Flex Hard, Go Yard
Ditch the batting doughnuts: A smarter warm-up may help you hit home runs, a Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research study suggests. After swinging a weighted bat five times, college players saw their bat speed decrease. Yet after an isometric warm-up—in which they held specific exercise positions for set periods of time—their bat speed increased. Researchers say the force your muscles generate from isometric drills preps them to activate more muscle fibres, increasing the speed of your swing. The result: more time to zero in on the ball, and a greater ability to hit it farther. Next time you’re on deck, have a team-mate hold the end of your bat to provide resistance as you move through your swing, pausing every few inches for 5 seconds.
Image by Travis Rathbone
If you liked this article, you’ll love these: