Home Posts tagged "Jaeger Bands"

Elite Baseball Development Podcast with Tyler Skaggs

 We're excited to welcome Anaheim Angels starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs to the podcast. A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Jaeger Sports. Head to www.JaegerSports.com and enter the coupon code CSP to get 20% off on your order through May 31.   

Show Outline

  • How Tyler’s experience as a multi-sport high school athlete facilitated his development as an athlete
  • Why Tyler progressed through minor league baseball and up to the big leagues quickly after being drafted out of high school in 2009
  • How Tyler has refined his curveball in pro baseball
  • How Tommy John surgery impacted Tyler’s career in 2014 and what his advice is for young pitchers who are going through major setbacks in their career
  • How Tyler is working to develop a slider and learning to differentiate this pitch from his curveball
  • How Tyler structures his throwing and training in season as a starting pitcher in a 5-day rotation
  • What Tyler’s routine is on the day of his start
  • How the game of baseball has evolved since Tyler was drafted a decade ago
  • How the use of technology in baseball has allowed Tyler to better understand his pitches and develop a plan to more precisely refine his craft
  • What characteristics in coaches have benefited Tyler’s development throughout his baseball career
  • How the role of the pitching coach is evolving to include a more holistic approach to player management
  • What the most common mistakes Tyler sees pitchers making when throwing curveballs

You can follow Tyler on Twitter at @TylerSkaggs37 and Instagram at @tskaggs45.

Sponsor Reminder

This episode is brought to you by Jaeger Sports, who specializes in arm health, arm conditioning, and mental training. Best known for their long toss protocols and popular J-Bands, Jaeger Sports has been helping baseball and softball athletes reach their potential on the field since 1991. Alan Jaeger has been a trusted resource to me for close to a decade, and many of our athletes use J-Bands every single day. Through May 31, you can get 20% off on your order at www.JaegerSports.com using the coupon code CSP.

 

Podcast Feedback

If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.

And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continued support!

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Overlooked Uses for a J-Band – Part 2

It's time for part 2 of "things you aren't doing - but SHOULD be doing - with a Jaeger Band." In case you missed it, be sure to check out Part 1, too. Also, be sure to pick up a J-Band HEREif you haven't already done so.

Without further ado, here are five more exercises to try with the oh-so-versatile J-Bands!

6. Core-Engaged Dead Bugs

In this core stability drill, we use the tension from the band to build some extra core stiffness to resist lumbar extension (lower back arching) and (to a lesser extension) rotation during leg lowering. Add a big exhale at the bottom to fire up the anterior core and reaffirm good positioning.

7. J-Band Assisted Leg Lowering

This builds on our previous drill from a core stability challenge standpoint (straight leg is harder than bent-knee), but also helps individuals improve their hip mobility. Make sure to double up the band to get sufficient resistance, - and don't do this with cleats on!

8. J-Band Assisted Quadruped Band-Assisted Thoracic Rotation

Here's a Functional Movement Systems inspired drill we'll use with those athletes who have very limited active thoracic mobility into extension. In other words, they passively rotate well (with the assistance of the assessor), but can't get to that same range of motion actively. The band assistance reduces the gravity challenge against which an individual has to extend and rotate.

9. Band-Assisted Overhead Squat

I've traditionally done this drill with a TRX, but one day, I had an athlete try using the J-Band on the road when he didn't have a TRX handy. His immediate response was that it was "frying" his lower traps. Maintaining continuous tension in scapular posterior tilt and thoracic extension really takes this squat pattern assistance drill up a notch. 

10. Side Bridge with Horizontal Abduction

Once an individual gets a solid feel for arm care, I'm all for integrating core stability with scapular control and rotator cuff challenges. This is one advanced progression along those lines. I say "advanced" because many individuals struggle to get a true "T" positioning on horizontal abduction; instead, they'll yank down with the lats (more on that HERE). That said, I recommend athletes perform this on video or with a coach watching the first time, as they'll usually be in the wrong pattern. The goal is 90 degrees of arm elevation, and you should feel this predominantly in the mid-traps.  

That wraps up this two-part series - but it's certainly just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to innovative exercises you can integrate with a versatile piece of equipment like Jaeger Bands. With that in mind, if you don't already have a set in your training bag, I'd highly recommend you pick up a J-Band. Your arm - and the rest of your body - will thank you for the investment!

jBands

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Overlooked Uses for a J-Band – Part 1

Go to just about any baseball field in America, and you'll find Jaeger Bands (J-Bands). They're well established as great tools for getting in some quality arm care - and doing so conveniently.

What you might not realize, though, is just how many exercises you can do beyond the traditional J-Band sequence. With that in mind, I thought I'd introduce ten exercises our guys often do with J-bands when they're looking to step up their training while on the road. Today, we'll cover the first five.

1. Chops and Lifts - Popularized by the innovative rehabilitation specialists at Functional Movement Systems, these exercises are awesome for teaching core stability as it relates to resisting excessive rotation through the lower back. Depending on the height of the band, too, they can also challenge an athlete's ability to resist extension (too much arching of the lower back).

2. 1-arm Rotational Row w/Weight Shift - I absolutely love this drill for guys who have poor extension down the mound and need to learn to accept force on the front leg. The goal is to get in and out of the front hip - and also learn how to "sync" this loading/unloading up with proper movement of the thoracic spine, scapula, and arm.

3. Lateral Lunge w/Band Overhead Reach - Similar to the chops and lifts from above, you get great core recruitment in resisting extension and rotation, but in this drill, we also add some additional upper body and hip mobility challenges.

4. Serratus Wall Slides w/J-Band - I love me some serratus activation drills - and the J-Band is a great way to progress these exercises. Before you try it with a J-Band, though, give it a shot with a foam roller using these cues:

Then, grab your J-Band and go to town on a dugout wall. If you don't feel "cleaner" scap movement at ball release, I'll be stunned.

5. Side Bridge w/Band-Resisted Hip Extension - Side Bridges are some of the best lateral core exercises there are - but some folks will do them with incomplete hip extension, thereby falling into a faulty stabilization pattern that overrelies on the hip flexors. I like using the band to teach that terminal hip extension. To make this challenging, do them "high-tension" style: brace as hard as you can, squeeze the glutes together like you're trying to crush walnuts between your buttcheeks, and exhale as hard as you can. If you're doing them correct, you should be struggling by the end of five breaths - and you'll probably gain some hip internal rotation in the process.

That does it for part 1! I'll be back in a few days with five more creative uses for a J-Band. In the meantime, you can pick up a J-Band at http://www.jaegersports.com/J-Bands-Cressey/.

*A big thanks to Marlins pitcher Tyler Kinley for the help with demonstrations for this article!

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