Top 3 Olympic Lifts for Baseball
Olympic Weightlifting has many benefits for baseball players. Incorporating these movements into a baseball player’s workout will improve their power, accuracy and explosiveness. 3 things any baseball player will benefit from. Use the following 3 lifts in your workouts and we guarantee you will see an improvement in your performance on the diamond.
Behind The Neck Jerk In The Split
This movement is a great lift for baseball players because it helps the athlete increase their power output through their legs and hips. Think about when you are batting or pitching, most of the power generated comes through the legs and finishes through the upper body on the follow through. This movement simulates those situations perfectly. Starting in the split and driving up with the legs and punching the arms to lift the weight above your head will help you really think about the power output you have when at bat or on the pitcher's mound. This movement also helps with the rotation of the hips to keep them mobile and strong. The hips are needed in baseball to create power in your swing or pitch, and even when exploding out to try and steal a base or make a break on the ball as an outfielder.
Check out our baseball training video:
No Feet Clean
This variation of the clean can help baseball players learn how to continuously apply force through the ground with their feet. This is essential for generating power through the legs to explode into a big swing then into a strong catch. Having the athlete squat into the hole on the clean will help keep the hips loose and mobile. Good mobility in the hole is especially ideal for catchers. Not only are they in a squat position the majority of the game, but they have to be able to explode up quickly, get into position to throw and then throw an accurate hardball to throw someone out. This movement is also great for strengthening the upper back, core, and traps, all essential muscle groups of a baseball player
Click here to purchase a custom baseball training program:
https://www.garagestrength.com/products/custom-strength-program
For a pre built baseball program, Click here:
https://www.garagestrength.com/products/baseball-in-season-program
Two Box Power Clean
Another variation of a clean that is excellent for all baseball players to utilize. This variation teaches baseball players to be explosive from a position that is very common in baseball. We use two 6-inch boxes for box cleans, and this depth gets the athlete into the starting position of a quarter squat, where almost every position on the diamond gets set before each play. Then from that starting position the player must be able to explode from starting position to catching or throwing position as quickly as possible. It is hard to translate explosiveness in the weight room to explosives on the field, but this movement resembles a baseball players explosiveness and will definitely translate onto the diamond.
To check out more Garage Strength blogs, Click here: https://www.garagestrength.com/blog
The clean and jerk requires mobility and coordination and speed and power. The same thing that makes you sprint faster which is the most important thing in baseball will also increase throwing velocity and bat speed. Pitching comes from the ground and moving up to the fingers. And cleaning helps with deceleration of the arm and preventing shoulder injury. There is a lot of shoulder rotation in pitching and power cleaning. And the rear deltoid and upper back and traps are really important for pitching as well as leg and hip strength. I think clean and jerk is probably the best bang for buck exercise for pitching but some people disagree with me and some are pitchers. I’m going to be testing my theory on myself once I gain 75 pounds on my power cleaning I am going to get radar gunned. And see how it feels and how my shoulder feels.