Absolute Hitting; Part III.
The 3D Approach; Testing + Training
A basic template for testing an athletes movement skills in 3 dimensions and ground to stand is seen in the chart below:
Why might this approach assist the athlete/coach/trainer in building out a long term development plan? Due to the shear volume and repetitive nature of sports, athletes develop asymmetry in addition to the natural asymmetry they begin their careers (and lives) with. Being able to simultaneously assess and regulate fundamental movement skills can decrease the time it takes to prepare and recover from high intensity sports participation. Additionally, providing a platform that can be specific to a training session (i.e. jumping, running, squatting, pulling and pressing) for may increase transfer-ability of training loads intended to improve overall tolerance for work. Specifically, exercises in the X-Axis rows can be used to stabilize training sessions that expose the athlete to intense squat and hinge loads. Stabilizing training with the Hyper Stride in a pre-fatigue (post exercise) state has been shown to improve recovery time in the off-season.
The Integrated Approach; Batting Practice
A basic template for using the exercises to troubleshoot errors or inconsistencies during simulated and competitive rounds is seen in the chart below:
Why might this approach improve consistency and performance during skills specific practice for the hitter? Due to the complex nature of sport and skill based practice, offering solutions to inconsistent performance can often involve time-wasting guess work, which may or may not leave the athlete frustrated with the parent lack of “result”. Having a system that can attribute and resolve the potential cause of error is vital to the developing hitter who cannot afford to aimlessly “spin wheels” during a training session or before a game. Sometimes, it only takes 1 additional exercise or method to turn the season around or keep producing at the desired clip. Specifically, suppose a hitter is seeing a streak of late and weak contact*. This is apparent either with the use of video and or a simple observation of the same mistake over and over. One potential solution may be to improve the stability of the lead leg after the swing has been initiated. If the hitter struggles to find balance in pivot series, then the Z-Axis may be a good place to start when resolving the “physical limitation”. If rotational stability does not seem to be a glaring problem, the athlete/coach can go knock on a different door.
*All result based mistakes are intentionally labeled with weak contact. In my experience, if the hitter is making solid, hard, barreled contact, more often than not, LEAVE EM ALONE!
The Temporal Approach; Bat Speed/Velocity Based Training
A basic template for increasing tolerance for velocity therefore a hitter's potential for power, can be seen in the chart below:
Why might this approach increase a hitters potential for power and overall value? The Temporal Approach is applied here because it is a theoretical and practical catalyst in the highly controlled practice of bat speed training. Even in simulated and or competitive rounds, the hitter does not have the luxury of “high control”. Instead, control is reduced to a “low” setting and therefore, a reduced availability for effort exists.
When a hitter “swings for the fences”, can that be considered maximal effort? Perhaps.
I would contend that even in this circumstance, it is best described as a sub-maximal effort in a low-control environment.
Relatively maximal? Yes…
Equal to the intent in a high-control setting? No.
In a literal sense, the swing begins on the trail leg, and is translated to the lead leg. In a combination of rhythm and style, the hitter uses momentum to physically leverage the bat against gravity and torque.
Gravity and torque, much like the components of the swing, are related but separate.
Separate, yet inseparable.
Therefore, exercises are organized to temporally match the physical events in the swing.
Each row and or column can be used to quantify physical potential in the swing, thus tailor all other aspects of the hitter’s programming. In closing, the swing can be considered just 1 of the hitter’s various performance tools, not to be valued any more or less than consistency or the approach itself.
That concludes this series titled, Absolute Hitting, and equally serves as a preface for the next series:
Absolute Throwing.