Unfortunately not everyone thinks training during baseball season is good for the athlete, but they couldn’t be further from the truth.

Doing This Over and Over With No Attempt to Balance It Out is Definitely a Great Idea…

Let’s try to put it another way that hopefully makes more sense for these athletes/coaches/parents who are afraid of strength training during the season.

I want you for the next 4-6 months to take one 5lb dumbbell and every day perform arm circles swinging it around 100-200 times.  Then take that same dumbbell and with both hands swing it across your body (left -> right, or vice versa) 100-200 times every day.  For the entire time period, you can’t use the other arm, or swing the dumbbell in the other direction.

Imagine how imbalanced your body is going to become and all the injuries that can occur from this type of training.  Unfortunately this is what happens to every baseball athlete who doesn’t perform some type of correct strength training during the season and spends all their time concentrating on throwing and hitting.

These Types of Imbalances Occur All the Time In Baseball

This leads to all sorts of elbow and shoulder injuries, as well as injured backs and weaknesses as the season progresses.

Having an athlete train 1-2x a week correctly during the season is going to minimize the risk of all those types of injuries, as well as keep the strong, fast, and explosive the entire season.

Imagine being just as fresh, healthy, strong, and powerful in the last game of the season as you were during the first, and how much of an advantage you have over everyone else who isn’t that way.

Training in-season is necessary in order to become the best athlete possible, but unfortunately the ones who do attempt it always do it incorrectly.  I have seen baseball players perform an in-season program by bench pressing, curling, and performing even worse exercises that only cause risk to the athlete even further.  You have to do it correctly and under the supervision of a qualified coach who knows your body and your strengths/weaknesses.  Because we never have more than 60 athletes enrolled at one time, and never allow more than 6 in a group that is exactly what you get at Genesis.  We know and talk to every athlete that walks in our door to train to make sure we are doing exactly what they need to stay healthy, strong, powerful, and get better.

If you want to get the most out of this baseball season, it isn’t too late.  Don’t wait until the next off-season to start training.  Get a head start on the competition and finish the season healthier, faster, and more explosive than any of your teammates and opponents.

Contact us today for your FREE Trial and Consultation if you are interested in getting better NOW!!

Call us at (832) 380-5436 or click here.

In Strength,

David

I haven’t been at the facility this past week because I’ve been up in New Jersey working with some of the best strength coaches in the nation to make sure that you are getting the most of your program at Genesis.

Sorry… I Only Worked With Real Coaches & Trainers. No Situation Here

I have 3 words… “It Is Cold”

What I Have Woken Up To Everyday This Week

I’ve braved the 6-8 degree weather to make sure that I’m learning the newest ways out there to not only keep the Genesis athletes on top of their game and dominating, but also healthy.

What coaches and locations did I train and workout at?

Underground Strength Gym – Edison New Jersey – Zach Even-Esh

DeFranco’s Training Systems – Wyckoff, New Jersey – Joe DeFranco & Mike Guadango

This month at Genesis is going to be intense.  With the knowledge I’m rolling back into town with is definitely going to give my athletes a step ahead of all their competition, and I would hate for you to miss out.

We have a few spots still open and normally this is about the time baseball coaches and parents make the horrible mistake of actually stopping their athlete from training, but not at Genesis.  We only work with the parents, athletes, and coaches who get it and because of that we haven’t had one athlete put his training on hold because the season is here.

If you think you have the drive and dedication to become a champion and dominate the competition, then you need to call us today at (832) 380-5436 to set up your free trial before all our spots are filled.

Don’t wait and get pass by.  Contact us today before are spots are full and you get stuck on the waiting list.

In Strength (and Warmth),

DC

P.S. – Can’t wait to see all my athletes this Friday!!

The easiest way to increase your speed is to get stronger… Period.

Far to often to athletes and parents get caught up in the gimmicks of “speed training”, and forget what actually makes someone not just faster, but also a better athlete.  That is strength and power.

Athletes and parents come to me all the time asking if I can make them faster, but then turning around and saying that they aren’t allowed to squat because of a lower back weakness or knee problem.

If you continue to baby a weak area, how is it ever going to get stronger and healthier?  If you have a weak lower back, then no matter how “fast” you become, you aren’t going to go anywhere.

You have to lift hard, heavy, correct, and powerful.  If you do this and concentrate on your entire backside (calves, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and upper back), then you will get faster.

Chains On a 45 Degree Hyper = Ultimate Speed Builder

Far too often to people only train what they can see and this causes all sorts of muscle imbalances, injuries, weaknesses, and problems.

You give the body a good hard dose of posterior chain training using the correct exercises, techniques, and methods, you automatically become faster… and not just faster on a straight away like other speed schools teach.

You start exploding in and out of cuts, accelerate faster, run through and around people, change of direction, and dominate no matter what situation you are in during the game.

BUT If you continue to train how everyone else trains then all you can get prepared for, is injuries, muscle imbalances, never getting better, and never reaching your true potential.

If you are ready to unleash that inner beast, then you MUST call us today at (832) 380-5436 or click here for your free consultation and trial to see if you qualify to train at Genesis.

If I didn’t have the money, but was serious about my off-season training, I definitely know what I would be asking for for Christmas…

Check out these pics of some of our athletes cranking out some posterior chain work and lifting heavy.

Bryce a 16 Year Old Running Back Banging Out 435lbs for Reps!!

Connor Blasting Through a 500lb Deadlift!!

DC

P.S. We only want the most dedicated and serious athletes.  The trial isn’t to see if you like the program, it is to see how hard you want to work to become the best and if you are a good fit for the program. Call us today to get scheduled before the last remaining off-season spots fill up.

Here’s the number again =======> (832) 380-5436

I’ve watched many high school, collegiate, and pro baseball players say they need to take 2-3 months off after the season to let their body recover, because last season really wore on them… This just starts a vicious cycle in which they continue to get weaker and more injury prone, because they have to rest and not train to get stronger and healthier.

Here is a short video of one of our pro baseball guys who wants to be different. He realized that these 2+ months are key in determining just how ready you are going to be for the next season, and he wants to make the most of it.

Ben just got back from a Fall Ball league in Arizona and just recently finished up his regular season with the Toledo Mud Hens the AAA affiliate for the Detroit Tigers. He knows that to make that next jump is going to take hard work and dedication and while everyone else is “resting and recovering”, he is busting it at the facility to get better.

Check out the video below of one of his upper body days and let me know what you think.

You will also notice just how much upper back work we are doing compared to pressing and chest work… That is because a good baseball player is built from the back first. At the facility we always get baseball guys who want to get better but always ask us when they can bench… Then it turns out they can’t even do a correct push-up or pull-up. Learn to move your body efficiently and you will become a better athlete.

Here is that video and please comment letting me know what you think.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In Strength,

DC

If you are serious about dominating on the diamond this upcoming season then…

Call to schedule your FREE Trial & Consultation before spots fill up and baseball season is here –> (832) 380-5436

Real baseball athletes know just how important the entire off season is and start back into their programs as soon as the season ends.

This what a few of the Cy-Falls Baseball Players have done.  They have been training at the facility since summer started getting ready for this season.

Because a good majority of the program has been busting their butts to get better, I can 100% guarantee, that these guys will be the strongest, most powerful, healthiest, and most explosive team in the district, and probably the state.

Check out this video of one of their Friday conditioning workouts to get ready for the season.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Comment and let me know what you think, and if you are serious about getting better for this upcoming baseball season, then contact us today before time runs out and spots fill up for your FREE Consultation and 1 Week Trial.

We only want doers though.  I get contacted all the time about training at the facility and then athletes fail to show up or come up with one excuse after the other because the training is hard.

• Don’t have the money?  If you are serious about getting better, then you would get a job.
• Don’t have a ride? If you are serious about getting better, then you would find someone who shows up the same time you do to pick you up.
• Don’t have the time? If you are serious about getting better, then you can not play the new Call of Duty game for 3 hours a week.
• Don’t want to anger your coaches by doing something outside the schools program?  If you are serious about getting better, you would realize that to become better than your competition, you have to do something different than your competition… You ever seen a coach sit someone who starts up the season as the strongest, fastest, most powerful person on the team?  I didn’t think so.

But the decision is yours.  If you are scared/lazy/not serious about getting better, then don’t even bother clicking here or giving us at call at (832) 380-5436.  But if you want to step your game up you better hurry.  Other athletes are taking these spots fast and we only accept a small amount of athletes at a time.

Serious about getting better? Click HERE or Call (832) 380-5436 TODAY!!

DC

You must have a good in season training program if you want to continue to dominate your games at the end of the season like you did at the beginning.

Not only will you stay stronger, faster, more explosive, and healthier than everyone else, but by participating in a good in season football program, you will be ready to dominate the next off season.

Check out this video of some of our more serious high school football athletes putting in the work to become the best.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you are serious about taking your football game and training to the next level, then don’t settle for other places that stick you in with the other athletes.  You have to train different to be different.  Contact us today to set up your FREE Consultation & Trial so you can dominate the competition – (832) 380-5436.

DC

You want to keep the arms locked, reach out your hand, and pull yourself forward using your shoulders.  This is not a bear crawl or other form of animal walk so your hands will not ever come up off the ground.  Instead it is more of a scooting and pulling motion to move the body.

Check out the video and let me know what you think.

Click here to view the embedded video.

D

With the football season finally starting back up, you want to make sure that at you at least maintain all the size, speed, strength, and power gains you worked so hard in the off-season to attain.  Unfortunately for most coaches, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to be able to coach football, watch film, game plan, and spend time in the weight room making sure the football players are still working out in a way that will help them while in season.

The majority of football players from high school and up (no matter what position), lose an average of over 10 pounds of muscle as the season progresses.  This not only hurts a football team and the athlete in terms of their on field ability, but also increases their risk for injury as they become weaker, slower, and smaller.

A good in-season program should consist of 1 to 2 strength training sessions a week (1 strength and power session and 1 recovery session) and needs to be constantly adjusted depending on how the athlete is feeling, performing, and any injuries they might be recovering from.

For most football players who follow a good in-season training program, they won’t just maintain everything they worked in the off-season and summer to achieve, but continue to get stronger, faster, and more powerful each week.  What does this mean?  Let’s say you and your competition (either an opponent, or even someone you are competiting against for that starting spot) start off the season at the same skill level.  If you put in the extra work during the season and continue to get better as the season progresses and your competition is just concentrating on practice and games, by the time playoffs roll around you will be so far ahead of them that they won’t stand a chance.

By following a good individualized in-season program, you will finish the season dominating all the competition and be just as good on the field in your last game as you were that first practice.

Contact Genesis Athletic Performance today to make sure you don’t get left behind this season.  Email us at Info@Genesis-AP.com, or call (832) 380-5436.

D

This is why athletes train their grip nearly on a daily basis at Genesis.  But because of the constant heavy weights, farmer walks, deadlifts, kb swings, keg cleans, etc., everyone’s hands get pretty beat up and calloused.  Now callouses aren’t a bad thing and are great to toughen up the hands, but they need to be treated occasionally so you don’t end up with an inch of dead skin just waiting to be ripped off causing some down time.

Training and Playing Sports are not Fun When Your Hand Looks Like This

For 2 bucks you can have the best of both worlds.  Tough strong hands, without callouses that have the chance to rip off and interfere with your workouts and training.  Go to any drug store, grocery store, Target, Wal-Mart and buy a pumice stone.  They are located where all the nail polish is so act manly when heading down that aisle, but it is worth the trip.

This is What Every Strong Macho Needs in His Shower...

Keep the stone in the shower and before you get out at least once a week just tear into your hands with it.  Scrubbing every calloused spot making sure that you get a lot of the dead skin off.  This leaves your skin tough but without the callouses so you can get back training and playing with the strongest toughest hands out there without worrying about losing chunks of skin.

Suck up your fear of heading into the woman’s sections of stores and grab a stone.  Or if you really can’t man up and do it then you can buy one of those Ped Egg things but seriously…  which looks better?  Rubbing your hands with a raw rock or with a shiny plastic egg thingy.

D

Next time you watch a professional baseball game have a look at the physiques of the players. Take special note of how muscular and strong nearly every single one of them appears. That’s because they are. Compare this to the physiques of players in high school and college. You’ll notice a similar trend: those in the greatest shape (strongest) are the ones that make All-Star games and get drafted. Being muscular and bigger makes you a better baseball player.

So if that is the case, then why are most high school baseball players 150lbs dripping wet with zero muscle?  Likely somewhere in their lifetime they have been told that they don’t want to build too much muscle because it will affect their swings and/or their throwing. They’ve been taught by “traditional” coaches that baseball is a game of speed, grace, and especially hand-eye coordination, and performing only exercises training these traits should be used. It was assumed that traditional strength training would somehow interfere with those coveted traits.

Unfortunately this could not be further from the truth.

Not having any muscle at all and worrying only about “baseball skills” falls on the total opposite end of the spectrum.  If baseball is all about how far you can hit a ball and how hard you can throw one, then wouldn’t power and strength be a big component to the baseball player?  For the high school baseball athlete, this seems to be totally forgotten. This affects not only the player’s game, but their overall health as well. If you don’t have the muscle strength to continually throw a ball as hard as you possibly can, but still attempt to (like 99% of pitchers at the high school level) then something has to give.  Unfortunately the thing that gives is often the athlete’s body. They end up with shoulder or elbow problems, tendonitis or worse – a muscle tear or other serious injury that requires surgery and down time (if they are ever able to bounce back from it anyways).

Baseball is a sport that requires the whole body to be fit and strong. Everything is used to throw, hit, and run. Some areas are especially important for success (both in the activity and in staying injury-free).  Let’s take each spot on the athlete that needs to be powerful and healthy and break down the best way to achieve those results.

Posterior Chain

The glutes (your butt cheeks) are the biggest muscle group in the body and are a part of every athletic movement you perform.  Because of this they not only have to be strong, but everything connected to them must be strong as well.  This is accomplished by performing whole body movements that strengthen the entire posterior chain.  Exercises like Box Squats, Trap Bar Deadlifts, Glute Ham Raises, KB Swings, Good Mornings, Straight Leg Pull-Thru’s, 45 Degree Hypers, Super Mans, and Hip Bridges are the best exercises any athlete can do to strengthen this portion of their body. These exercises will also train athletes on how to correctly utilize these large muscle groups.

If you have strong glutes but weak hamstrings and lower back, then the power that is generated from the glutes unfortunately doesn’t transfer very well to where it needs to go ( For example:  through the hamstrings into the ground during things like  running and jumping; pushing off the rubber/ground to throw; or up through the lower back into your arms to swing a bat or throw a ball).

Some Serious Power Going on Back There

Back

The exercise that every athlete (at any level) loves to do the most is bench press.  Although this is a great exercise for shoulder, tricep, and chest strength, athletes tend to ignore balancing it out by performing any back work. This causes a forward rotation and poor posture of the shoulders.  This becomes a problem especially with pitchers who start losing their range of motion because of a weak upper back (when compared to their chest). They start altering their mechanics to continue to throw as hard as possible, posing a significant risk for serious injury.

Band Pull-Aparts, Pull-Ups, Rows, Shrugs, and Deadlifts are the best exercises to not only make the upper back stronger, but also provide the balance between the chest and back.  Thus causing the shoulders to return back to a more neutral position and providing better range of motion and posture.

Shoulders & Arms

These can be grouped together because so many exercises you perform for one of these muscle groups involves the other.  The best exercises that can be done to not only develop strong shoulders and arms, but also keep them healthy are Push-Ups (weighted, un-weighted, feet elevated, close grip, neutral grip, plus any other variation), Incline DB Press, DB Seated Power Clean & Presses, and DB Hammer Curls.  These exercises not only provide the strength needed to make the shoulders and arms powerful, but they work each muscle group from multiple angles providing muscle balance and stability.

Healthy and Balanced Shoulders are a Must

Grip Strength

Luckily most baseball players have this step down.  They see these professional ball players with big forearms and realize that grip strength plays a huge part in being able to control and power a bat and ball.  So they spend all their time performing wrist rollers or forearm curls. However what they fail to realize is there are three different types of grip strength they need to be working on – crush grip, pinch grip, and support grip.

A crush grip is the form of grip strength most people think of when you talk grip strength.  It is the kind that is attributed to crushing something between your fingers and palm (like a hand shake or squeezing something as hard as possible).  To work this type of strength, athletes need to perform clamp squeezes or use something like Captains of Crush grips to not only provide increased resistance, but also make sure they are performing a full range of motion.

Pinch grip is the grip used when trying to hold something between your fingers for an extended period of time.  When throwing a pitch, this type of grip is most utilized as the ball sits between the fingers and not up in the palm.  So by making this type of grip stronger, you are increasing the power and movement on your pitches and throws in general.  You also utilize this type of grip strength when making a play in the field by catching a ball and squeezing the glove shut.  Common sense says that the quicker you close the glove, the better chance the ball has of staying in there.  You can work on this type of grip strength by performing Plate Pinches.

Support grip is what is used when you are holding onto something.  A combination of this and the crush grip are the main types used when holding and swinging a bat.  The best way to work on this type of grip is Farmers Walks. (Not incidentally, Farmers Walks are also fantastic for working the rest of the body as well).  Grab something heavy in each hand and take off walking for as long as possible.  At Genesis we use heavy kettlebells, sandbags, kegs, dumbbells, and even specially designed farmer walk handles that allow you to add weight as needed.

He Attributes His Longevity to His Time Spent with the Weights

Every baseball player needs muscle to make them a better player. Hopefully by adding in a few of these exercises to your current training regimen you will notice a difference not only in your game, but also how you are feeling between games and as the season progresses.

If you have any questions or are in the Houston area and want to play at that next level, then contact Genesis Athletic Performance today.  You can email us at Info@Genesis-AP.com or call the facility directly at (832) 380-5GEN.

D