| Bat Speed Power Development System The Most effective Bat Speed Tool on the market! |
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Overload/Underload Power development system is an innovative training method
that was developed around the concept of overload underload training in order to
make dramatic improvements in bat speed in the least amount of time possible. The
program was developed to be effective for players looking to get a foot up on the
competition in little league all the way to players at the professional level looking to
get that little edge needed to play with the planet's most talented players.
The concept of overload underload training is a simple concept that has been used
since the 1970’s by Olympic athletes to get dramatic performance increases in
relatively short amounts of time. Unfortunately, the concept still remained a mystery
to the majority of the general public until recent years. Overload Underload training is
a training concept that uses resistances slightly above and below what one would
encounter in his/her respective sport. So, for baseball that would mean swinging a
baseball bat or throwing a baseball that is roughly 20% over and 20% under the
normal weight one would usually encounter. This concept was studied extensively by
the Soviet Union and other eastern bloc countries back in the 1970’s. These
countries took great pride in their athletic accomplishments and poured millions of
dollars in research into more efficient ways to build better athletes. After
experimenting with their Olympic throwers (shot put, javelin, hammer, and discuss)
they discovered that by increasing or decreasing the resistance of the projectiles that
were thrown in practice, they could produce significant gains in throwing distance
(and velocity) with objects of regulation weight. This was a huge find since strength
and power gains from traditional weight training often doesn’t always transfer well to
more complex sporting motions such as throwing and hitting.
The Soviets also found out that when greater than 20% resistance was added or
subtracted from the training implements, it not only didn’t increase performance but it
actually decreased it. By using too much or too little resistance you will be putting in
a lot of effort and time to make yourself better, but it is actually time and effort
wasted. This again goes back to the fact that timing and bio-mechanics are essential
to sports which require a high technical component. When objects 20% heavier or
lighter than the original objects are used, then the biomechanics of the movement is
changed. That means in order to accommodate for the additional or reduced load,
the athletes would change their movement pattern--which means, in baseball terms,
they would change the way they swing or throw, making the training essentially
useless. The phrase "practice makes perfect" is often used by coaches, but in reality
only perfect practice makes perfect. That means someone wishing to increase his
bat speed must take each practice swing with perfect technique at game speed in
order to have the hope of making noticeable improvements. To become fast and
explosive, you must train to be fast and explosive. Quality always wins over quantity.
A quick example would be looking at a marathon runner vs. a sprinter. A marathon
runner runs for miles at a time in training. A sprinter runs a few short sprints. They
are both running but the differences lie in a) intensity, b) volume of training, and c)
rest intervals. Changing those 3 variables makes the outcome of the training
drastically different. The take-home message is: if you want to throw faster, you
need to practice throwing FAST. If you want to increase your bat speed, you have to
practice swinging as fast as possible with perfect mechanics. Once we had an idea of
where to start in regards to percentages with the overload-underload we began
experimenting with players of different ages and ability levels. The goal was to find
the ideal percentage to weight the bat in order to get optimal performance increases -
(improved bat speed).
Today, many of the world’s top athletes use overload underload training to gain the
edge on their competition. Elite sprinters and swimmers have been effectively using a
form of overload underload training to blow away world records. The sprinters and
swimmers attach themselves to cords that either provide resistance from behind or a
slight tow from in front of them to create a pace that is slightly slower or slightly faster
than their personal best. This has provided excellent results and was recently used
by soccer phenom Freddy Adu who trains at IMG academies, a training academy that
has a history of improving the performance of the world’s best athletes.
Many throwers from track and field continue to use the overload underload concept
with great results. Baseball, which has a history of lagging behind the times in
improving sports performance through science, is even beginning to catch on. Many
pitchers have been using overload underload training to drastically improve their
throwing velocity as well as strengthen their arms for the wear and tear of a
professional season.
For a more detailed article with more real world examples check HERE
The Overload/Underload Power development system is an innovative training method
that was developed around the concept of overload underload training in order to
make dramatic improvements in bat speed in the least amount of time possible. The
program was developed to be effective for players looking to get a foot up on the
competition in little league all the way to players at the professional level looking to
get that little edge needed to play with the planet's most talented players.
The concept of overload underload training is a simple concept that has been used
since the 1970’s by Olympic athletes to get dramatic performance increases in
relatively short amounts of time. Unfortunately, the concept still remained a mystery
to the majority of the general public until recent years. Overload Underload training is
a training concept that uses resistances slightly above and below what one would
encounter in his/her respective sport. So, for baseball that would mean swinging a
baseball bat or throwing a baseball that is roughly 20% over and 20% under the
normal weight one would usually encounter. This concept was studied extensively by
the Soviet Union and other eastern bloc countries back in the 1970’s. These
countries took great pride in their athletic accomplishments and poured millions of
dollars in research into more efficient ways to build better athletes. After
experimenting with their Olympic throwers (shot put, javelin, hammer, and discuss)
they discovered that by increasing or decreasing the resistance of the projectiles that
were thrown in practice, they could produce significant gains in throwing distance
(and velocity) with objects of regulation weight. This was a huge find since strength
and power gains from traditional weight training often doesn’t always transfer well to
more complex sporting motions such as throwing and hitting.
The Soviets also found out that when greater than 20% resistance was added or
subtracted from the training implements, it not only didn’t increase performance but it
actually decreased it. By using too much or too little resistance you will be putting in
a lot of effort and time to make yourself better, but it is actually time and effort
wasted. This again goes back to the fact that timing and bio-mechanics are essential
to sports which require a high technical component. When objects 20% heavier or
lighter than the original objects are used, then the biomechanics of the movement is
changed. That means in order to accommodate for the additional or reduced load,
the athletes would change their movement pattern--which means, in baseball terms,
they would change the way they swing or throw, making the training essentially
useless. The phrase "practice makes perfect" is often used by coaches, but in reality
only perfect practice makes perfect. That means someone wishing to increase his
bat speed must take each practice swing with perfect technique at game speed in
order to have the hope of making noticeable improvements. To become fast and
explosive, you must train to be fast and explosive. Quality always wins over quantity.
A quick example would be looking at a marathon runner vs. a sprinter. A marathon
runner runs for miles at a time in training. A sprinter runs a few short sprints. They
are both running but the differences lie in a) intensity, b) volume of training, and c)
rest intervals. Changing those 3 variables makes the outcome of the training
drastically different. The take-home message is: if you want to throw faster, you
need to practice throwing FAST. If you want to increase your bat speed, you have to
practice swinging as fast as possible with perfect mechanics. Once we had an idea of
where to start in regards to percentages with the overload-underload we began
experimenting with players of different ages and ability levels. The goal was to find
the ideal percentage to weight the bat in order to get optimal performance increases -
(improved bat speed).
Today, many of the world’s top athletes use overload underload training to gain the
edge on their competition. Elite sprinters and swimmers have been effectively using a
form of overload underload training to blow away world records. The sprinters and
swimmers attach themselves to cords that either provide resistance from behind or a
slight tow from in front of them to create a pace that is slightly slower or slightly faster
than their personal best. This has provided excellent results and was recently used
by soccer phenom Freddy Adu who trains at IMG academies, a training academy that
has a history of improving the performance of the world’s best athletes.
Many throwers from track and field continue to use the overload underload concept
with great results. Baseball, which has a history of lagging behind the times in
improving sports performance through science, is even beginning to catch on. Many
pitchers have been using overload underload training to drastically improve their
throwing velocity as well as strengthen their arms for the wear and tear of a
professional season.
For a more detailed article with more real world examples check HERE
RESEARCH STUDIES
Over the years there have been numerous studies done to determine the effects of
overload underload training on performance and safety. The majority of overload
underload training research has been done with throwing a baseball. The research
has all come back with stellar results. Not only did the players participating in the
program make significant gains in velocity, but they also stayed healthy for the
following season, a difficult accomplishment considering the stress that throwing a
baseball puts on the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the arm. The most notable
study on the use of overload underload training for bat speed improvement comes
from Coop DeRenne, one of the world's premier research leaders in terms of overload
underload training for baseball. DeRenne and colleagues came to the same
conclusion as many of the world's top sports scientists which is: overload underload
training is simply one of the simplest and most effective ways to make significant
performance improvements in a short amount of time. Here are a list of pertinent
literature pertaining to overload underload training and it's effectiveness on increasing
performance. Note - the vast majority of these studies deal with training for improved
bat speed or throwing velocity through the use of overload, underload, or a
combination of overload and underload techniques. This is by no means a complete
list. There are many more studies out there relating to overload underload training.
Coop DeRenne, Barton P. Buxton, Ronald K. Hetzler and Kwok W. Ho. 1995:
Effects of Weighted Bat Implement Training on Bat Swing Velocity. The Journal
of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 247–250.
DeRenne, Coop EdD; Szymanski, David J PhD, CSCS*D
Effects of Baseball Weighted Implement Training: A Brief Review. Strength and
Conditioning Journal: April 2009 - Volume 31 - Issue 2 - pp 30-37
Bagonzi JA. The Effects of Graded Weighted Baseballs, Free Weight Training,
and Simulative Isometric Exercise on Velocity of a Thrown Baseball [master's
thesis]. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 1978.
Brose DE and Hanson DL. Effects of overload training on velocity and accuracy
of throwing. Res Q 38: 528-533, 1967.
DeRenne C. Increasing bat velocity. Athletic J 62: 28-31, 1982.
DeRenne C. The donut: Does it improve bat velocity? Strength Cond J 13: 43-45,
1991.
DeRenne C and Branco D. Overload or underload in your on-deck preparation?
Scholast Coach 55: 32: 69, 1986.
DeRenne C, Buxton BP, Hetzler RK, and Ho KW. Effects of under- and
overweighted implement training on pitching velocity. J Strength Cond Res 8:
247-250, 1994.
DeRenne C, Buxton BP, Hetzler RK, and Ho KW. Effects of weighted bat
implement training on bat swing velocity. J Strength Cond Res 9: 247-250, 1995.
DeRenne C, Ho KW, and Blitzblau A. Effects of weighted implement training on
throwing velocity. J Appl Sports Sci Res 4: 16-19, 1990.
DeRenne C, Ho KW, Hetzler RK, and Chai DX. Effects of warm-up with various
weighted implements on baseball bat swing velocity. J Appl Sports Sci Res 6:
214-218, 1992.
DeRenne C and Okasaki E. Increasing bat velocity (Part 2). Athletic J 63: 54-55,
1983.
Egstrom GH, Logan GA, and Wallis EL. Acquisition of throwing skill involving
projectiles of varying weight. Res Q 31: 420-425, 1960.
Elias J. The Effect of Overload Training on Speed in Baseball Pitching [master's
thesis]. Springfield College, Springfield, MA, 1964.
Fleisig GS, Phillips R, Shatley A, Loftice J, Dun S, Drake S, Farris JW, and
Andrews JR. Kinematics and kinetics of youth baseball pitching with standard
and lightweight balls. Sports Eng 9: 155-163, 2006.
Jarver J. Varied resistance in power development. Mod Athlete Coach 10: 5-8,
1973.
Sergo C and Boatwright D. Training methods using various weighted bats and
the effects on bat velocity. J Strength Cond Res 7: 115-117, 1993.
Southard D and Groomer L. Warm-up with baseball bats of varying moments of
inertia: Effect on bat velocity and swing pattern. Res Q Exerc Sport 74: 270-276,
2003.
Szymanski DJ, DeRenne C, and Spaniol FJ. Contributing factors for increased
bat swing velocity: A brief review. J Strength Cond Res February 27, 2009 [epub
Ahead of Print].
Van Huss WD, Albrecht L, Nelson R, and Hagerman R. Effect of overload warm-
up on the velocity and accuracy of throwing. Res Q 33: 472-475, 1962.
Vasiliev LA. Use of different weight to develop specialized speed-strength. Sov
Sports Rev 18: 49-52, 1983.
If you are interested in finding out more about the scientific studies on overload
underload training, a simple search at http://www.nsca-lift.org/ will reveal a large
number of studies. To obtain the full study (not just the abstract) you might have to go
to a local library. It’s important to point out again that numerous teams as well as
players from a wide variety of sports have already used overload underload training
and made drastic improvements. The purpose of these studies is to show that science
is in agreement with what players in the “real world” have known for years: overload
underload training works. I point this out because oftentimes people will make
extraordinary claims about products or ideas being the next miracle cure. However,
these products/ideas often have no science behind them and within a year or two
people who purchased these “scam” products will find out they don’t work and learn
that they have lost out on a significant amount of money.
Bottom line: Overload-Underload Training works. Whether you are looking to
improve bat speed or throwing speed it's tough to make a case against all the
overwhelming evidence!
Over the years there have been numerous studies done to determine the effects of
overload underload training on performance and safety. The majority of overload
underload training research has been done with throwing a baseball. The research
has all come back with stellar results. Not only did the players participating in the
program make significant gains in velocity, but they also stayed healthy for the
following season, a difficult accomplishment considering the stress that throwing a
baseball puts on the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the arm. The most notable
study on the use of overload underload training for bat speed improvement comes
from Coop DeRenne, one of the world's premier research leaders in terms of overload
underload training for baseball. DeRenne and colleagues came to the same
conclusion as many of the world's top sports scientists which is: overload underload
training is simply one of the simplest and most effective ways to make significant
performance improvements in a short amount of time. Here are a list of pertinent
literature pertaining to overload underload training and it's effectiveness on increasing
performance. Note - the vast majority of these studies deal with training for improved
bat speed or throwing velocity through the use of overload, underload, or a
combination of overload and underload techniques. This is by no means a complete
list. There are many more studies out there relating to overload underload training.
Coop DeRenne, Barton P. Buxton, Ronald K. Hetzler and Kwok W. Ho. 1995:
Effects of Weighted Bat Implement Training on Bat Swing Velocity. The Journal
of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 247–250.
DeRenne, Coop EdD; Szymanski, David J PhD, CSCS*D
Effects of Baseball Weighted Implement Training: A Brief Review. Strength and
Conditioning Journal: April 2009 - Volume 31 - Issue 2 - pp 30-37
Bagonzi JA. The Effects of Graded Weighted Baseballs, Free Weight Training,
and Simulative Isometric Exercise on Velocity of a Thrown Baseball [master's
thesis]. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 1978.
Brose DE and Hanson DL. Effects of overload training on velocity and accuracy
of throwing. Res Q 38: 528-533, 1967.
DeRenne C. Increasing bat velocity. Athletic J 62: 28-31, 1982.
DeRenne C. The donut: Does it improve bat velocity? Strength Cond J 13: 43-45,
1991.
DeRenne C and Branco D. Overload or underload in your on-deck preparation?
Scholast Coach 55: 32: 69, 1986.
DeRenne C, Buxton BP, Hetzler RK, and Ho KW. Effects of under- and
overweighted implement training on pitching velocity. J Strength Cond Res 8:
247-250, 1994.
DeRenne C, Buxton BP, Hetzler RK, and Ho KW. Effects of weighted bat
implement training on bat swing velocity. J Strength Cond Res 9: 247-250, 1995.
DeRenne C, Ho KW, and Blitzblau A. Effects of weighted implement training on
throwing velocity. J Appl Sports Sci Res 4: 16-19, 1990.
DeRenne C, Ho KW, Hetzler RK, and Chai DX. Effects of warm-up with various
weighted implements on baseball bat swing velocity. J Appl Sports Sci Res 6:
214-218, 1992.
DeRenne C and Okasaki E. Increasing bat velocity (Part 2). Athletic J 63: 54-55,
1983.
Egstrom GH, Logan GA, and Wallis EL. Acquisition of throwing skill involving
projectiles of varying weight. Res Q 31: 420-425, 1960.
Elias J. The Effect of Overload Training on Speed in Baseball Pitching [master's
thesis]. Springfield College, Springfield, MA, 1964.
Fleisig GS, Phillips R, Shatley A, Loftice J, Dun S, Drake S, Farris JW, and
Andrews JR. Kinematics and kinetics of youth baseball pitching with standard
and lightweight balls. Sports Eng 9: 155-163, 2006.
Jarver J. Varied resistance in power development. Mod Athlete Coach 10: 5-8,
1973.
Sergo C and Boatwright D. Training methods using various weighted bats and
the effects on bat velocity. J Strength Cond Res 7: 115-117, 1993.
Southard D and Groomer L. Warm-up with baseball bats of varying moments of
inertia: Effect on bat velocity and swing pattern. Res Q Exerc Sport 74: 270-276,
2003.
Szymanski DJ, DeRenne C, and Spaniol FJ. Contributing factors for increased
bat swing velocity: A brief review. J Strength Cond Res February 27, 2009 [epub
Ahead of Print].
Van Huss WD, Albrecht L, Nelson R, and Hagerman R. Effect of overload warm-
up on the velocity and accuracy of throwing. Res Q 33: 472-475, 1962.
Vasiliev LA. Use of different weight to develop specialized speed-strength. Sov
Sports Rev 18: 49-52, 1983.
If you are interested in finding out more about the scientific studies on overload
underload training, a simple search at http://www.nsca-lift.org/ will reveal a large
number of studies. To obtain the full study (not just the abstract) you might have to go
to a local library. It’s important to point out again that numerous teams as well as
players from a wide variety of sports have already used overload underload training
and made drastic improvements. The purpose of these studies is to show that science
is in agreement with what players in the “real world” have known for years: overload
underload training works. I point this out because oftentimes people will make
extraordinary claims about products or ideas being the next miracle cure. However,
these products/ideas often have no science behind them and within a year or two
people who purchased these “scam” products will find out they don’t work and learn
that they have lost out on a significant amount of money.
Bottom line: Overload-Underload Training works. Whether you are looking to
improve bat speed or throwing speed it's tough to make a case against all the
overwhelming evidence!
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Looking for drills to improve bat speed? Drills can be an effective method for
improving hitting mechanics which can potentially improve a players' bat speed.
What happens if a player has sound mechanics already though?
The drills will fail to improve bat speed and it will be time spend practicing with nothing
to show.
With the power development system there are NO DRILLS. Just grab the bat and
swing it. The weight of the bat combined with a program that regulates training
volume will do the rest. Players regardless of level, and mechanical efficiency, can
see results. Not convinced. Check out the what the research has to say below.
improving hitting mechanics which can potentially improve a players' bat speed.
What happens if a player has sound mechanics already though?
The drills will fail to improve bat speed and it will be time spend practicing with nothing
to show.
With the power development system there are NO DRILLS. Just grab the bat and
swing it. The weight of the bat combined with a program that regulates training
volume will do the rest. Players regardless of level, and mechanical efficiency, can
see results. Not convinced. Check out the what the research has to say below.