Hunter Pence's Back Squat Baseball Workout

[Jakestir08]

get on a squat bar and do some real weight. Training like this makes baseball players look bad

[bigjared420]

Machines don't teach your muscles to balance and control the load. They are useful as as an adjunct but are by no means any kind of replacement for the real thing. It isn't surprising the Astros are so terrible when they don't even hire a basically competent strength coach.

[allsports249]

it looks like its working for him ...........he has a 20 game hitting streak

[drivelinebaseball]

Back squats on a Smith machine are irresponsible and provide very little training effect for anyone, much less professional baseball athletes.

[MrPowerlifter1]

It doesn't matter if he isn't putting much weight on the bar....he can hit and catch baseball and that's all that matters

[TheRugbyidiot]

I feel sorry for ball players who's trainers won't let them do truly beneficial exercises for fear of injury.

[SadegoGG]

Also when you sprint you only have to carry your body weight, so why workout with like 500 pounds??? Could you imagine a guy like Barry Sanders or Ricky Henderson squatting like 500 lbs???

lol..seriously..

[joecandito]

why workout with 500 pounds?

you realize its called resistance trianing

imagine how much faster you would be with being able to lift 500 pounds

you cant lift nearly as fast as you run, so comparing the two directly is dumb

the point of squatting is recruiting and therefore stregthening the muscles that help you run

[SadegoGG]

This is what squatting does: Adds explosiveness to your glutes.

The less weight you squat, the more you inforce the small muscles in the glute region. The more you lift, the more large muscles you inforce. And you are only as fast/explosive as your weakest link.

You have speed training completely confused. Focus on explosive hamstrings, strong hips/glutes and reactive feet and watch your speed go through the roof!!

[joecandito]

your theory sounds good, but is completely wrong

more muscle recruitment occurs when heavier resistance is applied

nice try

[SadegoGG]

However, at some point in heavy lifting you will not reek great benefits since you generate muscle imbalances. Honestly, you could train a 15 year old kid to a 225 lb squat in under a year easily, so why would professional athletes work around that trademark with these pussy machines that make the exercises easier so its equivelent to like 190 lbs?

Its mechanical training, there are 6 types of strength and how much weight you life is the least important, especially in baseball.

[joecandito]

no, you can avoid muscle imbalances by training the entire body with other exrecises

the acutal reasons these guys are weak is that they dont have the work ethic

and they have to learn and practice so much other technical crap that weightlifting isnt everything for a baseball player

[SadegoGG]

Okay, this is my last explanation for you.

Athletes tend to train lower workloads because around 80% of your power comes from power and exerting maximal power through the hips.

Squats help generate power through the hips using the posterior chain muscle groups. When squats are done with 500 pounds, the exercise no longer is based on maximizing power through the hips.

Athletes arn't lazy, and there lack of gym time isn't why they dont look like body builders, they just dont lift for max weight.

[joecandito]

"When squats are done with 500 pounds, the exercise no longer is based on maximizing power through the hips"

thats just wrong, thats all i can say

you cant base your arguement on such a flawed and disproven assmption

and trust me, many athletes arent lazy, but baseball players tend to be, they dont even play hard at all

kobe bryant squats 400+. so it definately helps for everything, and HEAVY SQUATS ARE ALWAYS THE MOST EFFECTIVE

[ImBordCanYouTell]

@SadegoGG your 100% right

[baseballjock30]

im not criticizing you this is just a question... most of baseball's movements are explosive right? Why wouldn't you wanna lift more to build muscle giving more explosive power?

[NickC1973]

@baseballjock30 lifting more doesnt make you more explosive. it makes you slower. squats are garbage for sports. Squatting trains your nervous system to support the weight on the heel, when are you ever on your heel in sports??? never, so why do they ruin athletes by doing this?

it's crazy

[MattmanAZ09]

@NickC1973

You don't squat do you.

[AndrewMthrizzle]

yea i bet barry sanders could do that much or even more. It would make you so much more explosive.

[PowerSprinter]

barry sanders is said to have squatted 560lbs in college

[championclamp21]

imagine.... If your legs are strong enough to run 15 mph with body weight, and then you rain ur legs with 500 lbs, what would ur legs be if you took off those 500 lbs weights?

[SadegoGG]

Okay, think of this for a second.

How fast are you?

Exactly.

The only benefit to squats and dead lifts in speed and quickness is to enhance posterior chain strength, but once you get over the 1.5x body weight range, anterior chain and reactivity drills simply don't cut enhancing bench press.

The best way to improve your speed is to measure your 40 and take it into 10 second intervals and enhance every requirement for each interval, and your game speed along with racing speed will increase.

[SadegoGG]

I've seen dozens of pros work out, never have I seen one squat more than 4 plates.

He isn't trying to get big legs (Quads, calves do not herlp your speed, let alone does squatting) rewatch the beginning of the video, it's so he can transfer power through his glutes and core more efficiently.

[joecandito]

dont talk if you dont know

i have studied the relation between strength and sprint speed (im a sprinter) and squating heavy and hard is better EVERYWAY IMAGINABLE

[SadegoGG]

There is a certain percentage (typically 40-65% of a theoretical 1 rep max) that yields the highest force production.

Running speed and quickness is about yielding high force production, therefore working with 40-65% allows to work with the maximum explosiveness (Also if your tired as hell, it's impossible to be explosive)

F=MA Working out with a lot of speed will increase acceleration, therefore increase the total force.

[shortstop1616]

Back Squats are important for that lower body power both for pitchers and hitters. It is probably the most important exercise in your arsenal. I get my workouts from vastmuscle (.com) because it is written by professionals in the field.

[emanuelfrost1]

225 is a decent amount of wieght for a CF. baseball players don't need to be able to lift 400 or w.e. the fuck..as long as dude can cover alot of ground quickly and keep hittin those HR's he gon be straight...fuck da hater's

[chrishickson]

i play high-school baseball I would be hitting a lot of home runs but I either swing too hard and tip the ball, or hit line drives that have a trajectory too low for a homerun.

[trulyheaven777]

Not a Smith machine fan at all. It's great if you have a disability of some kind, but for athletes who need that proprioceptive work on stabilizer muscles, free is how it should be.

And remember kids, this is how you enhance performance, not create it.

[rafterfan180]

no, i'm at work making not that much less than hunter pence. you're at home trying to suck his dick. i'm 25 as well. from the looks of things, i have a higher earning potential right now...but i wish him the best. i'm not attacking him personally. his workout is whack. that's on his s&c coach.  shut your fuckin mouth. you're not even on my level, son.

[jdhartman]

no what made him a worse player is that he's squatting only 2 plates...WTF?

[hrr420]

you are a fucken Moran look how hes doing it

the proper way meaning going down slow and look at his thighs they are going pass parallel you must be one of those kooks in the gym who only goes down two inches with 4 plates (when doing squats)

[rafterfan180]

i'm glad u recognize that 1/4 squats on your toes are bad, but there's nothing great about what he's doing. even with barely below parallel and not even ass to grass, 225 aint shit. AND he's doing it on the smith machine. wtf???

[hrr420]

maybe thats why he 's in the pros and you're at home talking shit about his workouts when thats what got him there

[jdhartman]

i'm in thr gym everyday- i use free squats. and when i did use smith machine, i was doing over 500lbs because it's EASIER. and i do box squats- that's where you SIT down and then stand back up. fully disengaging your muscles. that's a LITTLE BIT harder than smith machine...DUH

[joecandito]

i agree with u. this is rediculous how weak he is

[narehs2]

@jdhartman word

[Cubu47]

hahaha his "strength" & conditioning coach made him a worse player by making him do squats in the shirley machine?