Evaluating the Effects of Underloaded and Overloaded Warm-ups on Subsequent Swing Velocity

Miller, RM, Heishman, AD, Freitas, EDS, and Bemben, MG. Evaluating the effects of underloaded and overloaded warm-ups on subsequent swing velocity. J Strength Cond Res 34(4): 1071–1077, 2020—Several attempts to identify the optimal on-deck procedure to enhance swing velocity in baseball have been made. However, inconsistent findings continue to constitute much of the body of literature. In addition, the emergence of athlete monitoring in sport has led to the exploration of more sport-specific tasks to potentially identify athlete fatigue and readiness to perform. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to examine 3 different bat weight warm-up protocols on subsequent swing velocity and to examine the reliability of swing velocity measurements to allude to its potential a sport-specific athlete monitoring metric. Thirty-two recreational male baseball players 20.3 ± 2.0 years, 179.6 ± 7.1 cm and 89.6 ± 11.1 kg completed the study. Subjects completed 3 testing visits that included warming up with a control bat ([CB] 32 in., 29 oz), plastic bat ([PB] 31 in., 6.4 oz), or heavy bat ([HB] 32 in., 57 oz). Testing visits began with 3 CB swing trials followed by 3 intervention bat trials, then concluded with 3 additional CB swings. Swing velocity was assessed using visual 3D technology. Analyses of variance indicate that after the PB (26.6 ± 2.0 m·s−1) and CB interventions (26.2 ± 1.7 m·s−1) significantly faster (p

Source: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research - March 25, 2020 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Original Research Source Type: research