3 Reasons Why Bench Press and Baseball Don’t Mix

Bench Press and Baseball are like Oil and Water; they do not mix.

Working with mainly male, High School and College age, Baseball players, I get a lot of grief about not including Bench Press in programs. Especially, when they see the Football and Hockey players doing it.

When I ask them why they want to bench press so badly I get answers such as; “it’s fun”, “I like lifting heavy” and my personal favourite, “it looks cool”.

It is widely accepted in the baseball world that the reward of getting strong on Bench Press is outweighed by the risk the exercise poses to the shoulders and elbows. My exclusion of Bench Press is not because I want to keep you from ‘looking cool’ at the gym. There are specific and scientifically proven and accepted reasons as to why overhead athletes should avoid this exercise.

Hopefully, this blog will also reach some of the NCAA college programs down south. It BOGGLES my mind when Baseball players in Division 1 Baseball programs come back with Bench Press in their strength programs! No, I am not kidding. It happens…all the time…

Here are 3 reasons Baseball athletes should avoid Bench Press:

  1. It Exacerbates Negative Adaptations Acquired from Throwing

When you throw thousands of baseballs every year there are a few things that typically happen to the body:

  • Increased glenohumeral (shoulder) external rotation
  • Decreased glenohumeral (shoulder) internal rotation
  • Decreased elbow extension
  • Decreased scapular (shoulder blade) upward rotation
  • Decline in the quality of the tissues surrounding the shoulder girdle
  • Abnormal spinal curvature (usually in the thoracic and lumbar areas)
  • Decreased hip mobility

In laymen’s terms:

  • Your shoulder gets loose in the front
  • Tight in the back
  • Elbow doesn’t straighten all the way
  • Your shoulder blade doesn’t move well
  • The tissue around your shoulder is gritty
  • Your spine it hyperextended
  • And your hips don’t move

Not a pretty picture. And how does Bench Press help this situation…

IT DOESN’T!

Bench Press actually causes stresses to the body that are extremely similar to those found during a throwing motion:

  • Spinal extension
  • Scap retraction and depression
  • Humeral (upper arm) movement without scaps
  • Heavy loads placed on the shoulder girdle

In any sport we use the off-season to re-establish proper movement patterns and mobility, give our arm/shoulder time to rest and correct instabilities and dysfunctions. So why would we want to perform an exercise that does not allow this to occur and can actually exacerbate these dysfunctions?!

Much of exercise selection for athletes comes down to a risk vs. reward. Is the reward (strength gains) worth the risk the exercise places on my athletes? When it comes to Baseball players and Bench Press the risk FAR outweighs the benefits.

  1. There is Little Direct Transfer to Playing Baseball

Another factor in exercise selection is specificity to the sport. Does this exercise mimic anything the athlete is doing while they are playing? To decide this we need to look two things:

  1. The plane of movement of the exercise
  2. Where the movement falls on the force-velocity curve.

Research shows us that power development is highly plane-specific. Meaning that many traditional sagittal plane power movements (vertical movements such as; jumps, sprints, cleans, snatches) have little transfer into throwing. Frontal and transverse plane movements (lateral and rotational) have much more correlation (skaters, medball throws and banded rotations). So, while Bench Press may be a great exercises for an athlete in shot put or kayaking it has little use for a Baseball athlete.

Thanks to our hunting ancestors, humans have mastered the throwing motion. And it has been widely recognized that pitching is the fastest articulated motion a human can produce! This puts throwing a ball at the velocity end of the force-velocity curve. It is a very light load moved incredibly fast. Whereas the Bench Press movement is at the other end; a heavy load moved slowly. The movement is too removed from any movement that occurs in Baseball and therefore, will have little impact on performance.

 

  1. The “Meat Head” Factor

Let’s go back to the reason’s my Baseball athletes give for wanting to Bench Press:

  • It’s fun
  • I like to lift heavy
  • It looks cool

People (especially young, hormone driven males) have a tendency to overestimate their strength capabilities while Bench Pressing. I have done it myself and I have seen countless others do it as well.

 

If my number one goal as a Strength Coach is to keep my athletes healthy and second goal is to improve their performance then I need to choose exercises that are going to keep their inner meat head at bay!

Bench Press done with heavy loads and poor technique can put their most prized possession, their shoulder, in a very vulnerable position. Yes, people will argue that any exercise done with high load carries risk. However, a failed rep in a Push-up has less risk than Bench Press. Risk vs. reward!

“So, watch your athletes and make sure they use proper technique”.

Okay, valid point. However, have you ever tried to coach multiple athletes at one time? Even on my best day it is impossible to see EVERYTHING on the gym floor. And any coach that tells you different is lying.

As a coach I have to pick exercises that are self-limiting, safe and effective, whether I am watching them every second or not. This can mean different things for different sports, positions and individuals. Hence, why I may program Bench Press for a Football athlete versus a Baseball athlete. Have I mentioned risk vs. reward yet?!

The exclusion of the bench press in our baseball programs goes beyond “it’s dangerous for your shoulders.” Even if coached and performed perfectly, our athletes won’t get as much transfer from it as they would from other pressing exercises.

Check back for Part 2 of this Blog where we discuss pressing exercises that are much better suited to baseball players and other overhead athletes!

Email Bskinner@sstcanada.com to book your personal training sessions and shake off quarantine!

Resistance Training for Acceleration

Sprinting has been described as consisting of a series of phases: an acceleration phase (typically the first 10 metres), a transition phase, and a maximum velocity phase.  For sports such as soccer, rugby, football and basketball, maximum velocity is not always attained, and repeated short sprints are more common.  Taking this into consideration, the ability to develop speed in as short a time as possible (acceleration) may be of high importance to many athletes.  It has been proposed that acceleration and maximum velocity are relatively separate and specific qualities.

An athlete’s ability to accelerate his or her body during sprinting is dependent on several factors.  These factors include technique and the force production capability of the body, in particular the leg muscles.  It has been shown that the technical aspects may have less importance for the acceleration phase of performance than for a typical sprinting event.  For example, in many sports the athletes have to accelerate from a lying or crouching position, from landing on 1 leg and pivoting, from catching a ball, and so on.  Therefore, the force capability of the muscle may be more important in improving acceleration of the athlete.  This point was supported by R. Mann in his publication titled “The Elite Athletes Project: Sprints and Hurdles.” which stated that the ability to perform well in sprints over short distances is dependent on the ability to produce large amounts of force at crucial times.

A variety of methods are used to enhance force output.  These methods include resistance training, plyometric training, and assisted and resisted sprinting techniques.  For this article we will focus on resisted sprinting which involves athletes sprinting with added load.  This load can come in different forms: weighted vests, sled-sprints, uphill sprinting and limb loading.  More specifically, this article will focus on the towing of weighted devices such as sleds which is the most common method of providing towing resistance for the enhancement of sprinting.

It has been shown that the use of towing as a form of resistance may increase the load on the athlete’s torso and therefore require more stabilization.  This training stimulus may increase pelvic stabilization, leading to a positive effect on sprint performance.  Increased torso loads also cause an increased upper-body lean and increased thigh angle at both the beginning and the end of the stance phase.  This increased thigh angle reflects the increased need for force production during the prolonged stance phase.

It is important to note that sprinting speed should not be decreased by more than 10% when adding resistance; adding too much resistance may alter running kinematics in ways that are not desirable.  It is also maintained that sled-sprinting should not be employed when the desired training effect is neural (i.e. maximal velocity).  Sled-sprinting is an effective method for a metabolic training effect (i.e. acceleration).  Due to evidence that only the first 10 metres of a sprint have been designated as the acceleration phase, it is suggested that sled-sprints should be performed for distances no longer than 10 metres.

S.S.T. holds that a well implemented speed program should include a variety of methods to achieve desirable results (i.e. resisted sprints, assisted sprints, unassisted sprints and resistance training).  Also, methods such as resisted and assisted sprints should be used sparingly, such as in the final or next-to-final block of an athlete’s periodized program.

To find out more information regarding SST’s upcoming Lightning camp please visit our website at www.sstcanada.com

 

Q&A – Courtney Pewes on specialized baseball training (SST Mississauga)

Courtney- thanks for taking your time and speaking with me.

1. Courtney why do have so much success with Baseball athletes and teams?

Football and Hockey athletes are ‘easy’ to train, in that you can give these athletes just about any exercise and there is little risk for injury. Baseball athletes on the other hand require a little more finesse in their programming. Because of this there are very few facilities who specialize in training these athletes. Our years of experience have taught us the most effective way to train these overhead athletes and how best to stave off injuries. However, in an effort to become the leading Canadian facility for baseball training SST Mississauga has sought out those who work with the best in the world to learn directly from them, how they make the pros as good as they are. Refusing to believe we know everything about training baseball athletes is what makes us so good, we strive to continue learning and find better, more effective ways to make our athletes some of the best in the country.
Because of our specialization we often get athletes who travel into our facility multiple times a week from as far away as Scarborough, Whitby, Barrie and even Penetanguishene. We also have many athletes training with us on Satellite Programs who are too far away to come into our facility each week but see the value in what we do. We have trained athletes who have gone on to play in the NCAA, CIS, Ontario Provincial Team, Canadian National Team, minor leagues and professional baseball. We currently have athletes who are playing baseball with Oklahoma University, Middle Tennessee State University, Binghamton University, Niagara University, Stanford University, the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Guelph University, McMaster University, and Burlington Herd to name just a few. But what truly separates our programs from anyone else is our 12U development programs, where we work with athletes as young as 8-9 years old.
Many Young athletes are sustaining injuries they never should because they are not properly prepared for the demands and intensity of the sport they are playing, baseball or otherwise. 45% of pitchers under the age of 12 suffer from chronic elbow pain, and in high school this number increases to 58%. Young athletes are still growing and often lack coordination strength, endurance, or stability of their muscles and joints to properly or efficiently perform many sport skills and are, therefore, at high risk for poor form, improper technique, and training errors.
Because we work with our baseball (and other sport) athletes at a young age we are able to optimize their mobility, stability, coordination, strength, and movement efficiency. And coincidentally their speed, agility, quickness and conditioning also improve. This helps to reduce the chances of traumatic injuries but also in chronic injuries that are common in young baseball athletes and gives us a better foundation for strength and performance training as our athletes get older.

2. Can you add some insight into your strength coaching style?
I believe my coaching style has been shaped by the world class strength coaches I had the privilege of working with while doing internships as well as the coaches I had as an athlete. I believe in hard work and no excuses to reach your goals. I know firsthand that hard work, dedication and sacrifice it takes to be a world class athlete and I strive to educate my athletes about this. Nothing comes easy, especially in athletics, and I try to instill a hard work ethic in my athletes from a young age.
When it comes to motivating my athletes, I think it is important to understand that everyone is motivated by different things, some like to be challenged, while others liked to be recognized and appreciated when they do something outstanding, while others are motivated by quality performances outside the gym. Either way, it is important to know what motivates each of your athletes on an individual basis in order for me, as a coach, to be able to better push them towards their potential.
I do my best to create a training environment that is welcoming to any sport, age, race, or gender. When you walk through our door you are no longer alone in your journey; not only are your coaches here to support you but your fellow athletes are as well. We are all one team, one family, here at SST Mississauga and that environment is what helps fuel greatness.

Canadian Junior National Team and Oklahoma University Commit, Pitcher Ben Abram, Jumping on the prowler to add some extra weight and encouragement For Jaden, one of our 12U baseball development athletes. We’re all in this together! #SSTFamily

I love my athletes and my entire job is working to help see them succeed as athletes and human beings. There is nothing better than having athletes come back from post-secondary school or training camps and saying, ‘because of you I was prepared’, ‘I had a great season’, ‘I’m excited to get back in the gym and get even better!’. That is what makes this the best job in the world!

BTW….. if you haven’t seen it, read Courtney’s blog – Quarterback Vs. Pitcher Vs. Bench Press   HERE

Quarterback Vs. Pitcher Vs. Bench Press

We had a great question come in regarding our Blog last week; why we exclude bench press in our Baseball players’ strength programs (if you missed it, check out that Blog here)

The question was: Was having a similar conversation today about QBs and bench press. What do you think?

Here is my response:

While quarterbacks have similar stresses on their shoulders as pitchers, those stresses are a lot less than that of a pitcher. The record velocity for a quarterback throw is ~60mph whereas the highest recorded MLB pitch is ~105mph; they are in completely different ballparks (pardon the pun!). Because of this, throwing injuries are also a lot less common in quarterbacks. If we look at a study by Dodson, C.C; ET. Al  there are only 10 reported cases of UCL tears in NFL quarterbacks between 1994-2008 vs. 36 UCL tears in MLB pitchers in the 2015 & 2016 seasons alone! The majority of injuries NFL quarterbacks sustain occur through direct contact, ~82.3% (according to a study by Kelly, B.T.; ET. Al.) while overuse injuries account for less than 15% of injuries.

Another thing we have to consider is that most quarterbacks take long breaks from throwing in the off-season while pitchers (especially younger ones) have a tendency to jump the gun on their throwing programs and (in my opinion) on average do not let their shoulders recover long enough in the off-season.

What this tells me is that the durability of a quarterback’s shoulder is much higher than that of a pitcher’s and can more than likely sustain higher stresses off the field in the gym. While it may be a good idea to avoid bench press for similar reasons as our baseball players do (exacerbates negative adaptations from throwing, too far away from throwing motion on force-velocity curve, and failure on a heavy rep puts the shoulder in a vulnerable position), having bench press in a quarterback’s program is probably less likely to causes negative performance outcomes on the field. Which is, arguably, the most important thing to look for when choosing exercises for your athletes.

Keep an eye out for Part 2 of our Bench Press vs. Baseball Blog where we will show you pressing exercises much more suited to overhead throwing athletes, quarterbacks included!

If you have any questions or comments about this or any of our other blogs let us know in our comments section or send our author an email directly (cplewes@sstcanada.com)!

 

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10 Foods Staples to Throw Out NOW!! – Part 1

With busy schedules of work, school, kids, training, housework – the list can go on and on – pantry staples can be a great time saver in preparing your meals, avoiding the drive-thru and keeping your nutrition on track. However, there are many everyday staples in your pantry that are doing more harm than good and need to be thrown out immediately!

healthy pantryHaving healthy, nutrient dense pantry staples on hand will help keep you full longer, aid in lean muscle growth, increase your energy and help the waist line shrink!

Read on to find out what time saving staple need to be kicked to the curb and what you can replace them with!

1. READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST CEREAL

These are the first thing that need to hit the trash bin!! This staple is quick, easy, LOADED with sugar and not much else. It is easy to be fooled by labels boasting about ‘added vitamins’, and pictures of whole almonds, oats, grains, mountain scenery… But even those cereals marketed as ‘healthy’ are usually loaded with sugar and refined carbohydrates and they lack sufficient fiber, protein, and healthy fats to help keep you energized and full for the start of your day. Because of this you are more likely to have a crash in blood sugar levels mid-morning causing more sugar cravings and having you reaching for snacks that contain more sugar and doing so earlier in the day then you should be.

What to Keep On-hand Instead? – Oatmealoatmeal

Were not talking to Quacker packets loaded with sugar. Stock your pantry with plain oats (steel cut are even better) that can be made on the stove top. They only take a couple minutes to prepare and you can customize them with all your favourites – almonds, cashew butter, fruits, seeds, flax-seed, organic honey, dark chocolate shavings – the possibilities are endless and delicious!

2. WHITE RICE

White rice is about as void of nutrients as a product can get. The heavy processing the rice goes through strips rice of almost all vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants. Along with that white rice is a refined carbohydrate meaning it is digested and absorbed by the body quickly, causing spikes in blood sugar levels which in turn forces your body to process the sugar quickly and leads to fat conversion and storage.

What to Keep On-hand Instead? – Red, Black or Wild Rice
These whole grain rice options may cost an extra buck or two but they are worth the splurge! Whole grain rices have vitamins, minerals, fiber, and are digested at a much slower rates. Allowing your body to properly prowild ricecess the carbohydrates and using them as fuel instead of converting them for fat storage. These options will also keep your blood sugar levels more stable leading to less cravings and the extra fiber will help keep you feeling full longer.

 

 

 

If you liked this post make sure to check back in a few days for Part 2!

If you have any questions or comments about this post make sure to ask in our comments section or email SST Mississauga’s Lead Strength Coach, Courtney  ( cplewes@sstcanada.com ).

Supplements Safe???

Is it Safe to Take Supplements? Will I Test Positive?

You have been living under a rock if you have not heard of the recent drug scandals that have been flooding professional and amateur sports. From Lance Armstrong, to Peyton Manning it seems as though no professional athlete is safe from the allegations. Performance enhancing drugs in sport are very real and athletes at any level may be exposed to the temptations.

What’s even scarier is that many athletes will utilize supplements or medications to help them increase their performance thinking that these substances are safe because they are “natural”. It’s no secret that the supplement industry has grown large by marketing an increased number of muscle building, fat burning, and substances that will do just about anything. Marketing strategies include using terms like “natural” to persuade more consumers to buy their product. The average gym goer is looking for anything that will give them a boost and rarely cares about the ramifications of taking a supplement that may be laced with a banned substance. Unfortunately for us, it is the consumer’s responsibility to know if the supplements we are using are safe.

For athletes especially, this responsibility is not a choice! Athletes must take responsibility for every single thing that they ingest. Many sporting organizations are now testing for banned substances on a regular basis. It is not acceptable to claim ignorance or deny the allegations by claiming that you were only taking health supplements.

So how does an athlete stay safe from performance enhancing drugs?

The CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sports) recommends that athletes take responsibility for everything that they put into their body. Since every CIS athlete is eligible for drug testing both in and out of season, athletes are to be responsible and informed year round. Athletes should reference all supplements with the Global Drug Reference Online (DRO).

Luckily there are some organizations that make it their mission to test supplements for banned substances so that athletes are not left in a bad spot if they choose to use their products. At SST, we believe that supplements can offer benefits in performance and recovery for athletes; however these supplements need to be guaranteed safe so there is no worry of testing positive. We also work to supply products that are banned substance free, so that our clients need not worry.

When choosing supplements, athletes should look for the “Informed Choice” or “NSF Certified” logos. These 2 organizations have made it their mission to rigorously test supplements to ensure they are banned substance free. For more information on the Informed Choice or NSF process you can visit their websites HERE and HERE.

Please choose wisely and be informed when choosing nutritional supplements. Testing positive is not worth it.clip_image001 clip_image002

Do you want to get big…..here is how! Part 1

So……you wanna get big??? If yes, then continue reading……..

I have worked with thousands of athletes, weekend warriors, and average Joe’s. Some needed to drop a few pounds while others would be considered “hard-gainers”; those guys that say “no matter what I do I can’t gain weight.” Thankfully, I had the remedy and was able to change their ways.

1. Sleep – If you want to pack on muscle, your hormones need to be optimal. When you sleep, your body releases growth hormone. If you are only getting 4-5 hours a night, or waking up every hour, that needs to change. You will need to block at least 8 hours per night, preferably at the same time every night. If you find that you are waking up fairly often, then supplements such as zinc, magnesium, cordyceps, ashwaghanda, and 5-HTP may help you out.

2. Eat 6-8 times per day – If you want to get big you cannot skip meals. If you skip a meal you’ll never get it back! Hard-gainers generally have higher metabolisms and need to eat more calories.

3. Get enough protein – You will need to get 1.5 – 2 times your bodyweight in grams of protein daily. If you weigh 160lbs that would be 240g-320g daily. Break that up into 6-8 meals and you should be in the range of 30-40g per meal. On workout days I like to be taking in a little more than on my off days.

4. Train at the same time – Studies show that if you are on a routine of getting to sleep, waking up, and training at the same time every day, then your results will be improved. Schedule your workouts like they are appointments that you will not miss.

5. During the workout – We recommend taking BCAA’s during your workout. We use Poliquin brand BCAA’s because they have the optimal ratio of Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine. You need to take 15-20g during the workout, or don’t bother. This will help keep you in an anabolic state and give you the building blocks to repair your muscles after a gruelling workout.

Part 2 coming……………next week

 

Larry Jusdanis

SST Canada owner

For more information and access to great articles and videos please visit www.sst.training

SST Athlete review- scholarship offer and CIS record broken!

Wow- special weekend that just past…on a personal note I myself was inducted into the Acadia Hall of Fame and so were my 95 teammates- thanks for the great times guys!

Now onto the real athletes! SST Laval Qb Jeremi Roch breaks the all time CIS passing yardage record..CONGRATS!

Please click here for full details

SST Burlington phenom WR Josh Palmer started his first game at St Thomas Aquinas in Florida- he recorded his first td as well….during the past week the University of Illinois watched his practice and offered him a full scholarship!

SST Waterloo athlete and NHL Star Mike Hoffman is tearing it up with the Ottawa Senators has 7 points – 3 goals to start off the season!

QB Canada member Eric Morelli was chosen as CIS athlete of the week…congrats young man!

LB’s Luke McQuilken and Luke Korol both had strong games leading their University

Both players recorded sacks in sealing the victory!

Congrats to all players this past week!

Mobility VS Flexibility and Why it MATTERS to BASEBALL players!

With the changing of the seasons outside comes a subsequent change in training seasons, where many summer sports are transitioning into their off-season. As athletes start to file in from a long summer of playing the sport they love, a common theme emerges – these athletes cannot move. They have experienced a significant reduction in their mobility. As I watch them perform their dynamic warm-ups I notice shorter strides, grimacing faces, partial ranges of motion…I could go on and on. It is tough to watch because I know that it is going to take some time to work through these mobility issues before we can get to the phase where we make them better than last season. With off-seasons becoming increasingly shorter, valuable non-competitive training time is being wasted regaining lost mobility instead of being used to make serious physical gains.

But first, what is mobility and why is it so important? Well, this is a complex question that could take countless blog entries to cover. When people hear the word mobility they usually think it is the same as flexibility, but this is not the case. Here is a really simple breakdown of the difference between the two commonly misunderstood terms:

  • Flexibility is the length of the tissue.
  • Mobility, on the other hand, is much more complex; it is the ability of a person to reach a desired position or posture. It is a complex interaction between tissue length, strength, joint stability, the presence of scar tissue, and kinesthetic awareness.

 

The loss of mobility can be the result of many different factors or a combination factors, such as:

  • Muscle fibers become shortened after times of immobility (sitting at a desk all day) or eccentric stress (deceleration from throwing, running, jumping, etc.).
  • Tissues can become stiff because of instability in surrounding joints; a stiff neck may be the result of instability in the shoulder joint.
  • Mobility can be affected by protective tensions; an athlete may feel as though they have incredibly tight hamstrings, however, this tightness is a protective measure enacted by the body because of an excessive anterior pelvic tilt.
  • And injuries past/present can cause adhesions to tissue, reducing mobility.

Of course there are many other reasons, but these are just a few that are common for athletes.

Many athletes tend to neglect their strength training and mobility work during in-season which is a BIG mistake as the majority of injuries during the season are as a result of loss of mobility as the long gruelling season progresses (I’ve talked about this here and here ). Because of this neglect, loss of mobility becomes a common problem in many athletes, particularly younger athletes. Mobility loss in the early off-season can negatively affect the entirety of an athlete’s off-season training, which can negatively affect their next season, and so on and so on – a potentially compounding problem.

Specifically, here are some areas that baseball players REALLY need to have exceptional mobility if they want to maximize their potential and performance on the diamond:

  • Hip Mobility – many baseball skills require aggressive hip rotation. Sufficient internal and external rotation, adduction, abduction, and extension are key to pitching, hitting and throwing. Proper hip mobility while pitching plays a significant role in avoiding shoulder and elbow injuries by decreasing stress on these joint by up to 20%! Check out the research here
  • Thoracic Mobility – Sufficient mobility in the upper back allows essential separation of the hips and hands during your swing, throws and pitches. When this separation cannot occur due to lack of mobility, ‘energy leaks’ and timing errors are likely to occur. Lack of thoracic mobility can also cause anterior shoulder issues in pitchers, who compensate for lack of range by creating external rotation in the wrong places (ie. excessive external rotation of the shoulder joint).
  • Ankle Mobility – Ankle mobility is important to any rotational movement in baseball. While the hip may initiate rotation, proper movement in the ankle allows the feet to be plated in the ideal position for power transition. Proper ankle mobility is imperative to catchers, as they allow a catcher to comfortably get in a squatting position, allow for more sway to frame pitches, and allow them to get into proper throwing position for base throws.
  • Shoulder Mobility and Stability – The Gleno-humeral joint must be mobile enough to allow for unrestricted movement during the throwing and pitching motion. However, the surrounding structures must be stable enough to protect this joint from excessive movement and dangerous end-ranges often reached by pitchers.

OK, so mobility is important and decreased mobility is not good. So, how do we fix this? How do we go from decreased mobility to increased mobility and subsequently better training, better performance and better resistance to injury? I’ll save that for one of my next entries, so watch for that in the near future.

In the meantime, please feel free to download a copy of our “Player’s Guide to In-Season Strength & Conditioning for Baseball” below.

Sincerely,

Courtney Plewes, BScKin, CSCS

SST Mississauga

Athletic Development