Have you ever gone to a Major League Baseball game? How about just over to Nat Bailey Stadium to take in a nooner on a Sunday? If you get there early enough, you’ll get to see the pros in action warming up for the big game. Warm-ups and stretching prepare your body for activity, and will help prevent serious injury. A general warm-up is important because it gets your blood flowing and all your muscles ready for action. At the ballpark you go for a run as your general warm-up before your stretches to loosen up your muscles. A proper run should make you just start to sweat, which is your body telling you its nice and warm.
Stretching is the most effective method of injury prevention, and is so important for ball players. There is tremendous amounts of strain put on your arm during a game, not to mention your legs, back and core. Stretching right after your jog helps your body ready to play. Stretching technique is important, and you should never feel pain when you stretch. Be sure to stretch slowly, until you feel a pulling sensation within your muscles. Hold each stretch for 20 seconds, and do each one more than once. Never bounce while holding a stretch.
Here are some important stretches that you can do before your game or practice:
Shoulder rotations: put your arms out to your sides with your palms up and rotate them in small circles. Slowly increase the size of your arm circles for about 20 seconds. Stop and then with your palms down repeat, but rotate in the opposite direction. Remember, this is to help your body, not hurt it. Use slow and steady rotations, do not flail your arms uncontrollably.
Cross-arm stretch: put one hand directly across your chest, and lock your other arm in place above the elbow and pull your crossed arm into your body. Switch and repeat. You should feel a stretch in the back of your shoulder.
Arm-behind-back stretch: bend your arm behind your head with your palm flat against your back. Grab your elbow with your free hand and pull your bent arm. You should feel a stretch in your tricep (back of your arm).
Chest stretch: Standing beside the fence place your arm at a 45° angle and lean against the fence. You should feel a stretch in your pectorals (chest). Switch arms and repeat. Slightly standing away from the fence and performing the same motion will stretch your bicep (front of your arm). While standing at the fence, raise your arm as high as possible and lean against the fence. You should feel a stretch under your arm pit, down your ribcage. Switch arms and repeat.
Front-shoulder stretch: Raise your arms behind your back, and have a partner gently lift them higher. Be careful not to go too far, know your body. You should feel a stretch in the front of your shoulder and in your chest.
Forearm stretch: With your arm straight out in front of you, bend your wrist up and pull with your free hand. You should feel a stretch in the bottom of your forearm. Bend your wrist down and repeat. You should feel a stretch in the top of your forearm. Switch arms and repeat.
Trunk rotations: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your arms bent at your sides. Rotate back and forth at the waist.
Quad-stretch: In a seated position, bend one legs back behind you. Do not sit on your leg, lean off to one side. You should feel a stretch in your thigh muscle (quadricep). Angling your shoulders so that you are facing in a straight line down the bent leg and leaning back will increase your stretch.
Hamstring stretch: In a seated position bend one leg so that the bottom of your foot is touching your outstretched leg. Keeping your leg straight, lean forward. You should feel a stretch in the back of your leg. Your hands should be move down the bottom of your leg, do not attempt at touching your toes, and do not pull your toes towards you. This puts unnecessary strain on the bottom of your foot and may cause plantars fasciitis (pain in the heel and along the bottom of the foot). Switch legs and repeat.
Open-leg stretch: In a seated position, spread your legs as far apart as you can. Lean forward with your fingertips slowly pulling your chest to the ground. Don't push it, keep your legs straight. You should feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
Groin stretch: In a seated position pull your feet together into your body: You should feel the stretch in your inner thighs. To increase the stretch push down on your knees slightly.
Butt-stretch: In a seated position, cross one leg over your other. Lie back and pull your straightened leg to your chest. You should feel a stretch in your butt.
Lower-back stretch: In a seated position cross one leg over the other and twist your core. Place your elbow on your bent knee to assist your twist. You should feel a stretch in your lower/mid back.
Upper-back stretch: Facing the fence, grab it with both hands and lean back. Your hands should be between waist and chest height on the fence so you can feel a stretch in your upper back.
Calf-stretch: Place both hands against the fence, one leg bent, the other stretched out behind you. Push against the fence stretching your back leg straight. You should feel a stretch in your calf. Switch legs and repeat. It is important NOT to stretch your calves in the other method shown, as it does not provide support in your foot, and may lead to plantars fasciitis.
Hip-flexors: In a kneeling position, one knee on the ground, the other bent in front of you, keep your back straight and push your hips out. This is not a quadricep stretch, but you should feel a stretch in the front of your leg. Hip flexors are smaller stabilizer muscles in your leg and are often easily injured. This is an important stretch for sprinters.
These are just a few, but certainly not all the stretches that you could do before a game or practice. Your coaches may have alternative or different stretch routines for you, just remember, stretching prevents injury and will allow you to play baseball longer.
On a final note, cooling your body down is just as important as warming it up, so after your game you should also go for a light jog and stretch again. Using your muscles takes energy, and in the process your body uses to change sugar into energy, lactic acid is what is left over. It creates a burning sensation in your muscles, which is part of the reason why your legs are sore after sprinting, or your arm is sore after playing long toss. Jogging will help re-oxygenate your muscles, and remove the lactic acid built up during the game. Stretching will help oxygen get into your muscles faster, and will make you more stronger and more flexible over time.
Know your body, if you get sore, tell your coach. Playing while injured can only lead to further injury. You need to be at the top of your game to help your team, so take warm-ups seriously.
