Getting the Force Out in Baseball

According to wikipedia, force is an influence that may cause a body to accelerate. Plain and simple, right? Yeah, if you are a physicist, but what if you are a baseball player?

This article is going to break down how force relates to the different bodies involved in the game of baseball the bat, the ball, and of course, your body. More force to the bat means you can swing faster. More force behind the ball means that you can throw faster, harder, and farther. More force from your body means that you can run, jump, and slide faster as well as apply more force to the ball and through the bat.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the term force? Chances are it is strength. Strength is often thought of as being able to lift the heaviest load possible which is why so many athletes are concerned with their maximum bench press or squat numbers. While strength is an important component of force we also need to include the acceleration component.

Think back to the last time you did a maximum bench press. How fast was the bar moving? My guess is that it was a pretty slow moving lift, right? Imagine swinging your bat with that strength level without any added acceleration. Youd have to start your swing before the pitcher gets the sign from his catcher! Sure this is an extreme example, but it proves the point that you need to have rapid acceleration applied to your strength.

According to the definition of force, if two ball players are lifting the same amount of weight, the one who lifts it faster is the one producing more force. Kind of reminds me of Newtons 2nd law of Motion:

When a force acts upon a body, it imparts an acceleration proportional to the force and inversely proportional to the mass of the body and in the direction of the force.

Or

Force = Mass * Acceleration

So, we are taking the scientific definition of force and changing it to our baseball definition. For baseball, force is the rapid application of your strength to move the ball, your bat, and your body around the baseball diamond.

Now the big question How can you develop more force?

The simple answer is that you can develop more force by increasing either the amount of weight that you lift or the speed at which you lift the current weight that you are using.

But in an ideal situation we want to optimize both the load being lifted as well as the speed at which you lift the load. This will make you a stronger (heavier load) and faster (rapid acceleration) baseball player because our bodies apply the SAID principle Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands.

With that being SAID, here is how you can apply this concept to your training right away.

On each repetition of each set be sure that you are training explosively. This means that you control the weight as it moves down and then explode the weight as you lift it. If you feel that you had to struggle with the weight it was too heavy for you. If, on the other hand, you were so explosive that you felt the momentum of the lift getting out of control, it was too heavy for you. Unfortunately there is no concrete equation to know exactly what weight you should be using, but if you apply a little common sense you will quickly zone in on the proper weight for you.

Coach Dan is the owner and creator of http://www.BaseballStrength.com and the Baseball Strength Training Systems as well as the author of three baseball specific strength and conditioning manuals and over a dozen instructional videos. He has consulted with thousands of baseball players at every level from little league to professional baseball around the world and is currently offering his training system at Leftys Sports Academy in Clifton, NJ.

For more information Coach Dan can be reached at 201-838-6136

Hitting It to the Pole with Northern White Ash Baseball Bats
Bat selections vary from player to player. It does not always depend on your strength or individual muscle mass to figure which type of bat is going to enhance your performance at the plate.Northern white ash baseball bats are the most popular baseball bats because they are not as heavy as the popular maple wood counter parts. While maple is touted...

A Review of Popular Baseball Bats
Choosing the right baseball bat is as important as batting technique or selecting the right pitch to blast over the center field fence. There are many different kinds of bats designed for Little Leagues, Senior Leagues, college, and pros. Each league has a set of parameters for barrel width and length dimensions. It can be downright overwhelming wh...

A Look at Youth Baseball Bats
When selecting youth baseball bats it is important to consider the bats length, weight, barrel width, and league requirements. While wood bats are available, most people select aluminum or cutting-edge alloy bats for youth baseball. A general rule is to select the lightest bat for its length in order to maximize swing power. Lighter bats are more e...

Baseball Tailgating
When you think of tailgating what sport do you usually think of? More than likely your answer is football. The fact of the matter is that most people tailgate before football games; this is just tradition for fans all over the country. But have you ever thought about tailgating for a baseball game? If not, you should look into it the next time you ...

Buying a Discount Baseball Glove
Baseball gloves can be pricey additions to the game. For beginners, cheaper gloves available at discount retail stores are probably the best. For those who wish to advance their game, or for those who already play pro-or-semi-pro baseball, they certainly want the higher- end models. For anyone who wants to buy a baseball glove, it is usually the ca...

A Review of Popular Baseball Gloves
When shopping for a new baseball glove, one has many brands, styles and fits to choose from. Companies make many gloves from various materials that can cost as little as $10 or as much as $250 for a custom made glove. The following is a brief review of companies that offer some of the best gloves on the market.Rawlings Baseball GlovesPerhaps the b...

Backing Up In The Field In Little League Baseball
While managing or coaching in youth baseball for the last 18 years, I have found that teaching 11 and 12 year olds how to back each other up in the field can help keep them in the game on almost every play. Of course I learned the importance of backing up the hard way over the years, when sure groundouts would translate into a single and three base...