Expert: Jack Elliott - 4/30/2009

Question
I'm 13 years old and I'm working to get in shape for high school baseball in another year and a half.  As a start, I'm trying to get in shape and lose some weight and build muscle.  To do this I'm running between 2-5 miles a day around 4 days a week as well as doing pushups and situps.  I'm wondering how to incorporate baseball training such as long toss if I'm doing pushups.  Should I work on getting in shape first and then work as hard as possible on baseball or should I try to incorporate then both at once?  Thanks.

Answer
Hi Thomas,

I think it is great that you are trying to become a better abseball player.  The current workout program you have sounds like a good one for your age.  As you move closer to high school, you will want to move from isometic exercises like push ups to actual weightlifting, but it is a good idea to avoid this until high school to allow your body more time to develop more fully.  The running routine you have will work fine throughout your high school baseball career as well.

Now, to answer your questions specifically.  First, long toss should be a basic staple of your baseball practicing.  It is a good idea to include this at the end of practices or during warm-ups to make sure you get this work in.  There is no reason why you cannot do push up and long toss.

Second, everyone is different in how much training their body can handle.  However, most regular players except pitchers can handle weight training and baseball throwing and practicing.  The two issues you should be concerned about are burnout and muscle fatigue in your arms specifically.  If you are experiencing soreness in your arm, you should always back off of your throwing and weight training.  This is even a greater issue for pitchers and is why professional pitchers scale down their weight training during the season.  Their goal is to do their muscle building in the offseason and then only lift once or twice a week for maintenance during the season.  Other position players can do more weight training throughout the season because less stress is normally placed on the arm.

Third, I suggest you try to workout and play baseball together.  This can help keep you motivated in why you are working out in the first place.  However, if burnout starts to appear or you fear it will take place, do not be afraid to step away from baseball or changeup your workout routine.  Some people do very well playing another sport in the offseason because of the novelty of it.  However, I would key on ones that will offer some benefits to baseball like cross country running, football, wrestling, lacrosse, tennis, etc.  Remember there is more than one way to get fit.  

The key with all your training is to make sure you are getting gains and allowing your body enough time to rest.  This will take a little trial and error on your part, but you should get a good idea of how much is too much after a couple of weeks of practicing.  Once you get to high school, I would recommend you look into following some specific weight training programs for baseball players which will give you a much more detailed approach that you can follow more closely.  

Good luck to your training and the upcoming baseball season.

Best,
Jack Elliott
http://www.baseballtrainingtechniques.com