Discover baseball and softball athletes can sprint short distance and run the bases faster in a week with David Weck’s ‘head over foot’ technique and ‘pulsers’. Learn how to do rotational core, speed, and power body-weight exercises and drills at home.
The Biggest Lie In Teaching Hitters How To Run Faster & Move Better
The purpose of this post:
How to make hitters faster, and
How to apply David Weck’s “Head Over Foot” technique and “Pulsers” to hitters?
Most sprint coaches will teach athletes to get faster by using a “braced core” (instead of a Coiling Core), and “hip to lip” arm action. This is DEAD WRONG, and one of the biggest lies in teaching athletes to run faster and move better. These coaches aren’t understanding the basics of human locomotion. Consider the following…
How to Make Hitters Faster
Here are a few notes from the video above:
To balance on one foot most effectively, we need head over “ground” foot. Try balancing on one foot bending spine and head far outside or inside ground foot. You can probably balance, but not as effectively as head over foot. Under the body’s “plum line”.
We want the forces transferring cleanly throughout body. When you don’t land balanced (head over foot), compensation is the end result. Back pain has been linked to head not being over foot.
Watch this Facebook video from David Weck looking at how the runner moves “head over foot”, and side bends while stealing second (You can also CLICK HERE to see an interview I did with David Weck here)…
Which brings me to how to train this. CLICK HERE for a Facebook video post where David Weck explains the how of his sprint “Pulsers”. And CLICK HERE to get the “ProPulse Speed Trainers” at David’s website.
How to Apply David Weck’s “Head Over Foot” Technique or “Pulsers” to Hitting
Do you consider yourself a think-outside-of-the-box type of person? Please sound off in the Comments below, on how you can apply this technique or Pulsers with your hitters (thanks in advance!!)…
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Sprint-Short-Distance-And-Run-Bases-Faster-In-A-Week-For-Baseball-Softball-Athletes-Rotational-Core-Speed-Power-Body-Weight-Exercises-Done-At-Home.jpg360480Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-10-18 09:45:232022-10-19 05:42:49Sprint Short Distance And Run Bases Faster In A Week For Baseball & Softball Athletes | Rotational Core, Speed, & Power Body-Weight Exercises Done At Home
Discover these little known low back pain relief strengthening exercises. Learn how to dynamically stretch and release hip flexor tightness for athletes, beginners, bodybuilders, runners, and seniors.
How To Stretch Hip Flexors
“Why Are My Hip Flexors so Tight?” How To Stretch Hip Flexors (Release Or Strengthen?)
Post and video by Dr. Joe LaCaze, founder of RotexMotion
Concerning how to stretch hip flexors, I have seen, performed and taught every conceivable method of releasing them from tightness.
As a flexibility specialist, I stretched thousands of patients and athletes using the most popular muscle and fascial release techniques. I got so proficient with these stretch techniques, I taught seminars to other doctors and therapists…
As a neuromuscular therapist, I performed soft tissue techniques to release muscles from strain and tightness. I learned how to perform manual Trigger Point Therapy from a few masters.
As a performance enhancement specialist, I integrated PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) stretching and neuromuscular therapy with dynamic exercise for reestablishing normal movement patterns for the muscles and fascia we worked on.
This journey was all in an effort to discover how to stretch hip flexors and release strain and tightness for two main reasons – to create more…
We have been in the habit of looking at certain muscles like how to stretch hip flexors, and thinking they are too short and tight. Here’s what we’ll cover in this post:
In the past 15 years, with the help of some of the most renowned doctors, therapists, strength coaches, trainers and skills coaches, I have developed a much different view on how to treat these short, tight muscles. It has completely changed my understanding of how to stretch hip flexors.
If we have short, tight hip flexors, we should ask ourselves:
“WHY are they so short and tight?” And,
“WHAT are the restrictions to these muscles performing to their highest capability”?
Primary hip flexors causing problems
How To Stretch The Hip Flexor: psoas major muscle
There are four primary hip flexors but the one we hear about most, the one that causes us the most problems is the psoas major muscle. When we hear or read about the psoas major, 99% of the problems associated are attributed to it being short and tight.
The psoas major is responsible for lifting the thigh once it gets to 90° (parallel the floor), and everything after that, about another 45%. So it would seem that if it is short and tight, it would easily be able to lift the thigh to its limit. That is actually opposite to what happens.
If it is short and tight, it will also be weak and won’t be able to perform its normal function to full capacity. There are also neurological reasons it won’t be able to perform, but that’s a little complicated for this article.
Important to swinging and throwing athletes, the psoas major is also responsible for stabilizing the lower back, that is where it attaches to the lower spine. If the psoas major is short, tight and weak, it does a poor job of stabilizing against dynamic rotation and puts the lower back at high risk of injury.
The lower back will also become tighter as a protective mechanism and will not completely release its tension until the psoas major is strengthened through its entire range of motion, among other things.
4 Reasons hips flexors are short and tight
Problem #1
There are restrictors to the movement of the psoas major. These are mainly the deep hip muscles (the deep external hip rotators) and the hamstrings.
Solution to #1
Strengthen these muscles, don’t constantly stretch them. A strong muscle is much more flexible than a weakened muscle due to constant stretching.
Problem #2
The psoas major is WEAK because it has been constantly stretched, massaged, released, etc.
Solution to #2
Since the psoas major is almost 100% responsible for lifting the thigh past 90° to about 135%, it needs to be strengthened against some sort of resistance through its entire range of motion.
Problem #3
Almost everyone in our society sits for most of our non-athletic activities – driving, working at a desk, watching TV, reading, texting, etc.
Solution to #3
If we sit as part of our lifestyle, we will probably not change that. What we CAN do is to super strengthen our glutes, hamstrings and the deep external hip rotators. Those are the opposite muscles to the sitting muscles and they will help to release them as soon as we stand up and start moving.
Problem #4
If the hip flexors are unequal in the balance of strength, they will not be able to lift the thigh symmetrically. If the psoas major is weak, a muscle called the TFL (tensor fascia lata) will pull the hip and thigh outward and will create very complicated problems that are difficult to resolve in both the hips and lower back.
Solution to #4
Strengthen the TFL and hip in internal hip rotation against a strong rotational resistance, THEN strengthen the psoas major through its full lifting action, against resistance.
For those who have access to the two RotexMotion floor models, here’s the Inward Hip Rotation exercise to accomplish this…
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Tight-Hip-Flexors-Low-Back-Pain-Relief-Strengthening-Exercises-e1659994107576.png281500Dr. Joe LaCazehttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngDr. Joe LaCaze2022-08-08 09:15:572022-08-08 21:31:17Low Back Pain Relief Strengthening Exercises: How To Dynamically Stretch And Release Hip Flexor Tightness For Athletes, Beginners, Bodybuilders, Runners, & Seniors
Breathing Technique For Hitting: Why Hitters Shouldn’t Breath Like “Normal”
Before we get to the breathing technique for hitting a baseball (same for softball), consider breathing is one of the most commonly dysfunctional movement patterns today. In other words, nowadays “normal” breathing IS dysfunctional!
Photo courtesy: MobilityWOD.com YouTube video
Why? Here are a few reasons off the top of my head – you could probably think of others:
High levels of stress hormone cortisol throughout the day because of constant bombardment of mind numbing hamster-constantly-on-the-wheel technology (phones, video games, etc.),
Overuse training – doubling training efforts without doubling recovery efforts (dangerously over scheduled youth athletes), and
Injuries to certain areas of the body, playing a one-sided dominant sport (i.e. baseball and softball), and imbalanced training (without proper flushing of waste by the lymphatic system), can build a shorter breathing pattern, which can cause a constant drip-drip-drip of the fight or flight response throughout the day.
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One of my hitter’s dad asked me what physical training I recommend outside of a busy baseball and football schedule, and I said either Yoga or Pilates. I HIGHLY disagree with most hitting coaches putting ORGASMIC emphasis on explosive, Olympic, Cross-fit, or whatever else type of performance training out there.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and place for physical training geared for performance, but corrective maintenance training SHOULD precede performance – if we want healthy moving athletes. If you put fresh 80,000 mile tires on a Lamborghini with a misaligned front end, then you’ll be lucky to get half the miles out of the tires! Also, the tires won’t be your only problem.
Let’s connect what an effective breathing technique for hitting a baseball means to hitters…
World renowned strength and conditioning coach Brett Jones says this about “anatomical” versus “biomechanical” breathing in a post titled, “How Your Breathing Relates to Your Movement”:
“Anatomical breathing match refers to the natural matching of the inhalation and exhalation with extension and flexion of the spine/body. Extension facilitates inhalation and flexion facilitates exhalation. As the body gets compressed (flexion) exhalation dissipates the pressure and extension assists in opening the thoracic area to assist in inhalation. In addition, anatomical breathing can be used in stretching where the exhale is used to enhance the relaxation into a stretch.
Whereas, in the biomechanical breathing match we flip those actions. Inhaling to increase the intra-abdominal pressure during flexion and exhaling to improve muscular action and stability during extension. Biomechanical breathing match is key to being able to handle loads through the body during performance. During a dead-lift, kettle-bell swing or a kettle-bell military press the biomechanical breathing match allows us to amp up our strength and stability.”
The video above demonstrates this biomechanical breathing technique for hitting a baseball. I’ve had quite a few of you ask about this, so here you go! The description says the above YouTube video is about…
“Identifying and correcting low back extension loading issues through the correct sequence of breathing. If we can get our athletes to breath better across all movements and under load, performance will improve.”
Dr. Mark Cheng, one of my many favorite strength and conditioning coaches, says:
“When you truly own a movement pattern, strain isn’t part of the picture.”
There are a couple other resources I’d be estupido not to mention that plays right into improving breathing technique for hitting a baseball:
Two guided meditation apps for mobile device: Headspace(my personal favorite that I use), and Calm, and
And lastly, gratitude is the antidote to bad stress, check out the 5-Minute Journal(I use also).
The above video is only 3-min and 41-secs, so there won’t be any breathing technique for hitting a baseball notes. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the REPLY section below this post…
Move better, perform better. Enjoy!
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/breathing-technique-for-hitting-a-baseball-blog-e1535580420477.png346500Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-07-27 09:00:132022-07-27 23:00:51Importance Of Diaphragmatic Breathing Techniques On Sports Performance And Psychology For Baseball & Softball Athletes | STOP Anxiety, Famous Athletes Who Do It, & 4-7-8 Study
(I use also).