Baseball bat speed program

7/24/2019 Baseball bat speed program

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Copyright Athlete Baseball

4 Week Bat Speed

Explosion ProgramBy Miles Noland


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Table of Contents:

Bat Speed Report Outline

1.

Introduction

2.

Common mistakes in the swing that hurt bat speed and how to correct

them

a. getting long

b. poor back leg action

c. poor load

d. Drills to do to correct these problems

3.

Strength and conditioning

a. exact sets/reps of each exercise

b. sample training program

c. inseason/offseason

4.

Overload/Underload training

a. philosophy

b. exact number of sets and reps

c. inseason/offseason

d. 4 week bat speed solution

5.

4 and 8 week workout videos of exercises, hitting drill videos, PDF

downloads of workout programs, get this at

http://athletehitting.com/4weekbspro/
http://athletehitting.com/4weekbspro/http://athletehitting.com/4weekbspro/http://athletehitting.com/4weekbspro/


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Introduction: 4 Week Bat Speed Explosion

http://athletehitting.com/4weekbspro/is where all of the videos and downloads

are located for this product. Bookmark this page on your computer so you can

refer back to it.

My name is Miles Noland, and I am here to teach you how to get the most bat

speed possible. A little background on myself, I was at the University of Kentucky,

in my first year there, we led the SEC in home runs, and had four guys hit 16 or

more in the season. That season we also led the SEC in RBI, runs scored, doubles,

on base percentage, and slugging percentage.

At Wabash Valley JC the year before I got there they hit 38 home runs. In my first

year we hit 74 home runs, and my second year we hit 95 home runs. We led the

country in home runs and RBI, and were 2

nd

in runs scored.

I have used methods with my hitters to help them greatly increase the power in

which they hit the ball, and the results speak for themselves.

What Im about to show you has been tested and tweaked, and I extracted only

the most effective methods that I used.

Now more about bat speed.

You may not know it, but your body is like a coiled spring, loaded with potentialenergy.

As you start your load and the swing progresses, more and more energy is

converted to kinetic energy.


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When you make contact later on in the swing it allows for more bat speed at the

point of contact. Have you ever beat out in front and missed or hit a weak pop?

Your arms were extended, and contrary to old-school beliefs, you have no power

in extension.

In terms of power, bat speed is the single most important factor in hitting for

distance.

For example, if you swing your bat 65 mph at a 60 mph pitch, hit it on the barrel,

and it can travel 400 ft. If you increase bat speed only 5mph to 70 mph on the

same 60 mph pitch, the ball will travel 425 ft.

Increasing the pitch speed 5 mph will only increase the hit 5 ft, not 25 ft (like

when increasing bat speed the same 5mph). So in summary, increasing bat speed

is much more important than increasing pitch velocity.

Bat speed is all about momentum, which is a product of mass X velocity.

For example, a 30oz bat has 6 times the amount of momentum as a 5oz ball,

which is why swing speed is much more important than pitch velocity.

The difference between a double and the ball getting caught, or a ball on thewarning track and a home run, can be only .5mph in increased bat speed.

So every little bit you increase your bat speed the farther the balls you hit will

travel.


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Have you ever seen a small kid (or maybe a big kid) with not much bat speed

struggle to hit the ball out of the infield?

He has no chance to hit well because his margin of error is so small.

I have coached guys with so much bat speed that when they got fooled they hit a

single. When they didnt get fooled, it was a home run. Guys like this have ahuge margin for error, and this is the type of hitter you want to be.

Now you understand the importance of bat speed and how it is the key for your

success as a hitter, lets get to the good stuff.

But wait, not only is it important to have great bat speed, it is very important to

hit the ball on the barrel of the bat. The great benefit of these bat speed drills is

they also promote hitting the ball on the barrel.

You must hit the ball on the barrel and have bat speed to be a great hitter, and

what we do here is teach you to do both.


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Chapter 1: Mistakes Hitters Make Which Cost Them Bat Speed

Most hitters make some common mistakes that dont allow them to get the most

out of their swing, and this hurts their bat speed.

1.

Getting long or getting around the ball

Yes, I know that everyone knows you should be short to the ball, but how

do we actually do this?

I believe that hitters getting long is a product of starting out at tee ball. In

tee ball you dont have to worry about being quick to the ball, because the

ball is just sitting there, so kids take a long, slow, uppercut swing, and they

are successful. Once they face live pitching they are forced to change or

not be successful.

However, as kids get older, they can still succeed with a longer swing as

long as they are facing slower pitching.

At the highest levels of baseball the swing cannot be long, because most of

the pitchers throw hard, and you will be consistently late if you cannot take

a direct path to the baseball.

a.)Stay short (best drill)- Fast Track Drill(stop getting long)

Set up a tee up like its an inside pitch. If you are right handed you

would typically pull this ball to left field.


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In this situation, however, you are going to hit the ball on a line directly

over the second basemans head. Impossible? Not really.

If you keep your hands in the track tight to your body, the shaft of the

bat will be tight to your back shoulder, and your bat will be quick to the

ball.

The barrel of your bat will also stay flat through the zone for a long

period of time as well, increasing your chances of hitting the ball on the

barrel.

This drill is often very frustrating for hitters that have a long swing,

because they will struggle keeping their hands tight to their body

throughout the track.

This is because they are so used to getting early hand separation from

their body to go around the ball. However frustrating, this drill when

consistently done will help hitters feel the track their hands should be

in when attacking the baseball.

This drill is also great because it gives instant feedback. If you got long

you will immediately know it, because you will pull the ball. Good

hitters get jammed, REMEMBER THAT.

Hitters that are always early (like I was when I played) are always out.

This is drill is very powerful because getting your hands in the tight

track forces your bat to stay flat through the zone for a very long time,


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which gives you a bigger margin for error.

b.)

Proper load- I address this in a video, but many hitters are taught to be

stiff and mechanical. Coaches often say, dont do this, dont do that,

and hitters are scared to make mistakes.

However, a huge cause of poor bat speed is a hitters poor load. Andwhen I say poor load I mean no load at all.

Hitters are taught to go straight to the ball. Now try this for me, take

your hands from where you start to the hitting areayes, it looks like

you are chopping wood, and it is impossible to square up a baseball

swinging like this.

Now, when hitters try this method when actually swinging at a pitch

they realize quick that chopping down at the ball will not be effective.

Now, their body craves momentum to create the bat speed necessary to

hit the ball, but it is forced to get long to create this momentum because

there is no load.

So, the no load forces the long swing path. I will cover this in video, so

dont worry if you are confused.

So a good load is key. The hitter needs to rhythm towards his back side

(load), and in its simplest terms, drive everything forward.


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A good load is essential to good bat speed.

Great drills to reinforce a good load and being athletic in your swing are

the:

1.) Lead leg lift-lift your front knee up even with your hip, hold for 2

seconds, and then put into the ground and swing.

This drill forces you to hold the flex on your backside, and you must be

loose and rhythmic to complete this drill.

2.) Anti-bat wrap-This drill helps prevent a bat wrap. Point the end of

the bat slow and easy directly at the pitcher and back to where you

started 3 times, and then load and swing.

Putting the bat in front of your head makes it hard to get the bat behind

your head on the load. You also must have a loose grip and it forces you

to move, which makes it hard to be stiff and unathletic (exactly what we

dont want).

3.) Chicken Wing- From starting bat position to pushing your elbows

very close to each other 3 times, this forces you to be loose and

rhythmic in your hands, forearms , and shoulders.

4.) Walk through drill-Start about five feet back from where your

normal stance would start. Take a step behind your front foot with your

back foot and then step forward with your front foot (as your stride) and


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swing.

The forward movement helps your body understand rhythm and

keeping your body moving in a straight line.

You cannot be stiff and unathletic with this drill, and if you are, this drill

will help you improve.

All of these drills with help your bat speed because great bat speed

requires good mechanics, being loose and athletic, and being explosive.

These drills work on all of these traits without any useless verbal cues

that the hitter doesnt understand.

5.)

Back heel to sky:So many hitters are taught squash the bug. The

basis of energy starts with the lower half, and then moves upward.

That is why we have a huge problem if we squash the bug, because

this starts our energy flow moving in a circle.

Yes, hitting is a rotational movement, but in our brain, we need to

think of it in a linear way.

Our whole goal in hitting is to hit the ball on the barrel. To give

ourselves the best chance of hitting the ball on the barrel we must

keep the barrel flat through the zone for as long as possible.


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To keep the barrel flat through the zone as long as possible we must

first drive our back knee toward the pitcher in a straight line, and this

causes the back heel to go to the sky.

Doing this we gain ground toward the pitcher, and our energy flow is

going toward where the ball is coming from, in a straight line.

If we start off squashing the bug, our energy flow starts off

moving in a circle, which causes our bat to be in and out of the zone

quickly, creating less margin for error.

Squashing the bug is hard habit to break, but as a hitter we must

understand the feeling of driving our backside forward, and

specifically back knee to the pitcher.

This is the difference between hitting above the ground, and

hitting in the ground. We want to hit in the ground, because this

gives us a firm base and allows to create more kinetic energy, which

produces more bat speed.

A great drill to work on this is the Back Knee Through Drill. Put a ball

on a tee, take your normal stance and load, and then swing.

The same time you normally would get your back heel to the sky, you

drive the back leg up off the ground and land it on the front side in

front of your front foot.


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This will feel very strange and most hitters will have trouble doing

this successfully when they first try.

However, to do this correctly, hitters must hold the flex in the back

knee (another good habit reinforced), and aggressively drive the back

knee forward (exactly what we want).

This exaggeration/overcorrect will help the hitter understand the

feeling of what his back leg should be doing, and this will allow him

get closer to the proper back foot/leg action in his swing. In other

words, this will help him the habit that we want.

Refer tohttp://athletehitting.com/4weekbspro/to access all of the training

videos and downloads associated with this product.
http://athletehitting.com/4weekbspro/http://athletehitting.com/4weekbspro/http://athletehitting.com/4weekbspro/http://athletehitting.com/4weekbspro/


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Chapter 2: Strength and Conditioning for Bat Speed

First off, there are two separate groups I am gearing this towards, ages 9-13

and ages 14+. Around age 13 the body starts dramatically changing and is

ready for increased loads and demands. Some 13s are ready for the 14+

program, however, many should complete the 9-13.

A background for my training..

I am a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, a Youth Fitness

Specialist, and a Precision Nutrition Level 1 Coach.

I design programs and direct a training program for baseball players at

Noland Fitness in Lexington, KY.

I am focused on developing the overall strength of the body first. Recruitingmore muscles fibers during exercise is the way to best strengthen these

muscles, and will change CNS patterns to be more explosive.

In addition to building a firm base, we placed an increased emphasis in

developing the core, hips, glutes, and back, as these are the primary muscles

involved in rotational movement (hitting, throwing), which is at the core of

baseball movements.

Number one in training is staying healthy, and we will not perform exercisesthat are more risk than reward. I understand the unique demands of

baseball, and specifically throwing, which leads to increased stress on the

elbow and shoulder, especially in pitchers. We take precautions to protect

arms, and always stress proper form before increasing weight.


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See the document download page for a complete chart of sets and reps of each

exercise for the entire 4 weeks. I have included two sprint workouts that are

to be done two days a week, which will accelerate your explosiveness and

athletic ability.

Each workout has been put in a video showing you exactly how to do the

exercises. The exercises in the video are in the exact order listed on the

workout program. You can access all of these documents at

http://athletehitting.com/4weekbspro/

Be sure to watch the videos of each exercise and perform them correctly. Form is

very important to get the most benefit. Performing exercises with poor form can

result in injury.


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Chapter 3: Overload/Underload Training

Overload-Underload Training is a training method that utilizes identical

movements that one would encounter in his/her sport (swinging, throwing),

only the resistance will be increased or decreased slightly.

Overload-Underload training worksby replicating the exact motion that is

used in the sport, there is a direct carry-over to the movement in the sport,

which isnt always the case with traditional weight training.

Simply put, using a resistance that is slightly above what one usually

encounters increases strength. Using resistance that is slightly lighter

increases movement speed and teaches the body (specifically the nervous

system) how to fire at a quicker rate. When combined, the body learns how to

become more powerful.

Is there any scientific evidence to back up Overload-Underload training?

Yes! There are around 30-40 studies documenting the effectiveness of

Overload- Underload training in baseball alone! Overload-Underload training

has been used since the 70s by Olympic athletes to increase running speed,

swim speed, as well as discus, shot put, javelin, and the hammer throw.

Here are two of the numerous scientific studies on Overload-Underload

training if you would like to pursue more information.


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Coop DeRenne, Barton P. Buxton, Ronald K. Hetzler and Kwok W. Ho. 1995:

Effects of Weighted Bat Implement Training on Bat Swing Velocity. The

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 247250.

Coop DeRenne, Barton P. Buxton, Ronald K. Hetzler and Kwok W. Ho. 1994:

Effects of Under- and Overweighted Implement Training on Pitching Velocity.

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 247250.

Is Overload-Underload Training safe, especially for younger kids?

Overload-Underload Training is completely safe as long as the athlete is

prepared for it.

Being prepared means that the athlete is ready to make 50 80 swings at

maximal speed. Younger athletes can definitely gain benefits from Overload-

Underload training.

How much can I realistically gain in 4 weeks?

It is nearly impossible to predict how much improvement players will make

on an individual basis. A professional hitter with a barrel velocity of 82 mph

will have a lot less room to improve than, say, a high school freshman

swinging 50 mph.

The bottom line is all players will gain velocity (peak) or average, and most

likely both. Most players should be able to make gains of 4 8 mph easily;

however, that will again depend on age and skill level.


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The phrase "practice makes perfect" is often used by coaches, but in reality

only perfect practice makes perfect.

That means someone wishing to increase his bat speed must take each

practice swing with perfect technique at game speed in order to have the

hope of making noticeable improvements.

To become fast and explosive, you must train to be fast and explosive. Quality

always wins over quantity. A quick example would be looking at a marathon

runner vs. a sprinter.

A marathon runner runs for miles at a time in training. A sprinter runs a few

short sprints. They are both running but the differences lie in a) intensity, b)

volume of training, and c) rest intervals. Changing those 3 variables makes

the outcome of the training drastically different.

The take-home message is: if you want to throw faster, you need to practice

throwing FAST.

If you want to increase your bat speed, you have to practice swinging as fast as

possible with perfect mechanics.

Information above on underload/overload training is referenced from my

good friend and bat speed expert, Jon Davis.

1.

So we know underload/overload training works, now how can we

implement it?

a.) Grab your game bat


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b.) Find a bat 5oz heavier than your game bat

c.) Find a bat 5oz lighter than your game bat (any old bats work)

If you want one bat that does everything (-5oz-20% less and +5oz-20%

more), gives you the training program, and a bat speed radar, then go to

http://athletehitting.com/bat-speed-program/

2.

Whether you go get the Fast Bat from the link above or not, I am going

to give you exact reps and sets you need in the inseason and offseason

for you to make maximal bat speed gains. See the separate document

Excel sheet that gives you the chart.

I included a 4 week program for the offseason, and 4 week program for

inseason, so you have everything done for you no matter what time of

year you are in.
http://athletehitting.com/bat-speed-program/http://athletehitting.com/bat-speed-program/http://athletehitting.com/bat-speed-program/


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C i ht Athl t B b ll

Conclusion

It is important going forward to have an action plan.

All the great information in the world wont matter if you do not take action.

In the offseason I would recommend:

1.

Working on your bat speed 3 times a week. Each workout would consist of:

a.) Recommended (in provided Excel sheet) overload-underload swings first

b.) Pick one drill and do 3 sets of 8 reps

2.

Workout out 3 times a week:

a.) Use the provided workout program and do exactly what it says

b.) Limit fast food and eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, lean meats, and

other protein sources. Eat healthier carb sources (whole wheat pasta,bread, sweet potatoes) if you want to gain weight.

You can hit and workout on the same day, but I would recommend hitting before

you workout, so your workout fatigue doesnt affect your hitting.

If you put this program to use, I guarantee you will increase your bat speed and

improve your game.

Be sure to email me with your success story!

Be the best,

Coach Miles

[email protected]

Documents

Baseball bat speed program