Cathe, I want to hit a home run!

[Juliekins]

No, seriously. I do. I play a lot of slowpitch softball in the summers--mostly coed, but a little women's too. I know that a lot of the ability to hit a home run comes from swing mechanics, the kind of bat I use, etc etc, but a lot of it is pure strength too. FYI, I'm looking at a ~250 foot fence here.

I'm a decent hitter. I've been known to leg out a triple here and there, and I can hit doubles pretty consistently. One of the girls on the team I manage hit a homer this summer, though, and I want to go yard at least once in my life too! I turn 30 next July, so I figure it would be a good birthday present to myself.

So...what do you recommend I do to gain strength and bat speed? I've got a few of your weight training videos and I can have access to a gym with a great weight room if need be. I'd really like to burn a few boys in the outfield next summer, preferably by putting the ball over the fence.

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Julie! I like the goal you have set out to do by your 30th birthday. How cool! Honestly, as you have already mentioned, improving your hitting and batting speed with specific mechanics is what you'll need to focus on to benefit the most. Outside of that I think just being overall strong and conditioned with any one of my strength training series workouts will assist your goal. Just make sure that you factor in enough recovery time for your upper body workouts so that DOMS does not interfere with your batting/hitting practice.

And of course contacting a softball hitting coach would be the ulimate suggestion if that is a possibility.

Good Luck!