Sports Performance Testing - Baseball Testing Broken Down
Sports Performance Testing Overview
MOBILITY
T/S Rotation:
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• This is how far an athlete can rotate his rib cage Left or Right. Normal is 50 degrees each way, even as a rotational athlete. If this is below 50, it increases the shoulders’ and lower back area’s force.
• How to improve:
• Dynamic Warm Up Video
STRENGTH
ER Neutral:
ER: 90/90:
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• Both of the metrics above are looking at the pure external rotation of the shoulder. This is testing rotator cuff strength. This is vital for shoulder health with throwing athletes and sets the foundation for moving the upper arm. Low scores here have been correlated with possible increased injury risk.
• How to improve?
• Any stability exercise for the shoulder, but we love the armbar, see link below
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4lY3S_kNDY
Pull Ups:
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• This is looking at back endurance, later in the season or later in the game if muscular endurance is an issue this could lead to leaked force and decreased performance.
• How to improve?
• Continue to program and work pull-ups and barbell rows. We like to take your max pull-ups, subtract two reps, and complete three sets. Progress this every 3-4 weeks.
Push Ups:
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• Similar to above, this is looking at the chest, shoulder, and tricep muscular endurance. If there is an issue here, it could lead to leaked force and decreased performance later in the game or later in the season.
• How to improve?
• Similar to above - Work pressing movements and push-ups. We like to take max reps minus ten reps and program three sets. Progress every 3-4 weeks.
Plate Pinch:
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• This is looking at muscular endurance through grip strength. This has been correlated to power production and the ability to produce force through all aspects of baseball.
• How to improve?
• We like dead hangs from the bar. Assume a pull-up position on the bar with arms extended and hang for max time. As a side benefit, it helps stretch out those stiff lats seen in throwers. The goal would be 2-3 minutes.
SPEED/ POWER
Lateral Jump
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• This is looking at power jumping laterally, the key to baserunning and quickness when fielding a ball.
• How to improve?
• Any plyometrics moving in the lateral direction. We like the Lateral hop and stick with max jumping distance. See the link below
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcAE97cmmZc
Broad Jump
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• This is looking at jumping power forward, again a key metric with quickness when fielding a ball as well as producing force with first steps when base running.
• How to improve?
• Any plyometrics in the forward direction. In this case, we like the test as the exercise, so max jumping in this pattern. See below
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHE8FmN7o1g
Keiser Rotation
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• This is looking at rotational power with 10% of their body weight as a load. As a rotational sport, this is a key metric to examine how powerful the athlete is in rotation.
• How to improve?
• Rotational med ball plyometrics are great for improving this. See the link below
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap0Zp7yWm2M
Pro Agility
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• This is a test looking at a change of direction ability and acceleration. Imagine leading off a base, stepping back towards that base quickly, and then changing direction and sprinting towards the next base. This is the exact same motion as the test.
• How to improve?
• Any change of direction drills; however, we like to add some competition and fun with this aspect. We like the mirror drill for two-person change of direction work. See the link below
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAVLlfGxQOE
CMJ Vertical Jump
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• We use this as the overall metric to look at how an athlete can transfer force into the ground. With hitting or throwing, the force has to be transferred into the ground, up the body, and into the bat or the ball. This looks to see how well an athlete can complete that task. This metric is highly correlated to sprint speed as well, so critical for baserunning and fielding a ball.
• How to improve?
• We tend not to work directly on this per se; we look at the CMJ peak power and the Squat max force (below) to decide whether this athlete needs strength or power work to improve this metric and then focus on that. After identifying the exact sub-optimal aspect and training, you will see quicker and more effective results.
• When looking at CMJ peak power and squat max force, it's important to understand that squat max force is the maximum amount of strength or force you can manage, and CMJ peak power is the amount of that force you can turn into power. If your Force is low, your ceiling is low. Meaning that you could train power for months but hit your ceiling and not progress to the extent needed. It's important to raise the ceiling first and then work on power if the data shows the athlete is low at that.
CMJ Peak Power
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• This is looking at how much power the athlete can produce normalized to their body weight. This is a measure of explosiveness. This single metric has been linked to athletic ability, and studies have shown that teams with overall higher peak power metrics as a team average tend to finish atop their divisions.
• How to improve?
• If this is lower or suboptimal then a full plyometric routine would be needed to work on explosiveness off the single leg, double leg, and upper body. This will most likely be completed in the weight room.
Squat Max Force
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• This is looking at max force the athlete can produce in this position normalized to their body weight. Stronger athletes can hit and throw harder and are less prone to injury.
• How to improve?
• As stated above this is looking at your force ceiling. If your ceiling is low compared to your power you must raise this first. If your ceiling is very high and power is low, then you must work on being able to turn that force into power.
• We like large compound lifts to improve max force. Rep ranges of 3-5 and sets of 4-5. Think Squat, Deadlift, Bench, and Rows.
Single Leg Jump Asymmetry
• What this is/ Why is this important to Baseball:
• This is looking at how each leg can produce force individually. This is a key metric for injury prevention. We are looking for less than a 10% difference. Anything higher discrepancy and running, jumping, and athletic mechanics change and put unwanted stress on tissues.
• How to improve?
• Any single leg movements will be good here. We like single-leg repeated hops and lunging movements. See below
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWyhjhXHDpw