sports training (baseball/softball) help!

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mrnice1058
mrnice1058 Posts: 54 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
OK i play basketball every year from oct to may and then from may until sept i play softball. this year i got no call or any info for softball so i thought it was cancelled. then i get a call hey man where are you we need you back on the field! so i have my first game tomorrow and i am no where near in the condition i need to be for softball. I play first base which is very active position which is fine i can deal with that. my problem is i keep pulling my hamstring when i round first to get to second. I have had many months for my hamstring to heal. I didnt want to over do it with working it out to much so i stayed with just my normal elliptical and playing basketball. My question for you guys is what can i do to better prepare my legs for that kind of explosive running so i don't injure it again? one thing i know thats is wearing compression shorts and also i am down 32 pounds since last season. any advice for me??

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  • spazofthedead
    spazofthedead Posts: 175 Member
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    Squats and deadlifts, but mostly squats. Heavy, heavy squats. I play rec softball a few months out of the year and I noticed a HUGE difference in my sprinting power when I started doing barbell squats and deadlifts. I went from barely making it to first base to being one of the fastest on the team in one season.

    I've also incorporated some hill sprints into my workouts and those are great too.

    Edit: Since you have a history of injury, take it slow and make sure your form is as close to perfect as possible so you lessen your chances of re-injury. If you do it right you'll come out a lot stronger.
  • mrnice1058
    mrnice1058 Posts: 54 Member
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    thanks! i was always scared to do heavy squats because i have massive thighs ( like pure muscle) and i was always scared that my quads would out power my hamstrings. I played basketball and football from 11-23 and i always trained my legs to get stronger and jump higher so i worked on my thighs and my calves and left out my hamstrings until i got to about 22 years old realizing the importance of the hamstring being strong. because of that my hamstrings are so much weaker today then my quads. I can leg press 450 pounds but can only leg curl about 75. I need to look up more stretches for hamstring and warm them up really good before to nights first game for me
  • spazofthedead
    spazofthedead Posts: 175 Member
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    Your resignation makes sense. Do a proper parallel back squat and your hamstrings should be engaged just as much as your quads. If you want an assistance exercise to help them along, look into barbell good mornings. Those are killer on the hamstrings. (http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/stiff-leg-barbell-good-morning)

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