BASEBALL FUNCTIONAL TRAINING MANUAL

COPYRIGHT© 2014 BCM PERFORMANCE, LLC

Please note instructor that compiled this manual (Brett Manning) is not a certified personal trainer or physical therapist. The exercises and repetition/time duration recommendations are simply the instructor sharing what he has learned from his coaches and trainers (and their general recommendations of conditioning and injury prevention exercises and procedures) throughout his collegiate baseball career. Each exercise should be monitored by an adult and best judgment should be used for each player performing the exercises in accordance with each individual player’s physical fitness level and athletic ability. The instructor (Brett Manning) is not condemning any of the following exercises to be mandatory parts of a player’s development training, however, the following exercises are widely taught by baseball coaches, strength & conditioning coaches and trainers and usually yield results of increased and accelerated player development. A physician should be consulted before attempting to do any of the following exercises to determine the appropriateness of exercises in accordance with player’s athletic ability and fitness level.

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DYNAMIC WARMUP Pick 4-8 exercises to get body warmed up properly •

Inchworm o Start in a push up position and walk your toes up inch by inch to your hands. 5 inch worms out.

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Knee Hug Walk o Each step forward hug your knee to your chest. o Walk slow and keep your balance. 10 steps.

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High Knee Lateral Run o High knee, toe up, straight back. Running moving sideways. Work both sides of body.

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Elbow To Ankle Lunges o Lunge out and touch elbow of lunging side arm to ankle of lunging side leg. 5 lunges each leg.

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Lunge With A Twist o Walking lunges with an upper body twist over lunging knee each step. 10 steps each foot.

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Side Lunge With Foot Drag o Lunge out sideways slowly to single leg squat position, then drag trail foot back to lunging foot. o Do this SLOWLY to get a strengthening exercise out of it as well as stretching.

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Drum Major o Walk straight leg, one leg at a time touching toe to opposite hand (extended straight out from shoulder)

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Walking Ankle Grab/Toe Touch o Walk one step at a time, keeping leg straight. Grab ankle and pull foot behind (quad stretch) while reaching down and touching toe (hamstring stretch) on each step.

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Scorpions o Lie face down with body in a “T” position. Keeping shoulders on ground, touch opposite foot to opposite hand. 10 touches each foot. www.bcmperformance.net

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Ankle Flips o Jump straight up and at the top of jump, flip toes to sky. 10-15 total.

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Leg Swings (Side to Side) o Hold onto fence and swing leg side to side. o Make sure to point toe towards ground on side swing to increase hip flexibility. 5 swings on each leg.

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Leg Swings (Front to Back) o Hold onto fence and swing leg front to back. o Make sure to kick leg at least up to shoulder height to increase hip flexibility. 5 swings on each leg.

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SPEED, AGILITY & FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH TRAINING Each day pick 2-4 exercises to do •

Form Running Fence Drill o Start with hands against fence with body at a 45 degree lean forward. Bring each leg up to waist height (or higher) alternating legs. o Focus on explosive knee drive, keeping toe up and bringing foot up and down in a ‘piston’ like movement.

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Shuffle, Shuffle, Sprint o Great drill for working on stealing bases and running explosiveness. o Be sure to focus on knee drive and using the force of the ground to create explosion.

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Side Jump, Side Jump, Sprint o Jump left, then right, then sprint. o Make a positive first step and sprint for 3-5 steps. Alternate side for first jump on each rep.

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Push Up To Sprint o Do a push up, then get up and sprint. o Be as explosive as possible when getting up and drive knee up hard.

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Backpedal, turn and go o Backpedal, take a BIG drop step to turn your hips and sprint. o Make sure you alternate drop steps so that you are working on both feet.

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Shuttle Runs o Set up 3-4 balls 10-15 yards apart. Run & touch first ball, run back to start, run & touch second ball, and so on. o Be sure to face the same direction each time you touch a ball (so you work on turning on both sides). Focus on explosive knee drive at each turn.  For a harder workout, do 6 scissor jumps (see above) at each ball.

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Split Jumps o Start in lunge position. Jump straight up and switch feet in air. Land in lunge position with other foot in front. o Be as explosive as possible and jump as high as you can.

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Forward, Back Explosive Jumps o Jump forward, then back, then forward, then back and so on. o Be as explosive as possible on each jump, jumping as far and high as you can while getting off the ground as quickly as possible.

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Side to Side Explosive Jumps o Jump side to side back and fourth. o Be as explosive as possible on each jump, jumping as far and high as you can while getting off the ground as quickly as possible.

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Squat Jumps o Start standing, squat down and bring arms back, explode straight up into jump. Note: Focus on arm thrust back and triple extension explosion (knees, hips, arms). Do 10-15 jumps.

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Single Leg Glute-Ham Bridge o Start in sit up position with one leg extended out at a 45 degree angle from the ground. o Raise hips to sky so that butt is about 4” off ground. Hold for 20-30 seconds. o Repeat on opposite leg.

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Double Leg Glute-Ham Bridge o Do same exercise as single leg glute-ham bridge, just keep both feet on the ground.

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Single Leg Squat o Start standing with one leg extended in front. Squat down until leg is almost at 90 degrees and then return to standing position. o As this is a challenging exercise, it helps to use a fence for assistance. Do 6-10 reps on each leg.

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Pitcher’s Lunges o Start in lunge position with back foot up on a bench or chair. o Squat down until knee is almost touching ground and then return to top of lunge position. Do 6-10 reps on each leg.

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Explosive Pitcher’s Lunges o Same as pitcher’s lunges, except explode up into jump before returning to top of lunge position. Do 5 reps on each leg.

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Calf Raises o Start with balls of feet on a bench or curb on street and heels hanging off. o Lower heels and then rise up to top. Do 40-70 reps.

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Squat & Lunge Isometric Holds o Hold a squat or lunge position. o Focus on keeping chest up, arms off legs, legs bent close to 90 degrees. o Hold squat both legs or lunge each leg for 30 seconds.

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CORE TRAINING Each day pick one exercise to do •

Pillar Workouts (Front & Side) o Front: Pushup position but on elbows. Work on keeping body totally flat (no buts in the air or dropping down)! Hold for 1 min. o Side: Roll front workout to each side. o Put hand in air to make sure your shoulders are in alignment. Hold for 30 seconds each side. o Side with leg in air is a more challenging variation.

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Leg Overs o Lie on back in “T” position. Swing legs side to side (like a windshield wiper). o Don’t let your legs “flop” from side to side…control them! 15 reps each side.

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Two Step Toe Touches o Lie on back with legs straight up above. o Crunch up and touching shins then toes on each rep. 30 reps.

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Little-Bigs o Start lying flat on back with legs and arms extended. o Crunch up, bring legs in and touch heels. 20 reps.

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Single Leg V-Ups o Start with lying flat on back with legs and arms extended. o Crunch up raising one leg and touching toe. 30 reps alternating legs each rep.

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Straight Leg Sit-Ups o Start lying flat on back with hands and feet extended. o Sit up keeping feet on ground entire time. 20 reps.

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Side Suitcase Crunch o Start lying flat rolled up onto side. o Crunch up bringing feet in air and elbow to hip. 15 reps each side.

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Supermans o Start lying flat on stomach, arms and legs extended. o Raise arms and legs up together to a reverse crunch position. 20 reps.

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Resistance Tubing Woodchoppers o If you have resistance tubing, connect to fence and hold tubing at side about shoulder height. Then rotate down to opposite side working on being explosive. 15 reps each side. o Repeat going downward as well as upward to target all of your core muscles.

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Medicine Ball Side Toss o Start in athletic position holding ball extended in front of your body. o Turn to side keeping nose on ball, explode and toss ball to other side of body. Do 15 reps on each side. www.bcmperformance.net

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Medicine Ball Triceps Pass o Start in standing position holding medicine ball overhead. o Lunge forward and toss medicine ball out and overhead to partner (or a wall). Do 15-20 reps.

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Medicine Ball Chest Pass & Single Arm Shoulder Pass o Start in standing position holding ball centered in chest. Step forward and push pass ball to partner (or a wall). Do 15-20 reps. o Start in standing position holding medicine ball in one hand over shoulder. Step forward and push pass ball to partner (or a wall). Do 10 reps on each arm.

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Medicine Ball Vertical Overhead Toss o Start in standing position holding ball in front of body. o Squat down until legs hit 90 a degree angle then explode straight up tossing the ball as high as you can overhead. o Do 10-15 reps. o This may be THE BEST overall explosive exercise.

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Over Shoulder Medicine Ball Toss o Start in squat position holding ball extended in front of body. o Explosively toss ball over each shoulder (rotating sides each toss) to partner (or a wall). Do 20 tosses total. www.bcmperformance.net

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Seated Medicine Ball Side Toss o Start in a “half way” sit-up position holding ball in center of chest. o Twist to side touching ball to ground next to hip. Then explosively toss ball to partner (or a wall) on other side of body. Do 10-15 reps on each side.

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Seated Medicine Ball Russian Twist o Start in a “half way” sit-up position holding ball in center of chest. o Twist side-to-side touching ball to ground next to hip. Do 20-30 reps total.

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Seated Medicine Ball Catch And Pass o Start in a “half way” sit-up position. o Catch ball (without letting upper body fall back). Then explosively toss ball in front to partner (or a wall). Do 15-20 reps.

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SHOULDER PREHAB EXERCISES Each day pick one exercise to do •

Jobes Exercises o Hold a baseball (or two) in each hand and control these movements SLOWLY doing 15 reps for each exercise. o Standing upright  Forward, side, 45 Degrees (Most important one), row & rotate.  Except for row & rotate, don’t go past shoulder height. o Bent over with flat back  Forward, side, 45 degrees (Most important one), row & rotate, back.  Don’t go past shoulder height on any bent over Jobes.

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Tubing Shoulder Exercises o Internal and External Rotation. Arm bent at 90 degrees, body sideways to fence. External is more important. 15 reps each. o Forward and Back Rotation. Body facing fence, elbow at shoulder weight. Backward is more important. 15 reps each.

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Shoulder Walk o Push up position, walk hands out for 5 than back in for 5. 10 reps.

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Scap Push-Ups o Push up position, pinch shoulder blades and then spread apart. 30 reps

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