In-season training for baseball should look different based on the athletes’ training during their off-season.
If they have been training all off-season, their in-season training doesn’t need to vary too much.
Most people think that their program needs to take a complete 180 from off-season to in-season; however, that is not true.
Through a consistent off-season, athletes build up a high enough workload in the weight room that they will be able to handle the demands of lifting in-season.
If they back off training completely, then detraining will start to show up. This leads to a loss in the movement, strength, power and speed that we worked to develop all off season.
What to look out for with in-season training for baseball
1. Keep weight room volume low as workload on the field will be high.
Each athlete has a workload capacity and some can handle more than others.
We want the weight room to be synonymous with what these athletes are doing on the field. Performance is our only proxy and the only thing that matters.
Through the season, ranges of motion at the shoulder, hip, and spine can be lost. This can possibly lead to a reduction in performance.
Every athlete is different. It is important to know how the weight room affects each person.
2. We don’t need to back off weights, definitely should not stop training.
We train all off-season to put ourselves in the best position possible to perform come season. We don’t want that wasted because an athlete is scared to be sore.
If an athlete has not been training in-season previously, we recommend starting to keep progress going through the season.
Keep in mind, when starting a new program with new exercises there is a learning period. In this learning period we are exposing the body to a new stimulus, oftentimes leading to muscle soreness.
With this being the case, athletes must make sure that their program is laid out correctly so that we are not overdoing the weight room side, especially since performance is the primary goal come season.
High school baseball players only have so much time before college.
Oftentimes, they can’t afford to take off 4-7 months due to a busy schedule.
Between high school season and summer ball, that is more than half of the year where development could be taking place.
It is not enough to train only 5 months out of the year. It must be a consistent schedule training year round to get the most out of your efforts.
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