Well here is my story, I'm just a hair shy of 6'0" and 135lbs. I'm a RHP throwing a 2-seam 77-82 consistently, with a circle change and slider. I'm a left-handed hitter who was hitting .400 this season in CF before coaches randomly took me out of the line-up. Parents began to notice that I deserved to be playing because of my work ethic and skills but who is going to stick up for me when their kid is playing. The excuse I heard all year for riding the bench was that I'm not "strong or big enough". Wasn't Ted Williams tiny? That's beside the point. Now I'm trying to do what I can to leave the coaches no choice but to play me. My summer routine, along with playing Legion ball and attending as many showcases as I could, include this
-Wake up at 8am and run 2 miles
-hit off the tee for atleast an hour
-long toss for a good 30 minutes
-YMCA for a workout of core muscles, biceps, and a ton of leg reps.

I just finished my sophmore year so i still have two more years of HS ball left. I had a scout approach me today and tell me that with my swing, speed, and defensive skills that I could be looking at becoming a pretty highly recruited D1 caliber player if I could put some more muscle and weight on me.

I am absolutely commited to this wonderful game, I'm an intelligent kid and I want to be that guy who can say that I worked my *** off and didn't waste any of my talent. I want to be one of the greatest players to ever play the game when everything is said and done. With all of this said, what should I do to increase my weight and strength?

Thank you in advance

This is off topic, but what Legion team do you play for? I play legion ball in VA as well.

Running that much is going to make you lose weight. I would cut that back to once a week or so. Also start taking protein if you haven't already.

Post 273, how about you?

As suggested cut out the running 2 miles. This is counterproductive. If you want to sprint a few times a week thast great (and anabolic) but LD running wont do much, especially so far from season.

You need to become best friends with the squat rack. Squats, deadlifts, cleans staches, rows and presses. Those should be 95% of your exercises. The rest is just details.

I would wake up, get a good meal in. Do some skill work, most likely hitting. Get another meal then hit the gym.

You have a better chance of gaining muscle and getting stronger if you have 2 meals in your body and have been awake at least 5 hours.

Then get another meal in right after workout. Continue to eat quality foods every 2-2.5 hours.

Later in the day is when you can do your longtoss.

Also, invest in Unbreakable Abs, very good program.
Question: With UBA can it be done solo or is it best to have a trainer supervise? Jon I would like your opinion, thanks.

162 up in Northern Va, Unbreakable abs is a great program if you want to go that route.

Take creatine and protein to add muscle mass

Jon..is there anything special you need to go along with unbreakable abs because i saw in a picture that u had some sort of ball with a grip on it..thanks.

I really should get rid of that pic as it certainly can be confusing. I am holding a kettlebell. It's not your traditional KB. It was made for me by a group of Detroit blacksmiths.

It's very cool as its "adjustable'. You just add sand, beebee, etc to make it heavier, plus you get true plyometric effect of weight moving as you do exercises.

But back to your questions. You do not need any special equipment. You can easily use a dumbbell or barbell in that same picture and get just as good, or better, results.

Unbreakable Abs only requires using a dumbbell or barbell. We use a medicine ball and a stability ball in one or two of the exercises. these are pretty standard in gyms, but you can get away without them if needed.

And, no you do not need a trainer watching you perform UA. (although you should never workout alone for safety reasons).

Having a trainer supervise is great, assuming they are familiar with how the program should be done and don't try to "improve" it

quote:

Originally posted by ridgePO24:
Take creatine and protein to add muscle mass

Leave the Creatine on the store shelf! You are too young for Creatine and it is hard on your Kidneys.

Take a CLEAN protein and take it 3 times per day.

Yeah forget creatine. So as an update I've gained 5 pounds in the last week doing the original workout so it is good to see some results. Another update is about the game I threw tonight. I was throwing against a team where every starter was atleast and all-region player. I retired the first 11 I faced
IP-6
K-4
BB-1
H-3
ER-2
Unfortunately the bullpen couldn't hold down the lead and we lost the game in the bottom of the 9th but what can you do? So all in all I'm happy with the weight gaining and my performance on the field, thanks and keep the advice coming

Creatine effects depend on the person. I've seen some people that didn't see many gains and some that saw huge gains. With that being said, you are a little on the young side, and I'm not a doctor. If you want to try it then go for it, but make sure you take it. Personally I take it and think it's great. Whey protein should be a must and should be taken following workouts.

quote:

Originally posted by nd943:
Creatine effects depend on the person. I've seen some people that didn't see many gains and some that saw huge gains. With that being said, you are a little on the young side, and I'm not a doctor. If you want to try it then go for it, but make sure you take it. Personally I take it and think it's great. Whey protein should be a must and should be taken following workouts.

Do a search in this forum on "creatine" and you will find all kinds of information on the stuff. Summary: Stay away, eat a healthy well balanced diet suplemented with a high quality protein as JD has suggested and you will be golden.

I would like to see what Jon has to say about creatine. I'm not an expert so I'm not going to argue for or against it, but I take it and have seen great gains in strength and size. With that being said, it does seem to get a bad rap on this board.

If you take creatine you will gain 3-5 pounds in the first week, but it is all water. I don't think it is harmful, but I don't think it does anything as far as strength and recovery.

There is a great deal of misinformation about creatine.

As far as someone using, that needs to be a personal decison. And for those under 21, it needs to be a decision made along with your parents & doctor.

Some have tried to attack me on the site before in regards to my stance on creatine, yet there's very little to argue.

Like most health-related topics, mainsteam media has absolutely butchered its reporting on creatine in most cases.

Used properly in healthy individuals, it's been shown to increase strength, size and recovery. There's simply no arguement. There's also some cool research on creatine in regards to brain function in older individuals. Pretty cool stuff in my opinion.

If you think it's safe to eat meat, then it really doesn't make any sense that you'd be opposed to using creatine in proper doses.

Rarely do my athletes go over 3-5 grams/day during heavy training cycles.

However, I do feel younger athletes should stay away. Not because of health risks, but I just don't feel they need it. Developing proper nutritional and training habits should and need to be priority number 1.

JD

When you say younger athletes should stay away - What age is that? Is 17 years old fine?

My understanding of creatine is that, yes it does increase the amount of water in muscle tissue. This is a good thing. When working out lactic acid is produced that causes inflammation and pain. The additional water in the muscle provides a quick way to cleanse the body of this lactic acid.
With the lactic acid out of the body quicker, you have quicker recovery time allowing you to work out again sooner.
This is the benefit of creatine, it allows you to work out rigorously with greater frequency which should result in getting stronger and adding muscle mass which should also mean gaining weight.