. Hip Activation: Monster Walks and Wind-Up Practice
Hip and core strength are the key to both a healthy arm and increasing your velocity when throwing. These two hip activation exercises are a great way to improve your throwing speed.
Bring your leg up as if beginning a windup and then step out with that same leg, separating your hand with your arms extended at the same time, repeat a few times
Follow step two but lean first and then step, repeating a few times
Follow step three but lean forward when bringing your leg up at the beginning, repeat a few times
Complete a windup motion, exactly like if you were pitching, start slow and increase your intensity as your repetitions increase
Follow the exact same steps #2-5, but as if pitching with your non-dominant hand
2. Weighted Ball Drops
Work your throwing arm and your front hip using a stability trainer and soft weight. This exercise helps improve your balance, an important part of your throw.
Stand on the stability trainer in the same stance as exercise three (one foot on the stability trainer with the same knee bent, the other leg extended behind you)
Hold the medicine ball with both hands
Throw the ball onto the ground and catch it when it bounces back up
You should alternate throwing on the lateral and medial side (to the right and left of the forward leg)
Switch your leg positioning and repeat
4. FlexBar Oscillation
This simple tool is an easy way to exercise your shoulder, arm, hand, and hip. You can also use this exercise between innings to warm-up your rotator cuff and arm without doing more throws.
Hold the FlexBar in one hand (perpendicular to the floor) with your arm extended at your side, then bend your elbow at a ninety degree angle
Shake the bar side to side, the top of the bar should be moving more than the bottom
Repeat with the opposite arm
Next, stand on the stability trainer in the same position as in exercise two
Hold your left hand against your left shoulder and your right arm extended at shoulder height, with your right hand holding the FlexBar parallel to the floor
Oscillate (shake) the bar up and down
5. Hitting Torque Progression
Hitting and pitching both use explosive power and torque. While the other exercises focused more on throwing, this progression improves your batting. It accelerates your hitting and helps you stay in the proper batting position.
Start in a batting stance with one tubing cuff around each ankle
Step forward with your right leg, bringing your arms back as if batting
Then take a small step with your left leg and bring your hands back to your midline
Repeat then switch to your opposite leg
Place the end loop of the CLX band around arch of your right foot
Count up to the fourth or fifth loop and put it around both wrists
Repeat steps 1-4 (you should still be wearing the tubing cuffs)
Remove the CLX and pick up a bat
Take some swings using a ball on a tee
Amp it up by putting the CLX back on, like before and then hitting the ball off the tee
Baseball players are at risk for both trauma injuries and overuse injuries. Some of these injuries can be remedied with rest, cold packs, and Biofreeze. Other injuries can be more severe, and require serious interventions, such as Tommy John surgery.
Thankfully, many baseball injuries can be prevented. Improve your physical abilities and reduce your risk of injury by following these five easy exercises. Then improve your performance on the field with the top 7 exercises for baseball players!
Medical Disclaimer: The information provided on this site, including text, graphics, images and other material, are for informational purposes only and are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other healthcare professional with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your condition.
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