Target and Recovery Times for Speed Training in baseball

GUEST COLUMN

Target and Recovery Times for Speed Training in Baseball A. Eugene Coleman, EdD University of Houston–Clear Lake and Houston Astros

SPEED IS A KEY FACTOR FOR success in most sports. In baseball, it is the only physical tool that is used on both offense and defense and is the one quality that can keep a good player from becoming great. The key to improving speed is intensity of effort. When you train at speeds below 90% of maximum, you are working on something other than speed (1, 4). Data from track and field (1) and those collected on major league baseball players suggest that you have to run at 90–100% of maximum speed to maintain and/or improve speed. With a small group of individuals (≤5 or 6/group), it is possible to test for maximum speed for each member of the group over a variety of distances and to assign personalized training speeds, distances, and recovery times for each athlete. When working with larger groups or an entire team, however, time often does not allow you to develop personalized workouts. With these limitations in mind, the following guidelines were formulated for use when training a large group of athletes. The guidelines were developed December 2001

A. Eugene Coleman Guest Columnist

after reviewing >20 years of data (times and distances) collected on major league baseball players during time trials, speed workouts, and game situations. Guidelines have been adjusted to reflect running speed and recovery time by

position for a variety of distances. The fastest players over all distances are those who occupy the skilled positions and play in the middle of the field (second base, shortstop, and center field). The second fastest are those who play

Table 1 Target (seconds) and Recovery Time (seconds) by Position and Distance. Position Distance (yd) 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 200 225 250 300

Skilled Run 3.6 4.8 6.0 7.2 8.4 9.6 10.8 12.0 14.3 15.6 16.9 18.2 19.5 26.0 31.5 35.0 42.0

Rest 11 15 18 22 25 29 32 36 43 47 51 55 59 78 95 105 126

Corners Run 3.9 5.2 6.5 7.8 9.1 10.4 11.7 13.0 15.4 16.8 18.2 19.6 21.0 28.0 33.8 37.5 45.0

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Rest 12 16 20 24 27 31 35 39 46 50 55 59 63 84 101 113 135

Pitchers Run 4.2 5.6 7.0 8.4 9.8 11.2 12.6 14.0 16.5 18.0 19.5 21.0 22.5 30.0 36.0 40.0 48.0

Rest 13 17 21 25 30 34 38 42 50 54 59 63 68 90 108 120 144

Catchers Run 4.5 6.0 7.5 9.0 10.5 12.0 13.5 15.0 17.6 19.2 20.8 22.4 24.0 32.0 38.3 42.5 51.0

Rest 14 18 23 27 32 36 41 45 53 58 62 67 72 96 115 128 153

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on the corners (first and third bases and right and left fields), and the slowest are the pitchers and catchers (2, 3). Uses of the guidelines to personalize speed workouts by position for a large group of players requires 3 steps: (a) place the athletes into 1 of 4 groups: skilled positions, corners, pitchers, or catchers; (b) determine the training distance(s) at which you want the players to train; and (c) determine appropriate speed (target time) and recovery time between repetitions (Table 1). For example, the target time for a group of skilled players running a 60-yard sprint is approximately 7.2 seconds. Players in this group should run each rep in 7.2 seconds or less to get a positive training effect for speed. Target

Conference. Anaheim, CA, January 2000. 3. Coleman, A.E., and L. Laskey. Assessing running speed and body composition in professional baseball players. J. Appl. Sports Sci. Res. 6(4):192– 197. 1992. 4. Dintiman, G., B. Ward, and T. Tellez. Sport Speed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1997. 5. Wilmore, J.H., and D.L. Costill. Physiology of Sport and Exercise. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1994.

time over the same distance for those playing the corners is 7.8 seconds, and those for pitchers and catchers are 8.4 and 9.0 seconds, respectively. Recovery time for all players is approximately 3 times as long as training time (5). Skilled players in the example above should recover for approximately 22 seconds between reps. Recovery times for other positions are slightly longer. ▲

■ References 1. Brunner, R., and B. Tabachnik. Soviet T raining and Recovery Methods. Pleasant Hill, CA: Sport Focus Publishing, 1990. 2. Coleman, A.E. Changes in running speed during a season of major league baseball. NSCA Sport-Specific Training

Gene Coleman, EdD, is Chair of the Program in Fitness and Human Performance, University of Houston–Clear Lake and strength and conditioning coach, Houston Astros baseball team.

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