Posted by: The Hitting Guru () on Wed Dec 27 09:19:30 2006

> Hi,
> My 11 yr old daughter plays softball and we are just entering into the world of travel ball. She has always been a better than average player with tremendous energy and love for the game. Not the best player on the team but a very hard worker with lots of potential. My husband got me a Total Gym for Christmas. My daughter would like to use it to condition/build herself to give herself a more powerful swing and a better throwing arm. She is roughly 5'6 and weighs about 120. She is not over-weight but she is also not toned and does have some body fat. I am concerned because I have read somewhere that pre-teen girls should not build muscles and that this might hurt her. Also, it this were to be ok in moderation- what muscles does she need to concentate on to actually help her game? Thank you for any advice.

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With regard to the total gym, it will unlikely cause your daughter to build massive muscles as would weights. Just about all forms of weight training machines if done correctly will provide some form of improvement as long as the body is challenged by the workout. The key in beginning any exercise program is to take a physical and make sure the kid is not straining to do the exercise. It is important to have total body strength, but in particular focus on the legs, stomach, and forearms. This would mean doing running, situps, and using hand grips or squeezing rubber balls. Swinging a bat is also a great way to tone the forearms. Light shoulder work (lateral raises, should rotation...) can be done with 2 to 5 lb weights for the shoulders.

At 11 years old 5'6' 120lbs, your daughter has good enough size not to have to rely on weights. Learning to swing the bat properly and participating in a variety of athletics will provide her enough of a base to be flexible enough to do well.