One exercise(weightlifting) to help with the baseball swing

[Allistair]

What is one exercise to add power to your swing?
or what exercises will help increase power to your swing?

I was at the gym with minially(he was working out) and I was sitting on a seated row machine and figured I try a few reps. When did, I felt the scap clamp and held it there for a few seconds then released to a stretch.
Then a light bulb went off in my head and decided to make this thread.


This is the machine I sat on.

[Al Oha]

Right idea Alli.

What gets even closer is what may done with resistance bands in a Face Pull, like this below.

There is a point in the video where the the shoulders bring the elbows down, with the resistance band behind the head. This is what the elite hitter does in initiating his overlap. The scap circles when he works the lowest tip of the shoulder blade to pivot upwards as he does this. In the demonstration above, the shoulder come straight downward, but the scapula does not rotate.

In order for the shoulder blade to pivot, The raised hands, arms and forearms will continue to arc backwards in continuing the face pull. When this happens, the lower back muscles become recruited for the entire assembly in leveraging rearward.

[jryan15]

Al,

I get a little confused with the axes when you speak of rotate and pivot... I think that you are discussing movement in more than one plane (3D). Let me see if I get this straight...

There is a point in the video where the the shoulders bring the elbows down, with the resistance band behind the head. This is what the elite hitter does in initiating his overlap.

I think you are referring to this section... Where I see the shoulder blades rotating from up to down. I see the tip of the scap (inferior angle?) moving from out/up to in/down.

The scap circles when he works the lowest tip of the shoulder blade to pivot upwards as he does this. In the demonstration above, the shoulder come straight downward, but the scapula does not rotate. In order for the shoulder blade to pivot, The raised hands, arms and forearms will continue to arc backwards in continuing the face pull. When this happens, the lower back muscles become recruited for the entire assembly in leveraging rearward.

Now in this section you discuss a pivot... By what axis do you mean for the shoulder blade to pivot upwards? In the image below, I think of an axis going from shoulder to shoulder and the tip of the scap rotating into the screen towards the mirror.

Is this what you mean by "pivot upwards"?

[Al Oha]

Retraction of Scapula: Resistance band is pulled to a plane flushed with face.
Depression: Resistance band gets pulled down behind the back of the head.
Upward Rotation: the look is that the arms get externally rotated, but it is the scapula that shifts the red X in your diagram up and outward in the direction of the blue arrows in my representation.

When depression of the scapula simultaneously occurs with upward rotation, the combined activity will have the hand continue to pull the resistance band beyond the plane of his face, through arc behind him for the "circle of the scap". Note that the scapula remains locked in and retracted throughout the cycle, and only gets released when the hand swivel launches the bat head.

[Al Oha]

Now in this section you discuss a pivot... By what axis do you mean for the shoulder blade to pivot upwards? In the image below, I think of an axis going from shoulder to shoulder and the tip of the scap rotating into the screen towards the mirror.

Is this what you mean by "pivot upwards"?

Your observations are correct regarding the 3D movement in the lower tip or angle of the scapula away from computer screen towards the mirror, going from midline out laterally as the "scap circle" progresses.

The red line axis that is shown is important because it is the axle of rotation of the "Couple". It runs between the two hands on the bat handle so that each hand opposes rotation in launching the bat rearward.

[ropes]

Deadlift!!

[Allistair]

Deadlift!!

Gotcha!!!!! Will implement on his back day. He will use the smith machine since that is the only machine that he can use to deadlift.

[Allistair]

Gotcha!!!!! Will implement on his back day. He will use the smith machine since that is the only machine that he can use to deadlift.

No can do. The smith machine bottoms out and is too high. Unless, he does partials, then its good.