Posted by: Shawn (whitelion_01@hotmail.com) on Fri Aug 22 18:47:13 2003

This is a great site!
> >
> > How would you sugggest a player, 5'7 140 lbs get stronger? What muscle groups are more important then others? What exercies do you suggest? Any web sites online? Besides working on mechanics day in and day out what else can a player do to improve himself?
> >
> > Scott
>
> There are so many great books out there that can help you. Plyometrics and core training are the craze. For something simple and effective, do 1000 push-ups a day and a 1000 sit-ups a day and run hills, up and down, 3 to 4 times a week. You'll be a machine in 1 month.

It depends on what age. Core training is a good idea. Although I don't agree with 1000 push-up / 1000 sit-ups routine. If you work your muscles too much you can actually become weaker because your muscles don't have time to heal.

If you are 15 or over. I would focus on weight lifting for power. You will gain the most strength resting 2-3 days between sessions depending on your body type. Lift up as hard as you can to train your fast-twich muscle fiber and go go down normal speed. If you are under 15 you can still lift weights but don't lift more then 60% of your guestimated max at any time.

You can make your workout somewhat baseball specific by concentrating on: Shoulders, triceps, stomach (middle and sides), forarms and back are most important.

Also run sprints alternating with running hills. Run approximately 40 meter sprints at FULL SPEED on grass. Make sure to strech out throughly (hamstrings, quads, calves, and butt)and run at intervals.

I would also suggest buying a protein supplement because there is no way you can eat enough protein to build/gain muscle if you are working out strenously 4 times + a week.