Let’s face it; baseball players have no idea how to properly warm up before a game. Think about what you see every high school and most college teams do before games. They will usually jog one or two poles and then perform 5-10 minutes of static stretches while also bullshitting about what they did last night. I am sure these same teams still have their pitchers running poles because it will help improve endurance. It amazes me that coaches still live and die by static stretching and long distance running. They serve absolutely no benefit to becoming a better baseball player and can actually lead to injuries.
A complete warm up includes soft tissue work, basic calisthenics, mobility work, and CNS work. For the most part, I avoid static stretching because it can actually increase your risk of injury and can reduce power output. However, I have actually found that certain static stretches can actually improve mobility including: hip flexor stretch, pyriformis stretch, lat stretch, and the sleeper stretch,
What does a baseball warm up look like?
After 5-10 minutes of soft tissue work with a foam roller and lacrosse ball, my athletes perform this exact warm up. When it is nice out we will go outside and perform a movement prep which includes various forms of running, skipping and jumping. We follow this up with a few minutes of static stretching to open up the hips.
You're a f**king beast!!! I've been using a lot of the stuff on your blog and its crazy. I can see if people do it like a bitch they get nothing out of it but i been doing the tabata and its nuts. Only question is should i do it before a workout or after a workout or as the main workout that day and how many times a week? -Tom Caputo
TC,
I am glad to hear that you are using my training methods and getting good results. For those of you have not checked out the tabata method, please check it out before you read this. TC, here are my answers to your questions.
When should you use the tabata method?
You can use it at the end of a workout as a finisher. 1-3 rounds is plenty. I love to end every workout with a finisher.
You can use it as a totally separate workout. Perform 2-4 rounds for a total of 10-20 minutes.
How many times a week?
It really depends on your goals.
If you’re looking to cut body fat I would recommend strength training with compound movements 3 days per week and add in 3-4 conditioning workouts. Be careful not to do too much conditioning because it will limit your strength gains.
If your goal is to gain muscle mass, I would recommend maybe 1 conditioning workout a week. While gaining muscle mass you should be focused on taking in a ton of calories to produce muscle growth. 1 day a week won't kill you though and it will help you stay in decent shape.
I will close this post out with 3 of my favorite conditioning drills.
There will always be an ongoing debate as to whether or not baseball players, particularly pitchers, should bench press. On one side, the bench press is the king of all upper body lifts and many people believe it should be included into every athletes training program. The haters believe that the bench press is not “sport specific” and that it will eventually lead to shoulder injuries. My stance is that the bench press is a great upper body exercise for most athletes, however when it comes to baseball, the risk vs. reward is too great. There are more effective exercises that will give you a better bang for your buck. I don’t buy into the idea that the bench press isn’t “sport specific” because no exercise is truly “sport specific”. With that said, trying to imitate baseball motions, like swinging or throwing, with cable machines or other heavy objects will be detrimental to a player’s performance.
Instead of bench pressing, our athletes will perform a ton of pushups with medicine balls, chains, gymnastic rings and blast straps. They also perform dumbbell presses with neutral grips. My favorite presses for baseball players are 1 arm dumbbell presses and alternating dumbbell bench press. Pushup and dumbbell pressing variations are superior to straight bar bench pressing because they are more shoulder friendly, teach the scapular to move, activate the core more, and improve shoulder range of motion. Also pushups and dumbbell bench pressing are much less of a risk when compared to the bench press. They are much easier to learn, alleviate any shoulder problems, and you can also bump up the volume.
As power athletes, we still need to train heavy with low repetitions. To accomplish this goal we substitute max effort bench pressing with max effort chin ups. This keeps my baseball players healthy, while also getting them strong and teaching them how to handle their own bodyweight.
So does this mean that my baseball players never bench press? Not exactly, however we modify the regular bench press. Instead of using the straight bar, we will use a Swiss bar that allows the shoulders to remain neutral. This max effort movement is great for baseball players who feel like they need to bench press. In conclusion, while I believe the bench press is a great exercise for most athletes, when it comes to baseball players, there are more important training considerations to focus on.
I am looking for 10 guinea pigs to test out my new muscle building program. The 10 people who are chosen will not actually meet with me for the training sessions but instead will be provided with a 12 week program, training 4 X per week. The workouts are geared towards getting you strong as hell. I am only looking for serious inquiries so please do not email me if you are not looking to get strong as an ox or are afraid to get “too big”. This program is for the serious athlete/lifter that is dedicated to getting bigger and stronger and is looking for a serious program to get them there. It is far superior to the training programs popularized in bodybuilding magazines because those workouts are geared toward the steroid using bodybuilder and those workouts offer little to no benefits for hard gainers, athletes and the average.
Here are the minimum requirements:
You must be willing to learn and try new exercises out. If you do not plan on following this program to the T, this is NOT the program for you.
You must be healthy. Aches and pains are okay, we are all banged up from time to time, but if you are dealing with any injuries I cannot accept you.
You must read my blog on a daily basis. How do I know your reading it? My readers often connect with me and ask me questions and provide me feedback. If you do not connect with me or provide feedback, I will assume you are not reading it. This serves as an educational tool to expand your knowledge of training and understand why I do things the way I do.
You must be able to train for 12 uninterrupted weeks for at least 3 X a week.
In order to track your progress, you must be willing to take before and after pictures and you must be willing to do perform some indicator lifts to track strength progress
You must be willing to invest $50. I will be constantly connecting with you to help you along the process and make sure things are running smoothly. I will be dedicating my time to ensure that you are getting everything you need to be successful. The $50 investment is than $16/month. Remember this includes program design, nutrition and supplement design and anything needed to help you succeed.
You are participating in this program because you live too far or have some other legitimate reason why you cannot train with me in Staten Island, New York or Edison, New Jersey.
Serious inquires only! If you are interested, email me at megliofitness@gmail.com . Please include your name, age, and a brief background on your training history and 100 words on why I should choose you. I will only be accepting 10 guinea pigs for this new program and all decisions will be made by April 30. Those who are selected will be notified by April 30.
Today was a great day. At 2 o’clock I trained my newest athlete, Billy Winters, and he didn’t disappoint. He trained his ass off and even was ballsy enough to come back for round 2 tonight for some crazy conditioning. From 4-8 I did some serious coaching and was able to get in a quick training session in as well. Since I have been in season I have been training full body lifts, 2-3 days per week. A lot of people say don’t train heavy in season. I say screw that. In order to maintain levels of maximal strength I think you need to train heavy in season. With that said, I hit a personal record on the trap bar deadlift tonight, 585lbs on the low handles. This is a great accomplishment for me because in the off season I hit 585 but on the high handles.
This just goes to show that strength is a skill. You must constantly work at it to get stronger. Since I am in season I have been deadlifting more than usual to give my knees a break. For those of you that don’t know, I am a catcher and while I never have had any knee problems, I don’t plan on getting any in the near future. Every time I deadlift, my technique improves and I get use to handling heavier loads. This is what everyone should strive for because the only way to get stronger is to add weight to the bar!
This brings me to my next point- you should always track your records and have goals in mind. Keep these goals realistic and small. If you deadlift 300 lbs, your goal should not be to deadlift 400 lbs. instead, it should be to hit 305 and so on. Constant progression is the key to success! Each week you should strive to hit some sort of personal record in your indicator lift. In addition to breaking records by pumping out a heavier weight, records can also be set by doing an extra rep or more volume. For example, if last week you benched 275 for 5 reps and this week you hit 275 for 6 or 7 reps, this is a new personal record. Keep in mind that you will not break records every week. It’s just the nature of the beast but do your best to constantly progress slowly.
Meglio Fitness would like to welcome its newest athlete, Bill Winters. I am very excited to have Bill join our team for many reasons. Aside from being a friend of mine for 3 years now, Bill is one of the hardest working athletes I know and represents the type of athlete I accept into my program. Bill was the four year starting quarterback for Fairleigh Dickinson University and is now playing professional football for the New Jersey Revolution in the AIFA (American Indoor Football Association).
Bill owns every strength record for quarterbacks in school history. He has squatted 500 pounds and benched 385 pounds. He has also hit 24 reps on the 225 bench press test and has ran a 4.58 40 yard dash. As a quarterback he owns nearly every school record in history including rushing touchdowns in a season. He is the school's all-time leader in the following categories: all-time passing yards, all-time attempts, all-time completions, all-time completion percentage, and passing touchdowns. I am the single-season record holder for: passing attempts, passing completions, completion percentage ( 1 and 2 ), and rushing touchdowns. I also own single game records of passing touchdowns as well as rushing touchdowns (4). HE was The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) player of the week a handful of times throughout my career as well as ECAC Southeast Player of the Week. This past season he was also featured on d3football.com . This season he was an all conference selection as well as the team MVP for the second consecutive season (Offensive Player of the year 3 years in a row).
Bill has obviously accomplished a lot over his four year career at FDU. I look forward to working with him and turning him from an absolute beast into a mutant of an athlete. I will be sure to update you with his progress in the weight room and on the gridiron.
Why Breakfast? When I tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day I know it is something you have heard a million times. While we sleep our body is in a catabolic state and the only way to fight the effects of catabolism is to have a balanced breakfast. In addition to putting your body in an anabolic state, a balanced breakfast will also regulate your blood sugar levels, regulate energy levels and control your hunger throughout the day. Studies have shown that, people who do need eat a balanced breakfast tend to overeat throughout the rest of the day. For the record, sugary cerels or health food cerals do not cut it! They are refined and filled with sugar. Remember you want to eat like a caveman.
What to Eat?
You have very little time before school or work and the frosted flakes just aren’t cutting it. The solution? PROTEIN OATMEAL. Aside from tasting great, it can be prepared in just a few minutes and provides all the nutrients of a complete breakfast.
3/4 cup of Quaker Oats Quick 1 Minute-While old fashioned oats are better, these are a fine substitute
Water
1 Banana
¼ cup of chopped almonds
Preparation:
Place 1 scoop of Advocare Muscle Gain into a bowl
Place 3/4 cup of oats into the same bowl
Microwave water for 90 seconds on high power
Stir up the protein an oatmeal blend with the boiled water until all powder and oats are mixed.
Chop up 1 medium sized banana
Add ¼ cup of chopped almonds.
EAT UP!
*Please note that the amount of water you will use will depend on how you like your oatmeal. I recommend starting with a cup of water and add it as needed. Chances are you will have some left over water.
I want to share a great post by one of my fellow coaches, coach Riz. Steve Rizzo is a strength coach at the Underground Strength Gym in Edison, NJ. After competing in his first bodybuilding competition at the end of April he will dedicate himself to getting as insanely strong as possible. In this article he talks about low-fat diet fads and also gives a great insight to health and nutrition.
Today was I performed an in season workout for baseball. I have been crazy busy this semester but I am doing my best to get in the gym 2-3 days a week to maintain my current strength levels. Oddly enough, my max effort deadlifts have increased over the past couple weeks. For the past four weeks I’ve been using the straight bar. During this time I also broke a personal record. While I have hit 530lbs with a belt, this was the first time I pulled 500lbs raw. This was the first time I used the trap bar in over a month. Today I hit 455 for 5 reps and still had a couple reps in the tank. Since I was feeling good I decided to hit another set at 495. I was pumped up because the last time I maxed out on the trap bar deadlift I hit 495 for 1 rep and today I destroyed my personal record; I hit 495 for 3 reps (these lifts were performed with low handles on the trap bar, my pr with the high handles is 585lbs). The take home message here is you need to continue to train in season. I don’t care if you can only get in the gym 1 or 2 days. That is more than enough to maintain strength. Don’t think you need to break records in season. The reason why I have been breaking records is because my technique improved drastically and I have been deadlifting more than usual. In the off season I primarily perform max effort squat variations but since my left knee has been bugging me lately, I have turned to the deadlift for my max effort work. This is not to say that all baseball players should deadlift in season. Instead, it means that you should listen to your body. This is the key to staying healthy and performing at your highest levels. Here is the workout I performed today. After soft tissue work and a complete dynamic warm up followed by rotator cuff work this is what I did:
1) Trap bar deadlift-Worked up to 495lbs for 3 reps
Baseball players are often viewed as the laziest of all athletes and such training for baseball is misunderstood. Most coaches believe that long distance running is the key to increasing a pitcher’s stamina and that position players and pitchers should not lift weights because they will get tight. These statements are completely FALSE! In fact, lifting weights can actually help increase mobility, power, explosiveness and speed. Aside from skill, lower body strength is one of the most important attributes a baseball player can have. The lower body and core generate the power and explosiveness needed to throw a ball and hit a ball with maximum force. A strong lower body will help decrease injuries, increase recovery, and bridge the gap between strength and power.
After 5-10 minutes of soft tissue work and a complete dynamic warm-up, our athletes will start with a Max Effort squat or deadlift variation. We work up to a 3-5 rep max above 85% of 1RM. Here are some examples of the variations we use:
• Back squat • front squat • Zercher squat • Box squat • Front squat grip +box squat • Straight bar deadlift • Trap bar deadlift (both low and high handles
After our Max Effort movement, we perform unilateral training. Unilateral training is critical to improving muscular imbalances and is used a preventative measure to keep the lower back, hips and knees healthy. We typically perform 3-5 sets of 7-12 reps (we aim between 36-50 total reps). Below is a snapshot into some of the movements we use:
•Step ups-performed with dumbbells or a barbell • Walking lunges- performed with a sandbag, dumbbells or kettlebells • Reverse Lunges-performed with a sandbag, dumbbells, barbell (on the back or with a front squat grip), kettlebells (goblet or rack position). • Bulgarian Split Squats
After unilateral training, we perform posterior chain work. Posterior chain work is necessary to improving athletic performance and also decreasing hip, knee, and lower back pain. Additionally, posterior chain work will have a significant impact on increasing your max squat and deadlift. We typically perform 3-5 sets of 7-12 reps (we aim between 36-50 total reps). Here are some sample movements we use:
• Romanian deadlifts • Kettlebell swings • Back extension • Glute ham raise • Good mornings
After these 3 movements we end the session with conditioning. My favorite finishers are the sled, prowler, jumping rope or heavy farmer walks. Most baseball players need to build strength in the upper back so farmer walks are a great choice. We limit the conditioning to 10-15 minutes. While this is the template we use with most of our athletes, it is not written in stone. The exercise selection, load and volume, depends on training experience, goals, as well as other factors. Beginners usually cannot squat or deadlift with proper technique because they are often too weak to get into the proper position. With these athletes we focus on overcoming muscular imbalances and we will goblet squat and perform a ton of posterior chain work as well as unilateral movements. Below is a sample session my baseball players perform in the off season: Lower body day 1) M.E Front Squat- work up to a 3-5 rep max. 2) Sandbag Lunges- 3-5 sets of 7-12 reps 3) RDL’s-3-5 sets of 7-12 reps 4) Prowler push- 4 trips- 200 feet each trip 5) Grip/Abs- Circuit style for 5-10 minutes The important thing to remember when training the lower body is to limit the amount of exercises to around 3 or 4. If you train these 3 or 4 lifts properly, anything more will just be overtraining. Also, avoid most leg machines like the leg extension and leg curl. These do little to nothing for increasing functional strength that can be used on the ball field. Instead, opt for compound movements that give you a great bang for your buck.
Too many people these days are not getting the results they want. They spend too much time in the gym socializing and spinning their wheels. If you’re looking for fast results you need to cut out all the bullshit and start pushing some heavy weight. The only way to get bigger and stronger is to add more weight to the bar. Now I don’t mean adding 5 lbs to your preacher curl. I mean training big compound movements that give you fast results. Face it, you’re not Arnold Schwarzenegger, nor should you train like he did. Bodybuilding icons like Arnold and Ronnie Coleman train body part splits because have the ability to attain massive levels of muscle size. Sadly you do not, however this does not mean you should give up.
So how can you build serious muscle in as little as four hours a week? The answer is simple. You are going to perform 3-4 sessions a week, for 45-60 minutes apiece, and train lots of compound movements. I will give you two options here. You will do either 3 full body sessions a week or 2 upper body days and 2 lower body days. Regawrrdless of which spilt you pick, choose no more than 5 movements a session. You are probably saying “what the hell, how are 5 exercises going to get me bigger”. It is all about exercise selection. If you are choosing the right exercises, anymore than 4 is just overkill. Remember the key is progression and you want to leave something in the tank for the next session. Still don’t believe me? Look at the way elite powerlifters and bodybuilders train. They train the shit out of 3-4 exercises and they use $100,000s of steroids a year! Why in God’s world would you train with a higher volume than an elite lifter?
Sample Program Day 1-Max Effort Upper Body
1) Max Effort Bench Press- Build up to 3 working sets of
your 3-5 rep max.
2A) Incline Dumbbell Press- 4 sets of 8-12 reps
2B) 1 Arm Dumbbell Row
3A) Wide grip Pull-ups 4 sets of submax (leave 1 or 2 in the tank)
3B) Dumbbell Clean- 10-15 reps
Day 2- Lower Body
1) Front Squats-4 sets of 6(less than 90% of 1RM)
2) Sandbag Lunges-3-4 sets of 8-12
3) Romanian Deadlifts- 3-4 sets of 10-15
4) Weak Point training-Upper back work
Day 3- Repetition Upper Body
1A) Military Press 4 sets of 6
1B) Close Grip Chin Ups- Submax
2A) Pushup variation- 4 sets of max reps
2B) Recline Row- 4 sets of max reps
3) Face Pulls- 3 sets of 15
Day 4- Max Effort Lower Body
1) Max Effort Trap Bar Deadlift-Build up to 3 working
sets of your 3-5 rep max.
2) Barbell Reverse Lunges- 4 sets of 6-10 reps
3A) Kettlebell Swing- 3 sets of 10-15
3B) Weighted Back Extension
Repeat this same workout for weeks 1-4. Each week you should try to break a record. This could mean adding more weight to your last set, or getting an extra rep or adding another set. The goal is to increase the total amount of lbs for each lift. Week 4 you will deload. In a nutshell, cut all your weight and volume in half. This will allow your body to reload for the next 4 weeks and will also allow you to practice your technique. For weeks 5-8 you are going to use the same template except you are going to choose variations of each lift. If you need help with this, message me and I will personally tell you what to change.
While this program isn’t perfect, it will get you on the right track to adding some serious muscle and strength. I always recommend ending your training with some grip and abdominal work. You can also add some conditioning for 10-15 minutes following your session. The best choices here are sled drags and prowler pushes.
Joe Meglio helps athletes improve their athletic performance by teaching them how to properly train their bodies.This results driven business is where like minded athletes come together to become bigger, faster, stronger and more explosive...
