Lately I’ve been finding a lot of strange products that claim to make you hit harder, pass better, set softer by attaching elastic bands to various points on the player’s body. Frankly, I don’t believe in this fancy equipment. You would be much better off just doing planks than spending $100+ to add some slight resistance to a basic swing. If you want to hit harder, pull ups are the only exercise you really need.
- When doing pull ups, your abs should always be engaged rather than letting your spine stretch out through the movement. The core work improves your swing mechanics and it prevents back injury (a nice plus).
- Pull ups work the muscles in your back that retract your shoulder blades. That means better posture which leads to increased shoulder stability. Shoulder stability = fewer rotator cuff injuries.
- Most importantly pull ups strengthen your lats. This benefit is a no-brainer because the lats are the most used muscles in hitting after the abs and pecs. People often opt for pec strength to increase hitting power, however I’m cautious about pec development because it sacrifices stabilizing posture muscles which puts your shoulder health at risk in the long term. Never overlook working your back muscles in conjunction with strengthening your pecs.
Of course you can only get these benefits when doing pull ups correctly. Keep your abs tight, no hanging at the bottom of the rep, no swinging, etc. I you’re concerned about doing them correctly or having trouble progressing to your first strict pull ups, check out this article by Karen Smith from Strongfirst. She does an excellent job of teaching the progression to doing effective pull ups.
Work hard, work smart.
-Mehdi
Back One Fitness 