Player Development Programs - Part II

Flexibility
The initial focus of a well created player physical development program is flexibility.  Flex is one aspect of athletic training that primarily deals with long term injury prevention and an athlete’s overall career longevity.  Flex will improve performance by some small amounts; however, it is primarily about keeping the athlete safe from their own ability.  A player such as Victor Hall (formerly with the NY Mets) who runs his 60 yard sprint in 6.1 seconds exerts so much explosive power and force that he could quite possibly snap any one of his leg muscles in the process of a sprint.  Therefore, to Victor Hall dynamic flexibility training is a crucial part of his on & off season programs.  Even if you do not run at world-class speeds it is still very important that you are regularly involved in a flexibility program.

What is flexibility?  Is it being able to stand feet together, legs straight and hang to the ground?  The answer is simply, No.  Flexibility is the ability of a joint to move through a full range of motion, repeatedly, without undue pain or restriction.  So, it does not take excessive additional training to achieve this definition of flexibility for the body.  There will most likely be areas which require more attention than others and those should be addressed accordingly.

National Flexibility Standards & Recommendations
“The American College of Sports Medicine (2000) recommends flexibility training be performed a minimum of 2 – 3 days per week, holding each stretch for 10 – 30 seconds to mild discomfort; 3 – 4 repetitions per stretch.”

These standards are directed at the normal individual (non-athlete); the amount of static flex training that should be performed for a competitive athlete should be increased to 3 – 4 days per week.  (However, a dynamic flexibility program will not use these standards)

Approaches to Flexibility
There are multiple different ways an individual can approach stretching; there are 4 actually, each with their own incentives and drawbacks.

Ballistic
This is the oldest stretching technique available.  It incorporates repetitive bouncing movements to achieve the stretch.  Ballistic stretching; however, has been overwhelmingly abandoned by most exercise professionals due to an increased risk of injury found in athletes who use this approach.

Dynamic
Considered the most appropriate for explosive sport athletes, dynamic stretching uses movements that mimic a specific sport or exercise in an exaggerated; yet, controlled manner.  This approach is often included in the warm-up or in preparation for a specific sporting event.

Static
The static approach involves passively stretching a muscle to a point of mild discomfort by holding it in a maximal stretch for an extended period of time.  It remains a very effective, safe, and popular method of stretching.  It is considered the gold standard of stretching techniques.

PNF
PNF stands for proprioceptive nueromuscular facilitation and involves a partner actively stretching the participant by some combination of altering contraction and relaxation of both the agonist and antagonist muscles.  PNF does have the capacity to provide greater flexibility improvement compared to the other three flex approaches.

Now that you know the different overall approaches to flexibility training, let’s discuss which is the most appropriate for athletes participating in the sport of baseball.

Dynamic stretching is by far the most appropriate for baseball players.  Dynamic stretching provides a decent stretch while allowing the body to keep it elasticity.  See, baseball is an explosive sport by nature and therefore the athlete needs to consistently maintain his muscular explosiveness.  Static stretching is a well regarded form of flex training; however, studies have shown it to decrease the muscle tissue’s elasticity over time.  Decreased muscular elasticity leads to the greater development of Type I muscle fibers (slow twitch muscles). 

A significant portion of Major League clubs have switched entirely to a dynamic flexibility approach.  I foresee dynamic flexibility training programs being the predominately chosen approach for baseball organizations in the next 5 years.

Contraindicated Stretches for Ballplayers
There are not many individual stretches that should never be used with baseball players.  However, there are some styles of stretching which should be used minimally.  As talked about in the last section, static stretching should be used very seldom to address muscular imbalance issues and/or extremely tight muscle groups.  For instance, the hip flexors are one of the most commonly inflexible areas on the body.  Only 33% of the general population has appropriately flexible hip flexors.  Non-athletes do not notice this tightness as commonly as athletes due to the muscles limited use in activities of daily living.  The hip flexors would be considered a muscle group that requires some static stretching attention.

Ballistic flexibility training would be the most contraindicated stretching approach for baseball players.  The ballistic movements performed in a game are the exception in the sport; and therefore, there would be no need to risk injury by routinely using a ballistic flex approach.

A Successful Baseball Flex Program
Incorporated in a baseball specific flexibility training program should be the large muscle groups of the legs, as well as, the upper body’s core muscles, back, and shoulders.

A well developed player physical development program will have a dynamic stretching routine aimed at stretching each of these areas.  A Major League routine will ideally address each of these areas 2 – 3 times.

If you have questions about anything you have read or would like me to address a topic of your choice please e-mail me.

Jake H.
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