Workout plan to help my nephew with bat speed

well its not just the rotational speed, he needs to also be thinking in terms of health and longevity of the arm and how he can do protect his arm from the forces during deceleration.

couple things here, you need to develop force production, overall rotational forces, basic strength, strength to handle the deceleration and ability to be strong and stabile at length, especially in the reverse lunge positon.

so before i start recommending something, has he lifted before?

if the answer is no, then its simple. if the answer is yes, what expierence?

is he willing to pay for a subscription service so that everything is right there on his phone and easy to track? If he can afford the 27/month, i absolutely recommend power athlete programming, starting with bedrock if he hasnt lifted seriously before. then moving to field strong. only thing i would add is med ball throws and we can talk more about that.

also he should take a look at Dr Josh Heenan and the 90mphformula and look at their social media pages and listen to podcast he has done. focus on meeting those metrics.

another great resource is bill miller, aurthor of swing fast and throw hard.

ifn he isnt willing to pay, i can design him something too, just lmk as this is very very much in my wheel house.

you also need to get him on a good over/under load training program like the ax bat program from driveline. if he cant afford those bats, glueing pennies to an old bat to create a 20% overload and using a lighter/shorter bat for underload works too. bat speed recon has a free bat speed program as does chad longworth (8week guide to dynamic hitting)

How old? Assuming about 14-15 if he just finished freshman year. What kind of equipment do you have access to? What kind of things have you tried doing?

Trap bar deadlift
Split squat/lunge variations (preferably with dumbbells held at side or goblet position, or you can always do a bar or kettlebells in front rack position)
Step up variations (same idea with holding weights as split squats above)
Alternating dumbbell pressing
Bent over dumbbell rows

If you have access to a cable machine doing split stance pressing and rowing is good to also allow for more thoracic rotation
Row
Press

For core things, I like chops and lift variations to help with rotational control and to be able to help translate power from the lower half to the upper half
Split stance chops
Half kneeling lifts

So you can do half kneeling, split stance, or even just an athletic semi-squat position. These are also more “anti-rotation” movements where the upper body and thoracic spine is doing more of the movements while your lower back, pelvis and lower half are staying still. You can also do more fluid moving versions to allow for more rotational movement
Rotational lift

For a younger kid, getting stronger with these definitely helps but also have to be able to create rotational torque/power. If you have access to med balls to do different throws, that’s probably going to be one of the best things
Med ball rotational scoop toss
Med ball rotational shot put
Med ball recoiled rollover stomp

Forgot to mention a plyo variation as well that’s more horizontal/rotational in nature than just a regular vertical
Heiden with ER

Obviously there’s a ton of other stuff you can do, but that’s the basics. Get stronger as a younger kid, but also learn how to be fluid/explosive in creating rotational power

here is waht i suggest

following the bedrock program from powerathlete LINK. after about 24 weeks or when powerathlete advises, move to field strong. Also suggest he add the speed program as they advise too at this time. Got to get that 60 time down.

then after he does their warm up, but before the lifts i suggest the following(all must be done at complete 100% effort trying to throw harder than last time, if you dont have radar gun, use distance as your guide, must be setting PR's)

1. MB Step Behind Shot Put Throw - 10 total throws. Do not rush this, complete recovery between. - use a med ball in the 2-6lbs range. this is for speed so dont go too heavy on this. start light and overtime work up in weight

2. Med Ball rotational scoop toss- same guidelines as above except we want to do 5 heavier and 5 lighter throws

3. later you can add split stance overhead backwards toss for distance with a heavier ball LINK


highly suggest you look at bill miller on twitter and instagram.


edit to add this:
other thing is...he needs to eat to gain weight, period. has to get bigger, not just stronger. At somepoint, he just wont have enough arse. its not something to gloss over, its a huge ordeal. 20-30lbs of muscle changes an athlete, period.

Dr Josh heenan is going to suggest 1000 calories before 9am. Start with letting him eat his favorite foods, dont care if its pizza everyday. After a couple weeks have him sub out 2-3 days for something like an omelet or something else he likes, maybe add veggies or eggs and beef, whatever. just slowly improve the quality of the protein while still getting the cals in.

wanted to add...talk to him and see what his goals are, put them down on paper. Visit a place with a hittrax and see where he is and see where he wants to go. explain the amount of work it will take to get there adn see if he is truely committed.

im talking

-4-5 days a week of bat speed training
-6 days a week of training(3-4 in weight room, 2-3 on speed)

for 6-9 months and this isnt even including if he wants to see the field outside of DH getting on a fielding program and throwing program.

plus he has to commit to the diet or all of this is pretty much a waste of time. Like i said, eventually the problem is the kid weighs 150 lbs soaking wet, no amuont of bat speed training or private lessons is goign to fix that. period.

He’s 150 Pounds right now he’s said he’d like to be 180 by junior year. I don’t know if that’s doable or not but we will try. He’s a pretty good glove on the infield gotta good shot at starting at short this season and 2nd if not.

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just lmk as this is very very much in my wheel house.

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I feel like we talked about this before, but are you in S&C career wise or just big hobby? Special interest in baseball?

100% the axe bat program with weighted bats are legit. Started my son at 7 on those and he swings very fast. That isn't the only thing but it is a big part of it. Overload/underload... Rotational power (at young ages this is fairly genetic but can be gained as kids get older) then at puberty squat/deads/plyo/med ball throws

Awesome. The niche for “baseball performance” has grown so much in like the past 10-15 years

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Syz was our strength guy when I played at auburn and he is unreal for baseball. Best I’ve felt in my life

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Yes Sir. Studied under him at LA Tech and assisted with the baseball team as a SC coach for a year and half. Baseball performance is truly his passion. I believe that his training and methodology have been an integral part in the rise and success of the LA Tech baseball program. The "Z" Man is the real deal.

to answer your question.....2 times a week before the lifting for speed

the other days...do lower reps as activation for the throwing.

should be doing true arm care everyday

if you want to email me you can, ill send you some things

lsu777td


gmail

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Look man I’m being dead serious with this suggestion: find a heavy arse axe for him, go pick out a big tree you’d want for winter firewood, and tell him to go hack at it every day until that sumbitch goes timber. Swinging from both lefty and righty. Repeat as needed.

I saw one of my lesser talented juco teammates earn himself a scholarship to Texas Tech by working on his swing this way, plus it helped his pop. Every hack is to simulate a swing FYI. Good luck to him.

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Med balls are better, can control weight, isn't end loaded, can track speed etc

Combined with over/under weight bat speed program and its a much better overall plan when combined with lifting.