Avoid injury: Try plyometrics By Tim Wendel, Baseball Weekly

Stay on top of your game with exercise

As any weekend warrior knows, spring can be the cruelest season.

After a winter's hibernation, watching television and going back for extras at the holiday feasts, we take to the field. Ready to play ball - hard or soft.

But is your body ready? Is it hard or soft? Without any preseason preparation, torn tendons, strained muscles and broken bones can be as much a part of your ballclub's box score as runs, hits and errors.

So why not really be like the pros? Embrace plyometrics.

This conditioning program has long been a favorite of Olympians and has recently won acceptance in the professional ranks.

Plyometrics simply means the stretching and shortening of muscles while performing an action, like running or jumping. Before the season gets underway, put together a short workout that emphasizes running, leaping, throwing a medicine ball. Anything quick, like jumping, is a plyometric exercise. Done with a little enthusiasm, even hopscotch can be.

In his new book, Playing Better Baseball (Human Kinetics), author Rick Wolff underscores the importance of plyometrics. For anybody age 14 and older, Wolff says that combining plyometrics with a regular weight training schedule can really pay off.

"Baseball is a game of short, quick bursts," says Wolff, who has written 14 books about sports, business and sport psychology. He also served as a roving performance enhancement coach for the Cleveland Indians. "So it makes sense that your (baseball) training should be geared toward short, quick bursts, too. The Indians were one of the first teams to utilize plyometrics. More and more teams are using it now."

Wolff writes that plyometrics involve everything from sprinting around cones (to build agility) to lifting and throwing a heavy medicine ball (to build body strength) to doing short sprints (to increase quickness).

Specific exercises can be modified. The only piece of equipment is a medicine ball, which can be found at most schools.

Yet for plyometric training to really pay off it needs to be done at 100% effort. If not, you're just training to be slow.

Most conditioning experts recommend including two plyometric sessions per week. Two is plenty and activities can include:

High knees: This is running in place and concentrating on bringing the knees up.

Skipping rope for height: Land on the same foot and try for good knee lift.

Lateral jump with two feet: Wolff says to bring one foot back and attempt to jump as far as you can from a starting stance. Keep jumping over 30 yards.

Standing long jump: Start in a crouch and see how far you can go. Keep going until you also cover 30 yards.

Medicine ball over the head: Take it directly over your head, take a step forward and throw it hard away from you. Great for the torso, thighs and shoulders.

Doing these exercises on a forgiving surface (mat, grassy field, aerobics floor) can also prevent jarring and sore joints in the legs and feet.

"Plyometric exercises enable your muscles to reach maximum strength in as short a time as possible," says Donald Chu, one of the experts in this growing field. "This speed-strength ability is known as power. And power translates to better performance."

So, with a new season nearly upon us, why not put in a little "ply" time? Not only will it help your game - it could keep you off the disabled list.