Ways to practice your mental game in the weight room

It is currently mid-January so, of course, baseball season is right around the corner. Not only is it time for players to adjust their physical workouts as the season approaches, players need to adjust their “mental workouts” while in the weight room as well.

The amount of data being collected and utilized in player development is certainly exploding. Debates are raging as to which data points are most important as well as whether or not the increased focus on data (analytics) is causing more problems than they are solving. Those debates are healthy but there is still no debate on the importance of the mental side of baseball. Unfortunately, most players either don’t focus attention on improving their mental game at all or they wait until the season starts before they begin.

Like overall physical fitness, a player’s overall mental “fitness” should be a year-round pursuit as well. Most often it is not which produces an interesting irony … everyone agrees on the importance of the mental side but rarely does anyone focus consistent attention to improving it.

I could write for days about this but let’s get right into some practical ways in which players can focus on the mental side as they wrap up their off-season training in the gym and transition to their on-field work.

First reps. One pitching stat that has stood the test of time is first-pitch strike percentage. Improving focus on pitch #1 to every batter should be a goal for any pitcher and they do not have to wait until a bullpen session to work on it. They can start now by deliberately focusing their mind on the first rep of any exercise they do. Let’s say a pitcher in a weight room session does a total of 10 exercises and completes three sets of each exercise. That means the pitcher is completing 30 first reps. If a pitcher throws a complete game, they are going to face at least 30 batters and will therefore want to throw at least 30 first-pitch strikes. To do so, they obviously will need to increase their focus on those 30+ pitches. If that will be the case in the game then they can start practicing that level of focus now in the weight room. They can be very deliberate with each of their 30 first-reps they perform. They can slow the rep down slightly and make sure 100% of their focus is on performing the rep with perfect form, pace, and range of motion. Of course, this should be done with all his reps but if he specifically needs to up his first-pitch strikes game, he should be a little more deliberate with his first-reps in order to train his mind.

Last sets. Let’s say you are 1 for 3 heading into your team’s last at-bat. You are on-deck with two outs. Do you really want that last at-bat? If hitters are honest, many will say “No.” That’s because 1 for 3 looks and feels a lot better than 1 for 4. Of course, that negative mental energy directed at last at-bats is a problem. I read where Pete Rose knew about this mental tendency and fought it by intentionally putting a higher level of focus on all of his last at-bats over the course of the season. He said several more hits over a season’s 162 last at-bats can make a world of difference with a hitter’s batting average. Hitters can practice this last at-bat focus with every last set similar to what pitchers can do with first-pitch strikes and first-reps. A hitter can deliberately place more mental focus over their entire last set of an exercise to mimic the focus needed in their last at-bats. Practicing a better mental state during a third or fourth set can prepare a hitter for the mindset needed for better third or fourth at-bats.

15 reps. A goal of every pitcher should be to get out of every inning in 15 pitches or less. Unfortunately, a lack of focus tends to be a big reason why young pitchers go beyond the 15-pitch goal. Poor focus leads to wasted pitches. A pitcher can start combating this now with a good 15-rep set. They can place a high level of focus on each of the 15 reps just like they should do with their 15 pitch inning. Perfect focus, pace, and form on every rep can train the mind to perfectly execute their focus, pace, and form over 15 pitches.

There are many other ways to do this while working out. The key is to first acknowledge that your mental training is just as important (some might say more important) as your physical training. And just like the need for physical reps to improve your game, a player’s mind needs mental reps to improve as well.

Be creative and come up with other personalized ways to connect the mindset you need in a game with your activities in the workout room.

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