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BASEBALL
Baaaaseball has ben goood to mee!
(Anyone remember Laugh-In? Oh, well.)
Was that a great World Series? Or what? If you love playing or watching the game, that's what it is all about. The timing couldn't have been better. Our national pastime gave us excitement and Boston a reason to cheer. The "Red Sox" have been crowned and a new season is right around the corner. Our nation is in a rebuilding phase as well as many teams. Spring training is here. Its time to dig in and get ready to "play ball".
One suggestion. Instead of pastime, wouldn't be a bit more representative of the current game to call it FASTime? Talk about speed and power. Artificial fields, perfect(domed)playing conditions, geeked balls?, new bat technology (cork excluded), and superbly conditioned players, have changed defensive and offensive tactics. You have to be fast, strong, and quick. Everything about the game is faster, except the time it takes to play one.
We can't help that situation, but TZC can give you a competitive edge. It comes with hard work, and results that will improve the way you move on the field. It's called a SmartVest.
By now, hopefully (if this site is doing its job), you know it's a weighted vest with very specific sizing that allows you add resistance(force), in a very natural way, to nearly all forms of body movement. The goal is to make those movements stronger and more responsive. This concept of loaded movement has been used in baseball for years and years. If you play, you do it. Swinging a weighted bat prior to hitting. You use the "loaded version", then get rid of the donut or sleeve just before you step into the batter's box. It supplies the sensation of having a lighter bat in your hands and therefor greater bat speed. The weighted sleeve is replacing the donut for many hitters because it distributes the weight more naturally on the barrell of your bat. This gives you a smoother, more controlled "loaded" practice swing. Well......
Doesn't it make perfect sense that you can use the same concept with other baseball movements. Acceleration, base running speed, lateral quickness & reaction time, the first step towards second (the steal), backpedaling, the turn and haul a-- on the well hit ball, the tag on the sac fly, and so on. You perform drills that are intended to mimic what you do on the field. To prepare your body. Along with this you need to build strength (leg, core, and upper body) to allow your movements to be more explosive. So you're faster and quicker. Let's make a point.....
We're talking about helping you get faster. Not world class speed. Heck, not many have it. That goal is impossible for most of us. But, YOU can get faster. Becoming faster is obtainable.
Let's go back to the loaded bat thing. Do you notice that you use a bat that is loaded. Not a long weight bar or a leaded golf club. A bat. Because, that is what your going to use when you step in to face that pitcher. Its your bat. You use the same motion and muscles. Its just heavier. Sure,it makes sense. And, it works. Do you think a lot of ballplayers spend time swinging a heavy bat? Off the field, during training? Why not! You're adding force(generating strength) to all components of the swing, by doing exactly that....swinging. Emphasize good technique with proper form (fundamentals)and you'll agree that good things are going to happen. Well.....
Use the same principle with your drills and conditioning. Place, via the SmartVest, resistance (adjustable, that you have total control over) right on your body while you workout. Same idea as the bat, but now this is your body weight. You're giving your body more working force. But it has to feel normal and not interfer with what you're working hard to accomplish. And it should, if its good, allow you to move at top speed. Imagine, you're doing 30,60,90,120 yard sprint repeats with 8 lbs of pure resistance on your body. At your top speed. Now you jetison the 8 lbs (unzip and discard your "vest friend") to get timed from home to first followed by the "in-the-park-home-run" scamper. What do you think your body is going to feel like after you dump the load?
Oh, yeah. You will feel faster, and over time you will be faster. Because you're stronger and better conditioned. You've strengthened everything your body utilizes to do those repeats. And,remember! One muscle that is getting worked big time, is your heart. If you can sustain the added speed you've developed, what a tremendous difference it will make in your performance. A stronger heart will give you that opportunity.
Just to give you a real-world scenario. There are two major league teams that use the SmartVest. Each has a good number of vests and use them as part of their spring training program. How are they used? The comment we heard from a strength & conditioning coach was, "Everything, we even took infield practice with it on". Do you think he would put highly valued major leaguers in the SmartVest unless he was confident they were safe and productive? Of course not.
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