Carlo Alvarez

STRENGTH TRAINING
The main objective of a strength-training program is to aid in the prevention of injury to the shoulder, elbow, hip and legs, as well as, to develop a more powerful and durable athlete by increasing overall strength. You should concentrate on increasing overall strength with emphasis on the shoulder complex, low back, hips and legs. The upper body lifts in your program should be focused on the muscles of the upper back and posterior areas of the shoulder (decelerators of the arm). Remember that the majority of injuries in baseball are shoulder (cuff and labrum), elbow, core, low back, and hip related. Concentrate on improving strength in these areas during your training.

TORSO STRENGTH
Fielding, swinging the bat and running the bases are all movements that originate from the mid-section or torso, so the torso should be a focal point in a baseball training program. Train the torso in a continuum of stabilization, strength and power. You must first stabilize the spine to develop strength and you must develop strength prior to developing power. Stabilization exercises will focus on the deeper muscles of the torso, lower back and will be performed on the floor. Strength exercises can be incorporated with power ball drills that cover two planes of motion: linear and rotational. When working with power balls the weight of the ball should not be the priority. Make sure the emphasis is on the quality and the speed of movement.

SHOULDER INTEGRITY
Glen Fleisig, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the American Sports Medicine Institute, studied 95 young pitchers who had shoulder or elbow surgery and compared them to 45 pitchers who never had significant pitching-related injuries. During the study they found that the injured athletes pitched more months per year, more pitches per year, more innings per year, and more games per year. They also found that that the pitchers, were also more likely to have pitched with higher velocity, to have pitched in more showcase games and have been starting pitchers. 
Your goal is to create balanced strength between the anterior and posterior muscles of the shoulder. You should incorporate bands and tubing exercises to develop the endurance necessary for the rotator cuff and shoulder to withstand the stress of throwing. It’s important to work on shoulder flexibility and stability to assist in the dynamic throwing act. The joint capsule must be flexible enough to provide fluid delivery.

MOBILITY
Every drill that is performed should be geared towards augmenting your movement on the field. Working to improve efficient athletic movement, allows for the performance of the athlete to increase. Baseball is a sport that requires versatility, reaction, first-step quickness and multi-directional speed. It does not require maximum speed, unless you are running out a triple or inside the park homerun. 
Your goal should be to improve starting speed and acceleration, allowing you to improve your home-to-first time and your base-stealing potential. To develop starting speed or to maximize your accelerating starts work on baseball specific form runs, starts, stops and cutting drills, and utilize sports loading as a training tool.

MINDSET
Great athletes at all levels have what we call “the intangibles.” Athletes and coaches talk about it, but they are qualities that can’t be taught. These are the qualities that separate the good athletes from the great ones. The higher the level, the more difficult it is to separate yourself from your teammates, because everyone is talented. Athletes need to be persistent, passionate, positive, competitive, driven, tough and focused to succeed at the highest levels. Look at yourself as the guy that rises to the occasion, makes teammates better or makes the big play. The proper mindset will allow you to adapt to the increased volume of work that is expected of you as you move from level to level in your baseball-playing career.

These five tips will allow your body to adapt to the volume of practice, games and travel that will be expected of athletes at the next level. Utilize the tips as a baseline for your own program. Modify some of the suggestions with your current program and make adjustments as you see fit. Remember the intangibles. These intangible will separate you from the competition and will provide the consistent mental edge that separates average players from future stars.