This is a guest post by Jedd Johnson, from UltimateForearmTraining.com.  When his baseball career was cut short by injury, he searched for another means to satiate his competitive hunger, and he found Grip Competition.  Now, he has competed in more grip strength contests than anyone in the US, and produced multiple resources on building world class hand strength.  Soon, he will release the new secret weapon that will change the game of baseball as much as steroids did – only this time, it’s legal!

Everyone knows how important Core Strength is in Baseball.  The core fires anytime another part of the body fires, so the sore is highly involved in creating a powerful swing, bracing the torso throughout the swing, and stabilizing the body after contact.

Leg strength is also something that we are fully aware of for taking the ball deep into the outfield stands.  That power is generated from the ground up.  It’s no wonder some of the best homerun hitters have had thick quads, solid hammies, and a big powerful ass.

But one thing that people forget about when they think about developing the strength for homerun power is Grip Strength.

Grip involves everything from the elbow joint down to the finger tips.  Many of the muscles that cross and influence the elbow travel all the way down into the hands and fingers.  These muscles are the ones that put the finishing touch on all the power that comes from the legs and core when we attack that hanging curveball at the plate.

Neglecting grip training is an error we can not afford to make if we seek to set ourselves apart from other prospects in the sea of Major League hopefuls.  Following are some simple exercises you can do before, during, or after practice, as well as in your garage or dorm room that will pack muscle onto the lower arms and help you put the finishing touches on your power stores that you can use the next time you stand in the batter’s box.

Sledge Hammers are great for building grip strength as well as full body strength and conditioning.  You can get these essential strength tools at most hardware stores and even Walmart and Kmart carry them for around $20 to $30.

This workout should take no longer than 20 to 30 minutes.

Warm-up:  Sledge Hammer Curls

This exercise involves gripping the sledge near the middle of the handle and performing curls.  The objective here is to resist forearm rotation during the course of the movement.  Do this for two sets of 10 to 15 reps with each hand to get the entire lower arm and bicep warmed up for other more violent work coming your way.

Primary 1:  Sledge Taps

Hold the sledge near the center of the handle and violently and rapidly tap it on a tire, tree stump, rock, or other solid object.  The objective of this movement is to generate fast, powerful bursts of energy when hitting the tire, while also controlling the eccentric portion of the movement when the hammer recoils upward after striking the object.  Do this for two or three sets of 20 strikes with each hand.

Primary 2:  Rubber Band Extension Swings

It is just as important to work the Extensor muscles as it is to work the flexors, rotators and deviators of the wrist, so that is what we are doing to finish up this quick workout.  Get your hands on some decent sized rubber bands.  Not those things that chicks put in their hair – go and steal some off of some heads of broccoli in the produce section at the market or go buy some from an office supply store.

Wrap a rubber band around your fingers and perform a rubber band extension.  Now, move your hands and body through the swinging motion.  This movement should be done in super slow motion, exaggerating each point of the swing.  This will burn in the extensor muscles all the way up through your forearm where the muscles originate.

I want you to visualize Josh Beckett’s weak ass throwing you his fastball.  Go through your entire swinging motion in Slow Motion, imagining the contact with barrel of the bat as you take that lame duck deep.  Exaggerate each step of the swing as you watch Tim Wakefield’s tired knuckleball fluttering helplessly to the plate and then like a laser over the Green Monster.  Does Boston even have a team anymore?

Do this exercise 6 times and make sure you go slow.  By the end of the third one, if your extensors aren’t burning through your skin then you aren’t working hard enough or slow enough.

In closing, baseball is a very grip dependent sport.  The hands are involved in everything.  I am going to show the world the best way to train the lower arms for high performance on the field very soon.  Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements from Coach Dan and me..

The days of squeezing Tennis Balls to build grip and wrist strength are over.  It’s time to come to the Big Leagues and unleashing the power of the hands and forearms.

All the best in your training,

-Jedd-

P.S.  For a free video with more information on this new SECRET WEAPON, check this out right now = = >  www.UltimateForearmTraining.com

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

From http://www.youtube.com/Obsidian1138

“4 years ago, we produced a video containing a few strength training ideas, which we shot in one evening, and edited together really quickly. It proved much more popular than we expected, and we have been intending to produce a follow up for quite some time.

Recently, we finally got round to filming some new exercise ideas and have done our best to demonstrate a range of training ideas within this video. Our main aim was to show a variety of exercises of different difficulty levels, so hopefully there is something here for practitioners of all ability levels. In amongst the serious conditioning, we have also tried to retain the fun and lighthearted nature of the first video, which we hope makes for a useful and enjoyable video.

We are very pleased that American Parkour offered to feature our video, as we believe in sharing training ideas freely, and also in establishing and maintaining links between parkour communities around the world. We hope that you take something useful from the video :)

Duration : 0:10:0

Read the rest of this entry

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

http://www.bestfreeworkout.com – Get a full bodyweight training program for free at that link for FREE.

Duration : 0:3:39

Read the rest of this entry

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Valaikas are a baseball family

Four brothers keep thriving in baseball. Chris is in the Reds organization; Matt is standout at UC Santa Barbara; UCLA-bound Patrick is Hart High shortstop, and eighth-grader Nicky could be best of all

Duration : 0:1:40

Read the rest of this entry

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

http://www.myosource.com/
PLEASE VISIT OUR WEB SITE

Emerging athletes from Asheville, NC using the Kinetic Bands in their off season training work during the summer. They work harder than the competition. Do you? Work the “Core” quads, hams, glutes and hips all at once doing the same drills you currently train with.
These athletes have all improved speed, quickness, power and explosion and reduced the chances of cramps, pulled muscles or injury.
Speed Drills
Speed training Warm up for track and volleyball
Agility training speed training quick feet for soccer
best football speed training to get faster
fast feet
first step explosion
football basketball baseball softball volleyball soccer cheerleading martial arts
power explosion
speed
footwork
core strength
hips
hip flexor glutes hams abs
rotation drills
skip drills
charlotte
north carolina
pickett
fast
foot work
training coaching heart dedication
success
trenton guy
racer x
myosource kinetic bands
resistance bands
resistance tubing
therabands
groin strength
lateral movement
sprints
receivers
backs
lineman
hurdlers
hurdles
40 time
hip rotation
acl
college high school pro
youth
rugby
How to get faster for football
football speed training
speed training for footbal
football speed drills
football footwork drills
how to get faster at sprinting
schnelligkeit training
drills to get faster
quick twitch muscles
hip strength

Duration : 0:1:28

Read the rest of this entry

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,