How to Increase Bat Speed
With the Power Hip Trainer

Most bat speed training concentrates on the upper body.

The problem is that there is no leverage in the upper body, which is why bat speed increase is usually modest. Research conducted by a baseball team using the Power Hip Trainer found that their players added 10-15 mph to their bat speed after increasing their hip speed with the Power Hip Trainer. Here are a few of the things they found that helped their players.

1. Don't take too wide a stance. This is mostly a problem with taller players. They are used to taking a wide stance at the plate to brace their lower body so that they can swing the bat with just their upper body. They can get away with this in high school (17 and older) because of their mass. Unfortunately, unless they learn to use their legs and hips, they won't make it to the majors.

When the legs are far apart, it is not possible to use them to aggressively turn the hips. It is basically a passive position.

When using the Power Hip Trainer, make sure one foot is on the S on SOMAX and the other foot is on the X. The word SOMAX is printed in large letters on the base.

2. Keep your eyes and head facing forward. When their hips get tired, players tend to try to turn their hips by turning their head. Logically this does not make sense, but they do it anyway. To keep your head still, put a baseball on the ground about six feet in front of you and keep your eyes and head glued to the ball while doing all the drills. Or, better yet, do the drills in front of a mirror, to make sure you keep your eyes and head facing straight ahead.

3. Players often have problems with the separation drills where you put your arms out to the side to keep your shoulders still and at the same time turn your hips. This separation is a vital component to increasing bat speed. To make sure you are not waving your arms or turning your shoulders, do this drill in front of a mirror. If you find you are still turning your shoulders, have someone stand behind you and place their hands on your shoulders to prevent them from turning.

4. The first week you do the drills, it is good to follow the pace in the DVD. But the second week and going forward, it is a good idea to pick up the pace. Remember, the DVD was made for athletes 17-70 years of age. If you are in your 20's or 30's, you can pick up the pace--as long as your form does not get sloppy.

5. Many players feel that they need to mimic their swing by stepping forward or shifting their hips in the direction they are turning. Actually, this is not a good idea. It is not necessary to shift your weight toward the ball. Shifting your weight does not increase bat speed. It FEELS like it does, but it does not. In fact, for every fraction of a second you shift, you lose a fraction of a second turning. Hip speed, and not hip shift, is what produces bat speed. So when you are doing the drills, be sure to keep shifting to a minimum and concentrate on turning your hips. Remember, the Power Hip Trainer is not teaching you how to bat--it is teaching you how to turn your hips faster.

6. Be sure to do the hip and trunk strength tests at www.hiptest.info before you start. Your hips should be at least three times stronger than your trunk. After you have worked out the first week on your Power Hip Trainer, have someone test your hip strength again. You should see a big improvement.

7. The Power Hip Trainer builds strength by fatigue. Weights build strength by tearing muscle fibers. You bulk up with weights--but you also create scar tissue which restricts your flexibility. This can reduce your base speed and shorten your career.

The safe way to build strength is through fatigue. Your brain recruits only about 5% of the 20-50,000 muscle fibers in each hip muscle because there is no natural resistance to hip rotation. Using the resistance of the Power Hip Trainer, you fatigue that 5% and your brain will immediately recruit another 5%--PROVIDING YOU DON'T SLACK OFF WHEN YOU GET TIRED. This means you need to turn hard and fast enough with each and every drill so that you are tired and have to FORCE your hips to turn. No fatigue = no improvement.

8. Make sure you exhale at the BEGINNING of every turn. Players often hold their breath and then exhale at the end of the turn. Exhaling at the beginning will make your turns more explosive and powerful. Holding your breath? It just makes you tense and weak.

9. Some players worry that the spring is too weak. Get over it. The spring is strong enough for one player to increase his long ball from 400 to 480. Players on a team increased their bat speed 10-15 mph.

10. Some players also feel that working out every day is better than every other day. WRONG AGAIN. The Power Hip Trainer is basically training your brain--not your muscles. Fast hip rotation is a skill--not a feat of strength. It is best to work out every other day to let things percolate in your brain and also allow you to come to each workout fresh and eager to learn.

11. Follow the weekly tips we email to you. They will help you keep on track.

12. If you are training a team on multiple hip trainers at once, be sure to videotape their workouts. The next workout you can point out players who are coasting, turning their heads, turning their shoulders, and are out of sync with everyone else. Getting them all turning together (except for the speed turns) will help team cohesion.

13. Train throughout the season. The Power Hip Trainer is not just for the off-season or spring training. It should be used three times a week year round. Fast hip rotation is the foundation for fast bat speed and throwing velocity. Fast hips are not natural. Only the best players have learned to rotate their hips fast, and usually they are completely unaware of it. Fast hips are a habit you want to reinforce year round--unless you want to get beaten by someone with faster hips.

14. Shorts made of slick fabric make it hard for the hip cinch to grab the hips. It is better to use some shorts or pants made with rough fabric--like denim.

15. To get the most out of your Power Hip Trainer, you want to make sure you have at least 45 degrees of internal hip rotation on both hips. You can learn how to measure this by going to the bottom of the home page at www.swing-speed.com or www.hiptest.info If you don't have at least 45 degrees of internal hip rotation, you need our Microfiber Reduction program.