Baseball Rebellion’s Kory Behenna takes young pitchers through all the movements they should be doing BEFORE they throw.
Written By: Eric Tyler
How to Use Resistance Bands In Your Swing
What is a Resistance Band?
Every time a hitter makes contact with a moving ball they are dealing with absorbing force. The ball itself creates a certain amount of force that a hitter must deal with at contact. This is dealt with through strength, bat speed, and efficient swing mechanics. When training or working on something new in the swing quality of contact is sometimes overlooked, and rightly so. However, with the struggle being evident when attempting to learn a new skill, how can we as coaches make the struggle as painless as possible?
Why Do Resistance Bands Help Hitters?
By simply adding a resistance band to the training you simulate the same force needed to attack a pitch, without the fear of mis-hitting and the negative mental thoughts attached to a mis-hit. The added load of resistance can make the rep more gamelike and help improve a hitter's movement quality.
3 Drills To Help Your Hitter
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Stability Turns
Keys to the Drill-
- Slow tempo
- Initiate rotation at the core
- Maintain balance throughout the rotation
Things to Avoid-
- Allowing flawed movement- This is meant to be a tough drill. Be strict about initiating the turn from the core and maintaining a slow tempo.
2. Top Hand Moves
Keys to the Drill-
- Turn top hand palm up towards the sky
- Fight against the front shoulder pulling out
- Hold posture throughout
The thing to Avoid-
- Letting the front shoulder start the rotation
3. Hands High Swing
Keys to the Drill-
- Rotate normally as you would without the band
- Rotate quickly with good balance
- Fight against the pull of the band
The thing to Avoid-
- Do not let the band pull your hands down. You may hit more ground balls than usual during this drill. That is ok as you are working on keeping your hands higher through the rotation.
Find What Works for You
You may work with a hitter that doesn’t need resistance bands, and that’s great. However, there are hitters out there who need more than just hitting 1,000 balls off the tee every day. Should they do something they don’t enjoy and more importantly, don’t think makes them better? NO. Not every drill on the internet is meant for you.
So if these drills aren’t for you or you think they are stupid and don’t work, sweet, keep it moving. Just because you see the drill on your timeline doesn't mean anyone gives a shit what you think.
