Softball is an intense, exciting sport. Players always need to be on top of their game, have blazing fast reactions, and have the strength and conditioning to endure the whole game.

To become a better softball player, the focus needs to be on improving the upper body, lower body, and core strength, along with improving general flexibility. Many players often make a mistake and develop their upper body without focusing on the core and lower body strength.

To become a complete softball player, you need to develop those areas, and when you do that, you will see an improvement in your game.

So, you might ask yourself two important questions: 1. how do you get in better shape for softball? 2. what are the best exercises for softball players?

We’ve made a list of the best ones you can include in your softball workout. These exercises will help you improve your game and keep you in great shape.

Let’s get into it.

Warming Up

Before starting any conditioning or strength workout, it is absolutely essential that you warm up your body properly. Warming up will not only lower the risk of injuries that you can get while working out, but it will also increase your blood flow and flexibility.

It will also help you feel much less muscle tension compared to starting the workout without warming up. So, we can’t stress this part enough. Even if you don’t have a lot of time on your hands, take a couple of minutes to warm up. Your body will be grateful and you will be much more ready for a workout.

Let’s see some warm-up exercises.

Jogging In Place

Woman Jogging in Place

Jogging in place is a great way to warm up your body. This exercise increases your heart rate, burns fat, and also helps in having a better body posture. You shouldn’t start this exercise at full speed, yet you should go slowly and gradually increase the tempo.

To jog or run in place:

  • Stand up with your body straight and tall.
  • Next, lift your right arm and left foot simultaneously. This is essential to doing this exercise correctly.
  • Now do the same but opposite. Lift the left arm and the right foot.
  • Bring your knees up to your hips.
  • Start slowly until you get the hang of things, then you can increase the speed.

Squats

Woman doing squats

Squats are an excellent exercise that improves your leg strength and also your core strength. Like with the previous exercise, you shouldn’t force yourself right from the start, yet you should gradually lower yourself more and more. If you are confident in your strength, you can also do a variation of squats with dumbbells.

How to do it:

  • Stand straight with your body, with your feet pointed forward and a little wider than your hip-width.
  • Keep your core tight, and lower yourself until you see your tights are perfectly parallel with the ground.
  • Don’t do this fast, as you should feel a slight burn in your tights.
  • Remember to keep your core muscles tight and don’t bend your back.

Jumping Jacks

Jumping Jacks is an exercise that has a ton of health benefits. They increase heart rate, and respiration, reduce stress and are also a great way to increase your bone strength.

This exercise targets a lot of muscle groups, especially the leg muscles. They likewise target arm, chest, and shoulder muscles. But, it is very important that you do them properly, so, let’s see how to do them:

  • You should stand straight, with your legs together closely, and arms at your sides. Both the legs and arms should be straight. Having a stable base is essential to execute this exercise properly.
  • Now jump, bringing the arms up until they nearly touch above your head and extending your legs further from your hip width.
  • Jump again, but this time when you jump, keep your legs together and your arms lowered until they are at your sides.

Tips

  • Jump on a flat surface
  • Inhale when you are starting and exhale when you are expanding your legs. Breathing is very important!
  • If you feel some pain in your joints, stop immediately and consult a doctor.

Arm Circles

Arm circles are one of the best ways to warm up your arms before a strength workout or weight lifting. They work biceps, triceps, and upper body muscles.
Like the rest of the warm-up exercises we’ve mentioned, arm circles can be done anywhere with no equipment necessary.

How to perform arm circles:

  • Stand with your back straight and extend your arms on the sides until they are perfectly parallel to the floor.
  • Arms should be straight, not bend at all, and with your palms facing downward.
  • Rotate the arms backward for at least 20 seconds. If you can, do 30 seconds. Remember to keep your arms straight.
  • Now that you’ve finished rotating your arms backward, it’s time to do the same task but forwards.
  • Do 3 sets.

Tips

  • Combine small and large circles
  • You can also do arm circles while in a lunge position

Strength Exercises

Let’s move on to the strength workout. The exercises listed and explained below will help you get stronger and perform better every time you step on the field.

Not only will your muscles get toned by doing these exercises, you will also feel much better and more confident. These 5 strength exercises will make you prepared for any situation on the field.

Let’s get into it.

Goblet Squat

Working your glutes, quadriceps, and core, the goblet squat is an exercise that will increase your range of motion, such an important thing for softball players. You can do the goblet squat will kettlebells, medicine ball, or dumbbells.

Like with any other exercise, the correct form is vital, so here is how to do goblet squats properly:

  • Hold the kettlebell (or dumbbell) with two hands in front of your chest.
  • Stand straight with your feet forward and just wider than the hip-width (You might remember this when we explained how to do regular squats).
  • Squat low, with your heels not moving from the ground.

Tips

  • If you are using kettlebells, start with a weight of 15 lbs, and over time, when you increase your strength, do it with a larger weight.
  • Don’t let your knees cave in during the squat.

Tru Grit – 15 lbs Kettlebell

Made from the highest quality iron ore, this kettlebell is a perfect workout companion. Great handle, nice finish, and exceptional durability; all that you need from a quality kettlebell.

Rotational Medicine Ball Throws

Woman Throwing a Medicine Ball

The rotational medicine ball throw is an excellent exercise for the core and upper back, which is very important for softball players. This exercise will strengthen your shoulders, arms, legs and increase endurance and speed.

How to perform rotational medicine ball throws:

  • Calculate how much the ball will bounce off the wall and distance yourself from the wall according to the ball bounce. It is usually around 4 feet.
  • Stand in a basic athletic stance. You should align your heels, knees, and shoulders. This is critical if you want to get the most out of this exercise.
  • Now, hold the medicine ball with both hands. Turn back to the opposite side, rotate your hips and throw the ball at the wall hard.
  • When you catch the ball, repeat the process.

Required equipment

  • Medicine Ball

TRX – 10 lbs Medicine Ball

The TRX Medicine Ball is made from durable and anti-scratch outer, making this ball last a long time. The outer also has a pretty good grip, ensuring that there are low chances that the ball falls from your hands.

Single Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

This is a fantastic exercise for working on your shoulders, triceps, and chest. Compared to the regular dumbbell bench press, this version works your core much more.

Another great thing about the single-arm dumbbell bench press is that it works on your shoulder stability.

Let’s learn how to do it:

  • Lie down on a bench with a dumbbell in your one arm. The other arm can be on your stomach.
  • When you set, press the dumbbell straight until your arm is fully extended.
  • Slowly, bring your arm down until it reaches your shoulder. When you finish working out one arm, repeat the same process with the second.

Tips

  • Keep the same grip on the dumbbell as you are bringing your arm down.
  • Don’t move around while on the bench. Keep a stable stance.

Required equipment

  • Dumbbells
  • Bench

Tru Grit – Hex Elite Dumbbells 20 lbs (Pair)

High-quality construction and great comfort make these dumbbells one of the best on the market. Fantastic thing is that their design prohibits them from rolling all over your floor.

Bowflex – 5.1S Stowable Bench

A great addition to any home gym, this Bowflex bench has steel construction and 6 adjustable angles.

Push-ups

Push-ups are an exercise everyone is familiar with, and it’s one of the best strength exercises that doesn’t involve any equipment. There are many variations of this amazing exercise, but we will now explain how to do the regular one. If you are interested in many push-up versions, check them out here.

The regular push-up is great for the chest, shoulders, and triceps, and while everyone knows about the push-ups, it will surprise you to know how many people don’t know how to do them properly. Having a correct form is the most important thing here, so let’s see how to do it:

  • Start in the plank; keep your hands facing forward with your back straight and your core tight.
  • Spread your legs slightly.
  • Start lowering yourself until your elbows are at 90 degrees.
  • Push back into the starting position and repeat the process.

Tips

  • If you can’t do the regular push-ups, try with your knees and hands on the ground at first. This is a great preparation for the regular push-ups.
  • Remember to breathe; inhale as you lower yourself and exhale as you go up.

Lateral Band Walks

This exercise is done with a resistance band and is great for beginners. Strengthening your hips, glutes, and thighs and also improving your hip rotation, the lateral band walks are an exercise you should do often.

Here is how to do this exercise:

  • Place the resistance band wrapped around both legs above your ankles, but just a bit.
  • Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Get into an athletic stance with your knees slightly bent, like you are in a partial squat position.
  • Your upper body must face forward with your arms in front of you.
  • Step with your right foot to the right, and bring your left foot to the right. Maintain the stance while you are walking.
  • Do 8 to 10 reps on the right side, then switch sides.

Required equipment

  • Resistance band

Tru Grit Power Loop Resistance Bands

Each of these resistance bands has a different resistance level, so anyone from beginners to professional athletes can use them. Made from latex rubber, these resistance bands are durable and lightweight.

Chin-Ups

Compared to pull-ups, chin-ups are a much easier exercise for beginners and are a terrific way to strengthen your upper back muscles, along with the biceps. If you know how to do push-ups, chin-ups won’t be a huge issue. The fundamental difference between the two is the grip.

Here’s how to do a chin-up:

  • Grab the bar with an underhand grip.
  • Hands should be a shoulder-width apart.
  • Pull upward until your chin is above the bar.
  • Descend slowly and controlled, then pull up again.

Required equipment

  • Pull-up bar

Perfect Fitness – Multi-Gym Doorway Pull Up Bar

With comfortable handles that allow you to have three grip positions, this bar is a great and affordable addition to your home gym. Certainly one of the best features of this pull-up bar is that it doesn’t require drilling, like so many others do.

Cardio Exercises

Cardio workout is an important part of an athlete’s training routine. While some athletes prefer to work out on a bike or treadmill, others prefer to get their cardio workouts outdoors.

We will include exercises for both indoor and outdoor types of persons.

Running

Woman Running

Well, you knew running was going to be on the list. Running is great for countless things, like improving your cardiovascular system, reducing stress, and building strength.
The key here is if you are not an experienced runner to not push yourself too hard right from the start. Start slowly and over time increase your speed and running distance.

Optional equipment

  • Treadmill

Some people prefer to run on a treadmill more than to go for a run outside. Running on a treadmill is easier on your joints, therefore you are less likely to pick up an injury.

Nautilus T616 

With so many great built-in features to help you in reaching your fitness goal, the Nautilus T616 is a treadmill that is hard not to recommend. Having Bluetooth connectivity, an LCD display, a fan to keep you cool during your run, and an option to track your heart rate, the Nautilus T616 is one amazing treadmill.

Rowing Machine

Having a rowing machine in your home gym is an excellent way to work out most muscles with one machine and build endurance that is much needed for those competitive softball games.

Tips

  • Keep a good posture
  • Breathe
  • Don’t pull too soon

Required equipment

  • Rowing machine

Hydrow Rowing Machine

Hydrow Rowing Machine brings the rowing experience to your home gym and it makes you feel like you are truly rowing in the water. A durable and sleek-looking machine, it also features a 22″ touchscreen to keep you entertained.

Swimming

Swimming is one of the healthiest exercises for your heart, and it also burns calories, increases your circulation, and builds endurance. If you have access to a local swimming pool, be sure to include swimming in your softball workout, because it’s one of the best exercises.

Jump Rope

Jumping rope burns a lot of calories and you can easily do it at home. You just need a jump rope and a bit of free space around you.

Be patient when you are starting with this exercise, as it can be very nerve-wracking to get it done right away. Just make sure that you are turning the rope with your wrists and not your arms.

Mountain Climbers

A great cardio and endurance exercise, mountain climbers will also work your core. Here is how to do mountain climbers:

  • Pretend you are starting a push-up. Your arms should be straight like you are going to do a push-up, but you are going to keep them fixed in one position, approximately shoulder-width apart.
  • Now, start by putting your right knee close to your chest.
  • Do the same thing with your left knee. Quickly change legs.
  • Do at least 30 seconds.

Coordination Exercises

Having good hand-eye coordination is extremely important for softball players. Being able to react quickly without making a mistake often makes a world of difference on the field. You can improve your coordination with a couple of exercises.

Quick Release

This exercise is very simple and all you need for it is a wall and two tennis balls. Stand near a wall with a ball in each hand and bounce it off the wall at the same time. Place your hands just above your head and focus on the bounce of the balls.

Juggling

A very interesting exercise that will develop your hand-eye coordination is juggling with three tennis balls. You can do this exercise anywhere, and doing it before a match for a few minutes is a great way to get the coordination going.

Bounce a softball with your bat

Chances are you’ve seen tennis players endlessly bounce the ball with their racquets. Well, you can do the same with your fastpitch bat and a softball.

Grab the bat slightly over the handle and test yourself how many times can you bounce the ball without it falling.

Softball Exercises Infographic

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a lot of ways to build endurance, increase strength and stamina as a softball player. There are many exercises that you can do in your home gym, and you should pick your favorite ones and include them in your training routine.

Remember that a softball workout should be fun and exciting. Try new exercises and if you have some extra time, add a few more.

The exercises listed above are a great way to improve your softball game and to make sure you are ready for the upcoming season.