Below is another bat speed training research abstract.  This really was one of the best, if not the best, controlled research study that has been published regarding overload & underload training and its effects on bat swing velocity – and it was done all the way back in 1995! 

The basics are that 3 groups of 20 college players were trained 4 times per week for 12 weeks under the following conditions: batting practice group, dry swing group, control group.  The BP and dry swing group followed this swing training protocol using varied heavy and light weighted bats while the control group just dry swung with a regular weighted bat.

The results say that each group significantly imrpoved bat speed, but that’s a little misleading if you don’t read the whole study.  The batting practice group improved 10%, the dry swing group imroved 6%, and the control group improved 1%. 

I believe the 10% improvement from the BP group is the highest bat speed documented in published research.  Bat speed improvements above 10% are shown on the results page…although that’s not published research.

Something I like about this study is that it is practical and easy to implement.  If you work with a team, you can do this same program in your existing practices.  For example, have a group of 4 players take their batting practice – use the regular bat to hit live BP, have two other players swing the heavy and light bat, respectively, while the 4th player takes a rest before the live round in the cage.  Not only does this squeeze in some bat speed training, but it kills some wasted dead time around the cage.

An even easier way to implement this is in the batting cage using front flips.  This is why I formed an exclusive partnership with Max Bats to provide overload-underload training bats that players can actually hit with.  This research study suggests there is a significant difference in being able to hit the ball while training versus dry swinging, and maple bats won’t fray like ash bats or dent like the light aluminum bats used in this study.

Another think I like about the study is the implication of the use of dry swings in the weight room.  More on that at a future time…

Effects of Weighted Bat Implement Training on Bat Swing Velocity

DeRenne, Coop; Buxton, Barton P.; Hetzler, Ronald K.; Ho, Kwok W.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of weighted bat training on bat swing velocity. Sixty male university baseball players volunteered to participate and were randomly assigned to one of three equal-sized training groups: batting practice (BP), dry swing (DS), and control. The BP hit live pitched baseballs with alternated overweighted, underweighted, and standard 30-oz bats for 12 weeks. The DS dry-swung with alternated overweighted, underweighted, and standard bats. The control group dry-swung with a standard bat during the 12 weeks. All three groups showed significant increase in bat swing velocity during the study (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the differences between pre- and posttest scores (delta scores) were significant between BP and control, between DS and control, and between BP and DS (p < 0.05). It is suggested that training with variable weighted implements will significantly increase bat swing velocity, and that the use of loads specific to the target activity but with sufficient variation about the standard load will induce further training adaptations.

(C) 1995 National Strength and Conditioning Association

Jeff Bat Speed, Training research bat speed, batting practice, hitting, power, research, swing, training