Baseball workouts for 12-14 year olds (LSU777?)

LSU777 can answer this in more detail than me I am sure, LOL, but I have trained baseball groups that age. They are weak, have no foundational strength, and a mistake I see parents make with those groups is trying to get TOO baseball specific, gadgets, over thinking it, etc. AFTER they learn proper form/technique (do NOT skip/rush this step!) they should be doing basic compound movements. I also tend to me conservative with overhead movements when training throwing athletes, not doing things like heavy overhead presses, heavy bench press (prefer dumbells with semi-neutral grip, safer on shoulders). I like the safety bar squats more than back squats, trap bar deadlifts over regular deadlifts (risk outweighs reward IMHO when it comes to deadlifts), lots of core work, and yes some band work/med ball work is good, that is where it is good to get some rotational stuff in, triple extension, etc.

I also tell my young baseball guys we are not bodybuilders, we are not powerlifters, we are training specifically to be really good baseball players. While hypertrophy WILL happen in young men who resistance train, it is not our primary goal, sport specific strength is. So our rep range tends to be in the 5-6 range more so that the 10+ range on most movements.

Sorry to hear that bayouvette, all too common. There is no acclimation period with a lot of these coaches, they are usually short on time, want to get started, and need an idea of the athlete's ability, I get that. Rule #1 in any program is the kid's health and safety comes first. I like getting the kids in for a few weeks, acclimate them, prioritize form and techique (took me weeks with one group to get them squatting correctly) and I tend to favor a 3 rep max vs a 1 rep max for them as I feel it is a little safer at their age.

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LSU777 can answer this in more detail than me I am sure, LOL, but I have trained baseball groups that age. They are weak, have no foundational strength, and a mistake I see parents make with those groups is trying to get TOO baseball specific, gadgets, over thinking it, etc. AFTER they learn proper form/technique (do NOT skip/rush this step!) they should be doing basic compound movements. I also tend to me conservative with overhead movements when training throwing athletes, not doing things like heavy overhead presses, heavy bench press (prefer dumbells with semi-neutral grip, safer on shoulders). I like the safety bar squats more than back squats, trap bar deadlifts over regular deadlifts (risk outweighs reward IMHO when it comes to deadlifts), lots of core work, and yes some band work/med ball work is good, that is where it is good to get some rotational stuff in, triple extension, etc.

I also tell my young baseball guys we are not bodybuilders, we are not powerlifters, we are training specifically to be really good baseball players. While hypertrophy WILL happen in young men who resistance train, it is not our primary goal, sport specific strength is. So our rep range tends to be in the 5-6 range more so that the 10+ range on most movements.

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yep, until you have went through a true linear progression program which should be 14-15 you do not know how to program because you dont know if they are truely force or speed deficient

sp here is what i tell people to do, 3 days per week and this is assuming they have never lifted at all before

equipment needed(kettlebell/dumbbells or sandbags), bands, rings, med balls so simple home gym stuff


so to start out, mobility/warmup is

20 broomstick dislocates
20 banded y to t overhead
20 band pull aparts
20 facepulls
20 yard bear crawl
20 yard reverse bear crawl
20 yard crab walk
20 yard duck walk


that should have whole body warm and primed

throws-

-5 max effort w/lightmed ball(1-2lbs) throws(rotational in nature) for distance or speed if you have radar

-5 overhead behind the back throws(think keg toss)- these are max effort for height or distance trying to get triple extension. heavy so 4-8 lbs depending on size of kid




from there i do A day and a B day

main lift- box squat(12") or deadlift- 3 sets of 5. form before weight. but add weight progressively over time. for box squat, sit on box, shift weight to wear no weight is on the feet and explode up. can be goblet, sandbag on shoulders, weigthed vest, holding med ball, front squat with sandbag etc. just progress over time. should be as fast as possible up. Deadlifts- trap bar, sandbag or KBs/DBS. FORM, FORM, FORM. rest 2 min between sets


jumps-3 sets of 3 full max effort. these are weighted with DBs or bands. Vertical on squat day, broad jump on DL day


single leg exercise supersetted with posterier chain- 3x5
reverse lunge with nordic progession
knees over toes lunge with glute thrust


push/pull/carry sueprset- 5 sets of 6-8

pushup progression(pushups plus all the way to ring pushups to weighted ring pushups)

pullup progression or ring row progression

carry- choose between suitcase carry, sandbag carry, farmers walk, overhead 1 arm carry, chaos carry variations(bands around DBs and hold bands so weight bounces)


if you want to do more than that just add hanging leg raise progression. for most they do not need more then that. keep it simple. 2 days in season 3 or 4 in off season.

eat lots of meat. try and get them around 1g protein per pound of bodyweight.

when off season comes get them on creatine. do not start this in season during the heat. start when off season or it starts to cool off.

keep it simple and progress only when form is mastered adn the weight can be controlled on eccentric portion.



****most important lifts for baseball-

reverse lunge- working to Bodyweight on bar with SSB for 5 reps and a 3 min iso hold with no weight. see 90mph formula on why revese lunge is important

box squats- movement is breaking the concentric/eccentric portion like explained by explosive mechanics(youtube) and you are looking to work to 1.75x BW at 0.6m/s speed.

chins- 13 bodyweight full dead hang, chest to bar. see 90mph on why its important and weighted standard

deadlift- 400+ on any varaiation to make sure you have need force production capability.

birddog row- only to show stability

med ball tosses- see swing fast and throw fast by bill miller and his insta on why these are important.

front arm med ball throw- for hitters. see bill miller

db jumps- see the jump book by explosive mechanics and the westside jump books/seminars


there are other items including reverse bear crawls, ring pushups etc but the above are the key performance indicators.

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Lots of cleans and core.

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cleans are on their way out in most places including minor leagues.

with proteus and ability to track med ball throw velo now, people are goign away from cleans due to variety of reasons

1) very complex lift and much harder to learn
2) the velocities in the lift are not nearly what we once thought
3) increased risk of injury do the catch in the clean putting the shoulders and elbows along with wrist in bas spots
4) clean is almost exclusively in the coronal plane. power is very plane specific and baseball is played more in the transverse plane and power in baseball is almost exclusively applied in the transverse plane.

proteus is the future and VBT training is where 99% of teams are going at the highest level if the athlete is the weight he needs to be (2.5x height in inches minimual, 2.75-3 is optimal)


BTW is your son still playing? if so how is he doing?

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when are you buying one?

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maybe in like 2-3 years. got other things to get done first.

It’s very much a nice accessory to have especially for some testing stuff

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Getting your daughter to max out (even for 3 reps) in week 1 before she is comfortable lifting seems unnecessarily risky. Why not a basic program with progression programmed in (greyskull, starting strength), starting low while working on technique and gradually building up?

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while i agree, she will be using a sandbag but he needs to just start at a light weight and add each week.

If I were training for strength and power with a long term view in a beginner, one way would be to start low and increase until I find a weight where the 5th or so rep takes noticibly longer than the first but not be a terrible strain. Do 3 sets with 2-3 minutes rest between sets. If they can complete the 5th rep of the last set with good form, go up slightly the next week. Do a pressing movement, a pulling movement, and a leg movement each workout with mobility work before and stability/core work after. Do this 2x a week

any creatine mono will do. nothing special about any of them. serious nutrition solutions is usually what i buy.

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when off season comes get them on creatine. do not start this in season during the heat. start when off season or it starts to cool off.

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Is this just due to fluid loss?