4 Baseball Exercises for Hitting Power

What baseball player doesn’t like the idea of hitting a ball so hard it goes far beyond the reach of the outfielders? The hit that becomes an instant home run and the hit that everyone will be talking about for weeks to come is what every baseball player dreams of. It’s the kind of hit that legends are made out of, and that type of hit is only possible by improving hitting power. Sure, accuracy, focus, and batting form all play integral roles in creating a hit like that, but without hitting power, none of those other factors will lead to an instant home run. Even a poor batter can hit the ball out of the park occasionally if they have some serious hitting power.

We want to show you a few exercises you can do to boost your hitting power. These are all fairly simple and can be done without a lot of skill or expensive equipment, and they can make the difference that enables you to make that memorable hit.

Rotational Medicine Ball Throws

With this exercise, you will be working the muscles that are eased to hit a ball while going through the motions required to hit a ball, without any of the work of having to chase after a ball you hit. You only need a medicine ball for this one, and you’ll want to start by holding the ball in an athletic stance while next to a wall.

As you would while swinging a baseball, wind up and rotate the ball in the opposite direction of the wall. Then pivot with your torso, shoulders and hips to throw the ball hard against the wall. Then retrieve the ball and do the same thing again. You can do this about 10 times for a decent rep and alternate arms after each set of 10 to help build up your muscles on both arms.

Dead Lift

Most people understand that lifting weights is one of the best ways to build arm strength. If you are eating the right diet, then lifting weights regularly can cause explosive growth in the biceps, triceps, forearms, and shoulder muscles.

Dead lifts are one of the most effective weight lifting methods. They will help you to build muscles quickly and improve your hitting strength and speed. A faster, stronger hit means you are less likely to hit too late or hit too slow to send the ball flying. Be sure to start small and use weights that you can handle. You can increase the weights as you start to feel comfortable with more weight. If you want to keep increasing bat speed and hitting power, then you will need to keep increasing your weight lifting—either by doing more reps or using larger weights.

Weighted Lunge

If you want to hit with your entire body, then you need to build up your entire body. A lunge is great for working numerous muscles at once, and it improves your glide strength. That boosts your ability to put your body into the hits and to hit with greater power. Even if your arm strength isn’t where it should be yet, an effective use of your upper body can really put some extra power behind the hits.

Weighted lunges are done by placing a barbell on your shoulders, holding it just above the back of your neck, and taking a large step forward and steps to the side. These are exercises that can be done in different directions, that will increase your agility and movement speed. With each lunge, move forward or to the side until you have one knee bent completely. Then move back to your starting position. You don’t need to do this very quickly, especially at first. Ease your way into them or you can end up straining a muscle.

Wood Chops

There are a few different ways you can perform wood chops. You’ll always use the same basic motion, but you can use different equipment, depending on what you want to do and what kind of equipment you have available. Make sure you’re using the right equipment and you can research what type of equipment might work well for you by using resources like Bat Critic.

The wood chop builds upper arm strength, helps with your range of motion, and it can be done using dumbbells or resistance bands. Either way you do it, you will be forcing your shoulders, upper arms, and back to do a lot of work and build musculature.

To do the wood chop, you simply hold your dumbbell or resistance band overhead and then bring it down to below your waist, with your arm extended as you pivot your hips. This replicates a swinging movement fairly well and builds up all the muscle groups necessary for swinging. Then just bring your arm back up to the starting position and begin again. You can do 15 reps one side and then shift your stance to work the other side. Creating a balance between both sides of your body is important. Even though you may not bat from more than one stance, you want to ensure that your entire body is able to work together and that both sides are being developed at the same rate.