Blog ~ Speed Chain :: Chain Training for increased strength and athleticism

The Latest Happenings

▣ Speed Chains Help Athlete Improve Skills

posted by Admin on September 5th, 2010 at 9:56 AM

0 Comments added to this post

I often speak with coaches, parents and players about the Speed Chains, sometimes answering questions regarding them and other times getting feedback from these clients using the Speed Chains. I especially love hearing comments about how the athletes using the Speed Chains are really benefitting from them and I recently talked with a parent who had some exciting news in terms of the improvements he’s seen his son have since using the Chains.

Mike Clements’ son Drew is a 16 year old junior in high school and has been using the Torso Burner, Bat Speed Chain, and Throwing Chain for about 3 weeks now. Drew does 2 sets of every exercise with the Torso Burner in 6 second intervals Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He makes sure to take as much time as he needs to let his breathing return to normal before starting the next set. On Tuesday and Thursday Drew performs 2 sets of each exercise with the Bat Speed Chain and Throwing Chain.

Even after using the Speed Chains for only 3 weeks there are a number of noticeable improvements that Mike shared with me. The first thing they noticed was the improved recovery time between sets of exercises. When Drew first began using the Chains his workouts usually lasted close to an hour and a half but now they are already closer to an hour. This 20 minutes or more which has been shaved off of his workout has come solely from the shorter rest time Drew needs between exercises with the Speed Chains. This is indication that Drew’s ATP energy system is improving due to being specifically targeted and is able to replenish itself at a faster rate than when he first started.

Mike told me that Drew wants to work up to 3 sets on all the exercises but right now he is still pretty exhausted after finishing a workout doing 2 sets. This is a great goal for Drew, but I informed his dad to take it slowly. When training to be a more explosive athlete by training the fast twitch muscle fiber you must be careful not to try and rush into more sets than you are ready for. I’m sure Drew could complete 3 sets if he had to but it would not be beneficial for him to do that at this point because the last set would more than likely not have as high of intensity and quickness in movements as you need when targeting the ATP energy system. In order to move faster, quicker, and more explosively you must train that way and any type of exercise you perform while tired actually keeps you from becoming faster, quicker or more explosive.

One area in which several people have really noticed an improvement in Drew’s game is in his arm strength when long tossing. Mike told me that they long toss after doing the Speed Chain workout and he had never seen Drew throw the ball so hard as he recently did while at about 50 yards away from his throwing partner. Drew even mentioned to his father that the ball seems to have a different feeling when coming out of his hand.

In fact, this is so noticeable that Drew’s high school coach made mention to Mike that he had never seen the ball come out of Drew’s hand like that before. This was after Drew caught a ball in the outfield from about 200 feet away from home plate and fired a ball on a line to the catcher’s knees. According to Mike, Drew had never been able to do that before.

Drew really contributes these improvements to the workouts with the Speed Chains. He specifically mentioned how the Speed Chains seem to really help work on his hip action/rotational movement and this if giving him more power and strength. The Speed Chains are able to not only strengthen an athlete in terms of rotational movements (which are key in the game of baseball) but they also help to synchronize your body in terms of coordination and building more efficient neuromuscular pathways. In other words, part of the reason Drew is able to throw the ball harder and further than he has ever done before is because he is specifically targeting his fast twitch ATP energy system and doing so through sport specific movements.

The Throwing Chain is a great tool to help create a more efficient arm action as well as to strengthen the arm. This coupled with the rotational training by the Torso Burner and Bat Speed Chain are really helping Drew transform himself into a new type of athlete. From what I can tell about Drew though is that he has a tremendous work ethic as he does a Speed Chain workout Monday thru Friday spending at least an hour a day working to make himself a better athlete.

I think this is a terrific example of how the Speed Chains can be a great training aide in helping to create more explosive athletes. I wish the best of luck to Drew as he continues to work hard at reaching his goal of playing collegiate baseball and I hope the Speed Chains are able to continue to help him strive for that ambition.

Until next time,

Brian Oates

▣ "Learning Curve" with the Speed Chains

posted by Admin on August 27th, 2010 at 12:30 AM

0 Comments added to this post

Last weekend I was in Montgomery, Texas at the Texas Baseball Ranch for one of their famous Elite Pitchers Bootcamps. While there I watched a group of high school athletes use the Speed Chains for the first time. They used every Speed Chain device we had at the Ranch including the Torso Burner, Throwing Chain, Bat Speed Chain, Rotator Cuff Speed Chain, and the Running Speed Chain. It’s always good to watch a new group of athletes use the Speed Chains for the first time because several things are obvious and telling about the Speed Chains.

When an athlete first picks up one of the Speed Chain devices and begins to use it there is always a period of time where the user looks uncoordinated despite their athletic ability. Some like to call this a “learning curve.” However, that is an oversimplification because there are a number of things occuring which cause the athlete to look awkward. What is happening is that the body is not prepared for the movements and activity which it is being asked to perform. The coordination required through these specific movements with the Speed Chains has not been developed and the muscles are not firing in the right sequence and/or at the right speed.

This also has to do with the body’s neuromuscular pathways not being as efficient through these movement patterns. Because an athlete is calling on his/her body to move in a new way and at a new speed, the body is unable to perform the movements at as fast a speed or with as much coordination as the athlete does when doing basic things which he has become accustomed to. As your body adjusts to the demands you are requiring of it, the neuromuscular pathways begin to develop, and the muscles, tendons, and ligaments become stronger and more prepared to tackle the demand of using the Speed Chains.

This is the general reason why many workouts call for “muscle confusion.” This is so that the body does not become accustomed to moving in just one way and at one speed. The Speed Chains are in this regard very unique and beneficial. They can be used in a multitude of different movements targeting a wide range of muscle groups. Also, it is such a great tool because when using the Speed Chains an athlete can move similarly to how he will have to in a game.

Unlike most “muscle confusion” exercises which require the athlete to perform random movements and tasks, the Speed Chains allow you to target the sport specific movement patterns required for your sport. Because you normally don’t train through those movements, at least not at a high rate of speed or with very high intensity, the Chains have the ability to transform your body throughout the all-important sport specific movements you rely on during a game.

A key to becoming an elite athlete is constantly asking your body to move faster, and at a higher intensity than you presently can. The Speed Chains can help you do this. Whether you are throwing, hitting, pitching, kicking, or running, the Speed Chains can help improve your neuromuscular pathways, strengthen the right muscles and tendons, and train your body for game-like speed. In this regard, there is nothing else quite like the Speed Chains.

If you have any questions about the Speed Chains, or the types of workouts normally associated with them, please contact me at Brian@Chaintraining.com

Good luck with your workouts and consider adding Speed Chains into your repertoire.

Until next time,

Brian Oates

▣ Speed Chains and Overload Training

posted by Admin on August 11th, 2010 at 10:23 PM

0 Comments added to this post

This week I have been looking into the concept of overload training. For those of you unfamiliar with this concept, the overload principle is defined as the application of any demand or resistance that is greater than those levels normally encountered in daily life. When you stress the body in a manner it's unaccustomed to, the body will adjust to these new demands placed upon it and will react by causing physiological changes in order to handle the stress in a better way the next time it occurs.

These physiological changes are a great thing as athletes can add strength, muscle, endurance, etc. However, as I began to look at overload training in terms of the Speed Chains I soon became perplexed. The overload principle requires additional demands and resistance on an athlete and with this additional load it forces the athlete to move at slower speeds. Usually with overload training, whether you are in the weight room, throwing weighted balls, or are using a running parachute, the athlete working out will sacrifice speed as he is working on the strength aspect of his conditioning.

This is the inherent strength and weakness associated with overload training. It creates strength but because you are not moving as fast during these exercises due to the "overload" it does not train speed or quickness. However, it seems as though when you apply the overload principle to the Speed Chains it fits in some ways into the category of overload training but at the same time it doesn't in other ways. In terms of helping to increase strength by means of requiring the athlete to move additional weight it fits right into the category. But because of the unique design of the Speed Chains it allows the user not to have to deal with the weakness of moving at slower speeds.

The Speed Chains have a variable resistance design in which the chain links closest to the user are small and light and continually become slightly bigger and heavier as you move toward the end of the chain. This allows the athlete using the Speed Chain to reach top speed soon after beginning the exercise since he is only moving the small chain before feeling the weight of the bigger, heavier chain links. It is a unique feeling and one that I have yet to duplicate while using any other equipment.

The fact that athletes are able to move close to their top speeds while still gaining the strength benefits of overload training makes the Speed Chains a great tool for all athletes in which speed and strength is a must (I believe that includes the majority of athletes). The Speed Chains are similar to overload training in that they have the ability to be used through sport specific movements. Whether the athlete is trying to enhance the speed or strength of their arms, legs, or torso the Speed Chains are able to do just that.

The definition of power is speed plus strength. In most cases, exercises are inherently strength based or inherently speed based. This requires athletes to divide their time between focusing on strength (overload training) or speed (essentially underload training) in order to try and get the right balance of the two to create more power. Speed Chains make training for power much easier. Because Speed Chains allow athletes to work at extremely high rates of speed while moving against heavy resistance, it is in fact a power training device. Not many pieces of workout equipment can truthfully claim that.

I encourage you to check out our videos of the different Speed Chains so you can see for yourself how the Speed Chains do not solely fit into the category of overload training but are unique in and of themselves.

Until next time,

Brian Oates

▣ Oceanside High School and Speed Chains

posted by Admin on July 30th, 2010 at 8:54 AM

0 Comments added to this post

I spoke with Dave Barrett, the coach at Oceanside High School in Oceanside, California, as he recently purchased Speed Chains to include in his program's off-season workouts. Coach Barrett has multiple sets of the Torso Burner Speed Chains as well as the Kicking Chains for his athletes to use during workouts. He informed me that the kids love working with the chains and that he first bought the chains to help create a variety in his workouts. Coach Barrett's top concern during off-season training is to help his athletes avoid plateaus in terms of training. One of the top benefits in Coach Barrett's mind regarding the Speed Chains is that its uniqueness helps to avoid the stagnation that accompanies many workout programs.

The Oceanside High School off-season program consists of 5 workouts a week during which they use the Speed Chains every other day (3 times a week). Coach Barrett creates a number of stations and then moves his players through those stations in circuits. Each station has 3 players assigned to it so that they can get adequate rest time between exercises. Coach Barrett is concerned with targeting the right energy system used in baseball, so all the activities they do are 8 seconds in duration. This way his players can focus on moving as fast and explosive as possible. The Speed Chains fit into this type of training perfectly as the purpose of the Speed Chains is to train players to be quicker and more powerful by targeting the fast twitch energy system, the same one called upon playing baseball.

Coach Barrett also has his athletes use the Speed Chains in a couple of different ways. At times he wants his players to focus on their acceleration so he has them go from standing still as he begins the timer forcing his guys to go from stop to full speed as quickly as possible. However, because Coach Barrett wants to constantly change the feeling of the workout, particularly to prevent players from reaching a plateau, he also will have his guys start moving the chains and getting some momentum before he starts the timer. This way when the exercise begins they are able to get to top speed quicker than if they were standing still, which helps to teach their body to move faster than it normally could. This would be comparable to having a track athlete jog up to the starting line as the race began as opposed to beginning in the blocks. The added momentum and speed will be a tremendous help in reaching top speed sooner.

During our discussion, Coach Barrett informed me that previously his program had spent a lot of time doing weight room activities and that he felt the guys in his program had built strength. Although he considers weight room exercises beneficial he was really pleased with the Speed Chains because of how much more explosive the training is for his athletes. The Speed Chains have a different feel than the weight room in that the intensity required by the chains cannot be duplicated. Unlike the weight room Speed Chains didn't consistently make his players sore and tired but instead he thought the right way to describe it was it made them depleted. What Coach Barrett meant by this is that the Speed Chains rely on your ATP energy system and after doing a workout with the Chains athletes are not totally gassed in the traditional sense, they just feel as though all of their energy is gone. It's truly a unique feeling and one that lets you know you are doing something right by training with the Speed Chains.

During our discussions Coach Barrett brought up a point which I thought was very wise. He said that as a high school coach one of his biggest enemies is time. He has a very limited amount of time in which he can work with his athletes and so he must pick the VERY best exercises which will give him the most return. Sure, there are a number of good exercises that have some benefit to them but "good" does not suffice. Coach Barrett is constantly looking for new ways to push his athletes while only settling for the very best exercises. The Speed Chains have made passed this test in Coach Barrett's mind and they are a critical part in his off-season conditioning program.

Because Speed Chains are unique, the intensity of the workout is unrivaled, and they are sport specific to training for baseball, Coach Barrett considers Speed Chains one of the VERY BEST exercises he can have his athletes perform.

Check out our videos and see for yourself why Coach Barrett and Oceanside High School are big believers in the Speed Chains.

Until next time,

Brian Oates

▣ Versatility of the Speed Chains

posted by Admin on June 29th, 2010 at 1:25 PM

0 Comments added to this post

On a number of occasions during previous blogs I have mentioned the versatility of the Speed Chains as one of its greatest attributes. So I decided I wanted to address this positive aspect of the Speed Chains in my article today.

Workout equipment is often limited in that most have very narrow applications in which they can be used while providing only a small range of benefits to the user. Athletes in certain sports usually have specific exercises they do because it best prepares their body for the particular movements of their sport. However, these same exercises often do not have much practical use for athletes of other sports since the demands of other games are often different and the exercise has such a narrow objective.

Speed Chains do not have this problem. Because Speed Chains are a functional strength training tool and require the athlete to recruit many muscles working in tandem to perform the exercise, it has benefits to athletes in all sports. This forced integration of many muscles and body parts to perform an activity makes it far more beneficial than an exercise which targets a single muscle in isolation. As different muscle groups work together it teaches athletes better coordination and creates more efficient neuro-muscular pathways. This will result in creating a quicker, more explosive and athletic player.

Another reason the Speed Chains are applicable to athletes of all sports is due to the fact that the user is able to target whichever energy system is used by his sport. If the sport consists of explosive movements and short duration activities relying on the ATP Energy System then the athlete can specifically target this system by training in 5-12 second exercises. Likewise, if the athlete's sport is based more on endurance and the Oxidative Energy System the Speed Chains can be used for longer durations such as 30 seconds.

While the Speed Chains do offer more specialized pieces of equipment such as the Throwing and Rotator Cuff chains for those athletes whose sports necessitate arm strength, the Torso Burner and Kicking Chains are applicable to nearly every athlete across the board. These two products target the most important aspects of athleticism: strengthening the torso which connects and controls the upper and lower body; and creating a more explosive lower body.

The Torso Burner has ma

ny different uses but the basic two benefits of using it is for core strengthening and rotational power. The core strengthening involved in the Torso Burner is nothing like traditional abdominal work such as crunches. Instead, the Torso Burner creates eccentric loading of the core at high speeds. In other words, the athlete is moving his body as fast as he can and the entire time the core is engaged, creating functional strength. This type of high speed exercise where the entire body is involved creates better coordination and more efficient neuro-muscular pathways as the athlete is teaching himself to move as fast as he can. If an athlete can build superior strength through the torso, then he will be able to better control his body as he asks it to perform the many different movements associated with the sport being played.

The Kicking Chain is very similar in terms of what it can do for athleticism. The Kicking Chain is able to target the hips, quadriceps, and hamstrings in fast, explosive movements enabling the athlete to learn how to move their lower half more efficiently while simultaneously strengthening it. All athletes can benefit from improving the speed and strength of their lower half.

While both the Torso Burner and Kicking Chains have applicability to general athleticism, they can also be used to target specific

movements from different sports. I have seen baseball coaches take the Torso Burner and have a hitter replicate the exact movement of his swing with it. Similarly, golf instructors are able to take a golfer and have him emulate his swing as well. The Kicking Chain can be used by sprinters to work on the speed of their legs or used by hurdlers to work on the hip movement necessary to propel their legs over the hurdle.

This applicability to both general athleticism and sport specific skills is why the Speed Chains have been used by athletes in the NFL, MLB, PGA, U.S.A Track and Field, and professional tennis. No matter your sport, the Speed Chains will allow you to train harder, faster, more functionally, and in more dimensions than any one piece of workout equipment you have ever used.

Check out our videos on the different Speed Chains today and see why athletes so enthusiastically endorse the products!

Until next time,

Brian Oates

Brian@Chaintraining.com

▣ Speed Chains: Superior to Medicine Balls

posted by Admin on June 17th, 2010 at 4:00 PM

0 Comments added to this post

I have had a number of people question why they should purchase the Torso Burner Speed Chain when they are already extensively using medicine balls to train the core and rotational movements. Because I have had to answer this question on a number of occasions I decided to go into detail as to how the Torso Burner is different (and superior) to medicine balls.

Now don't get me wrong, medicine balls are great tools and I have used them for years in a multitude of functions. Training with medicine balls is far superior to training without any type of aid but when compared with the Speed Chains they are inferior in a number of ways.

Medicine balls can be used to strengthen the core but most core exercises using the med balls are not explosive and therefore do not train the core for the right type of activities needed when playing sports. Many coaches and trainers are beginning to realize this shortcoming and have started training their athletes by having them perform med ball throws, which are more explosive. These throws are much better at training for explosive and rotational movements but when compared to the Torso Burner Speed Chain it still falls short.

One weakness with the medicine ball is the fact that it is a constant weight throughout the entire range of motion. This means that the athlete's first movement will most likely be much slower than game speed since he/she is having to start the momentum of the weight of the ball as well as their own body. The Speed Chains do not have this same problem due to the small, light-weight chains closest to the athlete which allow for the athlete to start the movement without any significant weight to slow him/her down. The athlete will not feel the weight of the chains until they have already reached top speed which helps to emulate game speed from the start of any exercise. This is the genius behind the variable resistance chain, where the links progressively get larger and heavier as you move further away from the athlete.

Another problem with medicine ball throws is that as the athlete reaches the release point for the throw and the ball exits his/her hands, any movement after this point is wasted. Because the weighted instrument has been released the body immediately begins to decelerate itself. Therefore the athlete is not training through the end of the range of motion. With the Speed Chains the weight is never released which allows the user to move the weight throughout the entire range of motion of the exercise allowing all the muscles involved in the movement to be trained and strengthened.

When you train your athletes via medicine ball throws you are training in only one direction. One set of muscles are acting as the agonist, as they repeatedly generate the specific movement, while another set of muscles act as the antagonist, they act in opposition to the specific movement. Over time, as an athlete performs the same med ball throwing exercise over and over again the agonist muscles begin to get much stronger than the antagonist muscles. Many injuries occur due to this type of muscle imbalance.

The obvious solution to this problem is to have athletes perform the drills to their non-dominate sides, in other words the reverse of how they normal perform the activity. This does help to strengthen the antagonist muscles as they are now acting as the agonist but there are two main problems with this solution. For one, most athletes are going to be far less explosive to their non-dominant or reverse side. This is partly due to coordination issues but nonetheless the result ends up being that the usual antagonist muscles never get the work they truly need to catch up in strength to the muscles usually acting as the agonist. The second problem stems from the first. Because athletes feel awkward and are much less explosive from their reverse positions they are likely to do less sets and reps from this side which only exasperates the problem.

The Torso Burner Speed Chain however does not encounter this problem. The Torso Burner forces the user to constantly redirect the movement which causes the agonist and antagonist muscles to continuously reverse roles. Plus this redirection of force and momentum of movement by the athlete is extremely important to athletes as they often must reverse their course of direction at a moments notice. But the best part of the redirection of the Torso Burner is that it allows for the users' muscles to once again become rebalanced which leads to an overall healthier athlete.

The Speed Chains by design, allow for a user to accelerate immediately from a still position without much resistance and reach top speed before hitting the heavy resistance of the chains and then as soon as the athlete is at a high speed he/she must reverse course and work even harder in the opposite direction against the chains which are now moving.

The Speed Chains are also better sport specific workout devices than a medicine ball. If you want to work on a more powerful swing, be it baseball or golf, you can use the chains through the same stance as you would in a game and better repeat the feel of your actual swing. When using a medicine ball it is very difficult to repeat the feel of a game like swing.

Even if your goal is purely to target the core in order to strengthen it the Speed Chains are superior. The Torso Burner forces an eccentric loading of the core while your extremities are moving at high speeds around it. In other words, your core is locked in and engaged while your body is moving at high speeds. This type of core strengthening is more functional than that of doing crunches or other abs while holding a medicine ball.

No matter what you are trying to accomplish with your training, whether it is improving rotational power or quickness or purely strengthening the core, the Torso Burner Speed Chain provides a much better and more efficient workout that will pay dividends in your performance on the field.

Until next time,

Brian Oates

Brian@Chaintraining.com

▣ Muscle Imbalance in Athletes

posted by Admin on June 4th, 2010 at 8:51 AM

2 Comments added to this post

Many sports require an athlete to repeat the same motion or movement time and time again which can cause the athlete's body to become unbalanced. Whether the athlete is throwing a baseball, softball, shot-put, or discus, or he is swinging a bat, golf club, or tennis racket, these activities force the athlete to use the same muscles through the same range of motion numerous times. This repetitive use by the same muscle groups causes certain muscles to become much stronger than their opposing muscles and according to Mark Verstegen, founder of Athletes Performance, "About 65% of injuries come from overuse, which is repetitive use of joints that are rendered dysfunctional by muscular imbalances."

Opposing muscles and muscle groups are supposed to work together. As they work together certain muscles work as agonist while others are the antagonist. The agonist muscles initiates and causes a specific movement while the antagonist muscles act in opposition to the specific movement being created. When a sport requires an athlete to repeat the same movement, the agonist muscles generating the movement eventually become much stronger than the antagonist muscle which is what can cause trouble and eventually injury.

The majority of athletes, even those at the elite levels, never take much time to address this imbalance in strength throughout their body. That said, muscle imbalance is beginning to become a larger focal point for more athletes as they try and stay off the disabled list. For example, Tiger Woods after every round of golf he plays adds up the total number of swings he took that day and heads into the clubhouse to take that number of swings left handed (he is right handed). This is Tiger's way of keeping his body balanced out as he is now using his antagonist muscles as agonist and his agonist muscles as antagonists. Other types of players who are naturally balanced out better than most are switch hitters in baseball. Every time a hitter swings left handed he is balancing out his body from his right handed swings.

The simplest way to avoid muscle imbalance is to choose exercises that strengthen opposing muscle groups. There are many recommendations on which exercises are the best suited to rebalance an athlete's muscles. They range from medicine balls to certain lifts in the weight room. The problem with most of these recommended exercises is that although they strengthen the weaker antagonist muscle group, the exercise still does not allow the muscles to work together as you strengthen it since usually the weaker muscle is being isolated. The ideal way to fix an imbalance in the body is to force the muscles to work together in their opposite roles, like a switch hitter and Tiger Woods do.

There are very few strength training exercises which allow an athlete to work the same muscle groups as he does when in competition while strengthening both the agonist and antagonist muscle groups. However, the Speed Chains are able to do just that. For example, if you are a rotational athlete, such as a pitcher, hitter, or golfer, you often have imbalance problems with your core, such as obliques, as well as your lower back. The muscles on one side of your torso naturally become much stronger than those on the other side as the stronger side repeatedly initiates the rotational movement.

The Torso Burner Speed Chain is able to rebalance the torso as it forces the entire core to work together as you perform the many rotational and side to side exercises with it. As you move left with the Torso Burner the left side of the torso becomes the agonist with the right side as the antagonist. But as you reach the end of the range of motion and redirect the movement back to the right your right side becomes the agonist and the left side the antagonist. This will happen upwards of 20 times in a mere 6 seconds.

The constant redirection involving the unique variable resistance of the chains is what makes the Torso Burner such a phenomenal tool for rebalancing the mid-section in athletes. The chains, as they begin to move during the exercise, creates a load on the athlete as they are trying to quickly redirect the energy of the chains.

The Torso Burner allows for equally explosive movements to be made both to the left and right which will, over time, rebalance an athlete's mid-section, protecting them from the many oblique and back injuries commonly associated with rotational athletes.

Other chain exercises, such as the throwing chain, rotator cuff chain, and kicking chain can all be used to train opposing muscle groups thereby creating more balance throughout an athlete's body. For example, the Throwing Speed Chain can be used to balance out the back of the shoulder with the front and the Kicking Chain can be used to strengthen the hamstrings to help balance out the strength of the quadriceps.

Without a doubt, balance is extremely important in keeping athletes healthy and at their top playing condition. The Speed Chains are able to correct this problem as it allows users to continue using the muscle groups together while switching which groups are the agonist and antagonist.

Click here to check out videos of the Speed Chains!

Until next time,

Brian Oates

Brian@Chaintraining.com

▣ Blend Speed Chains into Hitting Drills

posted by Admin on May 12th, 2010 at 9:22 AM

0 Comments added to this post

I have already discussed many of the benefits Speed Chains can have for athletes of all ages and levels. They can train the right energy system, develop more efficient neuromuscular pathways, increase sport specific functional strength, as well as improve an athlete's speed and power. However, most baseball Speed Chain users are doing the chains before or after practice as purely a conditioning tool, which is great, but is not the only way it can be used. The Torso Burner and Bat Speed Chains can both be utilized to specifically improve a baseball players' swing, especially when incorporated into a practice for hitters.

What I'm suggesting to baseball coaches and players is to integrate the Speed Chains as a station between other hitting stations. Mix in the Torso Burner after tee work and before soft toss etc. By blending the Speed Chains in with hitting stations it will help hitters take the power and explosive movements created by the chains and translate it into their actual swings. A number of Speed Chain users throughout the nation have been utilizing the chains in this fashion and the results are nothing short of extraordinary. The power and bat speed in these hitters have increased tremendously and many of the players are having career years in both slugging percentage as well as batting average.

If you plan on blending the Torso Burner Speed Chain into hitting drills I would suggest you chose specific exercises with it that most replicate the movement made by hitters. A few that are especially good with the Torso Burner are: Take the TB and put it across your back like a squat bar. Now assume your hitting stance and work on exploding your hips like you are turning on an inside fastball. This will really emphasize your hip movement and lower half. Another that is great to blend with hitting drills is to hold the TB against your stomach right below the sternum. Once again assume a hitting stance and take a swing just like you would if you had a bat in your hand. You can swing once at a time or you can rapid fire the movement and repeat it over and over for a timed number of seconds. Click here to watch nationally renowned hitting instructor Perry Husband talk in detail about these two exercises.

The Bat Speed Chain can obviously be used in the same fashion as the Torso Burner to improve hitting as well. There are two basic drills a player can use the Bat Speed Chain in to help improve a swing. The first involves short fast movements right through the plane where contact between the bat and ball is made. By oscillating through this zone as fast as possible you can specifically target hand speed and in turn bat speed. The second basic use of the Bat Speed Chain are large powerful movements where the main object is to swing as hard as he can so the chain is moved as much as possible. The hitter should try and move as much chain as fast as he can in both the direction of their swing and the opposite way as well to help balance out the movement. Click here to watch the Bat Speed Chain being used in these two types of movements.

Although some of you may have already been using these drills with the Speed Chains it will have a different impact on hitters when you begin to blend them in with hitting drills as opposed to just performing them before or after practice. By having an athlete hit then use Speed Chains, hit then use Speed Chains, hit then use Speed Chains and continuing this cycle, he will start to incorporate the movement of the Speed Chains into his swing. This has led to significant improvements in a number of athletes throughout the country as power numbers have climbed due to the increased power the athlete develops into his swing.

Batting averages have increased as well because the hitter can be more explosive and quicker to the ball. This allows him to wait longer to react to a pitch thereby getting beat less often and giving himself more time to read the pitch. I highly recommend you try blending the Speed Chains into hitting as soon as possible because the results might just surprise you.

If you have any questions or comments about Speed Chain blending please contact me at Brian@Chaintraining.com or (936) 661-8302.

Until next time,

Brian Oates

▣ Speed Chains at the Upper Deck Training Center

posted by Admin on April 21st, 2010 at 4:32 PM

0 Comments added to this post

The Upper Deck Training Center is a baseball academy in Beckley, West Virginia, owned by Tim Epling. Tim has an extensive baseball background as he pitched for national powerhouse North Carolina Methodist College, was a professional baseball umpire, and has been a high school and college head coach. In the fall of 2008, Tim founded his baseball/softball academy to bring his expertise and unique approach to Southern West Virginia. Before this past off-season workouts began, Tim purchased the Torso Burner and Bat Speed Chains. The results he shared with me are a testament to how the Speed Chains can be of specific use to a baseball/softball player.

During the off-season, Tim implemented the Speed Chains into the conditioning program 3 days a week. The athletes at the Upper Deck Training Center use the Speed Chains in 5 to 10 second intervals thereby working the explosive ATP energy system used by baseball/softball athletes. The athletes use the Torso Burner in side to side exercises, to strengthen the core as well as to train for the rotational demands of the game of baseball/softball; they perform up and down shoulder movements to help strengthen their arms and shoulders; the players do explosive bicep curl exercises to train the arms; and they use the Torso Burner behind their body moving it up and down to strengthen their scapula and back muscles.

In addition to using the Speed Chains as part of his conditioning program, Tim also incorporated them into the warm up. When using the chains in the warm up, the focus is not on moving as fast and hard as possible but to wake up the body and get it prepared for the workout ahead. This is also the primary method in which Tim used the Bat Speed Chain. By using the Bat Speed Chain prior to hitting, the baseball/softball players are able to get loose and warm throughout the range of motion they will soon be using. Because the Bat Speed Chain allows for the same range of motion at the same speed as hitting, it is one of the best ways to prepare for the act of hitting.

Since using the Speed Chains at the Upper Deck Training Center, Tim has noticed drastic power increases in the players he trains. Tim says, "I have a couple of girls who have never hit a homerun in their life who now have 6 or 7." Although Tim talked at length about the obvious improvement the Speed Chains made with the girls, his own son is an example of how incorporating chains into a baseball specific regimen can be of great benefit. Tim's son Kendrick, is hitting well over .600 in his senior season of high school, which is double what his batting average was during the previous two seasons. Even Tim couldn't contain his astonishment as he described several balls Kendrick hit this season which have been hit harder and gone further than any he had ever seen hit by his son.

As our conversation about the Speed Chains came to a close, Tim said, "I absolutely love the Speed Chains, I think they have made a huge difference in our training which is obvious by the power they have created in our athletes." Hearing what Tim had to say and the results his athletes are having is even more evidence of how well the Speed Chains are able to prepare athletes for their specific sport, in this case softball and baseball.

I want to thank Tim Epling for taking the time to visit with me regarding the Speed Chains as I always love to hear people's opinion of our products. If you are in the Beckley, WV area check out the Upper Deck Training Center website (http://www.upperdeckwv.com). Get in and see the academy and try out the Speed Chains. You won't be sorry!

Click here to check out our videos of the Torso Burner and Bat Speed Chain to see exactly what kind of equipment Tim is using.

Until next time,

Brian Oates

Brian@chaintraining.com

▣ Speed-Strength Training

posted by Admin on April 15th, 2010 at 10:45 AM

1 Comment added to this post

I was recently doing some research for a new conditioning product used for quick, explosive movements and the possible benefits which can be gained from using it. This soon turned into a journey to find out more about the premise behind speed-strength training and what is necessary to enhance an athlete's speed, quickness, and strength. The more I read regarding speed-strength training, the more the information reminded me of Speed Chains in terms of how they work and what they require the user to do while working out with them.

First, let me define speed-strength. A scientific definition of speed-strength describes it as the ability of the neuromuscular system to produce the greatest possible impulse in the shortest possible time. The impulse is the message the brain sends to the muscles telling it to contract, resulting in a movement or action. This type of training is where there is more contribution from acceleration than force and is measured by the ability to produce force as quickly as possible. As an athlete this is extremely important as one is often measured by their ability to go from a still position to top speed. Examples: Swinging a bat, throwing a pitch, a football player getting off the line of scrimmage, a 100 meter dash, stealing a base, etc.

Here is some of the information I found:

The type of movements ideal for developing speed-strength are faster tempo exercises free of the need to decelerate an object. Whenever you place a load on your body, the brain immediately recognizes the heavier weight and a certain amount of thought and energy is diverted from the task at hand to focus on decelerating the load. This causes the athlete to fail in reaching their top speed. Speed-strength training focuses more on speed of movement rather than on the amount of resistance. In order to be fast, or move fast, you must train fast. This kind of training cannot be done effectively with weights because the load of the weights slows an athlete's movements, not allowing him to become faster.

Now lets take this information and look at the Speed Chains. The Speed Chains are a high speed exercise that does not ask the athlete to decelerate it at any point. The great part about the chains is that it is able to decelerate itself as the athlete changes direction. As the Speed Chain user begins to move a new direction the energy of the movement travels the length of the chains and the deceleration happens at the very end links. This allows for somebody using the Torso Burner to go as hard and as fast as he/she possibly can without having to slow down before moving the opposite direction.

Yes, the Speed Chains do offer a load for the user to move against but this does not interfere with the speed of the movement. The Speed Chains variable resistance in the form of increasing size of the chain links allow for more speed and quicker movements. Since the lightest chains are closest to the athlete as he/she performs an exercise, there is a high rate of acceleration as the athlete explodes from a still position to top speed. This of course is the key to increasing an athlete's ability to move faster, quicker, and improve reaction time.

The Speed Chains are considered an innovative product because as the athlete moves at high speeds he/she is able to feel the weight of the larger links at the end of the chain which increases strength and in turn power. This is the definition of speed-strength training. No other device on the market can blend the speed of the Speed Chains along with the strength gained from working against the variable resistance of the chain. It truly makes the Speed Chains a one-of-a-kind product.

Check out our videos and see how instructors all over the nation are using them to train for hitting, pitching, running, a number of track and field events, as well as general conditioning. You will work harder and faster than you have ever done before!

Until next time,

Brian Oates

Brian@chaintraining.com

More entries...

The Latest Happenings

Blog Filter