Conditioning Workouts for Fastpitch Softball Sports Articles | October 6 Harmon Killebrew Womens Jersey , 2009 Sport specific conditioning or game speed practicing are not new concepts, but often overlooked is the unique fitness training needs of fastpitch position players.? Softball athletes execute short exp...
Sport specific conditioning or game speed practicing are not new concepts, but often overlooked is the unique fitness training needs of fastpitch position players.? Softball athletes execute short explosive movements followed by time at rest, but each position has different amounts of rest time.? Softball pitchers and catchers operate at a different frequency than either infielders or outfielders.? This rest interval difference needs to be taken into consideration by their strength and conditioning program. Many athletes now have specifically tailored fitness programs.? Taking this into consideration, here are three examples of a tailored fitness program.
The Power Hitters: The power hitter's greatest asset is their ability to generate bat speed through the hitting zone.? Power hitter's can hit for high average andor home runs.? Defensively Max Kepler Womens Jersey , power players will typically play as the catcher, corner infielder, or right field.? For this group, the fitness program emphasizes the lower and upper body and core strength development.? Conditioning workouts put added emphasis on incorporating medicine ball plyometrics for trunk torque and power development and improving speed-endurance for under 40 yard conditioning.??
The Speed Players: The speed player is defined by her ability to accelerate quickly and maintain a high maximum running velocity.? Offensively this group includes your slappers, single hitters and base stealers.? Defensively Brian Dozier Womens Jersey , this group is usually your middle infielders and outfielders.? Even though speed player's training emphasizes speed and agility, they can also be some of the strongest players on the team.? Speed player's typical strengthening routine focuses on full body exercises like lunges and squats, with less of an emphasis on upper body strength.? Agility is enhanced through cone drills, ladder drills, and short shuttles.? Finally Nelson Cruz Womens Jersey , the speed endurance targets acceleration and running distances of less than 40 yards through resistance sprints and form running.
The Pitchers: Arguable, the pitcher is the most influential player that effects the game's outcome.? Not only do they need to be pitch explosively, but they also must have the endurance to pitch multiple games per week with, potentially, long innings.? Their lower body and core must be exceptionally strong and powerful while maintaining wide range of motion and flexibility.? Like speed players Miguel Sano Womens Jersey , pitchers conditioning training focuses are full body workouts with a slightly greater emphasis on lower body strength.? Pitchers also need to do extra grip strengthening work and as hip flexors and adductors to improve lower body mobility.
Final Training Considerations: Off-season and in-season fitness training sessions have dramatically different emphasis.? In the off-season, a strong emphasis is placed on muscle building and injury prevention.? Conversely, in-season training is for injury prevention and maintenance.???
While the majority of each groups training is essentially the same, the number of sets and repetitions differ depending of the areas of emphasis.? All groups include full body strength training, injury prevention exercises Jonathan Schoop Womens Jersey , and strength endurance training.? Over the course of a week, the athletes cover all the strength and conditioning development areas, but with varying amounts of time based on their emphasis.
Sports Psychology: Letting Go of Errors Sports Articles | July 17, 2007
Mistakes or errors occur every day in sports and life, but many athletes stifle their own performance because they simply can't let go of past mistakes.
Missing shots Kirby Puckett Womens Jersey , double faulting, and losing an important game happen often in the sports world and become a thorn in many athlete's mind. In some cases these thoughts continue for the remainder of the competition because the athlete can't stop dwelling on the error or missed opportunity.
I am sure you have made some mistakes in your sports career that you were unable to quickly forget. You carried a critical mistake with you for most the competition. Either you did not enjoy your day, or were too busy beating yourself up to help yourself or your team.
Dwelling on errors is the number one distraction for athletes today. You cannot play in the present moment (a quality of the zone), if your mind is stuck on a missed opportunity or faulty performance.
Rarely do athletes use mistakes or anger to help them perform better, but it does happen. You watch Tiger Woods get angry on the golf course Justin Morneau Jersey , but he is able to channel his frustration to make it work for him instead of against him. Tiger becomes more focused and determined to make up for the error by refocusing his mind in the present moment.
Why does the mind sometimes want to stay glued to past errors? Making mistakes does not match what you expected of yourself. You want better for yourself and think you should be a better performer. In some instances, you may display your anger or disappointment to others who are watching because you want show them you are actually a better athlete.
Once you begin to dwell on an error and beat yourself up, it is very hard to stop the cycle of negativity.? You will try to avoid committing future errors, which is not a great mindset for focusing in the present moment.