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Plyometrics for Baseball

By Tim Rodmaker, Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning, 02/14/19, 12:00PM PST

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Plyometric training has been shown to be effective for improving the stretch-shortening cycle. These improvements are due to improved biomechanical efficiency and neuromuscular adaptations.

A large portion of our time as strength and conditioning coaches is spent considering the various factors that go into the creation of an athlete’s workout program. The types of exercises, the number of sets and reps and the length of rest periods are all things that we spend hours considering and fine tuning for the athletes who we program for.

Each of these factors is important, however, a key factor that is often overlooked is the prescribed speed at which movements should be executed. There are probably several reasons for this not the least of which is safety as it is often assumed that results are best when resistance training is performed in a slow and controlled manner. Most of the athletic movements in baseball in game situations are explosive.