Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

George Springer: Can Gravity BOOST Power?

,

Could the Forces of Gravity be the Key to Unlock Power?

 

George Springer: Can Gravity BOOST Power

George Springer photo courtesy: MLB.com

In this video, we’re comparing two athletes from two different sports, rookie outfielder George Springer of the Houston Astros and world record holding Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt.  We’ll look at how gravity can affect energy transfer forces in human movement, and discuss:

  • How-to transfer energy?
  • How George Springer & Usain Bolt exploit the forces of gravity, and
  • Can Springer be more efficient at transferring energy?

 

How-To Transfer Energy?

Albert Einstein once said,

“Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.”

According to this short PBS video on Circus Physics above, there are THREE forms that energy comes in:

  1. Potential (PE) – Gravitational potential energy, the potential to fall.  Or the body’s make up of height, weight, and muscle mass.  Non-moving.  During motion, PE is zero.
  2. Kinetic (KE) – energy of motion.  At rest, KE is zero.
  3. Elastic (U) – stored in the bar (acrobat video above) or in connective tissue found in the body.

Keep in mind that the total amount of energy does not change.  It just takes different forms.  There are hitter compensations that upset the natural flow and transfer of energy from body to barrel to ball.  George Springer has a movement compensation, but before we get to that, let’s talk about…

 

How George Springer & Usain Bolt Exploit the Forces of Gravity

Usain Bolt Energy Transfer

Photo courtesy: WarriorsOfHealthMQ.BlogSpot.com

Let us now compare the use of Gravitational Potential Energy between the two athletes…

According to Dr. Serge Gracovetsky, Physicist, Electrical Engineer, and best known for his theory on spine engine mechanics, in an email conversation I had with him, said this about the relationship between gravity and spine engine mechanics:

“The coupled motion* has nothing to do with gravity. It works in space as well. It is a property of the spine or any flexible rod for that matter.  But the interaction with gravity makes interesting results which are exploited by every sport.”

(*Dr. Gracovetsky is talking about the coupled motion of the spine.  CLICK HERE and watch from the 2-6 minute mark for a graphical explanation)

Dr. Serge Gracovetsky also talks about when running, at heel strike, there’s a compressive pulse that’s NINE-times your body weight!  As you see in the picture of Usain Bolt, his body is lifting completely off the ground and preparing to fall back to the ground, due to the forces of gravity.  He’s exploiting these forces to transfer large amounts of energy into efficient motion (Kinetic Energy).

Check out this YouTube video titled “Usain Bolt – Science of Olympic Gold”, for more in-depth analysis (only 1 min, 54 secs long).

In my video, you’ll notice George Springer “get shorter” from the start to the Final Turn of his swing.  There is one energy transfer leak going on though…

 

Can Springer be more Efficient at Transferring Energy?

Yes he can.  The one glaring energy leak is in a front arm bar.  In a past article, I talked about the science of spinning faster.  This is definitely something that Springer can change that will optimize energy transfer from body to barrel to ball.  Things he does really well:

  • Ability to follow the pitch,
  • Use of Gravitational forces and forward momentum, and
  • Great angle back towards the catcher.
10 Comments/by

Josh Hamilton Part-1 VIDEO: How-To Optimize A Hitter’s Timing

,

Thank you for “Liking” and Subscribing to my Facebook fan-page!

Coaches Just Don’t Teach Timing (or don’t know how)

Josh Hamilton Video: Coaches Don't Tell You This (About Timing) …In this Josh Hamilton video we’re focusing on what most coaches don’t tell you (or simply don’t know) about calibrating the timing of a hitter.  You can have the best hitting mechanics, but if timing is off, results can be frustrating. In this video, we’ll analyze:

  • When does a swing start?
  • Leg kick or slide step? and
  • How to practice timing?

 

When Does a Swing Start?

Short answer?  About when the hitter picks the front foot up.  When walking, you can’t take a step forward without picking up your foot and putting it back down.  This is why I hate “no-stride” coaching cues.  Here’s how walking bio-mechanics work:

  1. Front heel hits the ground signals pelvis to open.
  2. Same timing signal travels up the spine to the shoulders, telling them to counter-rotate the pelvis.
  3. This is why your opposite arm and leg come forward at the same time.

This simple timing mechanism is important to hitting.  Hitting experts call this torque, but really, it’s how humans are designed to move against gravity using the spine for locomotion.  CLICK HERE for a more in-depth study on walking bio-mechanics according to Dr. Serge Gracovetsky.

Leg Kick or Slide Step?

It ALL depends on a batter’s moving parts…

  • Leg Kick a-la Josh Hamilton forces the hitter to start the swing sooner.  Hamilton starts his when the pitcher breaks the hands.
  • Slide Step a-la Mike Trout can start their swing later.  You’ll see these types of hitters picking their front foot up when the pitcher lands and/or begins forward movement with the arm.

 

How-To Practice Timing?

SEVEN ways a hitter can practice “collecting data”:

  1. LIVE arm: whether seated – on a bucket, kneeling, or standing.
  2. Soft toss or LIVE: throw baseballs, whiffle, dimple, tennis, golf, or dried pinto beans.
  3. Broad focus: have hitter pick out a point in the pitcher’s delivery to start the swing.
  4. On-Deck circle: work on when to pick front foot up.
  5. Sit in on Bullpens: hitter passively (no swings) sits in on pitcher bullpens (with a helmet on of course).
  6. Pitcher’s BP: have pitchers trade off throwing batting practice (advanced).
  7. Intra/Inter-squat games.

Above-all, be safe.   The truth about timing?  It takes reps, reps, and more reps.  In a couple days, we’ll explore Part-2: Can Stride Length Kill Your Bat Speed? (Experiment analyzing Troy Tulowitzki).

0 Comments/by

Ryan Braun Part-4 VIDEO: Why “Sitting Back” is Devastating

,

Does Ryan Braun Hit Backwards?

In the fourth installment of the Coaches DON’T Tell You This: Common Mistakes Hitters Make video series, featuring Ryan Braun, we’re analyzing why “Sitting Back” isRyan Braun: 4 Common Mistakes Hitters Make Part-1 so destructive to friction-free mechanics.  The WHY boils down to a strange word…

According to IdeaFit.com,

“Proprioception is the body’s ability to transmit a sense of position, analyze that information and react (consciously or unconsciously) to the stimulation with the proper movement (Houglum 2001).”

The brain does whatever it needs to balance physical movement.  Let’s discuss the following compensations caused by “Sitting Back”:

  • Eyes and head shift forward during Final Turn,
  • Lunging, and
  • Front shoulder flies open.

 

Eyes and Head to Shift Forward During Final Turn

Ryan Braun’s friction-free swing is like snapping a towel.  Throw the towel end towards the intended target, then quickly snap it back.  We’re getting eye-head movement out of the way early, then shifting our spine up and back towards the catcher –  snapping the barrel into the impact zone.  Ryan Braun does this!

Sitting back makes the hitter do the opposite…

  • Keep the hitter back till the last possible second, then
  • The hitter has to shift their weight forward to counter-balance because of proprioception, and
  • As a result, shifts the head and eyes forward.

 

Lunging

What’s lunging?  When Ryan Braun lands his front foot, his knee floats above his ankle. Lunging is when the front knee floats passed the ankle, over the toes or never gets straight.  Here’s how sitting back causes lunging:

  1. Hitter shifts weight to back leg,
  2. Reaches out softly with the stride foot, like a cat (and oftentimes too early)
  3. Waits till ball is on the way, then
  4. Because the body isn’t balanced, the brain shifts the hitter’s weight forward with no hope of getting back,
  5. So the hitter continues forward until he or she hits (or misses) something.

 

Front Shoulder Flies Open

Unlike Ryan Braun, most ‘Sit Back’ hitters:

  1. Have hand dominant swings.  Since the shoulders are closest to the hands, they have to start earlier to get the hands working.
  2. Don’t set up the natural rotation counter-rotation relationship of the pelvis and shoulders* before the front foot hits the ground.  This causes the shoulders to compensate and open prematurely.
  3. Open their hips and shoulders at the same time.  If this happens, a hitter will max out at 60-70% of their ability to transfer energy efficiently from body –> to barrel –> to ball.  This put smaller hitters at a disadvantage by dramatically decreasing power output.
  4. Have a difficult time keeping the front shoulder in with off speed and breaking balls.  It’s easy for pitchers to disrupt a Sit Back hitter’s timing.  Their brain is focused on too many things at once: timing, proprioception, and pitch speed/location (because of late head-eye movement).

 

I hope you enjoyed the 4-Part Coaches DON’T Tell You This (4 Mistakes Hitters Make) video series.  Learn how to add effortless repeatable power to your drives using scientifically proven human movement rules that can BOOST batted ball distance by 60-feet in the next 60-days by CLICKING “Get Access Now!”…

 

The Truth About Explosive Rotational Power

 

Get Access Now Button

0 Comments/by

Troy Tulowitzki Part-2 VIDEO: Stride Length Killing Your Bat Speed?

, ,

Troy Tulowitzki Stride Length Experiment

Troy Tulowitzki Stride Length Killing Your Bat Speed?

Photo courtesy: MLB.com

Question: Does Stride Length Kill Bat Speed?

Using the Zepp (Labs) Baseball app, I wanted to use the Scientific Method to analyze whether Troy Tulowitzki’s longer stride increases or decreases bat speed.  Not just a longer stride, but I want to see the torso moving forward as well.

Background Research

Troy Tulowitzki had a wider stance in 2013.  In 2014, he’s adopted more of a narrow stance and a longer stride length.

Forward Momentum may be a new concept to hitting, but not to other explosive rotational athletes.  It’s also known as the Conservation of Linear Momentum and the Un-Weighting Principal.  The idea is that the hitter is getting a “head start”.  Other high level athletes using Forward Momentum:

  • Olympic Throwers (Discus, Javelin, and Hammer)
  • Olympic Shot Put
  • 4 X 100 meter relay sprinters
  • Circus Trapeze Artists
  • Lacrosse Players
  • Hockey Players

Hypothesis

I think the addition of forward momentum, or a longer stride length, will contribute to more bat speed because this gives the hitter a “head start”, making the body feel lighter while moving.  This allows the body to turn harder, and ultimately increase bat speed.

Troy Tulowitzki Experiment

Equipment:

Setup:

  • Feedback markers = my bat length, plus two baseballs
  • Distance from plate = end of the bat touching inside corner of plate, and knob of bat touching my mid-thigh
  • NO-stride stance was width of feedback markers
  • Forward movement stance was open, and feet set a little wider than shoulder width
  • Tee was set a baseball or two behind the front feedback marker, and tee height was about mid-thigh
  • 101 baseballs were hit using both the NO-stride and longer stride sessions

Data Collected:

Results of Tulo Stride Length Bat Speed Experiment

Pay particular attention to the bold typeface…

 

Data Analysis & Conclusion

Last 6 Swing Zepp Baseball app

NO-stride: last 6 batted balls (Zepp Baseball app)

  • 0.624 mph average bat speed increase with a longer stride.
  • Apex of bell curve for NO-stride swings ranged from 77 mph to 83 mph*.
  • With a longer stride, you’ll see the bell curve shifted, 81 mph to 85 mph*.
  • Three more 90 mph+ swings using a longer stride, in addition to increasing my Personal Record 2 mph.

*Based on six or more batted balls repeated in specific mph (bold typeface in the chart above)

 

Notes

Longer Stride: last 6 batted balls (Zepp Baseball app)

Longer Stride: last 6 batted balls (Zepp Baseball app)

  • Before the experiment I did a 7 minute Dynamic Warm-up.
  • I didn’t just increase my stride length, I moved my whole torso forward.
  • I began the experiment with the NO-stride swings.
  • I took a 20-30 minute break between the two sessions.
  • During the last twenty swings of the longer stride session, I hit five-of-eight 90 mph+ balls.

From the Zepp Baseball screenshots to the right, it’s interesting to note, my bat speed kept up, even increased with forward momentum and a longer stride.  In other words, I wasn’t as tired at the end of hitting over 200 baseballs.

Now that Troy Tulowitzki is using a more narrow stance and generating forward momentum with a longer stride, he’s able to increase his bat speed.  This may explain the surge in opposite field home-runs in 2014.

Stay tuned for the Part-3VIDEO: Revealing the Science of Turning Faster in a couple days where we’ll be analyzing Andrew McCutchen.

0 Comments/by
Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

Andrew McCutchen Video: Do This For Longer Drives

,

In This Andrew McCutchen Video (1 of 4),

 

Andrew McCutchen Un-Weighting Principal…We’re going to look at how ‘Cutch’ (5’10” 190 lbs*) used Science to beat Paul Goldschmidt (6’3″, 245 lbs*) for the 2013 NL MVP.  McCutchen has to stay close to human movement science in order to compete with big guys like Goldschmidt.

(*according to Baseball-Reference.com)

In this Part-1 video, we’ll:

  • Demo the Un-Weighting Principal,
  • See how Cutch either DOES or DOESN’T use this in his swing, and
  • Look at how to work on this at home.

For a different angle on this, CLICK HERE to watch the – 1 min, 58 second – PBS Circus Physics video about the Conservation of Linear Momentum (aka, the Un-Weighting Principal).

A few notable explosive rotational athletes who also use this human movement rule:

  1. Olympic throwers (javelin, hammer, and discus)
  2. Olympic shot putters
  3. Olympic jumpers (high, long, and triple)

 

WHY the Wide Stance?

I get tired of hearing about instructors pushing the wider [non-athletic] stance.  This makes it difficult to create any forward movement in the swing, and see it’s benefits (read below).

I ask my students…what position – with your feet – would you want to cover a fast wide receiver?  How about guarding an agile soccer striker?  Or jumping to slam dunk a basketball?  Hitters need to start from an athletic stance – feet slightly wider than shoulder width.

“Sitting back” isn’t very effective when it comes to dynamic human movements.

As a famous Samurai swordsman Miyamoto Musashi once said:

“In all forms of strategy, it is necessary to maintain the combat stance in everyday life and to make your everyday stance your combat stance.” – Musashi, The Water Book

 

Un-Weighting Principal Benefits:

  • Feel lighter in Final Turn
  • Easier to move heavy objects
  • Get a ‘head start’

 

How Does Andrew McCutchen Do This?Andrew McCutchen Un-Weighting Principal

  • Front hip moves forward
  • Head movement is okay to heel strike
  • NO push, natural fall forward

 

How-To Practice at Home (feedback marker setup)

  1. Back marker (dimple ball or duct tape) inside back foot
  2. Front marker is hitter’s bat length, plus one or two baseballs in front
  3. Get “front hip” to front marker
  4. Set tee slightly behind front marker

CLICK HERE to watch Part-2, Andrew McCutchen: Do This For Longer Drives.  We’ll look at how effective Cutch’s Final Turn is…or isn’t.

5 Comments/by

[VIDEO] Don’t Make This Hitting Mistake (and BLEED force at contact) PART 2

In Part 2: Don’t Make This Hitting Mistake Video Series,

We’re going over:

  • “Gas Pedal” — Natural, NO Push from Backside,
  • “Smooth” — NO Rush (Archer Metaphor), and
  • How Far Should the FREE-FALL be? (setting up your feedback markers).

 

MLB BIG-Boppers who use Forward Momentum

David “Big Papi” Ortiz (9-Time All-Star):

Davis Ortiz Baseball Hitting Video (Big Papi)
Video courtesy of MLB.com

Chris “Crash” Davis (2013, led Big Leagues with 53 hr’s and 138 RBI’s & was an All-Star in 2013):

Chris Davis Baseball Hitting Video
Video courtesy of MLB.com

Bo Jackson when he was with the White Sox (All-Star in 1989):

Bo Jackson (White Sox) Baseball Hitting Video

Here’s one of my college hitters, and his BEFORE (left) & AFTER (right) Forward Momentum:

Anthony Case Study 19yo

Other Athletes Who Use Forward Momentum…

Paul Rabil – Lacrosse player with world record’s fastest throw (111 mph, and averages well over 100 mph in games):

Paul Rabil - MLB Lacrosse Player (fastest Lacrosse ball thrown)
Courtesy of SportScience

Ulf Timmerman – holds the World Shot Put Record using the Glide Technique:

Ulf Timmermann Glide Technique Shot Put
Note how Ulf uses his front leg to gain forward momentum, before the slight push from his back one…

Jan Zelezny – World Record holding male Javelin Thrower:

Jan Zelezny World Record Holder in the Javelin Throw
Note how much linear momentum Jan creates…

I’m a member of the American Baseball Coaches’ Association (ABCA), International Youth Conditioning Association (IYCA), and the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA).

Stay tuned for PART-THREE of the Don’t Make This Hitting Mistake Video Series, where we’ll find out how 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen was critically BLEEDING force at contact.  Watch for it in your inbox in the next few days…

0 Comments/by
Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

Baseball Hitting Video Easy Distance PART 2

In This Baseball Hitting Video Easy Distance PART 2,

 

We’re going over:

  • “Gas Pedal” — Natural, NO Push from Backside,
  • “Smooth” — NO Rush (Archer Metaphor), and
  • How Far Should the FREE-FALL be? (setting up your feedback markers).

Someone did a video analyzing The Babe’s swing (not up anymore), and what’s amazing is his nearly three-foot long bat almost matches his just under three-in-a-half foot stride length.  Also important to note is Babe Ruth’s head moved two-and-a-quarter feet forward before his front heel hit the ground.  CLICK HERE to see game footage.

What do you think The Babe would say to those today who shout, “NO head movement!”?  When we look at the science and its application, we know this statement doesn’t make sense.

 

MLB BIG-Boppers who use Forward Momentum

David “Big Papi” Ortiz (9-Time All-Star):

Baseball Hitting Video Easy Distance: David Ortiz

Video courtesy of MLB.com

Chris “Crash” Davis (2013, led Big Leagues with 53 hr’s and 138 RBI’s & was an All-Star in 2013):

Chris Davis Baseball Hitting Video

Watch how Davis is a big guy abiding by the rules in this baseball hitting video easy distance.

Bo Jackson when he was with the White Sox (All-Star in 1989):

Bo Jackson (White Sox) Baseball Hitting Video

Here’s one of my college hitters, and his BEFORE (left) & AFTER (right) Forward Momentum:

Anthony Case Study 19yo

Other Athletes Who Use Forward Momentum…

Paul Rabil – Lacrosse player with world record’s fastest throw (111 mph, and averages well over 100 mph in games):

Paul Rabil - MLB Lacrosse Player (fastest Lacrosse ball thrown)

Courtesy of SportScience

Ulf Timmerman – holds the World Shot Put Record using the Glide Technique:

Ulf Timmermann Glide Technique Shot Put

Note how Ulf uses his front leg to gain forward momentum, before the slight push from his back one…

Jan Zelezny – World Record holding male Javelin Thrower:

Jan Zelezny World Record Holder in the Javelin Throw

Note how much linear momentum Jan creates…

I hope you learned something from watching the baseball hitting video easy distance part two.  CLICK HERE for the Baseball Hitting Video PART-THREE (How-To Make Swing Science Sticky) of a FOUR-Part Series on Explosive Rotational Power.

2 Comments/by