Essential Plyo Drills for Arm Strength and Health

Welcome back to the blog! Today, we’re focusing on an essential aspect of training for baseball players: plyometric drills, or “plyo drills.” Whether you're an athlete looking to enhance your performance or a coach seeking effective ways to improve your players’ skills, understanding the nuances of plyo drills can make a significant difference.

Overview of Plyo Drills

Plyometric training has gained immense popularity among athletes, especially in baseball. However, it’s crucial to understand the purpose of these drills and how to implement them correctly. In this post, we’ll go over various plyo drills that vary in intensity and the type of balls used.

1. Understanding Plyo Balls

Plyo drills typically utilize different weighted balls, which can range from lighter to heavier. You might be surprised to learn that heavier balls are often used for low-intensity exercises. This might seem counterintuitive, but the logic is straightforward: throwing a heavier object helps your arm achieve better positions during the throw, resulting in less stress on the arm.

Conversely, lighter balls are used for higher intensity throws. These drills can be executed off a mound or while stepping into throws, focusing on velocity training and aiming to gain miles per hour on your fastball.

2. Training Goals

The exercises you choose will largely depend on what you're training for. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Higher Intensity Drills: Ideal for velocity training, suitable for the offseason, and aimed at increasing speed.

• Lower Intensity Drills: Focused on arm health and maintenance throughout the season, these include exercises like reverse throws and pivot picks.

3. Choosing the Right Drills for Your Age

If you’re a youth athlete, it's vital to choose drills appropriate for your age. For example, if you’re around eight years old, more advanced drills like roll-ins should be avoided. Such drills are more suited for high school or college athletes who are training specifically for velocity.

On the other hand, low-impact drills like pivot, pickoff, and reverse throws are generally safe for all ages. These exercises put minimal stress on the arm and pose little injury risk.

4. Plyo Ball Weights

Understanding the difference between light and heavy plyo balls is essential for effective training. A baseball weighs 5.25 ounces, so any plyo ball under that weight is considered “light,” while anything heavier is “heavy.”

Typically, plyo sets might include balls weighing 3 ounces, 5 ounces, 7 ounces, 1 pound, 2 pounds, and even 4 pounds. The key takeaway here is that your arm won't differentiate much between slight weight variations; it's the training purpose that matters.

5. Conclusion

Incorporating plyo drills into your routine can be a game-changer for improving arm strength and overall performance. The critical factors are to choose the right exercises based on your training goals and age and to understand the benefits of using different weights.

I hope you found this information helpful! If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your fellow athletes or coaches. And as always, leave a comment below if you have any questions or topics you’d like us to explore next!