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This week we test the fact that a lighter bat gives more bat speed than a heavy bat, and what does that mean.

Episode 62 – Bat Speed? – The Fastpitch Softball TV Show

This video comes from softball site fastpitch.tv and deals with how changes in bat weight effect bat speed, batted ball velocity, and batted ball distance.  Fairly simple test – use radar to measure bat speed of different weighted bats (imagine that!).  They could have just hit balls off a tee and measured the ball exit speed (like this), but I suppose getting actual calculations assuming a more constant environment are more controlled.  Here are some conclusions:

• the light bat gets swung the fastest
• faster bat speed helps hit the ball farther
• 1 mph bat speed translates to about 4 extra feet of distance

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Here is what she wrote:

“Hey Jeff, hope you’re doing well. Just wanted to let you know that I made first team all county this year and lead my team in doubles and almost tied the school record for homeruns, all thanks to you.”

When I responded to her email, I made sure to let her know that she was the one who put in the hard work. She replied:

“I got so accustomed to practicing hitting and making adjustments as I went along that my coaches would give me a hard time because I would go through bucket after bucket after bucket in the cages, and when we hit on the field I wouldn’t stop until I hit a homerun haha. The accomplishment of my life- hitting a homerun over the right field fence (about 275 ft) off a tee…that and I finally learned how to hit an inside riseball.”

These are the types of players who make a coach/instructor look good. For those of you working hard and looking for ways to improve, here is some more of her story:

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Last winter I began working with a softball player in the Atlanta area. I did not know much about her background, but I assummed from her swing that she had received very “traditional” coaching.

In my opinion, her swing had been constructed primarily to beat the ball straight into the ground.

After an initial video analysis, where I compared her to a high level Division 1 NCAA softball player (whom I consider to have a good swing for her level), our first plan of attack was:

1. Get into a more athletic position to hit
2. Learn how to move/rotate explosively out of that position

Here is some before/after video:

On the far left is the first time we met. No instruction or anything other than the recording of some swings.

Next meeting we looked over our video comparisons and some other images, and proceeded mainly with over/under and reaction training with the SETPRO SP-5 unit.

The middle portion of the above clip shows this player doing the no-stride, pure reaction training. Basically, the player begins in a strong, athletic position and learns to rotate explosively into the ball. Feedback is provided in terms of both swing quickness and bat speed, which promotes swing OPTIMIZATION – that is, blend of quickness and speed (power).

Then on the right is a shot of a regular tee swing after a couple weeks of training. Some noticeable points of improvement include:

1. Stronger initial base
2. Better load of the hands and upper body
3. Reduced overall swing time (*note ‘before’ swing starts about 5 frames prior to ‘after’ swing)

And very interestingly, her new swing matched up quite similarly to her “training” swing.

EFFECT OF OVERWEIGHTED FOREARM TRAINING ON BAT SWING AND BATTED‐BALL VELOCITIES OF HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PLAYERS (Resistance Training/Periodization) David J. Szymanski, Jeff M. Albert, Dustin L. Hemperley, Hung‐Sheng Hsu, Roland M. Moore, Jeff D. Potts, Josh G. Reed, Justin E. Turner, Jeremy P. Walker, and R. C. Winstead. Louisiana Tech University/Applied Physiology Lab, Ruston, LA

In baseball it is important to increase sport‐specific power. This may allow a hitter to swing his bat and hit a ball with greater velocity.

PURPOSE: To examine the effects of 12 weeks of overweighted forearm training on bat swing velocity (BV) and batted‐ball velocity (BBV) of high school (HS) baseball players.

METHODS: Thirty HS baseball players were randomly assigned by a stratified sampling technique to 1 of 2 training groups. Group 1 (n = 15) and group 2 (n = 15) performed the same progressive full‐body resistance exercises while training 3x/wk for 12 weeks according to a stepwise periodized model. Both groups also took 105 dry swings a day with their standard game bat 3x/wk for 12 weeks. In addition, group 2 wore a weighted device (neoprene sleeve with lead inserts) on the forearms for additional resistance while taking dry swings. A 2:1 ratio of resistance was used (70 swings with device & 35 swings without device). Resistance began at 113.4 g (4 oz) and increased by 113.4 g (4 oz) every 2 weeks for the 12‐week study. By week 11 the resistance was 680.4 g (24 oz). Instantaneous BV and BBV were recorded pre‐ and posttraining by a SETPRO SPRT5ATM chronograph and Speed TracTM radar gun. Throwing velocity (TV) and dominant, non‐dominant, and total grip strength were also measured pre‐ and posttraining by a JugsTM radar gun and a Jamar TM hand dynamometer. A 3 repetition maximum (RM) parallel squat and bench press were measured at baseline and after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of training.

RESULTS: Both groups showed statistically significant increases (p < 0.05) in instantaneous BV (4.2 & 6.0%), BBV (7.4 & 7.8%) and TV (2.5 & 3.1%) (m∙s‐1 ± SD) after 12 weeks of training; however, there were no differences between the 2 groups. Both groups showed statistically significant increases in dominant (4.9 & 5.0%), non‐dominant (3.2 & 3.3%), and total (4.1 & 4.7%) grip strength (kg ± SD) after 12 weeks of training; however, there were no differences between the 2 groups. Both groups demonstrated statistically significant increases in predicted 1RM parallel squat and bench press after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of training; however, there were no differences between groups.

CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that a 12‐week stepwise periodized training program can significantly increase instantaneous BV, BBV, TV, and grip strength among HS baseball players. The use of additional resistance worn on the forearm while swinging did not contribute to further statistical increases in instantaneous BV or BBV.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Both training protocols increased BV and BBV in HS hitters. Since there was no statistically significant difference between groups on these variables, it is recommended that HS coaches use the program performed by group 1. Perhaps the resistance used on the forearms was not great enough or resistance is not needed on the forearms to make further improvements in BV and BBV. Previous research has indicated that additional forearm and grip strength did not contribute to further improvements in BV. Since the baseball swing is a sequential, rotational movement that incorporates the entire body, perhaps additional resistance should be placed elsewhere on the body, be thrown, or be on the bat itself to produced significantly greater increases in BV. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: This investigation was partially funded by Eagle Training Systems, Inc. Jenks, OK.

Along with another assistant, I got involved in directing the team’s strength and conditioning program for the 2007-2008 season.  What we were very fortunate to be able to do was measure/test all kinds of physical and performance variables at the beginning and end our training.

I made a previous post about presenting a conference poster about our intial findings regarding the relationship of the players’ physiological characteristics to the performance characteristics.  So after all this time, here is the actual poster that I presented:

Relationship between physiological characteristics and softball-specific variables of NCAA division I softball players

Big surprise, the girls who were bigger and stronger hit the ball harder!  It was nice to find some relationship between the variables, but the correlations are not great, with the highest r-squared value being .25

Dr. Szymanski is an assistant professor here at La Tech and is one of the main reasons I decided to attend.  As I’ve mentioned, we’ve already started a study about the effects of weight lifting on bat speed and batted ball speed.

Basically, this study finds that although group 2 (which does additional grip/forearm strngthening exercises) achievs significatly greater grip/forearm strength, but their bat speed does not improve significantly as compared to group 1.

I do have a copy of this entire article, but I will post the abstract (as found here) below:

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Szymanski DJ; McIntyre JS; Szymanski JM; Molloy JM; Madsen NH; Pascoe DD
Department of Health and Human Performance, Auburn University, Alabama 36849, USA. dszyman@latech.edu
This study examined the effects of 12 weeks of wrist and forearm training on linear bat-end velocity (BV), center of percussion velocity (CV), hand velocity (HV), and time to ball contact of high school baseball players. Forty-three baseball players were randomly assigned by a stratified sampling technique to 1 of 2 training groups. Group 1 (n = 23) and group 2 (n = 20) performed the same full-body resistance exercises while training 3 days a week for 12 weeks according to a stepwise periodized model. Group 2 also performed wrist and forearm exercises 3 days a week for 12 weeks. Wrist and forearm strength were measured pre- and posttraining. Linear BV, CV, HV, and time to ball contact were recorded pre- and posttraining by a motion-capture system. A 3 repetition maximum (RM) parallel squat and bench press were measured at baseline and after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of training. Both groups showed statistically significant increases (p < or = 0.01) in linear BV, CV, and HV (m.s(-1) +/- SD) after 12 weeks of training; however, there were no differences between the 2 groups. Both groups statistically increased wrist and forearm strength (p < or = 0.05). Group 2 had statistically greater increases (p < or = 0.05) in 10 of 12 wrist and forearm strength measures than did group 1. Both groups made statistically significant increases in predicted 1RM parallel squat and bench press after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of training; however, there were no differences between groups. These data indicate that a 12-week stepwise periodized training program can significantly increase wrist and forearm strength, linear BV, CV, and HV among high school baseball players. However, increased wrist and forearm strength did not contribute to further increases in linear BV, CV, or HV.

These accompanying charts and figures may also be of interest:

*of special note is that the study was done with HIGH SCHOOL players

My basic comment is that forearm and grip strength does not have to be totally neglected, but it also does not have to be insanely over-hyped.  There are plenty of exercises and training scenarios that allow a player to focus on moving and using the major muscle groups while allowing grip and forearm strength to improve (ie deadlift)

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INTRODUCTION
Most research in the field of baseball and softball has been done to investigate the relationship to the properties of throwing the ball. Little research has been completed to determine the various aspects of swinging a bat. While throwing is a major portion of the game, hitting is becoming increasingly important. Hitting for power and higher averages are what are more important in today’s game.
One of the main focuses in hitting is the quickness with which a player can “get around on the ball”. This concept may be even more important in the game of softball than in baseball. Decreasing the amount of time it takes to swing the bat will enable the female softball athlete to have more time to decide whether to attempt to hit the ball.

Past research has also shown that the faster a bat is swung, the more force that can be applied to the ball causing it to travel farther in flight, all other factors being equal. Therefore, identifying factors that can increase bat velocity may increase hitting productivity. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of grip strength (GS) and forearm size to softball bat velocity.

METHODS
Eighteen female college varsity softball players (age = 20.3 yrs; weight = 162 lbs) with a minimum of five years of competitive experience were used in the study. An electronic timing system was used to measure the time interval of each bat swing through a 0.54 m space over home plate. The system consisted of two infrared cells attached to a digital timer. Following five practice swings, each player was measured for three trials, and the average bat velocity used for all analyses.

Three right and three left isometric GS measurements were taken on each subject using a Jaymar hand dynamometer. The dynamometer was held to the side of the body with slight flexion at the elbow to maximize results (Vanderburgh, Mahar & Chou, 1995). Trials were done alternating hands to decrease fatigue, with approximately 45 seconds rest between each trial. The average for each hand was used. Right and left forearm circumferences were taken around the maximum girth immediately distal to the elbow. Forearm skinfold (SKF) measurements were taken on the lateral aspect of each forearm while in the anatomical position. These values were used to calculate right and left cross-sectional area (CSA) according to the following formula:

CSA (cm²) = [(Circumference - (pi)SKF/2)²] / 4(pi)
RESULTS
There were no significant relationships between bat velocity and any size or strength measurements (Table 1). The relationship between bilateral measurements were positive and significant, indicating symmetry in size and strength.

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DISCUSSION
The current study agrees with Adair’s theory that the torque applied by the hands and wrist during the bat swing are negligible (Adair, 1994; Adair, 1995). This may suggest that increases in either or both grip strengths beyond a minimal amount will have no effect on enhancing bat velocity. Performing exercises such as forearm curls to increase forearm CSA and strength will not have a measurable effect on bat swing velocity.
The current results may indicate that other factors not examined in this study may have more effect on bat velocity. Adair (1994) suggests that the energy for the swing must come largely from the large muscles of the thighs and thorax. The rotational force generated by these large muscles are then transferred to the arms for the swing in a carefully orchestrated summation of forces (Shaffer, Jobe, Pink, & Perry, 1993). Previous research has suggested that strengthening the triceps brachii muscles of the lead arm may increase bat velocity to a greater extent than grip strength (Kitzman, 1964). It would be worthwhile to determine the contributions of arm extensor strength and trunk rotational forces on batting performance (Shaffer et al., 1993).Effective batting may be more dependent on coincident anticipation timing of the bat to contact the ball over the plate than on strength (Mikel, 1984). Therefore, future research might include measures of both anticipation time and trunk rotational and/or arm extension strength. Identifying the contribution of these factors might provide ground work for the development of conditioning programs to improve hitting.

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REFERENCES

• Adair, R. K. (1994) The physics of baseball (2nd ed). New York: Harper Collins.
• Adair, R. K. (1995). The physics of baseball. Physics Today, 48:26-31.
• Kitzman, E. W. (1964) Electro-myographic study of batting swing. Research Quarterly, 35:166.
• Mikel, R. A. (1984) Relationship of specific variables to successful baseball batting in selected varsity college baseball players. M. A. thesis, Northeast Missouri State University, Kirksville, MO.
• Shaffer, B., Jobe, F. W., Pink, M., & Perry, J. (1993). Baseball batting: an electro- myographic study. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 292, 285-293.
• Vanderburgh, P. M., Mahar, T. M., & Chou, C. H. (1995). Allometric scaling of grip strength by body mass in college-age men and women. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 66:80- 84.

On the other hand, when I started to learn a bit about specificity, over/underload and feedback, things started to change.  During the time when I really increased my bat speed, I did absolutely no direct hand/forearm strength training. 

And I have seen the same scenario play out for a number of other players as well.

Hey, just my experience.

Until I was 21 years old and a junior in college, the focus I had heard from almost every instructor I can remember was the hands.  Throwing the hands at the ball, quick wrists, use those hands, etc.  I’d never had someone explain to me what it meant to use my body efficiently. 

The following is an explanation on the role of the hands and forearms from Yale University Physics professor Robert Adair’s The Physics of Baseball:

The main thing that jumps out to me here is that the role of the hands is to TRANSFER energy rather than supply it.  So the hands/arm need to be strong enough to transmit energy generated by the body’s rotation.

More on “efficient” forearm/grip strengthening to come…