Baseball players undoubtedly need tons of core strength. But what does “core strength” even mean? The term has been bastardized to the point that Fred DiMenna, my grad school professor and former WNBF pro bodybuilder, would say “I don’t know what a ‘core’ is” when people would ask him about core training.
Most people think of sit-ups and side-bends when they think of core training. But with the alarming prevalence of oblique strains, sports hernias and lumbar stress fractures in baseball, I’d say we’re doing it wrong when it comes to core training for baseball.
What may surprise you is that exercises like crunches, side-bends and back extensions – staples of “core training” programs for years – may actually decrease baseball performance or increase chance of injury.
Want to know why? Check out my latest article on Stack, with knowledge bombs from some of the brightness minds in fitness such as Tony Gentilcore (Cressey Sports Performance), Miguel Aragoncillo (Endeavor Sports Performance) and Billy Rom (Prospect Sports).