Pitch to Pitch, Rep to Rep

They call the game of baseball a game of adjustments. Since I played it for so long, many of the lessons I know worth sharing come from the game of baseball. The source, of course, is less important than the moral.

In baseball, there is a long list of ever changing variables, some of which are within players’ control and others are not. Needless to say, as these things change and as players get more information about the situation around them, there is a huge need to adapt. These adjustments often are the difference between success and failure.

Furthermore, players that are able to make adjustments more quickly than others experience less lag and resulting failure than players who adapt more slowly. For example, if it takes a hitter an at bat or a game or, God forbid, a week to adjust for two strike fastballs up in the strike zone, he/she will fail in the mean time. A player who makes adjustments from pitch to pitch, however, has a chance each and every at bat.

In the same way, as athletes, we cannot afford to make adjustments from class to class or week to week or God forbid month to month. Being able to cue a better receiving position for the bar, for example, from one rep to the next will yield much greater fitness growth than the athlete that’s “working on it” for a few months.

Now, this is all fine and dandy on paper, but how does one implement this concept?

Be present!

That’s right. One can only have both the awareness and ability to act on noticeable inefficiencies if he/she is present enough to do so. Waiting for a coach to find poor movement is always out performed by the hyper-alert student who is present enough to notice when things aren’t quite right first. Being present enough to act on your coach’s cues is important, as well. If you aren’t pulling from the same end of the rope as your coach to actively make adjustments, no adjustments will be made.

Needless to say, there’s a great deal of value in how quickly one can adapt. Make a conscious effort to be your own best watch dog, not just class to class but rep to rep.

 

Logan Gelbrich

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Wednesday’s Workout:

EMOM 10
Even- :20 Side Bridge Left/ :20 Side Bridge Right
Odd- 2 Max Distance Broad Jumps

“Fat Baseline”
800m Run
80 Squats
60 Sit Ups
40 Push Ups
20 Burpees