#14 — Owning the Final Offseason Stretch

Hello and welcome to the RT development podcast. I'm your host Matt Rollignal and I'm really excited for today's podcast because I think this time of year you can start to feel the taste of baseball it's closer than we think and we had before we know it well the the new year will be here and then especially for here for our guys in California we'll be starting up their season before we know it and so I think if we are guys or athletes in general don't attack this next couple months they're gonna they're gonna feel it come the middle of February and March and feel left behind and so how you set up these next couple months can really uh rather put you in a really good spot going to the season or it can put you in a spot where you're trying to play catch up so today's goal with today's podcast is to provide some info of what the next couple months should look like and I'm gonna help set the stage for things that for our guys what we're gonna be focusing on to help them get ready and be the best prepared that we're hoping that that we want our guys to be so that they put in all the work they took out all the guesswork and you know they just show up ready to play and so now when the time of this podcast being um becomes live will be December 1st which really is going to be pretty much two months until actual trials for our guys here in California and three months till game time so then how you set up these next three months is really gonna help you take that next step and how you do it should help you kind of take a nice linear progression into the season and so obviously not everything is gonna be linear there's gonna be some ups and downs as you go through this and this process and it's not like every week we're gonna hit a PR and hopefully your programming should be set up so that you're hitting PRs at the right time but with that being said there's gonna be a progression leading you right up into the season and setting you up for wherever you need to be come to be any of trials and then for like I said guys here in California and about they have about two weeks of practice then they have their first uh scrimmage game and then from there they hit the round the ground running and it's game time so December 1st is the day of this podcast for our guys December 1st or kind of our focus here is uh going to be strength and so finished and we as we focus on that strength here in December um also our guys are on the throwing side are starting to ramp up we're starting to touch the mound uh for some guys they may be going through a vilo phase but they're putting themselves in a position of high stress on both the strength side and the throwing side and with that the guys who are doing a more of a vilo phase are gonna be doing a little less uh stress work on the strength side and just depending on where guys are in terms of programming those things are matching up but at the end of the day December is we're going to be starting to increase uh the load on the throwing side and get stronger as we prepare our bodies for the speed work and the power work that we want to be able to display once we get into the season so if you haven't started your programming you haven't done your stuff that is preparing your your muscles and your joints for the the strength work that you're trying to build then right now you should have already started but if not you need to be starting now and so when it comes to strength work we're talking three to on our our big compound moons we're talking three to six reps um that's going to be the more of our strength uh rep range and we're trying to hammer or focus on building that strength in these big compound movements up for us we're going to be our trap bar deadlift our single leg variation splits go out to reverse lunge um split stance already else things like that but we're going to be really hammering the strength on those to prepare a body for what we're trying to now produce more force later on and so right now we're in that December time frame we're building out foundation it hopefully you're not this isn't the time to start trying to get in shape that's what the October November time frame is for so you can get in shape build that capacity so now that you can work and hit the big stuff as you um start to prepare for those higher loads now if you haven't started it's obviously you're a little bit behind but with that in these next 90 days you can change a lot and if you really attack the next 90 days you can make a big difference in where you're at right now and where you are come March 1st or the middle of February when most seasons are going to be starting so a little less than 90 days but if you have a solid for how we break down four four week programs if you have two to three solid programs and you crush it for the next say 10 to 12 weeks you're gonna make a big difference in your one of how prepared you are your overall just physical preparedness your strength and whether you're a hitter or pitcher exit velocity velocity should be a going up and you should just have an overall change from where you finished your spring fall so how you attack that next 90 days is up to you you is I think the basic is having a plan understanding where you need to be come March 1st and then working backwards for us our athletes we're gonna work backwards and prepare for um getting them ready to be on the field and so we know strength in December January is going to be more speed power and then February early February is going to be purely speed making sure our athletes are prioritizing the stuff they're trying to do on the field and then we're doing the the gym is more an accessory at that time now with all that um the biggest thing I would say is understanding where you're at you can't skip steps so if you haven't been doing the work right up to this point and you go try to just get into the speed work or skip the some of the time where you're getting your joints and your muscles ready to go then you're gonna pay for it later on so making sure you don't skip steps and yeah even though you may have a little less time make sure you have a program that's built out and ready to put you in a position to go out there and be ready to withstand the stress of planning and when I mean stress you're when you're playing and you're putting stress on your body you're putting stress on your joints and so you have to prepare that prepare your body appropriately for you to be in a position to handle it so that's talking just overall I think the biggest thing as we uh kind of close out December is understanding the this is where the the highest point of going to be a throwing and training and as we start to try to switch gears from rampant your heavier throwing period to little bit less volume on the training side so as you get to the end of December you should be changing your that where your ramp up is and where the focus should be and so if you have a program this should be programmed in for you if you're if you don't you're doing on your own then that's where you just got to really make sure you kind of work backwards and nowhere you're at now come January as we start transition you should be in your bullpen phase right for us our guys have already started to slowly touch the mountain come January but come January is where you should be getting after it on the on the when it comes to pitching the this is where higher intent bullpen's starting to work on what you're trying to whether it be change or implement a new pitch implement a new grip whatever it is you're starting to work on that stuff now to get prepared for the season and so you've done all the other work to get prepare your body for the demands of this and with that now you're starting to now try to execute it so that you have the confidence come February and March when it's time to show it off now with that that doesn't mean you're gonna not do some of the movement work that you've been working on hopefully in the October and November timeframe but here you're just working on still working on like movement patterns arm action things swing stuff, but it's just a small. All capacity compared to the high capacity of work they are doing with the main thing. You know, when it comes to training, nothing is more important than specificities. Specificity is king. That's a big saying in the training world. And so when we get to this timeframe, you need to work on the things that are going to help you actually perform your task or your skill. And so pitchers need to be throwing bullpins. The pitchers need to start throwing or hitting at a higher intent, higher v-low. If they have the access to it, live a b's, things like that. You know, for some of our guys, and I'm kind of taking a step ahead here, but some guys play tournaments in January, whether they should or should, and that's a different topic. But we need to make sure that they're ready for that. And so some of those guys have to start up a little bit earlier. And with that, that comes with the one conversation, two working backwards knowing where our guys need to be. And we take that information and build that into their plan. So if a guy has to be ready mid-January for a tournament, we need to make sure they're built up to that and built up to how many ever pitches that they're going to be asked to throw. So now, a lot of times, all here guys say, "Oh, I have a tournament in two weeks and without having that preparation." And so with that, like work backwards, no where you need to be, when you need to be there, don't let it catch up to you. So kind of now, kind of taking a step back, and as we're talking about January on the training side, this is where we really are transitioning into the power and really focusing on power development. So yeah, we're still lifting and strength, but the volume is a little bit down. We're really focusing on more building, using our strength into power, converting into power, using complexes by going to a heavier lift, right into a something quick and explosive. And when doing that, a lot of our lifts, we try to stay in like the 80 to 85. If you're using RPE, that might be like an 8, 7 to 8 range. Something that's heavy, but you're not grinding through every rep and it's getting slower and slower and slower. We're trying to maintain somewhat close to the same bar speed. And so for us, if you're using one of our programs around that time, you're going to be using a lot of VVT, which is just measuring how fast you're able to move the bar, and that's going to give us feedback on each rep, it also is going to drive intent to what the athlete is doing. But come that January timeframe, end of December, January, depending on when you're at. That's going to be our focus. How quickly can we move a heavy weight, driving it with intent? And for our guys, they're going to be using something to track it. So one, they're being honest with themselves. We see it all the time, like, oh, that was light, but the bar is moving at point four, which in VVT is going to be really slow. So yet, we have to be honest with ourselves, we have to know what we're trying to accomplish and stick to what we're trying to accomplish and try to get our, and make sure our ego stays out of the way. When it comes to our med ball stuff, our plios, like they're going to be more explosive on our med balls, we're trying to let it rip. We're trying to throw it as hard as we can, stuff that's going to be a little bit lighter so that we can get the body moving a little bit faster and integrating that speed. If we want to train specificity, like we talked about earlier, then we have to practice moving fast and throwing it hard. And so when we get to this timeframe, that January, our guys are throwing lighter implements with the med balls. The volume is down because the main throwing should become coming from the baseball. But with that, we're still throwing med balls, but just lighter. This is where we use our two four pound, two and four pound med balls so that guys can really work at a higher speed, higher velocity. And with that, we're tracking it with the radar gun to make sure that they're able to one, monitor fatigue, two, give them something to track and push intent and also push themselves to be better each rep. On the plios side, we're going to be doing more repetitive jumps, like consecutive jumps, depth jumps, things like that where we're having to be explosive, build our ground contact time is slower or quicker, sorry. So it's little time on the ground, being able to repeat it, repeat it, repeat it and focus on how quick and fast you can move through those plios. And it's going to be different variations. It's going to depend on skill level, the athlete training history and just what type of athlete they are. You know, our more fast twitch guys might be something that's a little bit slower, a little more powerful and then our other guys are going to be something we're trying to speed them up a little bit more than they typically are. And so like our more springy guys, we might use like a dumbbell drop jump where they have to drop it, explode out of the bottom, things like that. But we're just ingraineding that pattern so that they're moving faster, more focused on that power side and really starting to put all the work that they did in the early off season months of fall and winter and now displaying it into their speed and power. As far as, and this kind of what we already talked about, but as the throwing intent increases in this January timeframe, we got to make sure the volume of training on the strength side or gym side is going down. You can't just increase, increase, increase on both sides. You know, if you have a cup and you're trying to fill that cup with water or energy or whatever it is, you only have so much energy for each thing that you're trying to fulfill. So from a throwing, sprinting, training, whatever else that you're being asked to do and terms, if you're in school, you have to also have schoolwork and all that. You can only fill your cup so much until you, if you overfill that cup, your body's not going to be able to want to recover to respond to what you're trying to do. And then now you're going to get negative adaptations. Your body's going to adapt to what you put it through. But if your body's not able to respond or recover, then those adaptations aren't going to be good. So when we're trying to work, speed work, and we're not moving as fast as we want or where your body's not, if body's fatigued, so we can't move at a faster rate and you're ingrained in a slower pattern, you're not going to get the results that you're looking for. So remember that you only have so much that you can give. And so understanding where you're at in the off season, that's going to dictate what your focus or how much focus you're putting into one thing. So January timeframe, you're going to be high, high, high on the skill work. And lower volume on the strength side, gym side. The things that are, I shouldn't not going to say less important because they're still very important. It's just understanding how much of what you should be doing. And to that point, early off season, like you're going to be working through some fatigue. You're going to be pushing your body through maybe a little bit more than it can handle. And you're just because your body's going to adapt to that and the adaptations are going to start to come through with that. When it's time to really work at that high speed, you're not trying to work through that fatigue anymore. You've already improved your capacity earlier on. So wherever you're at now in terms of fatigue, like we can't be trying to push through that and push the needle on both ends. So that we're just working slow or not being able to produce power the way we're trying to. With that, I think it's really easy to not be honest with yourself through this time for us. And this is maybe a topic for a different podcast, but like how we use technology and data. But to make sure we're getting the adaptations that we're looking for or also the results we're looking for in terms of each rep, we're using radar guns on the throwing side with all of our reps to make sure if we're supposed to be a certain percentage where we're not getting that, or we're supposed to be around a certain Velo and we're not seeing the why. We got to look into what's going on and why aren't we executing what the number that we're trying to execute, staying with our plios in terms of the strength and speedwork. We're using our force plates to track our athletes and are they making progress in the right direction? Is there something we need to adjust so that we can see these force plate numbers go up? But that stuff's all information that we're taking and tracking. to make sure we're going in the right direction. So we are being more athletic, more explosive during this time. And it's really easy to guess, and for years we guessed, but now having access to the data and follow the data, it gives us instant feedback of where we're at, what we're trying to accomplish. And then more importantly, being able to make changes when we need to make changes. Now the data itself doesn't tell us why something is happening. I would say from a fatigue standpoint, it does. Like if the numbers are really down and you're just pushing it on both ends, sure fatigue is going to kill your numbers both. Beelo wise, power wise, force plate numbers, things like that. But making sure that we are tracking it so we can make the media changes that we need. And as coaches digging into the information and seeing one, where we can make changes to from like a skill side, we look at the actual execution of the movement. And where is it, is it a fatigue thing or something off movement wise. So that's where also camera comes in and be able to slow down and look back at it. So with that kind of just backtracking alone and going through January, this is the time where we're transition from strength into more power-based stuff, higher velocity, med balls, throws, quicker plios, and focusing on just speed. And how quickly we're able to move the weight. Now it's not just pure explosiveness here on that side, we're still working in like a moderately heavy weight, but something that we're able to move relatively quickly without the bar slowing down. During this time also, the throwing intent should be increasing while the training volume should be going down. And yet we're still doing some of our prep work, our pattern work, but it's a very, very small amount of volume, really, really focusing on preparing us for just what we're trying to ingrain once it's time to actually do the skill itself. And remember, especially this time, like if you want to get better at something specificity as key. So if you want to get better at hitting higher Velo, you need to practice hitting higher Velo. If you need to want to throw harder or clean up how you move on the mound, you need to spend more time on the mound. I mean, for our guys come January, we're going to be spending two to three times a week on the mound, not every day is a high intent day, but we, the more time we can spend on the mound, the better. Our pro guys might be spending three to four times a week on the mound and it all varies the volume, the intensity. Obviously, the high days are the high days, but just even those low intent days being able to feel the slope and get a custom of the slope is going to pay off long term. And so the biggest thing is with that is having a radar gun and understanding what days and where you're supposed to be on each day so that you can execute and be where you need to be. And it's really easy on those recovery days to be like, oh, I feel great. So I'm going to push it. And that's how you start to kind of go backwards. So kind of got away from it there for a second, but understanding just have something that tracks it and the days that are supposed to get after it get after and the days are not, you're going to be backing off, got to be honest with yourself and stay to what you're supposed to be doing. So now that kind of brings us into February or month three. Some guys who might not be depending on where you are in the country, you could be your schedule might be pushed back a little bit. You can adjust the months based off of that, right? For us, like I've said, California February is where there are guys pretty much start. I know some places on the East Coast, they're starting closer to April 1st. So you would just adjust the months back from there. So everyone's going to be a little bit different. The timelines the same, which month it starts and it's going to be different for everyone. But for us here come February or month three. This is where high intent bullpins full high intent slash live a bees are starting to happen. Also, February is when our tryouts here start are happening. So guys, it should be worked up to that, ready to go. Same with the hitting side, they should be ready to face breaking balls and off speed. They should be ready for velocity. Either way, they're ready to go on the side. They've been, they did all the work early on to prepare so that they're not just kind of jumping into something that their body or their skills specific isn't ready for. So if you haven't been throwing bullpins and you're going to then jump jump right into live a bees, probably not a good idea. If you haven't been doing certain work in the cage and now you're going to jump in the live, I don't think once a good idea too, I don't think your timing is going to be on on point and you're putting, you're not putting yourself in the best position to succeed. In terms of this is a little bit, it changes every year, but something I think where guys get in trouble is they're not ready for come this time where you're doing a lot more with practicing every day, having to throw more plus, especially guys that are two way guys, having to play the field and throw bullpins and live at bats and they haven't worked up the capacity. So early on the season is when they start, their arms are barking at them. They're going through some pain, things like that because they haven't done the stuff on the front end to get them ready for all this added volume that comes out of nowhere. And I don't think there is a way to actually prepare the body for it in terms of like, not all of a sudden you're going to be able to start just practice at the same speed, plus all the extra throws with, you know, even just like pure infield or first and thirds, run downs, bump plays, things like that. All this extra throws just start happening out really fast because you're trying to prepare for the season. So understanding one, at least you want to be as prepared as you can to, hopefully you've built up some volume to handle it a little bit. I mean, you're going to, there's going to be some extra soreness coming in and that's to be expected. But if you don't even built up any capacity, that's where the injuries happen fast. And that's why in spring training every year and the first month of the season, that's why in the big leagues, that's why injuries are at the highest at that time. Because guys go from little volume to then the higher volume and increases really fast. And that's why even with our pro guys, we try to make sure we ramp them up appropriately so that they're ready to come spring training and not trying to play catch up once they get to spring training. So back to kind of like the main point. So this February or month three, we're high intent live a bees. Hitters are ready for live a bees. But now we're talking the training side is this is going to be a lot more reactive sprint work. It's going to be a lot more continuous jumping. It's going to on the weight room. It is going to be more like speed-based lifts. Like I said earlier in the last part, this is where we use our VBT. Make sure the bars are moving on a certain speed and make sure that there's intent behind our athletes when they're moving the bar. Just kind of going through the motions or trying to move a bar fast without actually having something that measures it and gives you instant feedback can make you one not knowing exactly where you're at to it keeps you or has you guessing. And so that ability for us to give our athletes that instant feedback and have intent and try to okay that point one was especially in the speed phase. That one is one point on this one I'm going to try for one point one whatever that is but it gives in that ability to compete with themselves and I think especially this time of the year in terms of like that month two month three when you should start to feel that competition come in competing with yourself and your bullpen's competing with someone else in terms of bars to be trying to throw the med ball harder than someone else with that and that's why we use the radar guns but come February that's where we got to start really getting to that competition mode on really trying to feel those juices flowing I mean like if you if you're not starting to build up that competition inside during this time and and some guys are able just to turn on when the when the lights turn on and the most important thing is being a able to turn on when the lights turn on but I definitely see our best players turn on in the weight room in terms of competition and competing with themselves tracking everything they're doing but also competing with the guys next to them and not only does it keep it fun especially after a long off season and you're starting to feel the end effects of the offseason, ready to get back out there and start playing, but it also keeps the competition juices flowing, but it also helps our athletes get better and that's what the most important thing is. So, make sure that we are preparing our bodies for the demands that we want to be at come this time. Like, January, we start doing some flying work in the spring work, but to come February, we really should be doing a lot more top-end speed, preparing the body for moving as fast as possible. And with that, I think, just like anything else we've already talked about, the volume in the training has to come down the training of the skill side training is going to increase. And one other thing, as we get towards the end of this time, we start to kind of transition into our in-season training. And that's only for a different podcast that we can get into, but we have to really make sure that we're programming appropriately and training appropriately to prepare the body to withstand the demands of sport. But then also, once we get that time, we got to remember what's the number one goal. Now, this doesn't mean come that month three, that athletes aren't pring something in the weight room, but the VBT is giving us feedback of where those numbers are. So, you know, if our athletes are training the right way and they're able to still move the bar at a fast speed, the speed that we're looking for, they can still see increases in the weight side, but that's not the number one focus during that time. And that doesn't mean that you're not still pushing, and it's just understanding what the focus of the gym should be. And like I already said, it's the speed side, it's the moving the bar fast, it's training the body to move at the speed that we're trying to go out there and for a lack of a better word, replicate, come game time. So, to kind of just give a little review, month one is strength, starting to ramp up the intensity of the throwing, getting ready for the mound in potentially being on the mound. The volume is kind of in the middle because you've already done all the preparation on the other end in the front end, I should say, month two to be more power based higher, higher intent throwing hitting closer to game speed without hitters or live pitching, lowering the volume on the training side, getting ready or just understanding that the focus is now the skill work, the training is the training. And then the last month, we're really hammering the high speed work while and then while the skill work is going to be as close to game like as we can be, and we're trying to just get our body used to competing or competing in the training on the training side for the demands of the game. Now, if you haven't taken these steps or prepared appropriately to this point, the biggest thing I can say is don't just try to jump to where you're at and try to jump ahead. You need to make sure you take the appropriate steps to prepare your body to get to where you're trying to get you need to work backwards and understand, okay, this is where I'm at, this is what this is the time frame I have and where I need to be and then kind of build a plan based off that for our athletes, let's say if they were to come in and start today, they would start to build capacity just for maybe a shorter window and kind of condense each program. Of these factors and condense them into shorter blocks, now I want to say that's ideal, but that's how we would make it work and do what we need to do for athletes. So just understanding where they're at, what they need to do and then work backwards and in their time frame that they have. So I hope your off seasons off to a good start. I hope at the time of this release December 1st, you're kind of online with a line with where the time frame of this little timetable that I've laid out for you. If not, understand where you're at, work backwards and build out a plan if you need help, that's what we're here for, our athletes have a plan set back from our working backwards from February and March March and February February for Trials March for Game 1. And so we have a plan on working backwards and preparing our guys come to start of the season. So with all that, I hope that helps. I hope this gives you at least a outline of how things should be and how you can set up your stuff if you're not training with a coach or training with us. If you have any questions or need help going forward, please make sure to reach out. And if you ever want to reach out to us, you can always find us at RossisTraining.com. If you are on Instagram, you can DM us. But that's all I got for today. I look forward to the next podcast. And if you have any questions or any suggestions on things you want to hear on the podcast, please make sure to reach out. That's it for today, thanks for listening, until next time, bye.