Product Review: 7 Minute Dynamic Baseball Warm-up
Jon Doyle from BaseballTrainingSecrets.com sent me a copy of his DVD “7 Minute Dynamic Baseball Warm-up”. (Yeah, yeah, I know Something about Mary fans, what happens if somebody puts out a 6 Minute Dynamic Baseball Warm-up video). That’s actually what caught my attention about the video.
Doyle had been advertising on our site for a long time via google adworks and I kept seeing the ad. It caught my attention. I am always looking for new and exciting warm-up routines and drills, so I decided to review this DVD. The package arrived in a padded envelope, a professional cover, and well designed artwork featuring a baseball on turf.
The video features Jon Doyle MCing and Giles Wiley and Mike Ranfone performing the stretches. The credits and number of commas after these guys names are impressive, they are obviously professionals with experience and training to back them.
The video is pretty much what you would expect. It is not a professionally produced product, it is done in a training facility with a standard video camera, but video quality isn’t what’s for sale, what is for sale is a stretching warm-up exercise, and there it delivers.
At times the video is hard to discern, one thing I wish they had done is used a remote microphone, but that can be forgiven based on the quality of content. The premise of the video is that dynamic stretching targeting those muscles most often used during baseball practice and games helps prevent injuries and strengthens the muscles most often used.
Doyle contends that “traditional” warm-ups of taking a lap around the field and doing a few basic stretches can actually prove harmful, he has a point. Followers of this blog will know that I am a huge opponent of any type of weight or strength training for those that have not reached puberty. This was beat into our heads by the strength and conditioning coach of the Washington Redskins when I lived in Virginia, this video borders on that so I don’t know that I would recommend it for younger ones. I think Doyle would agree.
For those in Juniors up, that have reached puberty, this is a great quick workout that won’t cut into your precious practice time. Another of my pet peeves about warm-ups is how much time they cut out of your limited practice time, this workout overcomes that challenge. For the younger kids, I would pick and choose a few of these workouts and incorporate them into a warm up that focuses more on muscle memory routines and motor skills, but for older kids, this is a very good warm up routine.
The video walks you through about nine stretches, my favorite of which is the “inch worm”, and then moves to hurdles. Rather than expensive hurdles, he chooses to use chairs, buckets or tees would work as well, the point isn’t the equipment, but the stretching out of the hips and hip-flexors. The duo ends with broomstick drills that focus on limbering up the upper body, especially the shoulders, vital for baseball and softball players.
I have heard both sides of the story, some say stretch before you run, some say run before you stretch. I prefer a light jog before stretching to get the blood flowing and the muscles loose. I recommend doing that before jumping into these extreme stretches to avoid pulling muscles. I have no medical expertise to base this on though and recommend you consult a professional.
All in all, this is a great video for kids beyond puberty, but stick to agility and motor skills warm-ups for younger kids. The main focus in the younger kids is fundamentals and muscle memory. Strength training can damage growth plates and stretching isn’t as important for muscles that have not yet developed.
What warm-ups do you do before practice and a game?
Videos available from Doyle Fitness:
7 Minute Warm-up
Baseball Training Secrets
Million Dollar Hitter
Unbreakable Abs
Update 10/17/08
Jon responded to my review and made some very good points in reference to the younger kids. Again, I am not the expert here, my opinion is based on experience and not research, I leave those things to the experts.
Here is what Jon said:
“I was surprised [sic], that [you] recommend it not be use for the younger guys. In fact, its perfect for them. If they can put their bodies through the stress of baseball, certainly this type of warm-up is safe and effective, from many angles. They are still developing overall body coordination and “balance” at this age. Most don’t realize this, but you cannot improve balance past puberty. You can improve your ability to right yourself in a specific skill, but not overall balance. The warm-up helps here.
Since the exercises are body weight, it will also increase strength & muscular endurance at that age. And since its not a lot of volume there’s little, if any, room for injury.
We have thousands of youth teams on the warm-up with nothing but great results.”
His point about the exercises being “body weight” seems to make sense. Quite frankly, I hadn’t considered that. I suppose that the training here is not so much “muscle” related as I initially thought. Also, the point he makes about balance is very true and relates directly to my agility point.
Again, I recommend purchasing 7 Minute Warm-up and incorporating it into your workout routines.
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Why do We Show Up Ready to Fight?
I don’t know how many of you have read or watch “The Secret”. Basically, it tells you that everything you have you brought into your life. That anything positive your bring upon yourself and all negative influences are brought upon yourself as well. If you think you are going to “get screwed” when you show up somewhere, then you probably are, if you think that all will go well when you show up somewhere, it probably will.
I really don’t know why this is. Some have referred to it as “mind over matter” in the past, but the truth is, you really do control this. It isn’t that you change anything that happens in your “universe” as the secret says. Maybe you do, but that is a little far fetched for me, but how you handle and react to a given situation is entirely in your control.
If you go somewhere thinking “this is going to be miserable”, 9 out of 10 times, it is. If you go somewhere thinking, “this is going to be fun”, again, 9 out of 10 times it is. So WHY do so many Little League teams, parents, and coaches, show up at games thinking, “this is going to be horrible”, or “those umps are going to screw us”, or “we don’t stand a chance against this team”. Why? They are simply bringing it upon themselves. If they show up with this attitude, they have practically guaranteed a negative experience.
Why not take a different approach? Why not say, “today we are playing ball and that is fun no matter what!”, or “the umps can’t make us lose or change the way we play”, or “any team can beat any team any day”. Stay positive!
I remember before I knew the power of positive thinking once I had a vendor offer me Redskins tickets. I had never been to RFK for a football game and I was like a kid in a candy shop. That Saturday night before the game, I got deathly sick! Vomiting, diarrhea, you name it, I had it. I was very angry! I could have quit, whined and stayed home sick, but I refused too.
I sat down in a chair in front of the TV. I repeated over and over and over all night long, “I will not be sick, I will not be sick, I will not be sick.” I woke up the next morning and it was all gone! Mind over matter. It exists. Those that have the power to use it, have a decided advantage over those that simply accept fate as their master.
Like a batter that steps in the box in a key situation and wills themselves a hit. The mind is a powerful thing that we don’t fully understand. Why would we assume that things will be negative? Why would we assume that when we go somewhere there will be a fight? Why don’t we take the opposite approach. When we travel somewhere or go into a hostile environment, we will have fun regardless of what happens. Isn’t this why we are here? To have fun?
Does anybody remember fun? Tomorrow when you head out to the field, tell yourselves, we are going to win and it is going to be fun. That way, you are starting your journey on a positive note. The chances of your evening ending in turmoil will be slim because your attitude will be good. Attitude makes the person. What will your attitude be today?
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Mr. Supplement Your Perfect Training Partner
For years muscle training was discouraged in baseball. They thought it would actually take away from performance. The athlete of today knows better. If you are going to be a top level athlete, you have to work out and you have to do weight training. Mr. Supplement makes you get the most out of your training legally!
VERY IMPORTANT: In my prior league we used to have the Washington Redskins strength training coach come out and speak to us. He was VERY adamant that weight training not occur until AFTER puberty. His position was that weight training for younger kids damages their growth plate. I have no idea.
VERY VERY IMPORTANT: thelittleleaguecoach.com knows NOTHING about weight training and does not pretend to nor do we wish to portray that we do. We know how to coach little kids and teach them the game of baseball and life’s lessons that go along with it. WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WEIGHT TRAINING OR SUPPLEMENTS OR ANYTHING. You are personally responsible for ANY decisions you make for yourself or your child. DO NOT DEPEND ON US, do your own research.
That said, Mr. Supplement seems to be a great place to pick up sports supplements such as Redbak, Muscletech, and Hydroxycut. During High School soccer training we used to use vitamins and endurance enhancers and they worked very well. We simply wanted to be able to train longer and get better, and the supplements seemed to do that. It could have been completely mental, but it worked for us as we were 1 goal away from a championship.
Anyway, for all your supplement needs, should you choose to use them, check out Mr. Supplement.
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Gameplan Your Season Like The Redskins Plan Their Games
How about them Redskins? 4-1 and 2-1 in their division with all 3 games on the road! In the NFC East, the best division in football, this is huge. But how do they do it? And what can we learn from it?
First, I don’t miss a single play thanks to my DVR and my NFL ticket subscription. This is still cheaper than the season tickets we used to have and better to a degree. Especially in January when the high temperature is expected to be single digits and we have three layers of clothes on.
I did not originally buy into Jim Zorn’s system. I hate the west coast system in general, but I do love Jim Zorn. Growing up, Kenny Stabler and Jim Zorn were my heroes because they were left handed. But a rookie coach on the Redskins with a new system? Oh no, what a recipe for disaster! Fortunately I was wrong as usual.
But how do they do it? Meticulously and methodically. When I think of the west coast offense I think pass, but the ’skins have a balanced attack. They use the run and the pass to keep opponents on their toes, but in the end of the game, they run, run, run, and dominate with ball control.
Why are they able to do this? Because they have a plan, they wear down their opponent, then they take advantage of them in the last 15 minutes as they are dead because the ’skins have controlled the ball the entire game. It is like a boxer that jabs, jabs, jabs, then in the 7th round or so begins big shots that have a detrimental and disastrous effect.
What can we learn? Many things, but the focus of this post is the big picture. It is easy to get caught up in the moment and forget about the big picture. When the ’skins were down 14-0 in the first quarter they could have panicked and thrown the game plan out the window, but they stuck to their guns and in the end were successful.
How does this apply to the big picture? Because it doesn’t matter if you win in the fall. The fall is about building skills and readying players for the spring. The steady and methodical repetition of each player should be the focus of the league. Getting kids to understand all the positions on the field by having them play all the positions when it doesn’t matter enhances their overall understanding of the game. Then they know what others are supposed to do in a given situation and reaction becomes intuitive.
Batting the entire lineup gets every player more at-bats and moving players up a division when they are borderline improves their skills. Enduring excruciating walks while developing pitchers and watching kids steal while a new catcher evolves is part of the process. Win/Loss records are unimportant. Anyone can win in the fall, it is the spring that matters. Developing skills and understanding of the game should be the focus of the fall season. This goes for every level of play.
What do you do to help kids learn in the fall that you may not do in the spring?
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Misc. Ramblings September
Finally Football season is in full swing
Finally football all weekend long! The college kickoff last week was a tease, but now the real thing, the National Football League! My Redskins looked very lethargic, but they had a formidable opponent in the likes of the defending super bowl champions. Hopefully next week will be better. Could be worse, I could be a Patriots fan! Talk about trouble!
Baseball Playoffs Start Soon
I love pennant races, but man, I can’t wait for the playoffs to start! There is nothing better than a game seven in the playoffs. That’s when you see players like Randy Johnson pitching relief!
Story Ideas
Writing for a living is really fun! I am beginning to understand how to do it and it is quite a pleasure. I fire story after story after story off for MyTopiaCafe.com. Very interesting stuff.
$500/day
That’s my goal! It shouldn’t really be that hard either. That is only one ebay sale, 10 stories, 5 sales, whatever, it isn’t that hard to do. You want to make $100K/year? You don’t even have to make $500/day! Bet when you looked at the figure you said, “I can do that”. What is your goal? If you make just $100/day you make $36,000 per year! Want to make $100K? You need make only a little more than $300 every day. You can do that cutting grass can’t you? Sounds a little more attainable when you look at it like that doesn’t it?
Fall Season Starting
The fall season is starting and I will be coaching three teams! Senior softball, major softball, and minor baseball. With my younger boy starting T-ball next year it looks like I will have three teams for quite a while! I guess I can kiss any semblance of life goodbye.
My Friend Said Spend Time With Her
My friend said to sit down and watch some TV with my wife no matter how tortuous. Said that’s what she wants, but she won’t tell me. I don’t know, is he right? Is it really that simple? It can’t hurt, I spend every waining minute in front of the laptop, maybe a few with her would be rewarding.
Tahoe has Defect
Found out our Tahoe has a defective air conditioning system that will cost $2,750 to repair! Hard to justify that kind of money going into the winter! Have to have air conditioning in Florida though, guess we will be trading it in next spring. I better get making my $500/day!
Local Rules
Every league should have its own local rules that are more restrictive than Little Leagues. My favorite for the fall season is no pitcher shall pitch more than 2 innings. This forces the coaches to develop pitchers.
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Southeast Regional Shows How New Pitching Rules Affect the Game
Citrus Park Victorious!
A team from Citrus Park Little League in Tampa, Florida just defeated a team from Mobile, Alabama to advance to the Little League World Series . The league has only five majors teams in it to pick from. What did they have that Mobile didn’t have? Pitching! Pitching! Pitching!
Mobile was averaging 1 home run every 5.5 at bats during the regionals! The total home runs tonight? -0-. Neither Little League had EVER sent a team to the World Series.
Pitching Rules Have Changed the Dynamic
I have written about this before, the new pitching rules have completely changed the dynamic of the Little League World Series. Pitch count limits and mandatory rests mean that every team will need to rely on their 4th, 5th, and 6th pitchers. Gone are the days of pitching 2 pitchers until their arms fall off. Gone are the days of 15 strike out games.
Want to get your league to the World Series? Start working pitchers now!
Weekly Practice Schedule
When should you be working pitchers? During the regular season w/ a minimum schedule of:
-Every Practice at least 3 pitchers from each team should be working
-At least once a week every team should hold special pitcher/catcher practices
-Pitchers should have individual coaches that work with them once a week as well
These are minimums! Of course, you should watch their arms as well!
When game are on you should stick to this schedule for a pitcher and work it into the schedule above:
Day 1-Game Day Pitching Ice Arm immediately
Day 2-Day off after game day
Day 3-Soft throwing next day ending w/ long toss
Day 4-Pitch again, or hard throwing if not pitching
This is a good 4 day rotation, but remember, alway adjust depending on whether you pitched a game or simply practiced.
Watch the arms!
Sore arms are normal. The key is determining whether it is just normal muscle soreness or joint/tendonitus soreness.
My Limited Knowledge
The Washington Redskins trainer used to visit us each year at my prior league. He would point out that the reason arms are sore after throwing is that tiny tendons in the muscle are being broken when you throw and that creates soreness. The best way to cure this is run after every practice. This delivers oxygen to the muscle and speeds the healing process. Also, icing immediately to stop the micro swelling is very important.
If the soreness is in the muscle meat part of the arm that is normally not an issue. It needs a little rest and it will be fine. ANY soreness in the elbow or shoulder should be IMMEDIATELY looked at. If you take the point of your finger and apply a little pressure to the joint of the elbow you should get a flinch from the player. BAD SIGN! Stop immediately and see a doctor! If you raise the arm and apply a little pressure on the shoulder or have the player resist your pressure after he makes a fist similar to boxing, and you get a flinch, BAD SIGN! Stop immediately and see a doctor!
The main thing to take away from this year’s world series is Develop Your Pitchers!
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Misc. Ramblings
Image via Wikipedia Clinic On Saturday
We are holding a softball hitting clinic on Saturday and I can’t believe the response we have gotten! Guess we will have to find some additional help! At least the kids are still pumped to play.
Own It
What do you do when you screw up? Do you try and hide it? Avoid it? Or do you own it? This is one of the best lessons we can teach our kids through sports. Own it! Make an error? Apologize and get a hit! Get picked off? Make a diving catch. Own it and make up for it!
Fall is Coming
The fall season is coming! As frustrating as it can be, it is still one of my funnest times. Our fall season is instructive and not competitive. It gives the kids a chance to move up a division and get experience there for next year. The problem is, other leagues keep teams from the prior year together or play too competitive in the fall. In the end, all our kids get better and in the long run, that helps us to excel.
Fall Means Football!
Woohoo!!!! Time to waste away every Sunday for 3 months! Go Redskins! Can you say Jason Taylor? Too bad Sean Taylor isn’t there as well. They would be hurting people very bad! The NFC east is still the greatest division in football. Always has been, always will be. Of course, I hate the Cowboys, hate the Eagles, and dislike the Giants, though I dislike them the least of all.
Fall Means Playoffs!
The fall means baseball playoffs! There is no better time in baseball than the pennant race and the playoffs. Does it get any better than a game seven? Where else will you ever see a team’s ace pitch relief on 2 days rest? I love the fall!
Endless Summer
Of course since I have moved to Florida we no longer have a winter. Yeah, I know, it gets down into the 50’s every once in a blue moon, and people here wear layers! But, really it never gets all that cold. Gotta love it! I moved here because when I was visiting, on a January 15th, I remember the date, I was in shorts, playing golf w/ aligators lounging on the fairway! It doesn’t get much better than that!
Time to Get Busy Again
I have been off and had much time to catch up on chores around the house, online, and here at the site. Very nice! But I am done! I need to get back on the field and start working! Hopefully I will pick up some more individual training clients to keep me busy until we start practicing again.
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