Stephen Gamma MA, AT, CSCS
PBR-NY Contributor

In-Season baseball strength and conditioning is an aspect of performance enhancement that is often forgotten or overlooked at the high school level. All the hard work during the off-season may fall short if there is not some form of in-season training. With that said, baseball is a difficult sport to train in-season compared to other team sports. A typical week may include 2 – 3 games on average and poor weather can change your schedule in the blink of an eye. These factors must be taken into consideration when designing your in-season program, as it will impact exercise selection, volume and training frequency. If there’s one thing my time in Minor League Baseball taught me, it’s how to adapt to a changing game schedule and how to effectively maintain the physical status of my athletes to they can perform at their best with decreased injury risk.

The Full Body Approach
Incorporating full body sessions works the best for the in-season baseball athlete. Splitting the body (chest/back one day, legs another) up can be an effective approach, however due to the issues presented above (changing weather conditions, multiple games per week) split routines create missed training sessions without the opportunity to make it up.

Volume, Sets and Frequency
Other variables to consider include the volume (sets and repetitions), number of exercises, exercise selection, the amount of weight during work sets and the frequency (number of sessions per week) of training sessions. Keep sets low (2-3) and the number of exercise to 1 per body part with exercises compound in nature (pushups vs chest flys). The goal for in-season training is to strive to maintain roughly 80% of the gains the athlete made in the off-season, so the goal of a training session isn’t a new PR (personal record) but rather get in and get moving. It's important to keep the weight moderate with the athletes performing 10-15 repetitions with a controlled pace. Finally, frequency wise 2-3 sessions per week is a safe number with the athlete dictating the number as the season progresses. It is not uncommon to start with 3 sessions per week (such as Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and eventually decreasing it to 2 times per week as fatigue sets in and the baseball schedule takes its toll.

Sample Full Body Session
Below is a sample Full-Body workout. Notice the sets and repetitions as well as the exercise selection. Refrain from isolation exercises such as curls and tricep pushdowns since they will get enough work with compound movements like push-ups and pull-ups and are easily fatigued. Likewise, refrain from using explosive plyometrics with medicine balls like tosses or slams since the athlete will get more than enough plyometric movements with running, throwing and swinging in-season.

Full Body Foam Roll
Dynamic Warm-Up
Lateral Lunges 3 x 12/side
Push-Up 3 x 12-15
Hip Thrusters 3 x 15
Pull-Ups 3 x 10-12
Side Planks 3 x :45 seconds/side
Half-Kneeling Cable Lifts 3 x 15/side

Bio 

Stephen C Gamma holds a Master of Science in Athletic Training from the University of Idaho, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association and hold certification with Functional Movement Systems.

Stephen is a former Minor League Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coach with the Kansas City Royals and recipient of the 2010 Appalachian League Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year award.

Currently Stephen is the Assistant Athletic Trainer at Mount Saint Mary College (NY) and Director of Strength and Conditioning at Pro Prospects Training Center (NY) and The Sports Factory in Northeast Pennsylvania.