As the season ramps up, training has to evolve to meet the new demands players face. In-season baseball training aims to preserve strength and resilience while ensuring peak performance. Key considerations include managing fatigue, addressing skill deficiencies, and prioritizing joint health. Let's outline the core concepts behind each workout and the typical in-season training structure.
The overarching goal is to keep players durable, powerful, and explosive throughout the challenges of a long baseball season. Intelligently programming around varying needs for different player types is critical during this time period. By tailoring workouts to individual player requirements, we can optimize performance and minimize the risk of injuries.
Starters generally know their throwing days in advance, which allows time for greater structure and preparatory work. However, their demanding throwing loads require very careful management of throwing volumes, recovery resources, and maintenance work.
Relievers face a tougher challenge – they must stay prepared to ramp up and get on the mound at any point, sometimes for multiple days in a row. Maintaining arm strength, building resilience in the shoulder, and maintaining overall readiness is crucial.
These players are involved in nearly every game, though throwing volumes may be lower in-game compared to pitchers. However, they log very high throwing volumes in practice through drills and other activities. Additionally, they need to sustain high levels of athleticism for sprinting, cutting, etc. Addressing any areas the athlete may be deficient in (such as strength, speed, power) in complement to appropriate recovery work will be key in effectively maintaining athleticism.
The catcher role is incredibly taxing due to high throwing volumes and the rigors of squatting for the duration of a game. Recovery, mobility work, and addressing typical areas of tightness (hips, groin, etc.) are vital for this position.
These players take on a mixed workload of hitting, fielding, and pitching. When not on the mound, they're playing a position, so their overall workload is extremely high. Maximizing recovery between bouts is a priority in this scenario.
When it comes to programming structure for in season baseball training, it’s important to prioritize maintaining lower body power, ensuring shoulder/arm resilience, and promoting soft tissue health. Higher intensity outputs - particularly in the weight room, should be scaled back compared to the offseason. Workout timing and content will vary based on individual game schedules and circumstances.
Creating the right in-season baseball training plan is a delicate balance—working hard enough to maintain capabilities while managing fatigue appropriately. Tailoring the program to meet each player's specific demands is key to promoting sustained performance over the long term.
