Lesson 3: Ground Up: Hips, Core, Warm-Up

Today's Lesson

“The core does not create force. It carries it from the ground to the barrel.”

Every swing, sprint and throw starts as a hip turn. You need rotation in both hips and enough ankle bend to let the knee travel over the toes. Missing range shows up as spinning off the back side, a leaking front leg or a slow first step. Then the trunk has to hold stiff so that hip force reaches the bat. Crunches build little of that. Anti-rotation work does.

Last, the warm-up. Ten to twelve minutes that go slow to fast and end with something explosive. Throwers add a build-up to full range before the first hard throw.

Why It Matters

Range you do not have is force you cannot use, and a trunk that leaks turns a strong lower half into an average swing. Most tweaks happen to athletes who skipped the warm-up.

Today's Work

Session (20 minutes):
• Warm-up template (12 min): 3 minutes easy movement, 4 minutes mobility, 3 minutes activation, 2 minutes of sprints or jumps. Write it down and use it from now on.
• Hips and ankles inside the mobility slot: 90/90 hip switches 2x8 each, half-kneeling ankle rocks 2x10 each, couch stretch 1x45 seconds each.
• Core: Pallof press 3x10 each side, dead bug 3x8 each, side plank 3x30 seconds each.
• Throwers: arm care bands, 10 easy movement throws, then build up to comfortable long toss. Your last warm-up throw should feel like your first game throw.
• Weight room: goblet squat with 5-second bottom holds 3x5, cable Pallof 3x10, suitcase carry 3x40 yards.
• Scaling: Youth keep the warm-up to 8 minutes and fun, planks and dead bugs only, short supervised arm prep. High school use the same warm-up before games. College and up add a few med-ball throws to finish the warm-up and test both hips, since the lead-side hip often loses rotation in rotational athletes.

Track It

Log: is one hip clearly tighter than the other? Can you hold a side plank 45 seconds with hips stacked? Does your warm-up end with something fast? Is your arm at full range before the first hard throw?

Next: Lesson 4 covers recovery, and the one difference every athlete must know: soreness versus pain.