Baseball players never get the title of being the greatest athletes in the world, but I tell you what, it takes a special kind of person to be able to grind out a season such as that. Having 162 games in the regular season being played in a span of 183 days, you would think that would entail some sort of athleticism? Either way, baseball is arguably the toughest season in sports. The physical condition these guys have to be in is incredible. Now you will see your occasional pitcher with that big ol’ belly hanging over his belt, but those guys are there for one reason and one reason only; to throw that ball as hard as physically possibly. As for the rest of the players, they work extremely hard before and during the season to gain and maintain their strength and conditioning. Each position calls for different styles of training as well. For example, a starting pitcher’s workout will be focussed more on endurance, while closers and middle relievers do short and powerful workouts. An outfielder is going to work more on his flat out speed while a shortstop will focus his training on quickness and agility. No matter what the position though, they all must build a solid foundation during the offseason to be able to endure the daily abuse of the regular season. Strength, conditioning, and mental toughness plays such a strong role in a baseball players life. They might not be able to jump as high as LeBron James or run as fast as Usain Bolt, but ball players are a breed of their own. So next time you get in an argument with your friends about baseball players not being athletes just remember, they are not athletes, they’re baseball players!
Healthy snack options for your kids
Exercise generally is easier for kids and teenagers to engage in since activities are usually sports-based and more fun. Activities such as baseball, bicycle riding, roller blading, shooting hoops, and soccer are great ways to stay fit and are fun for kids. However, getting kids to eat healthy is a whole different story. Here at The Hit Center we believe that exercise and nutrition go hand-in-hand. In just a few weeks we will be offering a new nutritional service at a small charge for our clients. With this program, the staff at The Hit Center can help you plan out weekly meals and make healthier food choices. In this day and age when kids’ snacks are filled with high fructose corn syrup and other unhealthy ingredients, it’s important to serve up alternative, healthy snack options. In anticipation for the unveiling of our new nutrition service here are some healthy snack options for your kids:
Apple slices (1 medium apple) with 1 tbsp of reduced fat peanut butter (176 calories, 4.3g protein, 28.5g carbohydrates, 6.5g fat)
1 rice cake with 1 tbsp of reduced fat peanut butter (130 calories, 4.8g protein, 14.6g carbohydrates, 6.3g fat)
8 oz low-fat yogurt and 1 slice of whole wheat toast, lightly buttered (240 calories, 8.4g protein, 44.8g carbohydrates, 3.8g fat)
English muffin pizza (Toast 1 whole wheat English muffin and top with 1 tbsp pizza sauce and 1 oz part skim mozzarella cheese. Microwave for 30 seconds.) (219 calories, 13.3g protein, 30.7g carbohydrates, 5.94g fat)
Celery sticks with 1 tbsp peanut butter (105 calories, 4.5g protein, 9.5g carbohydrates, 6.0g fat)
1 oz whole wheat crackers with 2 oz of organic turkey lunch meat slices and 1 oz low-fat mozzarella cheese (316 calories, 30g protein, 20.7g carbohydrates, 14.2g fat)
20 baked corn chips with 6 tbsp of salsa (112 calories, 2g protein, 24g carbohydrates, 1g fat)
1 cup 1% fat cottage cheese and 5 oz fresh strawberries (about 4-6 medium strawberries) (173 calories, 28g protein, 8g carbohydrates, 2.4g fat)
1 oz dry roasted almonds and 1 medium orange (239 calories, 7g protein, 23.4g carbohydrates, 15.3g fat)
1 cup skim milk and ½ whole wheat bagel with 1 tbsp almond butter (307 calories, 14.9g protein, 37.4g carbohydrates, 9.4g fat)
All nutritional information referenced from DietMaster Pro (copyright 1997-2009)
HIT Center Baseball Camp
This summer the Mesa HIT Center will be running a youth (ages 13-18) baseball strength and conditioning camp. The purpose of the camp is to teach athletes proper strength training techniques, improve speed and most importantly, to have fun.
As Arizona is known for producing high caliber players, the right attitude and preparation begins much earlier. This means learning the proper fundamentals of strength training and conditioning. From past experience, I can tell you that the vast majority of coaches would rather have kids that can work harder than others and show up prepared and ready to go, rather than kids the rely solely on natural talent alone to carry them. We desire to begin teaching these valuable tools early on, including how to function as a team player. Our goal is to see that young athletes look forward to conditioning in their chosen sport and understand the need to do so.
Strength and conditioning programs are now a widely accepted and valuable asset to every college and university athletic program. Several years ago at the College World Series in Omaha, Louisiana State University played what the announcers began calling “gorilla ball,” a term for how many homeruns LSU hit during the series. When then head coach Skip Bertman was asked about his teams power, he quickly attributed it to the great job of the strength and conditioning program at the school. Why wait for your child to begin learning these fundamental concepts when we can start teaching them now?
