Posted by: Eugene () on Fri Aug 17 10:03:02 2001

I am interested in helping my 13 year old to develop the muscle groups needed to improve his hitting. I often hear that people like Sosa and McGwire are so strong that even when they are not swinging well they can actually "muscle" the ball out of the infield and beyond. On which groups should my son concentrate? I'm assuming that lower body strength is important. One person already recommended a good book called Complete Conditioning for Baseball. Thanks.
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> Golfers swing weighted clubs to improve power. Why not just swing a heavy bat. My sons have different weighted bats and they use them in conjunction with the bag drills. You can make your own weighted bats.
> Drill a hole in the bottom handle of an old Little League size metal bat. Fill with sand and plug with a rubber cork. Apply duct tape over the cork and handle.

Go to www.bigcat844.com. There legendary softball player Mike Macenko has a heavy bat, light bat training program that has worked wonders for a lot of the players I know, both slowpitch and baseball in terms of helping their batspeed. The techniques on this sight are very effective. Also, if you do lift weights, remember most of the power comes from the legs, the midsection, the back, and to some extent, the arms(triceps, forearms). Exercises like bench press, while effective for building overall upper body strength, are not as usefull as exercises like dumbell rows, cable rows, lat pulldowns, lat raises, dips, pull-ups, etc. that target the muscles of the back. Squats, leg press, lying leg curls, leg extensions, dips, and calf raises work the legs effectively, especially squats or leg presses which are indispensable for developing overall lower body strength. Triceps exercises like tricep extensions(skullcrushers) and tricep cable pressdowns are good at targeting the arm muscles involved in the swing. Squats, power cleans, and deadlifts are three very effective exercises in strength development although 13 yrs. would be a bit young to start on these more advanced powerlifting movements. Your son would probably have to start on a hack squat or leg press machine for at least a year or two before he could start doing squats. The most important thing is to work with an experienced personal trainer, and concentrate on reps and technique rather than weight because your son's physical immaturity at 13 yrs. could lead to several complications if he is not careful.