Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="HurricaneDave, post: 2827253, member: 8271"] You need to train for the specific demands of the sport. Many of the suggestions on here are very general and considering you are coming off a long layoff from athletic activities, general training (the swimming, biking, weights, etc.) will still be beneficial and should be incorporated into your training. However, if you exclusively do these activities, you won't necessarily prepare yourself to play softball without getting injured. I recommend looking at the exact movements required in softball and devise a plan that incorpates all of those movements. For instance if you know you will have 5 at bats each game, prepare yourself to swing the bat and then run, just like you do in a game. Maybe right now it's at 50% effort but you slowly increase it over a period of months until you're at a level you feel comfortable with (maybe it's 80% effort because anything above is out of the question based on your age). Apply the same principles to all other movements you do during a game (fielding, throwing) and slowly develop them throughout the year. Start with a number of throws you are comfortable with and slowly increase the number. There will be weeks when you need to back off and take fewer throws/swings or run less, but remember you may be 6-8 months from your first game. That's a lot of time to develop the movements. Recovery is important. Think of how often you play games. Give yourself enough time, especially in the off season, for your body to start adapting to the demands you place on it. You may only need to run once per week. A few other days each week spend doing the general fitness activities (walking, swimming, biking) that don't exacerbate any sore/injured areas. Use this time to also develop a warm up routine incorporating movements that will get you prepared to be moving as you will be required in games. This is very important. Research the movements. You may need to take 20-30 minutes to prepare your body but it will be worth it. Like everything else, you can increase the length of the warm up as your body gets in better condition. You don't want to rush through it, it's not the workout but a warm up to prepare you. It will start with general movements and proceed to more specific (specific to what you'll be doing on the softball field) as it nears completion. Your movements at the end of the warm up should be indistinguishable from the movement required during a game. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach