52-Week Baseball Training (Paperback)

~ A. Eugene Coleman (Author) "Today's players train year-round and are rarely out of shape..." (more)
Key Phrases: pole sprints, rice drill, lateral sprint, Activity Exercises, Cool-down Daily, Core Sit-ups (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

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“Gene Coleman has written a great book with a fantastic year-round plan for becoming a more successful baseball player. Incorporating his training techniques and concepts into my workouts has helped me attain a higher level of conditioning for better play.”

Jeff Bagwell
Houston Astros first baseman
Four-time National League All-Star
1994 National League MVP

“As a manager, I recommend careful reading of this book for anyone really interested in learning how to succeed in baseball. It offers a revealing look at the mechanics of maximizing conditioning and describes proper form for the drills and exercises shown in the book. This book teaches young players how to reach their baseball objectives.”

Larry Dierker
Houston Astros manager

“The year-round conditioning plan Gene Coleman presents between these covers will help athletes improve their game because it works!”

Ken Caminiti
Houston Astros third baseman
1996 National League MVP

“Week by week, in-season and off, 52-Week Baseball Training will show you how to make the most of your natural talent and abilities. Players following this program will be able to compete at a higher level because the book teaches the essential components of fitness and relates everything back to the game.”

Craig Biggio
Houston Astros second baseman

From Hit2win.com
""...one of the absolute best training books in baseball.""

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Product Description

Get in top condition for baseball—just like the pros! Major League players are getting bigger, stronger, and faster every season. Their conditioning level is at an all-time high, resulting in more towering home runs and blazing fastballs than ever before. With 52-Week Baseball Training, you can use the same baseball-specific training regimen to improve your performance and reduce the risk of injury.

As the strength and conditioning coach for the Houston Astros, Gene Coleman has helped develop the careers of Major League stars like Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio. In 52-Week Baseball Training, Coleman provides a complete year-round conditioning plan to keep in shape in the off-season and for peak performance when it counts, during the season and playoffs. These day-by-day, week-by-week, season-by-season workouts include resistance training, total conditioning exercises, and position-specific activities.

The training plan can be used for high school, college, and summer-league competitive levels and schedules, and it organizes workouts into five sequential phases:
• Postseason—Active Rest and Recovery
• Off-Season—Fitness Training
• Preseason—Training to Play
• In-Season—Training to Win

Take the guesswork out of your training program and get the results that will pay off on the field. Use 52-Week Baseball Training to perform better at the plate, in the field, and on the mound—every game, every season.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics (August 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736003223
• ISBN-13: 978-0736003223
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #420,038 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 52-Week Baseball Training: A Comprehensive Review, August 16, 2001

By	Dr. Jimmy Disch (Kinesiology Dept., Rice University, Houston, Tx, USA) - See all my reviews

This text represents a comprehensive look at the application of current principles of conditioning and training for the baseball player. It is an extremely well written text. Dr. Coleman does an excellent job of blending both the theoretical aspects of training with the practical aspects he knows to be viable because of his years of experience working with, not only major league players, but also younger players. The application of the concept of periodization to baseball conditioning is extremely important for the development of strength, power, speed, and agility. With improvement in these areas, the ability to enhance performance is optimized. The use of humor throughout the text also serves as a good buffer between the various theoretical sections. The Forward to the book by Nolan Ryan and the Introduction to the Physical Demands of the Game set the stage for an extremely thorough look at the various aspects of conditioning that are involved in developing the baseball player. The examples of different players who developed at different rates indicate that players of all levels can benefit by applying the theories and programs presented in this text to their individual programs. Dr. Colemans presentation of a year-round periodization model blends the theoretical aspects of this type of training with the reality of the baseball season. By defining the plans as he has, Dr. Coleman provides the individual with an idea of what is expected throughout each training regime.

Specifically important in the first section is the workout order. Many players train very inefficiently. By Dr. Coleman delineating the optimal order for performance enhancement, players gets an idea of how to best plan their entire training program.

In Chapter One on Postseason training, his presentation of the dietary needs of the athlete for training is very concise and straightforward. He presents a good plan for maintaining fitness during this period of time. By organizing his Off-season training program (Chapter Two) by positions, he deals with one of the primary aspects of physical development--specificity of training. He shows that although there are general exercises that all can do, there are certain exercises that are position specific. In this section he presents a simple yet thorough presentation of dietary needs, which is quite important to the individual.

By including baseball specific drills in Chapter Three, Preseason One training, he again focuses on the need for specificity of training. The section on avoiding arm problems is very important because oftentimes players are overzealous about trying to get ready for the season. This can cause setbacks rather than getting them ready for the upcoming season. His concluding comments on fueling the body with supplements are extremely well stated. He writes, Eating a diet high in carbohydrates and training hard are the best ergogenic aids available. They are safe, cheap, and effective. So many players today are looking for a quick and easy way to develop their physical abilities. In reality, the best way to do it as Dr. Coleman suggests is to eat right and work hard.

Also in this chapter, his baseball ratings test is a good guideline for players to use to see how much they have improved. Although his criteria may not be appropriate for the specific player, individual players can use this to measure gains over time. Monitoring themselves on these various parameters can provide two checks: 1) if their conditioning program is effective and 2) if they are over training and/or stale.

The Preseason Two chapter further emphasizes specificity of training when he discusses simulated innings training and fueling the body. His ten best food tips are a realistic look at the current state of society. Although it is ideal for people to prepare meals, in many cases this is not possible. His suggestions are well taken.

His In Season program (Chapter Five) focuses on the importance of maintaining what has been gained. At this time many players, because they are working on game specific drills, neglect things such as speed and agility. It is critical that Dr. Colemans comments be heeded in this section.

Under the section on running, he states, The key to strength is intensity not volume. This relates to another important training concept  overload. He focuses on how critical it is to be efficient in your training. Teaching players to train (and perform) better, not harder, is a critical element of successful coaching. An example with pitching is if you want to learn to pitch fast you should practice pitching fast.

The section on eating in popular restaurants discusses how important it is to eat a good diet. His examples of foods to order and foods to skip are quite good.

Part 2 of the text presents the meat of the material. Although I feel that this could have been placed at the beginning to give the reader an idea of what was to follow, I am sure Dr. Colemans decision to place them in this order is based on his background and skill in the field. He presents 16 principles at the beginning of Part 2. These are so critical in developing a sound philosophy of how to train. It is important that these be read and reread before a training program is developed.

Chapter Six discusses the importance of warm-up and cool down in the development of flexibility and in the optimization of training. It contains a series of game specific activities that can help prepare the performer. The use of diagrams and the description of these exercises are quite thorough and build a good base for his training program.

Chapter Seven on core strength training is quite well done. He describes circuit weight training; multiple set training, pyramid training, and four-day split training, along with six day split training. Although a little more detail could have been included in some of these descriptions, enough is presented for the reader to at least ask a conditioning coach for suggestions for developing an individualized program. He presents a concise model for designing the components of your strength program discussing the specifics of sets and reps.

Again, following with the practical nature of the book, the section on the dos and donts of crunches is quite well stated. The pictures and descriptions of the daily core are very thorough and very informative. His use of various mediums including medballs and plyometrics points out how complex the field of training is today.

Chapter Eight dealing with the development of the shoulder, elbow, forearm, and hand is quite necessary for the development of throwing for both fielders and pitchers. His cautions about the exercises that can hurt your shoulder are very important. His rotator cuff program is very specific to the baseball player.

Speed (Chapter Nine) is an area that is often overlooked. His five key components to the development of speed concisely present all that is necessary for the individual. His description of the components of running helps the individual player in a very simplistic way  what needs to be done to run fast. This goes back to specificity of training  in order to run fast you must run fast.

Finally, Chapter Ten on power and the plyometric element of training to baseball is important. The use of medballs and bounding are quite critical to the complete development of the baseball player.

In conclusion, I feel that this is an excellent text that deals with a number of elements that the player must consider in conditioning. Baseball is not something that is just played during the season. You do not get better by just fielding more grounders or taking more swings. The physical abilities necessary to play the game must be developed. Fitness and conditioning for baseball must be a year-round project.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 52-week baseball training, February 19, 2001

By A Customer

I am the editor of a newsletter for strength and conditioning coaches in high school, college and professional sports. Gene Coleman has written the ultimate book on conditioning. He covers all of the physical aspects of the game and provides day-by-day programs for each aspect. This is a dynamite book and I recommend it to all serious baseball and softball players, coaches and parents.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Applying Science to Baseball, March 18, 2001

By	Tim Kostelnik (Michigan) - See all my reviews

Applying exercise science to a ritually traditional sport is what Dr. Coleman has done with 52 Week Baseball Training. Excellent sections on scouting and seasonal training methods. I enjoyed the division of training into 5 phases with gradual intensity and specificity of training during those phases. Any strength trainer, exercise physiologist or coach that works with baseball/softball players will feather the pages of this book because it will be used and referred to so much. If only it came in hardcover!