Posted by: Tarheel08 () on Tue Jan 30 14:44:31 2007

> Tarheel,
>
> I'm sorry but consistency comes from not only being in shape to perform at the highest
> level possible but also to stay on the field. Cal Ripken Jr. is one of the best examples of
> consistency in the game and it had as much to do with his off season training and
> inseason training that kept him on the field for 16 straight years. His dedication to his
> practice did of course involve his fundamentals but not only fundamentals.
>
> The comparison of a sprint to a baseball season is way off the mark. Sprinters prepare for
> months for one race and one performance building up for that ONE moment. Baseball
> players need to prepare for the ninth inning of the 162nd game and to prepare like a
> sprinter prepares just doesn't cut it.
>
> I do agree that if you wanted to prepare for ONE swing of the bat and that was your only
> swing of the year, your program would work. If that is the basis of your arguement than
> please try not to confuse people in here any more.
>
> The athlete needs to combine many different actions in his workout to improve and
> balance the longevity and the short burst actions that are needed in baseball.
>
> I am not talking of long runs in the park either. Pitchers that do as I call the "death march"
> around town arn't really helping themselves as much as they could. An interval type of
> running is more sufficient for the riggors of pitching. 12-15 long sprints (foulpole to
> foulpole) with short breaks in between is one way to do it.
>
> Jimmy

Jimmy,

I am truly sorry but I do not understand where your comming from. When I compared baseball to a sprint I was specifically talking about the quickness of a baseball swing, not an entire season. I hope you would agree with me that a baseball swing lasts in the tenths of a second. Maybe I'm not arguing my point clear enough. I interpret consistency as how similar your stats at the plate are from year to year, whereas I interpret physical endurance as how efficient your cardiovascular system can pump oxygen into your bloodstream. For example, I hope you would agree with me that David Ortiz has had tremendous success and consistency at the plate from a year to year basis. Do you think he has tremendous cardiovascular endurance? I seriously doubt it, judging by his size and weight.

The type of training I suggest for baseball players is sprint and feet quickness work (for fielding and baserunning) and intense, olympic-like lifts, such as the squat and deadlift for power at the plate. These exercises are scientifically proven to increase strength and overall power. I would also recommend a mile or two run on off days to maintain cardiovascular endurance, but anything more than that would be silly IF YOUR SOLE PURPOSE WAS TO INCREASE POWER. Obviously if you were trying to increase stamina then more endurance work would make sense. The origional person who started this post was wondering HOW HE COULD INCREASE HIS POWER AT THE PLATE. Maybe you overlooked the initial post way back from May 2005.

I never said that the first or second game of a season was more important than the 162. I think you might of misunderstood me. I only said that you dont need a tremendous amount of endurance to swing a bat, whether it be in the first game or last.

With respect,

Tarheel