Weight-Training for Baseball Players

Updated OnNovember 29, 2017
Written by
Provided by Active Baseball Community

Weight training isn't just for building muscles, especially for young baseball athletes.

Here's a comprehensive strength-training workout ideal for baseball players to increase strength and build endurance for the long season.

Safety and Weight Training

When it comes to weight training, you have to be careful when adding baseball to the discussion. It is my belief that if you train too hard, you can hamper your ability to play effectively--and possibly you hurt yourself.

The Purpose of Weight Training

The first thing to remember is that you need to lift for endurance and not for size or muscle mass. In essence then, you need to lift less weight with more reps compared to more weight with less reps.

If you develop too much muscle mass, your body will have less functionality in agility and flexibility. You definitely do not want too much tension in your muscles.

Here's a workout circuit baseball players can use to work all areas of the body:

Arms

Here is an extensive list of drills we do at the beginning of our workouts, usually during our stretching. Consequently, we also do these after our pen workouts as well as any time a player comes out of a game. (All drills are done with the weighted tennis ball cans.)

Arm Circles: Arms are straight out from your body forming a "T" (25 reps ea.)

  • Small circles out to sides
  • Reverse small circles out to sides
  • Large circles out to sides
  • Reverse large circles out to sides

Triceps Raisers:

  • Standing, place hand behind head and lift straight up to the sky (25 reps)
  • Bent over, from shoulder to elbow placed directly at side, forearm to hand hanging down creating a 90-degree angle with arm
  • Raise can to straighten out arm (25 reps)

Forearms: Done with a can attached to a rope which is attached to a bar (after pen or appearance in game only)

  • Grab bar with both hands and twist it so the rope wraps itself around the bar causing the can to be lifted
  • Reverse the bar so it unravels and sets the can back down
  • 10 up and 10 down reps

Shoulders

Windmill: Arms at side extended

  • Create full circles with arms (25 reps)
  • Reverse full circles (25 reps)

Front Raisers: Arms resting on side...lift straight up in front of body then up to the sky (25 reps)

Side Raisers: Arms at side...lift straight up to the sides to shoulder level (25 reps)