Improve Your Speed By Runnig Down Hills

A great way to improve your speed on the bases is to run hills downhill. That's right running downhill instead of uphill. A lot of great athlete's such as Walter Payton and Jerry Rice improve their speed and leg strength by incorporate hill training in their workouts.

Running down Hills has many benefits:

Helps develop power and leg strength
Improves stride frequency and length
Develops co-ordination

Good for muscle memory by allowing your legs to move faster

Encourages the proper running form by using your arm action during the driving phase
Develops control as well as improved speed
Promotes strength endurance
Develops maximum speed and strength
Improves your time in the 60 yard dash
Improves your base stealing percentage

Here's a hill training routine:

1. Find a hill with a slope of approx 15° decline and a length of 60 yards
2. Running down the hill to build up to full speed and then maintain the speed for a further 30 yards
3. Recovery walk back up
4. Start with 2 sets of 4 repetitions ( a total of 8 times) and gradually increase over time

Do this routine twice a week and soon you will find yourself improving your speed.

Don't forget to register to the MVP Baseball Clinic Featuring Ozzie Smith that will be held on Monday, June 29th at Big Hitter Baseball & Softball Academy in Arnold, MO from 6-9:30 pm. For more info call 866-487-4687 or log onto http://www.mvpbaseballtips.com/

Six Pack Abs

Six Pack Abs - strong abdominal muscles are very important in baseball. It is also a common goal in the fitness industry.

If you are a pitcher, having strong ab muscles can add 7-10 mph onto your fast ball.

And when you are at the plate, having strong core muscles can add power to your swing.

One of the keys to Ozzie Smith's success was his strong ab muscles.

Strong ab muscles will allow you have a much quicker torso, which will make you run faster and be more explosive.

I have develop a great ab workout routine called The MVP Abs From Hell. This workout will make your abs burn and will increase your quickness and speed on the playing field.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYHeIlbVye8

Base Stealing 101

A good base stealer can change the tempo of the game, especially in the late innings.

Ozzie Smith stole 580 bases in his career and had an amazing successful rate of 79%!

Here are three tips that will improve your base stealing skills.

1. Be Confident - You must believe in your speed and ability and that you can run on any pitcher and catcher.

2. Be Smart - Being wise is as important to a base stealer as speed. You should get a good jump on a pitcher by studying his moves. As soon as a pitcher makes a move towards the plate, you should be off and running.

3. Speed Work - Improving your speed takes hard work and dedication. Running stairs and jumping rope are great ways to improve your speed and quickness.

Remember to work on your hitting skills because a high on-base percentage, good speed and great instincts are the keys to being fearless and having the presence to be very disruptive to pitchers when you get on base.

9 Ways to Motivate Yourself

1.Write Down Your Goals - If you Fail to Plan, you Plan to Fail

2.Create A Dream Board - Anything that will remind you of what to do and why you are doing it is a very potent motivational tool.

3.Develop a Workout Plan - Improve your strength and conditioning to have your best season ever!

4.Find A Mentor - A mentor will give you advice on the "do's and don'ts."

5.Learn From Your Favorite Athlete - Observe how your favorite plays the game of baseball.

6.Hang Around Positive Friends - Stay out of trouble.

7.Read Jackie Robinson's Biography - A great way to learn the history of baseball.


8.Buy MVP Baseball Tips Featuring Ozzie Smith ebook - 21 tips and 21 workouts to improve your game, plus hear a 30 minute audio interview from the "Wizard."

9.Don’t Give Up! - YOU ARE AWESOME - Hang in there, when times get tough.

Increase Your Speed

Speed is very important in baseball. Ozzie Smith’s speed and quickness was a key to his success, he stole 580 bases, scored 1257 runs and of course, made many outstanding defensive plays.

Improving your speed can turn heads and separate you from rest of the pack when being recruited by college coaches or being scouted by major league teams.

Speed Expert Greg Foster, who is a member of the United States Track and Field Hall-of-Fame, says “you must train like a track and field athlete when you are trying to improve your speed and quickness.”

Foster was one of the world's greatest high hurdlers from 1981 to 1991. Foster was a national collegiate champion while at UCLA in both the high hurdles and 200. After college, he won 10 national titles, both indoor and outdoor, and he won the first three world outdoor championships and he won the Silver Medal in the 110m hurdlers in the1984 Olympics.

So are you ready to improve your speed and quickness?

If the answer to the question is yes, go to the link below and listen to an audio interview that I conducted with Foster.

Click Here for Greg Foster Interview

Give Yourself a Fitness Test

Ozzie Smith's workouts during the off season paid off for him during the season. He did not hit the mid-season lull, like other players do and he avoided nagging injuries.

Are you in tip-top shape for the upcoming season?

Fitness tests are designed to quickly gauge your general fitness level and to act as a benchmark for future testing.

Simply, put the fitness test shows you your current fitness level and shows you the fitness level you should be.

After taking the following test, complete the MVP Baseball Strength and Conditioning Program. Then, take the test again and compare the results.

The test is divided into four sections. Do each part with plenty of rest between to fully recover.

Push-ups to test your upper body strength. – Count how many push ups you can do in one minute. You should do the test “military style” push-up position with only the hands and toes touching the floor.

Sit-up test to test abdominal and core strength. – Count how many sit ups you can do in one minute.

Squats test to test lower body strength. – Count how many squats you can do in one minute.

60 yard dash – See how fast you can run the 60.

Minute Push-up Test
Excellent – More than 56
Good – 47-56
Acceptable – 19-34

Minute Sit-up Test
Excellent – More than 49
Good – 44-49
Acceptable – 39-43

Minute Body Weight Squat Test
Excellent – More than 49
Good – 44-40
Acceptable – 39-43

60 yard dash time
Exceptional - 6.3 to 6.5
Good - 6.5 to 6.8
Acceptable - 7 seconds or less

Practice Core Strength Conditioning

Welcome to MVP Baseball Tips Featuring Ozzie Smith

During Ozzie Smith's playing career he knew that core strength training was vital to his success in baseball.

A-Rod and Ichiro are not excellent hitters because they are weak. They hit ropes because they have developed high levels of core strength relative to their swing. Core strength development assists in your balance ability, decreases the possibility of injury and is the first element that powers your swing.

The majority of your bat speed comes from your midsection.

Strengthening your core is also important in throwing the baseball; according to John Boyle “the average pitcher can add 7-10 mph on their fastball in only 60 days utilizing baseball-specific core training”

“Your midsection, or core, strength can determine how well - or bad - you perform on the field, adds Boyle. “Every single movement and skill in the game of baseball starts with the muscles of your midsection. If your strength, flexibility and endurance are not where it should be then you can forget about regular playing time, let alone becoming a star.”

The bottom line is if you desire to improve your swing and drive the ball into the gap for extra bases, working your abs is must in your training.

I have developed a four minute ab routine called the “Abs from Hell.”

This circuit is guaranteed to make your abs burn and increase your power at the plate and add more speed on your fastball on the mound.

Click here to view the MVP Abs from Hell video.

MVP Abs From Hell 4 Minute Workout