The "Weird Illusion" That's Killing Your Baseball Swing
What if I were to tell you that the biggest baseball swing secret to hitting for more consistent power didn't involve much muscle...
And what if I were to also tell you that consistent power doesn't
come from the legs or arms...
The "weird illusion" being taught is that the body can produce
explosive rotational power by moving in pieces:
"Fire the back hip"
"Throw the hands"
"X Degree of shoulder/hip separation"
"Squish the bug"
"Pull with the front arm"
This "weird illusion" is just that, an illusion. According to
modern Science, these people spend too much time focusing on the wrong movement approach, and as a result, young hitters never achieve an explosive baseball swing.
Here's what Dr. Erik Dalton says about this idea in the book Dynamic Body,
"Modern Science reveals the brain does not recognize individual muscle activities due to lack of practical purpose."
In this article, I'm going to reveal:
This Secret Weapon is the "Hit" of MLB Power Hitters (and it's found in kangaroos!!),
Why 'Grip It And Rip It' is Dead Wrong,
How to Drive the Ball Farther Now! (even correct arm-barring!)
Let's dig in...
This Secret Weapon is the "Hit" of MLB Power Hitters (and it's found in kangaroos!!)
Specifically, "smaller" power hitters. Yes, small players can
hit like big ones, and let me tell you why...it all starts with
the Red Kangaroo...
According to a Review titled Energetics and bio-mechanics of
locomotion by red kangaroos, by Rodger Kram and Terence J.
Dawson from Comparative Biochemistry & Physiology:
"As red kangaroos hop faster over ground level, their rate of oxygen consumption (indicating metabolic energy consumption) remains nearly the same. This phenomenon has been attributed to exceptional elastic energy storage and recovery via long compliant tendons in the legs."
In other words, even though the kangaroo hops faster on level
ground, their heart rate stays the same (they don't get out of
breath like we do going from a walk to a jog). How's this?
Connective tissue. More on this, and how it relates to a
consistently powerful baseball swing a bit later.
Consider a human example...
Dean Karnazes...the fifty marathons in fifty days 'guy'.
Check out this video clip of Dean on the History Channel show "Superhuman" (I advise watching the whole clip, but if you want just the lab results, then skip to minute 9:58):
The answer to Dean's freakish ability to run long distances like
Forest Gump, is because of his brilliant use of earth driven
locomotion (i.e. gravity, gravitational reaction forces, and yes, connective tissue...like the red kangaroo).
Don't worry, we'll connect the hitting dots on this shortly.
I want to plant the seed of this 'Secret Weapon', by having you watch ESPN's SportScience video on Major League Lacrosse player Paul Rabil's explosive rotational power mechanics (if you're in a rush, check out the slow motion analysis mark at 1:20):
Are you getting the idea of what the 'Secret Weapon' is? Paul
Rabil is using the same 'springy' connective tissue system as the
red kangaroo and Ultra Marathon Man Dean Karnazes.
Why 'Grip It And Rip It' is Dead Wrong
The reason is this...
A young hitter hearing this cue thinks 'muscle driven' and ends
up actually swinging slower because the brain delegates muscle
to tense up for an out-of-control baseball swing in order to
protect over-stressed joints (i.e. ankles, knees, spine, and
When kids over-swing, one of the things they do is pull their
head. The brain is turning on - and locking down - the neck
and shoulder muscles to protect the vertebrates in the cervical
spine (aka the neck).
A consistently powerful baseball swing starts and ends with
connective tissue. Tendons, ligaments, and myofascia. Well
known examples of these:
Achilles Tendon (location: 'heel cord' attaches to the calf muscle)
Anterior/Medial Collateral Ligament (ACL/MCL) (location: front or inside the knee)
Myofascial 'cotton candy' Tissue (location: 'springy' material bones and muscles float in)
According to Thomas Myers in his book Anatomy Trains, the
bones, muscles, and myofascia create opposing compression and
tension forces within the body. Where myofascia is primarily
made up of collagen. This springy-stuff, we all know, can be
artificially injected into stiff-looking faces like Joan
Collagen is to the human body as steel is to the building
industry. It's very tensile and resists change in shape very well.
In a moment, we're going to analyze how this 'springy' material
in the body forms a Rotary Stability 'X' Pattern. This 'springy'
pattern forms what I like to call the Catapult Loading System
and is the 'secret weapon' of elite power hitters.
"Grip It And Rip It" uses slow moving muscle, whereas the
Catapult Loading System uses powerful 'springy' effortless
connective tissue...the most efficient material the body has for
a friction-free baseball swing.
How to Drive the Ball Farther Now! (even correct arm-barring!)
Before I show you the Catapult Loading System in action with
elite MLB hitters, I want you to watch one more video. It's a
Case Study on one of my High School hitters who had a stubborn
arm-barring issue we've been trying to fix for the past three
Nothing worked as a permanent fix.
Right after working the Catapult Loading System into his baseball
swing, his arm-barring disappeared. See for yourself...
Interesting stuff, huh?
Now, what you've all been waiting for, here's the Catapult
Loading System in action with Chris Davis and Hank Aaron...
For more on this...
Announcing: The Truth About Explosive Rotational Power
A STEP-BY-STEP video guide to the most up-to-date Scientific research unlocking powerful, yet universal, human movement PRINCIPALS to ADD explosive rotational power to any baseball or softball swing. Small hitters can hit like big ones because there’s LIMITED muscle needed.
Discover the #1 Baseball Hitting Drills Secret to Stopping THE Most Stubborn Mechanical Breakdown:
Behind-the-times coaches ABSOLUTELY hate what I'm about to tell you...
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