Expert: Brian - 9/20/2006

Question
Thanks for the video and instruction.  The reason I asked for light exercises is because my son lacks power.  He makes plenty of contact, yet lacks bat speed, which in turn creates power.
thanks
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Followup To

Question -
I have a 10 year old son that is a baseball player.  He lacks hitting power.  I would like to have him start with some light exercises to help his quickness and power.  What do you suggest?

Answer -
Hi Hector. Well, it's not that often that I get a question that combines weightlifting with my other passion: baseball.

I can give you some exercises, but I really think you get to be a better hitter by, well, hitting better.

I put together a little web page for the kids I coach, demonstrating four phases of a swing. You can see it here:

http://brian6string.is-a-geek.com:8088/pujols.html

I've broken down the swing of Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals. Most kids are missing one or more areas of this. I really suggest you work with him on his mechanics, more than strength training. Check out my little web page, and see if you can help him get his swing better.

There are also books (Cal Ripken's recently published book is excellent) and some instructional videos.

I am currently coaching a team of 14 year olds, and I can tell you I wish I had been able to bring this information to these kids when they were 10! At age 14, it's REALLY REALLY hard to change their habits.

--Brian


Answer
My point is that batspeed and power are all derived more from a good swing than strength.

He can do curls and reverse curls for his biceps and forearms, respectively.

A lot of the power is really generated from the lower body. For that exercises like squats, lunges and running uphill are the best things. You should only do this twice per week at the most.