Baseball Spring Training Exercises

Baseball Spring Training Exercises That Will Get You in Shape

It’s an annual tradition. At the end of February, Major League Baseball teams travel to Florida and Arizona for Spring Training. It’s a time for baseball players to get back into playing form for the season. Whether or not you’re a baseball fan, there are many fitness and strength lessons you can take from the drills that go on during Spring Training.

Here are a few of the top Spring Training exercises that will help get you into shape.

Planks

Often times, you’ll see baseball players in the outfield doing this strength exercise. Planks help to develop your core muscles. Your core muscles help with posture. To do a plank:

• Lie face down on the floor. You want your body over your forearms and your palms flat.

• Slowly raise your body off of the floor. You want to use your forearms and toes to support your
body.

• Hold the position for 30 to 60 seconds depending on your physical abilities.

Deadlifts

Baseball players often do deadlifts to strengthen their glutes. This helps to improve batting power
for baseball players. For the average person, deadlifts will strengthen and firm your rear end. To do a
deadlift, you will need a barbell with weights on it. Here are the steps.

• Place the barbell at your feet and keep your feet shoulder width apart.

• Squat down using your knees and grasp the bar. Your hands should be a shoulder width apart.

• Keep the angle of your squat at about 90 degrees.

• Lift the bar by raising your hips until you are standing upright. Keep your back straight while
doing this.

• Lower your rear end to return the barbell to the floor.

Shoulder Press

Strong shoulders play an important role in baseball. They help with throwing and bat speed. For
everyone else, having strong shoulders will help prevent injuries when lifting groceries, doing yard work
or carrying your children. To do a shoulder press, you will need some dumbbells.

• Sit on a bench with back support.

• Put your feet in front of you spaced slightly apart.

• Pick up dumbbells and bring them to shoulder level keeping your elbows away from your body.

• Raise your arms until the dumbbells are over your head.

• Lower your arms back to the starting position.

Push-Ups

Push-ups have been around since the beginning of Spring Training. They help to work a whole series of
muscles in your arms and chest. To do a good push up:

• Lay flat on the ground, belly down, keeping your feet close together.

• Position your palms flat on the floor about a shoulder width apart.

• Using your arms, raise your body off of the ground.

• Slowly lower your body, but stop before completely touching the ground.

When you’re doing push-ups, keep your back straight.

Getting Help

It’s important to note that Major League Baseball players have world-class strength and conditioning
coaches helping them through their exercises. To ensure you’re doing exercises properly visit a gym that
has experts on staff to help you.

About the Author

Kelly Summers owns a Phoenix fitness center that uses automated training technology. Kelly is dedicated to fitness in Phoenix and other areas of Arizona.