This is another article from Jim Smith, author of Combat Core.
From the Stack, this article details Nomar Garciaparra’s (a six time all-star with the Dodgers) baseball core strengthening routine.
I really like this statement outlined in the article:
“…think of a young athlete that lifts weights for the first time. Jen Walker states that rapid gains are made, but those gains aren’t at the muscular level, they are at the neurological level. The gains are made through an efficiency improvement in overall movement.”
This is an imperative distiction when considering to load an athlete as they improve. Foundational strength levels must be well established and evaluated before speed of movement is considered. This is especially true of young athletes or those whose stregth training age is young. It is also of equal importance when discussing the explosive rotational movements of baseball players.
Another training concept to highlight:
“Everything that we do is geared towards augmenting our athletes’ on-the-field movement,” explains Friedman, “So we focus on body movements rather than the individual parts of the body.”
Simple, sensible and yet profound. The goal is essentially to improve athletic performance. Strength training or GPP increases the athlete’s potential to perform at a higher level on the field and since movement does not occur in isolation, the athlete must be trained with compound, full-body movements.
Craig Friedman (trainer) focuses Nomar’s core training on medicine ball work. He incorporates explosive exercises such as: Med Ball Swings, Granny Tosses, Squat-to-Press Passes, Overhead Passes and Chest Passes, Craig understands that explosive movements where the weight or implement is released have a higher power output and a faster speed of movement.
About the Author
Jim Smith is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist who writes for Men’s Fitness and the Elite Q/A Staff. Jim has been involved in strength training as a performance enhancement specialist for over 8 years and has worked with athletes from various sports who compete at various levels. He has published articles about his unique training style and innovative methods for many prominent strength and fitness related sites. He is also the authored of three renowned strength manuals. For more innovative training solutions, visit www.CombatCoreStrength.com
