In-Season Training Part 3: HOW?

SO, you’ve made it this far, you’re all in on in-season training as an absolute MUST as a ballplayer to be the best you, you’ve created some tangible goals for the in-season training period, and now you want to know the ins and outs of HOW to train in-season, things to key in on and things to be on the look out for. So if you MISSED either of the first two parts of the series start there:

[PART 1: Why Should I Train In-Season]

[PART 2: What Should My Goals Be In-Season]

Once, you’re done there, let’s get to it:

The first and biggest key regarding in-season baseball strength, power, and speed training is tracking, collecting, and analyzing readiness / fatigue data.

Having some idea when you step into the gym how much juice you have is pretty important stuff, all the time (which is why we track that type of data every single day here at ATS) but becomes even MORE important when in-season. In part 2 of the series we talked about avoiding going off the rails with your training and ego lifting, this point is kind of the opposite here: track your readiness if you’re scoring relatively low it may be a good time to auto-regulate your training for less intensity (less load on the bar) and focus more effort on recovery modalities like low intensity movement and / or passive modalities like we now offer in our recovery studio.

There are MANY ways to track readiness and nervous system fatigue and here’s the deal: no one way is head and shoulder better than another. Here at ATS we do a daily 5 question readiness survey VIA our friends at TrainHeroic, this allows us to collect subjective data reported by the athlete on how they’re feeling. This HS in-season we’ll also be using a daily objective measure of fatigue tracking via grip testing. Now, again you may have seen other ways to collect objective measurements for readiness testing: vertical jumping, short sprinting, tap testing, and more all come to mind. It doesn’t particularly matter WHAT you collect as long as you collect SOMETHING and utilize the data for your best self.

The second big rock you want to keep in mind for your in-season training is the idea that GAMEPLAY and PRACTICE are the focus, and therefore trying to create LITTLE to NO SORENESS through your strength and power training is the KEY.

So how do we train and not create soreness? Well, number one (like we discussed in part two of the series) is we stay consistent and on plan. A lack of consistency is a surefire way to add soreness back into the conversation (although I’d take two days of soreness over not peaking for the playoffs - but that’s a separate conversation entirely). So first and foremost, again: STAY CONSISTENT WITH YOUR TRAINING.

Next up we have to tackle the idea of exercise selection. For in-season training we want to select exercises we’re:

1. Familiar with

2. Minimize eccentric contraction (that’s the “negative”)

Eccentric contractions are predominantly to thank for the muscular soreness or delayed onset muscle soreness we feel after a strength training session (or any training session for that matter). So selected exercises that minimize that type of stress is a sneaky cheat code for maximizing in-season training. Some really good exercises on the minimizing eccentric side are: sled pushing and pulling, bottoms up split squats, trap bar deadlifts (dropping from the top portion), and step-ups just to name a few. You’ll notice these are for the most part also exercises we do throughout the off-season so we’re relatively familiar with.

The third big rock you want to keep in mind for your in-season training is the idea that GAMEPLAY and PRACTICE are predominantly on the “speed” end of the force velocity continuum.

I know what you’re thinking: “what does that mean and why should I keep it in mind!?” Well quite simply all movement occurs at some point on the force velocity continuum: throwing, sprinting, and maximal effort swinging are all relatively unloaded and FAST movements. In the in-season our goal should not be to do MORE movements like these, as they already play a huge role in terms of total volume of our daily activity, but instead supplement them with movements that occur further to the other side of the force spectrum. Heavier strength training, offside medicine ball throwing, and more loaded means of training allow for us to build robustness and not continue to fill the same “bucket” of training means.

So there you have it, a few things to keep in mind for your in-season training, NOW if you’re an #ATEAM athlete you have ONE MORE a special part 4 of the series to be on the lookout for regarding some slight schedule changes, optimal training schedules and recovery studio access, stay tuned to that! In coming weeks I’ll also be highlighting some more of our FAVORITE in-season exercises and progressions, stay tuned!

-CJ Appenzeller, MS

In-Season Training Part 2: WHAT Should My In-Season Training GOALS Be?

So, hopefully the first part of this series convinced you that in-season training is not only a GREAT idea, but as a matter of fact an absolute necessity if we’re going to be OUR BEST for this season and for season’s to come.

But now, if you’re like many driven athletes and individuals you’re thinking: “Ok, I’m in, I’m going to train in-season BUT what should my in-season training goals BE?” If that’s you, I’m here to help shine some light on it.

Now in this part of the series we’re not going to get too much into the nuts and bolts of HOW to train in-season, and if you’re one of my athletes you don’t HAVE TO think too much into that as I’ll have you covered BUT I will cover those X’s and O’s in part 3. This part we’re simply SETTING GOALS, and creating frameworks.

The first and overarching goal of in-season training should simply be TO SHOW UP. There are absolutely competing demands, tough practices, tough games, and emotional rollercoasters that accompany the season, however one of IF NOT THE MOST important keys to successful in-season training is CONSISTENCY. Missing A WEEK or TWO of in-season training can absolutely be a train wreck. It throws off our stimulus adaptation recovery curve and our recoverability from training bouts, making for some really tough decision in future weeks, avoid that at all costs.

Simply FIND A WAY to get to the gym 2-3x per week. At my facility here in NJ we actually opened up a later slot for in-season training by shifting our schedule around, which makes it more accessible to our ballplayers (some of which come from over an hour away to train).

The second in-season training goal you should set for yourself is to be consistent with your strategy. We see too often after a bad game, outing, or practice that an athlete just wants to throw their program away and load up a heavy deadlift to “blow off steam” - I certainly FEEL THAT on a spiritual level BUT baseball specifically is literally the kingpin sport for FAILING. The entire game is predicated on failure and the ability to rebound, part of that psychological rebound ability is rooted in the ability to stay on task and consistent with your strategy.

Here at ATS, we have a very specific strategy for every training session that takes place, in-season and off-season so it’s easy for our athletes to stay the course, however if you’re not an in-person #ATEAM athlete, keep this in mind: CONSISTENCY TRUMPS INTENSITY. If today calls for submaximal loading, but you had a bad game: keep a level head and understand that sticking to the PLAN will do more for you than an ego lift in the moment. (P.S. in part three we’ll cover exactly when it’s time to VETO the plan, but when we VETO or auto-regulate we very rarely go for an EGO heavy maximal lift in-season, just something to keep in mind).

The third in-season training goal will be a little bit controversial but the truth is if you’re a NOVICE athlete in regards to your training age (meaning you haven’t done strength, power, and speed training consistently or intelligently in the past), you should actually have the goal of getting STRONGER in-season. This goes also for ballplayers who are NOT getting a ton of innings out of the bullpen or a ton of at bats as a back-up.

For advanced athletes, who have trained for a few years, getting stronger may require more direct loading then warranted in-season BUT my novice guys and the guys who aren’t playing a ton, we go back to that idea of consistency and development. This is your chance to literally create more degrees of separation between you and the competition. Set a goal of hitting small PR’s throughout the course of the season and you’ll hit the showcase circuit, well ready to show out.

In-Season Training Part 1: WHY Should I?

One of the absolute biggest mistakes high school ballplayers make is stopping their strength and power training in-season. Unfortunately in my ten years of coaching I still haven’t seen this trend begin to shift to the majority of HS ballplayers maximizing their in-season period from the developmental side. YES, of course I know with high school baseball that means increased demand on sporting practice and truthfully just LESS time to get training in throughout the week. However, the in-season training period can be one of the most important times to continue to train for a few reasons (those we’ll outline here in part one of this article) and those who maximize it, quite simply and bluntly will WIN, this season and seasons to come.

The first and most important reason to train in-season is to: Maintain movement quality

Maintaining movement quality doesn’t sound all that sexy, but in reality it’s the most important thing as ballplayers we can do throughout the course of a season, and as a performance coach it becomes my primary focus. The best “ability” is availability, and we KNOW the eccentric stressors of the repeated motion of the game of baseball wreak havoc on tissue length, extensibility, and movement quality.

Think about how your shoulder feels after a tough outing. Sore? Fatigued? Stiff?

How about your hips after a double header, tight? tired?

All of these feelings are relatively normal AND things we can in the gym work to normalize and counter act. Nobody wants to feel tight, stiff, or less than their best going into a big series: so don’t set yourself up for that, proper in-season training allows you to combat loss of movement, loss of rotational components, and sets you up to be healthier long term.

It’s important to point out as well we have a LOT of really good research that correlates a in-season training with injury prevention, even at just 2-3 one hour session per week. So it’s not a HUGE investment if you really think about it: 3 hours a week to improve your chances of performing YOUR BEST and HEALTHIEST all season? That’s a no brainer for me, but we’ve got more to talk about.

The second worthwhile reason to train in-season, especially if you’re a high school ballplayer or college ballplayer who intends to play at the NEXT LEVEL is to simply: Not get weaker!

Do you remember the FIRST time you did some actual strength training? Maybe it was just this off-season where you actually became consistent with your training in a system that ACTUALLY works and produces results but nonetheless you remember how weak you were, it would really suck to start RIGHT BACK THERE in June or WORSE: in September. By the way some quick math, if you plan on taking let’s say 12 weeks OFF from training, and a competitor (maybe someone also committed to your school at your position) DOESN’T take those weeks off from training, he’d literally be 36 training sessions ahead of you when high school ball is over. I don’t know about you but I’m certainly not leaving that much ROOM out on the table for my competition.

Training in-season allows you to hold on to the gains in strength, speed, and power you’ve made which sets up subsequent off-seasons for progress without a “restart” button. Now you might be thinking: “I won’t get slower or weaker.” Well the unfortunate truth is that, you in fact will if you do not train (appropriately of course which will talk about in part 3 of this series) to maintain those qualities.

You see, all physical qualities have what we call a retention period, or a residual, in which we can maintain those qualities without drop off, before revisiting them. Some of the MOST important qualities that you worked all off-season to improve (like your speed) only have residuals of 5-8 days. That means after you go eight days with proper speed training at a minimum effective volume (or retention volume) you actually start to become slower. Do NOT waste your hard work and DO NOT start at square 1 next off-season. THREE HOURS A WEEK thats all it take!

I want you to be aware of a few of these metrics: SPEED- that’s speed and one of the most important factors to the position players game, ATP/CR-P is the fuel used for all ballplayers (pitchers I’m looking at you) to complete tasks, and repeat-power which is essentially HOW baseball is played. These qualities diminish RELATIVELY FAST without proper training!

The third and final reason we’ll discuss on JUST why you should train in-season is the idea of PEAKING for performance late in the season.

Building off our topic of residual training effects, we know that everyone who doesn’t train in-season (our competition) will be actively getting slower, less powerful, and weaker throughout the course of the season. With proper in-season training not only can you AVOID that pitfall, but you can actually set yourself up to PEAK your physical qualities (meaning get your absolute HIGHEST possible outputs) late in the season, where the games count the most.

Round 2 of the playoffs a pretty important game? How about the state championship? Imagine you’re bringing the absolute JUICE to that game, the absolute best version of yourself, moving well, faster and more powerful than when the season began AND your competition has been getting weaker throughout. Sounds like a recipe for a good day.

PEAK late in the season, when everyone else is tired, beat up, stiff, and tight: it only takes THREE hours a week and it will be worth it. Remember SUCCESS if NEVER AN ACCIDENT.

It’s up to you, will you be on the slow slope downhill, or peaking when everyone else is “surviving.”

DELOAD: What, When, and Why

Last week most of our athletes went through a deload. Deloads are a pretty common talking point for myself with interns, new athletes, and even outsiders. So let’s dig into the what, when, and how of a Deload!

Deloads are essentially a period of training where we look to minimize adaptive stress on the athlete and allow for complete recovery. The minimizing of stress (or deloading) is important for the athlete because as with all things straight linear forward progress over extended periods of time is nearly impossible, and at a minimum creates a higher risk of injury and / or overtraining.

For my athletes we usually structure a deload every 4 weeks, with exceptions, but in general an athlete should be looking to deload every 3-6 weeks, depending on a host of factors for the individual.

Factors affecting when to deload include:

1. Max recoverable volume of the athlete

2. Relative nervous system intensity of associated training block

3. Relative life stress (school, family, work)

4. Relative proximity to the competitive season

5. Relative proximity to upcoming training landmarks

When we look at all of these things for the individual athlete or the group of athletes through the lens of that 3-6 week window we can make worthwhile thoughtful choices on when to deload, and how to best allow for recovery for that individual.

Now we know when to deload, but what's it look like? There are many different strategies to a deload, at our facility we minimize both total VOLUME and total INTENSITY of the strength, speed, and power training of the athlete. (You could in theory only deload one variable of the training process ie: less volume, or less intensity.) However the minimizing of both the intensity and volume of the training opens up an opportunity to focus on movement quality, check in with athletes on how they're feeling, and allow for an excellent adaptive window of recovery.

Adaptive window!? Sounds like hooplah, well in reality the adaptive window, in a very elementary sense is the REASON for the DELOAD SEASON. All training (all stress and stimulus really) fall on an athlete in such a way that the stress or stimulus creates an acute drop in performance, followed by a recovery and adaptive stage to return the athlete to above baseline performance markers.

This is best indicated by what's called an SRA curve or stimulus, recovery, and adaptation curve. When we deload an athlete we deepen and extend his recovery period systemically allowing for a greater potential adaptation on the other side.

So without a deload: you're setting yourself up for potential injury and overtraining but possibly more importantly you're slamming the window SHUT on potential GAINS. If you want to throw cheese, float instead of run on the field, and hit nukes - never deloading is NOT the answer. Trust me!

-CJ Appenzeller, MS

The ANATOMY of A Strength Training Session for Baseball

So, you’re training and you’re training HARD, BUT you might be missing a key ingredient to your success, in today’s video blog I run through the anatomy of a training session:

The big rocks, the order of operations, and some insight into how it all plays together.

Press PLAY to watch, it’s a little more than 3 and a half minutes that you WILL NOT want to MISS.

-CJ Appenzeller, MS

STRIKING OUT OLYMPIC LIFTS

Recently posted a quick note on my Instagram page (@appyhour) about how we don’t utilize Olympic lifting in the programs of our ballplayers. Quite honestly thought it was a mild statement essentially detailing a few quick reasons why we can do OTHER THINGS (exercises, subcategories, and modalities) that give us a bigger bang for our buck, at lower risk, and more specificity.

GUESS I WAS WRONG. A lot of Weight lifting enthusiasts started saying crazy things. So according to them the reason weightlifting (I’d call it Olympic lifting but let’s be honest none of these kids getting mad at me on Instagram are going to the olympics) isn’t used in my program is because I can’t “coach the lifts”

BUT the truth of the matter is the argument for Olympic lifts hit a wall relatively early on for me for ballplayers.

SPEED STRENGTH CONTINUUM

WHEN we look at true movement speed: throwing a baseball is the fastest motion in all of sports occurring quite frequently over 90 MPH (that is obviously BALL velocity Upon release not true segmental velocity but I’ll get to the point in a second) that equates to roughly 40 Meters/Second. Olympic lifts even in proficient olympic lifters occur between 1.5 M/S and 2.5 M/S - so in terms of specificity we already have STRIKE 1 against olympic lifting. Olympic lifting isn't alone here by the way, in fairness, all barbell lifting occurs between .4ish M/S and 2.5 M/S and I'm certainly not advocating for NO strength training, I'm advocating for strength training that increases the level of readiness for the ballplayer, increasing his robustness and resiliency, and adds lean functional muscle and THEN or IN CONJUNCTION WITH great effective power work that's more specific and offers the opportunity for more carryover (more on that upcoming.)

For comparison in our facility we routinely see sprints that are equivalent to 8 M/S and medicine ball throws we've clocked up to 17 M/S - doesn't take a PhD to see that in terms of Speed of movement that sprints and medicine ball throws are more specific in terms of movement speed (We'll talk more about how they're more specific to task related demands in our third strike).

You can see barbell lifting for me falls on the left of the spectrum, be it olympic lifting or otherwise, it's not to say we don't do barbell lifting but it IS to say we choose exercises that are more specific and less risky on that end AND with usually a different goal in mind.

RISK VS REWARD

ALL training has an inherent risk associated with it. All movement has an inherit risk. Competition as a whole is INHERENTLY DANGEROUS. But the role of the performance coach is to first and foremost DO NO HARM, and one of the primary ways we can do exactly that is to select exercises that have HIGH REWARD and LOW RISK.

The risk associated with olympic lifting is relatively high in several joints, specifically in the upper extremity (shoulder and wrist) which is actually exacerbated by the predisposition of ballplayers instability in the shoulder and relative stiffness in the wrists. ENGLISH TRANSLATION: ballplayers because they're built to play baseball, AREN'T BUILT TO OLYMPIC LIFT. The demands are simply too different and therefore STRIKE TWO against olympic lifting is the high RISK and relatively LOW reWARD as discussed throughout this blog.

DIRECTIONALITY OF FORCE DISPLACEMENT

Many like to refer to olympic lifting as a power developer. Which it certainly CAN be. There's a BIG can there by the way. But even if you ARE proficient in the lifts as a ballplayer you're still training power in the SPECIFIC plane of motion you're utilizing.
Olympic lifting is linear in nature with vertical displacement. In terms of the ballplayers what's the ultimate goal? To ROTATE and move explosively horizontally and laterally. And there in lies strike three against the olympic lifts, unlike sprinting that is an actual sport specific task and build speed and power horizontally, or jumps that can be manipulated to the transverse and frontal plane, and medicine ball throws that relatively closely replicate rotational sport demands - they're just straight lines up and down.

So sure you COULD use olympic lifts - but you'd be doing yourself a disservice in regards to how specific you could be, and of course how much you COULD derive from your training in terms of carryover.

Do THESE throws OR a clean / snatch look more like a swing or throw that occurs on the field?

STRIKE THREE YOU'RE OUT.

All jokes and banter aside, olympic lifts aren't "bad" movements and I don't "hate" them. I just want to use the means that are MOST EFFECTIVE and OPTIMAL for my athletes and their goals. And to that end ballplayers should opt to use their training reserves on training means more specific to develop baseball specific power!

Until next time.

-Coach Appy, THE Baseball Performance Coach.

Medicine Balls for POWER.

At this point, I’d like to think all ballplayers are utilizing medicine balls in their training for a plethora of reasons. But if you’re NOT or you’re just dabbling - like a college ballplayer I talked to yesterday who said his coach doesn’t “believe” in med balls let’s run through some of the facts and fun about WHY med ball rotational training is SO POWERFUL for well, POWER DEVELOPMENT.

Rotational medicine ball work is some of the most specific work we can do as it relates to the demands of your sport BASEBALL. Remember the PRINCIPLE of SPECIFICITY: In order for an exercise to be TRULY specific it must match the competition exercise in:

1. Amplitude and direction of movement - geek speak for same direction.

2. Accentuated region of force production - geek speak for must match the region of force produced (in terms of throwing and hitting we’re starting force production at the lower half and finishing at the hands

3. Dynamics of movement - geek speak for INTENT

4. Rate and time of maximal force production - this one is pretty straight forward

5. The regime of muscular work - AKA the muscles doing the job are the same.

So the long and short is: the ONLY thing that is 100% SPECIFIC to throwing is, well, throwing. BUT the more of these criteria we can match the more “specific” are training becomes, and therefore the more potential for carryover onto the actual playing field, slope, or in the batter’s box.

Medicine ball work is BALLISTIC in nature. What does that mean? Ballistic essentially means that there is NO deceleration moment. If the question is “Should I do medicine ball work or velocity based barbell lifts?” Medicine balls are the only answer (although we utilize both - hey now) because with any barbell lift, you HAVE TO DECELERATE the BAR. Medicine balls gets decelerated by the WALL not by you. Making it all gas pedal work which is great if we’re trying to build a rotational MOTOR.

P.S. there’s absolutely work we can and SHOULD do for deceleration with medicine balls, that’s just a different topic entirely - for the purpose of this article we’re talking about building ROTATIONAL POWER.

Example of some DECEL work with med balls - another post on this coming soon.

Last but not least medicine ball training is relatively easy to recover from, even at high volumes. In the off-season we could easily have our medicine ball work be apart of 3 or 4 training days per week and athletes would recover from it quite well. Although the intent is HIGH with much of our power driven medicine ball training ballplayers bounce back much faster than say a tough sprint session or a high intensity high volume day of traditional barbell lifting.

So there you have it - king of BASEBALL POWER TRAINING is the medicine ball. Get to breaking some!

THE SPEED METRIC ALL BALLPLAYERS AND COACHES NEED TO TRACK

The 60 yard dash is garbage. That’s the truth of the matter. It’s an invalid assessment of baseball speed, and believe me I have nothing AGAINST the 60 yard dash, as a matter of fact of on my OWN calling cards as a performance coach is the idea that I “slash 60’s” (which I do help a lot of athletes do by the way). But the truth of the matter is no ballplayer, in a game, is going to run 60 yards in a straight line. Therefore, this becomes an invalid metric OTHER THAN for scouting and recruiting purposes, which is great and for the time being I’ll continue to help my ballplayers master and crush this metric, but for the sake of this blog I want to discuss more in depth another (better) trackable metric of baseball speed and one I HOPE to help drive to the forefront of baseball scouting and recruiting.

Drum roll please, that metric is the 10 yard fly with a 10 yard build (or lead in). Now number one, many in the baseball universe may not even know what this discussed event even IS so let’s start there.

A 10 yard fly is essentially a measure of 10 yards (not from start to finish) of a particular sprint. In this case, the metric I’m making a case for is the 10 yard fly WITH a 10 yard build. So our metric would be the measure of the time it takes the athlete to travel from the 10 yard mark to the 20 yard mark of a 20-30 yard sprint.

So now you know WHAT the 10 yard fly “is” so let’s talk about WHY I think this is a great indicator of baseball specific speed.

1. This is a distance an athlete will actually travel, IN A STRAIGHT LINE, on the ballfield in regular game situation (every ground ball to the infield as a hitter, from time to time as a middle infielder and / or outfielder on a given defensive play)

2. This is a time we can test (with the same testing means as being used in a scouting and recruiting service environment) relatively easily AND more frequently than a 60 yard dash.

3. It’s a time we can relatively compare to CURRENT MAJOR LEAGUE BALLPLAYERS AND THEIR CURRENT OUTPUTS.

First and foremost, biodynamic demand (IE the transferability, as previously mentioned, to the field). We all know bases are 90 feet from one another, which is the equivalent of 30 yards, our 10 yard build to 10 yard fly in question is literally the perfect metric for a hitter who is going to travel that 20 yards on every single hit ball and relatively the entire way in a straight line. Sure not every ball hit is going to have a hitter running straight through the bag (but even a sure fire double will have that fielder getting through the 20 yard mark in a relatively straight line). Making this a NO BRAINER great metric if I want to have an idea on the likelihood of this particular hitter beating out a back hand in the 5-6 hole or how many long singles he’ll stretch into doubles. Coaches, scouts, directors of recruiting services, LET’S GET ON THIS. Ballplayers, make sure - which I’ll say again later - you’re working to improve this metric!

Next up we look at our testability. The shorter the distance, the harder and less reliable the pocket stopwatch becomes, but that’s no worry for MANY because MANY a recruiting service and program (right down to high school teams) have invested in laser or bluetooth timing systems for their athletes. At my facility we actually have both laser timing systems as well as bluetooth timing technology that allows for accurate, reliable, and valid collection of data during testing periods and during actual training sessions.

For the 10 and 10 I personally love to use the FREElap bluetooth timing system. It’s EASY and RELIABLE and required little set-up that can be done on the fly during a training session. IF we ALL move in this direction EVERYONE wlll be collecting great valid and reliable data. 

Last but not least we have to discuss the comparison capability of this metric. Baseball (MLB specifically) is AMAZING with current data collection on a plethora of data points. For years we’ve used video analysis of our favorite big leaguer’s in the cages to compare our swings and make improvements, BUT we’ve never used the TIMES of our favorite big leaguers to grade ourselves or set goals. With a metric like the 10 by 10, which MLB collects for active players (special thanks baseballSAVANT.com) we can do just that.

So there you have it, I’ve stated my case: ballplayers start to track and work to IMPROVE this metric, skill coaches - start encouraging your players by collecting this data point and pushing it’s importance, performance coaches - MAKE YOUR GUYS BETTER AT THIS, and finally recruiting and scouting services - the biggest responsibility is on you make the 10 and 10 the NEW 60!

-CJ Appenzeller, MS

NAVIGATING COVID-19 FROM THE STANDPOINT OF A BALLPLAYER:

We are currently in unprecedented times. As a high school, college, or professional athlete this is certainly the first time you’ve ever been quarantined to your home and had your gym, training facility, and access to coaching shut down.

Let me just get this out of the way early: this SUCKS.

Everyone involved and / or even INTERESTED in sports knows that this is less than optimal and not to our liking or yours. HOWEVER, focusing only on the negative of the current circumstances certainly won’t move us in the direction of greatness. My belief is, if you’re reading this letter you’re apart of the percent of the population that are not only ATHLETES but also ATHLETES who are looking to constantly improve, and constantly improving as all things BEGINS with your mindset and consistency.

I want to help navigate you through this tough time with this letter, not as a RAH RAH cheerleader or as a “bright side” person, but as a realistic COACH who’s coached thousands and leads from the front - there’s going to be talk about mindset coming up but let’s start by putting some of the burdens you’re currently carrying at ease, move through the sub-optimal development options, and then hit mindset to finish out. (Keep reading you don’t have anywehre to be and this WILL HELP YOU.)

ELIGIBILITY:

D1:

D3:

NAIA:

NJCAA (JUCO):

So the short of it is, if you’re a college athlete you’re going to get your year of eligibility back. Yes, I understand all of you can use that year, yes I understand we built and peaked for this campaign - but as always we must control the controllables, this is where we are. Focus on where we’re going.

HIGHSCHOOL BALLPLAYERS, especially seniors. DAMN, I feel for you. I cannot imagine if someone were to rip my senior year of ball away from me what that would’ve felt like. I know this means absolutely nothing to you but, I’m sorry. Now for some hard truth: the longer you feel SORRY for yourself, the further away from the ultimate goal of playing at the next level and being the best ballplayer you can be will get. Read on for how to GET TO WORK in that direction.

PRO BALLPLAYERS, yes this sucks. All of my pros have expressed in words I probably shouldn’t write in this public letter how frustrated they are with the situation. Myself as a coach, I’m lucky because the pro ballplayers I work with and interact with on a daily basis are hard nosed GRINDERS - truly BAD MEN (in the best way). They’re pissed as you probably are, they’re frustrated as you probably are, but they’re also adapting and moving to the situation.

There’s two levels worthwhile addressing here from the developmental and “eligibility” side of the pro athlete.

Number 1: financially. Early on it looked like minor league ballplayers outside the 40-man roster would not be paid, this is changing rapidly (organization by organization) which is a small positive.

That being said, pro ballplayers want to PLAY BALL and minor league spring training stipends aren’t exactly lavish lifestyle wages, so let’s address the other side of this, WHEN THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO PLAY!?

At the time of this letter being written it looks like the MLB has NOT set a date for opening day, or even a total number of games which will have a trickle down effect to the MiLB.

So we don’t have an opening day, and we don’t currently have a re-report date. I know you’re thinking: CJ thanks for the help….but unfortunately we have what we have. Stay ready so you never have to get ready (more on that coming up in development).

DEVELOPMENT:

So we’re stuck in the house (for the time being) and cannot gather in groups or as a team. So what the hell do we do for development?

Being realistic: this is not optimal, this may even be on the side of not “good” however suboptimal times and regimens have created many champions….

So here’s the deal, during these suboptimal times we do have ONE saving grace so to speak and that is TIME.

Most highschool and college ballplayers have limited scholastic demands (online schooling) and many of my pro-guys have no set forth demands from their organizations currently. So we have time.

ORGANIZING TRAINING:

Everyday right now should have three distinct “training blocks”

A MOVEMENT BLOCK - set forth for mobility and stability training

A TRAINING BLOCK - Set forth for bodyweight and in-home training or SPRINT training outside

And

A SKILL BLOCK - Set forth for individual skill development.

3 hours a day, exactly how my professional athletes train in ideal circumstances during the off-season.

For your MOVEMENT BLOCK focus on hip mobility and stability (tons of examples on my instagram and everywhere on the internet (@appyhour) as well as your thoracic mobility.

For your training block, focus on what you can. Bodyweight exercise when implemented correctly can do a lot more than you think. If you have a TRX at home, a set of J-Bands, and / or some dumbbells we can actually go A LOT farther than you think. Personally I’m hosting a YOUTUBE live workout everyday Monday through Friday at 4PM for ballplayers to tune into and get coached through. DM me (@appyhour) if you want in. I’m also posting a workout EVERY SINGLE DAY on my IG for you to swipe and deploy - take it and get to work.

For your SKILL BLOCK: hitters need to focus on tee progressions, front toss (when applicable), and staying in rhythm with their swing. When this thing is over there will NOT BE time to “get adjusted” regardless of level there will be a RUSH to get into competition play - do what you need to to be prepared for that!

PITCHERS: you’re at HIGH RISK right now. One of the things that destroys arms faster than anything else and leaves you susceptible to i jury is abrupt shutdowns and aggressive on-ramps. You need to keep your arm in in-season “shape.” That means throwing as if it were the season.

Starters (which most reading this probably are) a good outline for this would be two bullpens week (one being your “game outing” and one being your “bullpen”)

Game outing: 4 “innings” of 15-20 pitches with rest in between

Bullpen: Whatever you normally do, probably somewhere between 20-30 pitches.

Days in between work off of our HIGH - LOW model and throw accordingly.

BONUS DEVO: If you have more time in the day you haven’t dedicated to another part of your development or scholastic responsibility now more than ever is a time to invest in your mindset and read REALLY great literature either developing your craft (awesome books about understanding the game) or EVEN BETTER - develop your mindset. It’s a short list of great reads off the top of my head, many of which are available on kindle at a steep discount right now:

The Go Giver by Bob Burg

The Go Giver Leader by Bob Burg

Training Camp By Jon Gordon

The Hard Hat by Jon Gordon

The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon

Do the Work by Steven Pressfield

Extreme Ownership By Jocko Willink

Can’t Hurt Me By David Goggins

Legacy by James Kerr

The Dip By Seth Godin

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

MINDSET:

Last but not least we jump into the mindset segment of this letter. Really, as a coach, this is what I need to SAY and what you need to HEAR, so tune in.

FAITH > FEAR.

These are “scary” times, mostly because of the lack of certainty and hard and fast “end” and “begin” dates. Ambiguity raises a lot of questions and stirs anxiety at an aggressive pace.

IF YOU ARE ANXIOUS OR NERVOUS YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Believe me, everyone, myself included is dealing with a level of uncertainty and anxiety right now. However, if you let uncertainty control your mindset you will become paralyzed and a slave to the media and those around you. Great athletes are great leaders and great leaders are not easily influenced or controlled by outside circumstances.

Great leaders are coffee beans, with the ability to change an environment they enter into. Now more than ever you MUST be the coffee bean. Positivity and FAITH are transferable traits. Your parents, teammates, girlfriends, and all those around you NEED MORE POSITIVITY. They don’t need more uncertainty or negativity, be the COFFEE BEAN and transfer positivity, now more than ever.

A scared world needs FEARLESS leaders.

COVID-19 is spreading rapidly, infecting many, and causing serious health concerns to some. The early rumblings were essentially “corona can’t hurt me, I’m young” which understandably makes things even more frustrating. The truth of the matter is though, whether you can “survive” the virus or not, your social obligation during this time is to adhere to the quarantine because it’s not JUST ABOUT YOU. I don’t want to sound preachy, and BELIEVE ME I GET IT - I want to coach as bad, if not more than you want to train but at this point we have to do what we have to do.

To that end, the world is scared and unsure - YOU as a leader have to be fearless and stand strong in what you believe. NOT WHAT YOU BELIEVE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS - coronavirus is outside of my scope and yours, BUT mindset, integrity, work ethic, and gratitude are all within your scope and beliefs as a leader you must not waver in now. People need to see leaders, and as athletes that's what you are, that are steadfast in a time when nothing is certain.

THE PIT IS PART OF YOUR JOURNEY.

For many of us, this quarantine and subsequent loss of season, opportunity, development, and in some instances an entire lifestyle feels like a pit. For many it may feel like a pit that we will not recover from. Here’s the hard truth of the matter: we are currently in a pit. For some this pit in deeper and darker than it is for others.

Regardless of the depth or darkness of your pit, I’m here to tell you that your PIT is just simply a PART of your journey, it is NOT THE END. This time is not the end of your career, not the end of your development, and not the end of your opportunity. This is not the back cover of the book of YOU, it’s only a chapter.

Work from a place of faith, go ALL IN on yourself and how you look to maximize this time and then do it.

Take action and give love because action cures anxiety and love starves fear.

-CJ Appenzeller, MS

DEDICATED TO YOUR SUCCESS and CHANGING LIVES ONE REP AT A TIME