How to Improve Bat Speed

I received a question yesterday about what kind of baseball workouts to do to increase a hitter’s power.  That is a good one and a question I don’t get as much for some reason.  Typically the questions center around what mechanical training can be don to improve power.

Let me answer the question from the workout perspective.  Power comes from bat speed.  The greater the speed of the barrel of the bat into and through the hitting zone, the more power a hitter will have.  The question then is what muscles are most involved in created great bat speed?

Your core (upper stomach to thighs) strength combined with correct mechanics produce bat speed.  Hitters with soft core syndrome never build enough strength to really create separation between the upper and lower parts of the body that is responsible for creating power.  Therefore, you can work all you want on hitting mechanics, but if you’re core is not being trained, you’re only limiting yourself.

If you are going to get some core work in this fall and winter make sure you do as much as you can in an unstable environment (anything that requires balance and core activation).  What do I mean by that?  Instead of doing regular push-ups, do push-ups with your feet on a yoga ball.  Or, if you’re really ambitions (and mildly insane) you can try Barry Lovelace’s freestyle push-up drill.  If you’re short on time skip to the 3:45 mark, but just please don’t try this unless you’ve been working your core a lot.  Barry is the master of creating core exercises that crush your core and make you stronger FAST.

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