There are some, particularly online, who continue to spread incorrect and misleading information about weighted ball training. Our discussion here will deal with Overload/Underload (OU) training in general, and its application to baseball and softball in particular.

1. OU Training Defined
2. A Brief History of OU Research and Training
3. Other Sports That Use OU Training

4. The Benefits of OU Training
5. Other Baseball Experts Who Are Proponents of OU Training

OU TRAINING DEFINED

Using weight-modified implements that are otherwise identical
to those used during competition

The weights of these modified tools weigh both more and less than the standard competitive weight.

Such tools allow athletes to train more precisely for their sport. Sport-specific strength and power are developed by movements with resistance or assistance that imitate the joint action of the skill - SPECIFIC RESISTANCE TRAINING. What makes this type of training so effective is that the weights of the modified tools used are heavy enough to produce a conditioning effect, yet light enough to not adversely affect the athlete’s mechanical skills.

Generally, OU Training is employed to increase an athlete’s POWER. Power is defined as the rate at which one can perform work, or the ability to exert muscle force quickly. This ability is related to, but distinct from strength, which is defined as the ability to exert muscle force.

As an example, strength is demonstrated as the ability to pick up a 30 oz. bat. Power is demonstrated by the ability to drive a baseball 400+ feet while swinging that 30 oz. bat.

As long as the tools used are not too heavy, mechanics are not affected, making OU Training what I call “skill-neutral.” According to published data (see below) the ideal weight range for conditioning and performance enhancement is up to 20% +/- the weight of the competitive implement. I do NOT recommend using baseballs weighing more than 6 oz., or softballs heavier than 8 oz. There is some data that indicates using much heavier balls can negatively affect throwing mechanics, possibly leading to arm problems. Extra motor-units are recruited while throwing these heavy balls that are then not used when the regular competitive ball is used. As relates to our discussion here, the modified implements ball players can use are weighted baseballs and softballs, and various weights of baseball/softball bats, and/or devices attached to these bats.

Conversely, this type of training would not be useful for training other athletic skill areas, for example, shooting or throwing accuracy. OU training could help a golfer drive their tee shots further, but it wouldn’t help eliminate their slice if they have one, or otherwise help them to hit straighter drives. OU training could help a young basketball player who is having trouble hoisting a basketball high enough to make a shot in a 10 foot hoop, but the shot still has to be accurate enough to go in. Accuracy training needed for a specific skill would therefore be performed apart from power work.

If I was working with a pitcher who had control problems, I would not break out the weighted baseballs and expect training of this type to help him throw strikes. I would look at his mechanics and make any needed adjustments, and possibly suggest some drill work to help reinforce the new concepts being taught. Such a player might also be working with weighted baseballs/softballs as part of their overall training regimen, but this would occur at a different time, and for the purposes of developing more power and speed behind his/her throws as well as conditioning the throwing structures of the arm.

A potential side-benefit of OU training is that a player could improve their accuracy by virtue of the increased number of reps or throws they are performing. This would be an artifact of the main goal of improving power, however, and not the main purpose of OU training.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF OU RESEARCH AND TRAINING

The first research involving OU training was performed in the 1970s by the Soviet Union and East-European track and field teams. A great deal of this research has been published in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals around the world. Shot-putters, javelin, discus and hammer throwers, and sprinters were the early adopters of this training method.

Research with baseball players dates back to the 1960s. This is just a sampling of studies involving OU Training and baseball. There are dozens more relating to OU Training generally:

1) Coop DeRenne, Kwok W. Ho and James C. Murphy. 2001: Effects of General, Special, and Specific Resistance Training on Throwing Velocity in Baseball: A Brief Review. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 148-156.

2) Escamilla et al. 2000: Sports Med Apr; 29 (4): 259-272

3) David J. Szymanski, MEd, CSCS, June 1998: The Effects of Various Weighted Bats on Bat Velocity - A Literature Review. Strength and Conditioning, pp. 8 - 11

4) Coop DeRenne, Barton P. Buxton, Ronald K. Hetzler and Kwok W. Ho. 1995: Effects of Weighted Bat Implement Training on Bat Swing Velocity. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 247-250.

5) Coop DeRenne, Barton P. Buxton, Ronald K. Hetzler and Kwok W. Ho. 1994: Effects of Under- and Overweighted Implement Training on Pitching Velocity. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 247-250.

6) Coop DeRenne, Kwok Ho and Alan Blitzblau. 1990: Effects of Weighted Implement Training on Throwing Velocity. The Journal of Applied Sport Science Research, 4, 16-19.

7) DeRenne, C., Tracy, R., and Dunn-Rankin, P. 1985: Increasing Throwing velocity. Athletic Journal, April, 36 - 39.

Bagonzi, J. A. 1978: The Effects of Graded Weighted Baseballs, Free Weight Training, and Simulative Isometric Exercise on the Velocity of a Thrown Baseball. Master’s thesis, Indiana University.

9) Litwhiler, D., and Hamm, L. 1973: Overload: Effect on Throwing Velocity and Accuracy. Athletic Journal, 53, 64-65.

10) Brose, D.E., and D.L. Hanson 1967: Effects of Overload Training on Velocity and Accuracy of Throwing. Research Quarterly. 38:528-533.

11) Elias, J. 1964. The Effect of Overload Training on Speed in Baseball Pitching. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts.

12) Egstrom, G.H., Logan, G.A., and E. L. Wallis 1960: Acquisition of Throwing skill Involving Projectiles of varying Weight. research Quarterly 31:420-425.

OTHER SPORTS THAT USE OU TRAINING

Over and underloaded implements and techniques are used very effectively by athletes in many sports to augment performance:

Track & Field: heavier and lighter discuses, javelins, shot balls (shot putters) and hammers; sprinting with resistance, such as pulling weighted sleds, wearing weighted vests, and downhill running on a slight downward slope, being towed while running, and running on a high speed treadmill (overSPEED training) .

Swimming: wearing swimming gloves that allow for more water to be pulled during an arm stroke; swimming while dragging an implement or otherwise artificially producing drag on a swimmer.

Heavier footballs (over the standard 15 oz) are thrown by quarterbacks; heavier basketballs are used by basketball players. Boxers train with different weights of boxing gloves.

Note that ALL of these training implements are used to improve POWER and/or SPEED through the joint range-of-motion (ROM) in the activity being trained, which can lead to enhanced performance.

THE BENEFITS OF OU TRAINING

Benefit #1

Appropriate strength and conditioning regimens, such as OU Training, can reduce and even prevent arm injuries related to throwing by increasing STRENGTH/ENDURANCE. Increased Strength - helps prevent injury. Increased Endurance - helps maintain throwing velocity, allows for more pitches to be thrown before tiring.

The muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones (even nerves) of the shoulder and arm in general will positively adapt to an appropriate increase in training load. They become tougher and more durable, able to handle greater workloads. Such training must conform to the following two guidelines:

1) The training load is sufficient to produce the desired training effect, yet not so great as to negatively impact throwing (or hitting) mechanics.

2) The thrower’s program introduces OU training gradually and systematically, employing a training principle known as Progressive Overload (Clarkson & Watson, 1990). This principle states that “strength and endurance cannot be increased unless the muscles are stressed beyond their normal workload. To increase the workload, increase the frequency, duration and intensity of your exercise program.”

To effectively and safely increase throwing velocity, intensity is increased by using 20% +/- OU balls, duration is increased by gradually increasing the number of OU throws performed with each workout, and frequency is increased by the number of days of throwing workouts. Arm/shoulder structures trained in this manner are more capable of handling the regular competitive game requirements, which are less than those imposed by the OU conditioning. An arm conditioned for making numerous throws with a 6 oz ball will more than likely out-perform an arm trained only to perform under a 5 oz. load (ability, mechanics and over-use considerations aside).

Dr. Mike Marshall, in his Pitching Book (Chapter 32, pp. 5 & 6), describes a concept he calls “Plioanglos Training” as a means of training the external rotator cuff muscles (decelerators). This is similar to the ideas expressed above:

“Plioanglos training means adding resistance to forward ballistically speeding pitching arms to increase capacities of lengthening deceleration muscles to stop.”

Perhaps this is best summed up by way of the well-known conditioning principle S.A.I.D. - Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (Wallis and Logan, 1964). This principle states that the body will adapt to stress imposed on it (as long as it is not excessive, in which case the body breaks down). One safe and effective way of doing this is with OU Training, employing the aforementioned guidelines.

Benefit #2

Improved on-field performance - increased throwing velocity (or bat speed).

Increased arm speed throughout the throwing Range of Motion (ROM). This attribute is developed by throwing a ball weighing 20% less than the competitive ball. Because the ball weighs less, the arm moves more quickly through its ROM, leading to increased throwing velocity. Throwing lighter balls has been shown (both clinically and on the ball field) to be one of the best means of increasing throwing velocity. Swinging appropriately lighter bats helps develop increased bat speed. This is also known as overSPEED training.

A note on “light” ball training, high school and older players: This can be an excellent way for pitchers in particular to get a good amount of throwing in between starts with less stress on the arm. For youth ball players - why do we make lighter bats for younger ball players, yet make them throw the same 5 oz ball that guys like Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson throw? That youth fields are smaller makes little difference when it comes to the length of some of the throws that young players have to make. These little arms still have to generate a great deal of force to propel the ball. Underweight balls (4 oz.) are a GREAT tool for players of all ages.

Benefit #3

Enhanced neuromuscular conditioning.

According to Vern Gambetta, Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Chicago White Sox, the primary source of fatigue in baseball pitching is not metabolic, but neural. The metabolic demands - conditioning - are just not that great in baseball or softball. Don’t misunderstand - I’m speaking here of the skills required to be a good hitter or pitcher. Being well conditioned is still important, as this will help prevent injury, but no doubt you’ve seen players like John Kruk, David Wells, Tony Gwynn, and others. High level performers who are not particularly well conditioned.

Neural fatigue occurs at the motor-unit level. In the act of pitching, for example, the Central Nervous System sends a nerve impulse to a motor unit (MU) in the shoulder involved in this process. The ability of these MUs to transmit these signals, with optimal frequency and speed, diminishes over time. This “breakdown” occurs at the nerve synapse/biochemical level, which THEN leads to slower and weaker muscle contractions.

In baseball pitching, throwing muscles and tendons in the shoulder are stretching and contracting repeatedly while accelerating and decelerating the arm during an overhand throw - constant biochemical activity at the neuromuscular junction. As neural fatigue sets in, it becomes manifest in mechanical problems. For example, a pitcher dropping their shoulder later in the game, leading to a loss of control or velocity. The tough thing is, this “fatigue” is usually not felt by the pitcher, but it occurs nevertheless.

This is where proper conditioning (OU Training) comes in. Research has shown that neurons adapt to stress much like muscles do. Motor neurons exposed to high-frequency impulses end up with more developed neuromuscular junctions which appear more capable of handling high-intensity impulses better than those not exposed to similar stress. The S.A.I.D. principle in effect again.

Does this mean OU Training is fool proof, and has never harmed a player? Of course not. Most any type of conditioning, performed incorrectly, can cause problems or injury. Throwing itself, be it footballs, baseballs, rocks or whatever, has harmed many a throwing arm. Running is the cause of many knee and ankle injuries. Shoulder problems amongst swimmers are common. Ice skaters often suffer from some very painful leg ailments. I could go on, but you get the point. All of these injuries and problems occur as a part of the athlete’s regular practice and competitive activities. Performing them properly minimizes the risk, of course. So does a variety of strength and conditioning methods, including OU Training.

OTHER BASEBALL EXPERTS WHO ARE PROPONENTS OF OU TRAINING

Dr. John Bagonzi. Former pitcher with the Red Sox. Known as the “Pitching Professor” and author of the highly regarded book, “The Act of Pitching.”

Dr. Tom House. Former pitcher with the Rangers. Author/co-author of several books, including “The Winning Pitcher” and “Power Baseball.” Personal pitching coach to Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Mark Prior, and others.

Dr. Mike Marshall. Former Cy Young Award winner with the Dodgers. Author of the book, “Coaching Pitchers” and the pitching training DVD, “Dr. Mike Marshall’s Pitching Instructional Video.”

Dr. Coop DeRenne. Former professional player, instructor and consultant to the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers. Probably this country’s leading baseball researcher, supervising 16 hitting and pitching warm-up, biomechanical, and visual research projects using over 600 amateur and professional hitters and pitchers as his subjects. Co-author (with Tom House) of the book, “Power Baseball” and other baseball training books.

ASMI - The American Sports Medicine Institute

All of these experts possess impeccable credentials and favor some type of weighted ball training.

Steve Zawrotny, MS, CSCS
405.373.3253
steve@baseballfit.com
FREE REPORT: “Harmful Resistance Exercises
Baseball/Softball Players Should Avoid”
VISIT: http://www.BaseballFit.com

Risk factors such as sedentary lifestyles, improper diet and lack of regular exercise are making more and more people overweight. Most people tend to accumulate fat especially in the abdominal area and around the waist. But this can have serious health consequences and make you prone to several dangerous diseases during later stages of your life. A flat stomach not only provides a great-looking figure, but it also improves the posture, allows easy mobility and relieves the weight-related stress created on your spine, thereby preventing chances of severe backache. It is here that we realize the need for abdominal exercise equipment to help us tone our middle areas of the body.

The market is flooded with different kinds of abdominal exercise equipment, like the medicine balls, rowing machine, Abs trainer, core exercise wheels, Ab crunch machine, sit-up benches, doorway sit-up bar, Ab slings, abdominal crunch strap, torso trainer, the bosu balance trainer, balance discs & pads, etc., which allow you to perform several core strengthening exercises that greatly help in toning up your flabby abs, in addition to strengthening your abdominal muscles. Although these equipments help you to shape-up your abs, they do not aid in burning the multiple layers of fat that has been accumulated in your abdominal region. In order to burn the excess fat, you will need to perform cardio exercises regularly and strictly monitor your diet.

About Golfing Zen: This is the second in a continuing series of
short essays dealing with the application of Eastern spiritual
philosophy to your golf game.

The surface intent is that, as you apply the ideas, your golf
and your enjoyment of the game will grow. However there is also
an underlying motive: as you are able to see gains on the
course, you’ll then be moved to alter your approach to life as
well.

Today’s Topic: The Fundamental Truth

In these articles, I’ll be simplifying as we talk about the
Eastern philosophies, and this topic title is a good example.
Buddhism actually opens its doors with The Four Noble Truths.

The first of those is that our experience is marked by
suffering. Living means to suffer. The Eastern term is dukka.

The second shows the source of dukka to be desire, and the third
shows how we can eliminate suffering: if it is desire that leads
to suffering then the obvious solution is to stop desiring.
Obvious, sure, but we would agree it isn’t easy.

This doesn’t mean we stop living, that we give up work, play,
relationships, learning and growth, or even that we forsake
goals. It does mean we stop agonizing about it all. Some things
we’ll never have. I won’t be the next Senator from Pennsylvania,
and I’m not going to make the PGA tour. That’s obvious enough,
but most of us continue to hunger after things that are
permanently outside our grasp, without admitting it to
ourselves.

Or, there are goals that we can eventually reach but that we
don’t have this minute. I’d like to have a retirement home in
Asheville, North Carolina. But I don’t, today, and if I obsess
about it, I can easily lose sight of the pleasures of my current
life. It’s a fundamental: hungering after something not yet here
contaminates our today.

So, the fundamental truth we’re talking about is this. Whatever
we have today is everything we need - today.

The last of the Noble Truths lays out how to let go of desire:
by following the Eightfold Path (understanding, thought, speech,
action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration). But
the Path a big subject and is for the future; I’ll certainly do
a piece on each of those steps along the Path in future articles.

For now, the connection to golf is obvious to any of us that
have suffered on the course. And who of us hasn’t suffered? Ever
throw a club? Dress yourself down — either out loud or within
your mind?

Beyond the momentary outbursts, is your enjoyment of the game in
general contaminated by not being good enough? Are you reluctant
to play with people that are better? Do you despair about lack
of improvement? Do you think about giving up?

The First Noble Truth within Buddhism is equally true on the
golf course; our golfing dukka comes from our excessive desire,
from our grasping after success. And here’s the real secret…
that comes from playing golf in an ego-driven state. If we’re
playing to re-enforce our own ego — either to others or to
ourselves — then we’re going to struggle.

The answer lies in a simple (granted, difficult) idea: we are,
today, only what we are today; our swing is what it is; our
mental game is what it is. Therefore — we’re perfect — today.
We can let ourselves focus on the beauty of the walk in the
park, on the companionship of friends. We can be alert, we can
pay attention, we can be mindful of everything we see and
experience, we can allow our game to be what it is, and we can
trust that we’re on a path that will take us to higher levels as
we continue move along. And that’s true!

I’ll be giving you lots of ‘tips’ or ‘thought exercises’ as we
move through these articles, and here’s one that applies to this
subject. You can reduce your grasping (and thereby, your
golf-course dukka) by detaching for the outcome. Laird Small,
the head pro at Pebble Beach, calls it “NATO:” Not Attached To
Outcome.

Here’s one way of doing that. Your golf-course job is to swing
the club in a graceful, rhythmic, and balanced way. The Golf
God’s job is to move the ball to a new point, for your next
test. Your job is only to be mindful of how well you perform
your task and to get out of the way and let the Golf God do his.
Try that, next time out.

Next Time: You Already Know.

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This article can be reproduced in full as long as the resource box and live links remain intact.

For young children far and wide, it is simple to become inspired by the various manufactured goods & other possessions that are close to them. For some parents it will possibly seem like an enormous effort to tear your child away from the technology that is easily available & standing by for them. If you feel it is critical to make sure that your child is obtaining a well-rounded upbringing, then there are options that you can assess in order to make sure that they profit from being young. Find a full list of sportswear shops here.

With all of the facilities for young people to lounge around in the house, it’s best to start to demonstrate to them that being outdoors can be just as satisfying. Playing sports will not only aid them to get the activities that there body requires, but will be of assistance to them to remain the idea of staying shape in mind when they are an adult. It is turning out to be more commonplace for young kids and youth to grow-up plump or obese, even from the age of five. The health problem is becoming so rampant that several young children are having troubles like that of type 2 diabetes & asthma.

No matter what age your daughter is, they should be getting some sort of physical activity on a daily basis. It doesn’t require to be anything vigorous, but ought be something to get them out and away from the simpler stimulation in front of the TV or Internet. If your kid is active for no shorter than thirty minutes every day, it will bring to a halt the health difficulties that kids are growing up to have. By having something where the teenager is being rewarded to move around and is doing it with their family, it will be more simpler to make a base for first-class physical health through sport.

If you yourself are apprehensive about your toddler staying fit and healthy then making sure that your teenagers play a part in exercise will give you the chance to become significantly concerned in what they want for their own good health. It will 1st bring to a close problems in their existing health, beginning with obesity, & going into more important issues. Making sure that they maintain being physically healthy will also be with them for the remains of their life, making sure that they take in the worth of exercising throughout the day.

2005 has me going into my 15th year teaching golf. From day one, I thought that if I could come up with a technique that was fast and easy to learn I would be a pretty popular guy. Well, I did … and I am. So what is fast and easy? Does it mean that if you take one lesson with me I can get you to shoot 72? Well … if I could get you to shoot 72 in 1 lesson I would charge $10,000 per lesson and the line up to see me would be down the street. I do get lucky sometimes but for the most part it usually takes me a little longer.

Typically, I say that I can give you a pretty good swing in 5 lessons, a great swing in 10 and a phenomenal swing in 15. That’s 1 lesson per week for that length of time with practice in between lessons. Considering it took me over 10 years to develop a swing I was happy with, it seems like such a small price to pay. Unfortunately, many people won’t wait that long. It’s not because they don’t have time it’s just that they want results immediately.

The funny thing, is that people don’t bat an eye at the length of time it takes to learn how to play a musical instrument. They know before they even start that it takes years to be able to play a song half decently. How about learning a new job? Training is going to take you up to 6 months. How about other sports? Other sports take a while to get good at but you’re OK with it. So what’s so different about golf? Well … there are many reasons. Maybe you want to impress your friends. Maybe you want to take some money off of your friends on the weekend. Maybe you hit that one brilliant shot and you think you should be able to do it all of the time. Maybe you just think golf looks like a simple sport. Whatever the reason, creating a great golf swing takes some time.

If you’ve played golf for 15 years and you still shoot in the mid to high 80’s or 90’s the first thing you have to realize that the golf swing you are using doesn’t work. If you played a guitar for 15 years wouldn’t you be able to give guitar legend, Eddie Van Halen, a run for his money? Now, I’m not saying you should shoot 72 every time you go out but after playing for 15 years shouldn’t you be able to shoot in the 70’s regularly? Knowing that you have a golf swing that doesn’t work is the first step to playing the best golf of your life.

The second step to playing the best golf of your life, is knowing that if you decide to change your swing, it will be like starting all over again (but this time it won’t take you that long). Initially, changes to your game will cause you to hit some very poor shots. This is because you’re learning a totally different way to swing. You are un-learning years of bad habits. It is this critical moment in time that you must decide to press on. No matter how bad your game gets … the future is bright.

The third thing you must do is practice. You have to ingrain your new movements until they are second nature. The best way to make changes is to do consecutive repetitions. What I mean is you have to do the same new movement time and time again. If you do consecutive repetitions of the new movement you will master it faster than if you do old swings in between. In the early stages it’s all about making the changes. The faster you can change the faster you will get better.

The fourth thing you have to do is work with a qualified instructor. This does not mean taking 1 lesson. You have to find a teacher that teaches a method and stick to it. I, myself, have a vision of what I want the students swing to look like before we even start. There are certain steps that must be followed to get to this end goal so no matter what it takes, see it through. Some people learn faster than others but with a few weeks you will get used to the changes and you will see some amazing shots. This is the sign of things to come in the future. Keep at it and keep practicing and you will soon reach your goal.

The final thing you have to do (if you haven’t figured it out yet) is have patience. It takes time to change you swing. Work hard in 2005 and pretty soon you’ll be breaking 80.

Paul Wilson

Director of Instruction

Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate

http://www.paulwilsongolf.com

About The Author

Paul Wilson is a nationally recognized golf instructor with numerous appearances on the Golf Channel and in major golf publications. He is the creator of “Swing Machine Golf” which teaches people the 3 elements of the Iron Byron Swing Machine. Please visit http://www.swingmachinegolf.com to find out more about his teaching method.