Use this workout as a “secret” end-of-practice softball conditioning drill to improve full-game performance. It combines 30 yards of repeated sprints with short, active recovery. The setup mirrors actual play: running quickly, returning to the original position and resting for a short time before the next sprint.

Softball Conditioning Sprint Drill

Required equipment: Two sets of cones, one to mark the starting line and the other at the 30-yard mark.

Test parameters: Begin at the starting line. Sprint to the 30-yard mark. Rest for 35 seconds. Jog back to the starting line and begin the next sprint.

If you return to the starting line before the 35 seconds are up, take additional time to rest without moving. This allows for an adequate work-to-rest ratio and prevents lactic-acid buildup in the muscles (unless you are in poor shape).

Speed: The time limit for the 30-yard sprints is based upon your best overall 30-yard sprint time (recorded in a separate session). Each player should complete her 30-yards in no less time than her best 30 time plus 10 percent. For example, if a player runs her best 30-yard sprint in 4 seconds, she must complete each sprint in less than 4.4 seconds.

Reps: If expanded work capacity is your goal, simply run sprints until you drop below the 10 percent drop-off. If overall conditioning is your goal, start at around 15 sprints and gradually increase the number until you complete 25-30 sprints.

Remember: This workout is a good test of work capacity and repeated sprint ability. It is not a speed workout, however, because it does not allow for maximum recovery. Nor is it a recovery workout comprised of tempo runs, since the time required to complete each sprint is taxing.

Read more:

• Virginia Tech Softball’s Conditioning Plan
• Washington Softball’s Off-Season Conditioning Plan

Although the biceps get all the attention, the triceps muscles take up the majority of the arm. They’re actually three muscles surrounding the back of the  upper arm. Without well-developed triceps, your arms will always be weaker than they should be.

When you begin triceps training, it’s important to be aware of the angle you’re working at. If you want bigger triceps, you must train in all angles: incline, flat and decline.

An incline angle let you focus on the long head of the triceps—the portion that lies on the back of the arm directly opposite the biceps. A flat angle hits the lateral and long head. And a decline angle engages the medial and lateral heads of the triceps.

Try the following routine to work all angles of your triceps to increase their size and strength.

Decline Close-Grip Bench Press

• Lie on a decline bench and hold the bar with a shoulder-width grip.
• Lower the bar to your chest, keeping your elbows close to your sides.
• Extend your arms to press the bar up to the starting position.

Sets/Reps: 3-5×6 (lower the weight in 4 seconds and explode up)

Flat Bench Lying DB French Press

• Lie on a flat bench and hold dumbbells directly above your shoulders with your palms facing together.
• Bend your elbows to lower the dumbbells until they are next to your ears. Do not move your upper arms.
• Extend your elbows to return to the starting position.

Sets/Reps: 3-5×12 (lower the weight in 3 seconds and explode up)

Standing Overhead Rope Triceps Extension

• Stand facing away from a cable machine and grasp the rope attachment with both hands slightly behind your ears.
• Take a step forward with one leg and lean forward so your body is at a 45-degree angle.
• Extend your arms to pull the rope. Keep your arms parallel to each other.
• Bend your elbows to slowly return to the starting position.

Sets/Reps: 3-5×25 (lower the weight in 2 seconds and explode up)

Do you work your legs regularly, yet don’t see performance improvements on the field? If so, you probably aren’t working your posterior chain.

The posterior chain includes the muscles on the backside of your body. For the sake of this article, we are going to focus solely on the glutes and hamstrings, which extend your hips and flex your knees, respectively.

Why are we so concerned about the glutes and hamstrings? The glutes are the primary workhorse for virtually every sports skill, including sprinting, jumping, throwing a ball and swinging a bat. The hamstrings contribute to sprinting and help decelerate the body when you change direction or land from a jump.

If you fail to work these two critical muscle groups, you will be slow, lack power and risk pulling a muscle—the last things you want as an athlete.

So it’s essential that you regularly work these muscles during your workout. A great place to start is with the following mini-routine.

Posterior-Chain Building Mini-Routine

• The two exercises below focus on extending your hips and flexing your knees. This works your glutes and your hamstrings from both a hip- and a knee-dominant movement, which is critical to help prevent injury.
• This is a post-exhaustion superset, meaning that you perform a heavy compound lift followed by an isolation exercise that challenges the same muscles.
• Perform the superset with no rest between sets and two to three minutes between sets.

Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and bend your knees slightly.
• Hold a barbell with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width at thigh level with your palms facing your body.
• Bend at your hips to lower the weight, keeping your back straight.
• Drag the bar down the front of your legs and continue to push your hips back.
• Lower until the bar is at mid-shin height, or as far flexibility allows.
• Forcefully extend your hips to drive up to the starting position.

Sets/Reps: 4×6-8

Coaching Point: Lower the weight over four seconds and explode up.

Dumbbell Leg Curls

• Adjust a bench so that it’s at a 20- to 30-degree decline.
• Lie on your stomach and hold the top of the bench to stabilize your body. The bench should not be supporting your knees.
• Have a partner place a lightweight dumbbell between your feet.
• Bend your knees to curl the dumbbell to your butt.
• Lower slowly to the starting position.

Sets/Reps: 4×25-30

Coaching Point: Lower the weight over two seconds and explode up.

Read more:

• Build Your Posterior Chain With These Isolation Exercises
• Bulletproof the Posterior Chain: Five Exercises to Build Power
• How to Build Stronger Quads

For hockey players who expect to reach their peak performance on the ice, year-round training is required. In the off-season, it is important to focus on training parameters that mimic the sport and prevent injury.

These two simple exercises are perfect for women hockey players who want to maintain a competitive edge.

Sled Pushes

Besides being simple to execute, Sled Pushes are a great way to enhance mental toughness, improve conditioning, and build strength and power. Further, by manipulating training parameters, it is easy to simulate playing conditions you will face on the ice.

For example, add a moderate amount of weight to the sled and sprint as fast as possible for 60 meters, rest, and repeat. As long as you are maintaining roughly a 1:3 or 1:4 work-to-rest ratio, you will be simulating on-ice conditions. What this means is that however long it takes you to complete a 60-meter Sled Push (roughly 10 seconds), you should rest three to four times that long (roughly 30-40 seconds). This produces a lactic environment. The more your body can adapt to this in the off-season, the better your performance will be on the ice.

Sample Sled Workout

• Weight (in addition to sled weight): 50-90 pounds
• Distance covered: 60 meters
• Sprint speed: As fast as possible
• Number of sprints: 6-10
• Rest between sprints: 1 minute

Shoulder Girdle Training

Shooting, bracing for a hit, absorbing a hit into the boards, fighting off a defender and passing the puck are just a few of the skills requiring use of the shoulder girdle. By increasing your strength in this area, you will not only increase your power, you will be reducing the likelihood of an injury. It’s important to train from multiple angles (lying down, standing up, sitting) and to use various tools (bands, cables, dumbbells).

A shoulder workout does not have to be fancy. It only has to be performed consistently.

Sample Shoulder Exercise: Seated Dumbbell External Rotations

Read more:

• Off-Season Hockey Training Program
• Strength Training for Hockey: 5 Areas of Focus and a Sample Workout
• How to Maximize Your Hockey Off-Season

Photo: norwichathletics.com