Are you exercising or training?

Right now, higher level baseball players should be in the middle of their winter workout routines.  

(On a side note … if you have not yet picked up a copy of my latest eBook involving tips for Off-Season routines and workouts for players and coaches, follow the link below this post!)

Unfortunately, many players are just exercising.  If you are serious about getting better, you need to be training.

What’s the difference you ask?  Here it is …

Exercising helps you for that day.  Exercising gets you off the couch and away from the video games.  It gets you moving.  30 minutes of exercise per day is a proven stress reliever that has many other health benefits to get you through the day.

Training is for the future.  It implies that there is a specific, measurable, attainable, reachable, and time-sensitive (S.M.A.R.T) aspect to your workouts.  Training means that every single exercise you perform has a baseball purpose.  Cardio work will help you pitch later into games this coming season.  Wrists curls and hand exercises will give you better bat speed.  Ab work will lead to more power in your throws and swings.  Ladder work helps improve your first step to improve defensive range and base running jumps. 

When you train, there is no wasted time or energy because everything you do has a specific purpose and leads to improvement in a specific area of the game.  If it doesn’t, you cut it out of your program and add something that does.

Training adds motivation because you are working towards a goal.  You can improve even more in this area by visualizing when you train.  For example, if you are doing hand or wrist work, you can close your eyes during the set and visualize yourself swing the bat every time you perform a rep.  This constantly reminds you of why you are doing this exercise during your training.

Exercising is certainly better than doing nothing.  Training, however, is what you do when you are serious about getting better.

For more help with designing, organizing, and running off-season workouts, click HERE!