Health Publications

Base player: softball Olympian speaks softly and carries a big bat

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, March, 2004 by Dimity McDowell

fOR ALL THE ACCOLADES Lovieanne Jung has garnered as a softball player--two trips to the Women's College World Series, three All-American titles, a gold medal at the 2003 Pan American Games and at the 2002 World Championships--the 24-year-old is surprisingly modest about her accomplishments. To wit: She hit a home run during her first at-bat as a freshman at California's Fresno State University, a feat she says, "is pretty cool, I guess." Then, the second baseman adds, almost apologetically. "But I didn't even notice the ball was gone until I was halfway between first and second."

When pressed to name a strength of hers, the 5'6" Jung will reluctantly admit that her mental game is top-notch. "I'm the smallest one on our team--every time we line up to take pictures, I'm always in front--so I've taught myself not be intimidated by others' strength and size," she says. "Instead, I just concentrate on what I need to do in practice and games, and then I get it done."

Her incredible focus has helped Jung, who grew up in Fountain Valley, CA, and currently resides in Tucson, AZ, as she prepares for her first Olympic berth. The 18-player roster was selected in September 2003, and, since November 2003, the team has been gathering for just one week a month at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA, to train under the supervision of head coach Mike Candrea and Zach Weatherford, the center's strength and conditioning coordinator. The remainder of the time, the players have been on their own. "It's really hard not being with my teammates," Jung admits. "But as long as I get my workouts in, I know I'll be on track."

SOLO, BUT FAR FROM ALONE

While Lovie, as she's known around the field, is loath to toot her own horn, Carla Garrett, a Tucson-based strength coach Jung has worked with for three years, is not. "What impresses me most about Lovie is that her standards are very high, she works her butt off and is incredibly strong for her size," says Garrett. "At 145 pounds, she can clean 170 pounds and squat 260 pounds--I don't think many guys could do that."

In the weight room, Jung focuses on the fundamentals softball requires: a combination of explosive movement, speed and lateral motion. She lifts three days a week, for about two hours at a time, and concentrates on quick movements like power cleans and snatches. But, to build overall strength, she also rounds out her routine with basic lower- and upper-body moves like squats, calf raises, bicycle crunches and biceps curls. To get her heart in base-stealing shape, Jung runs three times a week: usually one interval session on the treadmill, one workout of gassers (100-yard sprints on the field) and one 45-minute steady state run.

Here, Jung demonstrates three exercises Weatherford has the team run through when they gather in Chula Vista. Calf raises build all-important sprinting muscles; lateral jumps focus on improving explosive strength; and lateral ladders help imprint fancy footwork--and they all come into play when Jung dives toward third for a ground ball, gets up, pivots and launches the ball toward first. And while these moves are beneficial for softball players, they're also useful for cyclists, tennis players, runners and anybody else who wants a little spring in her step (or a little more tone in her lower body).

The softball team will reunite for good at the end of February, when they begin a 24-game tour against college teams. That will be followed by a monthlong training session in April in Italy, where they'll get used the Mediterranean climate they'll experience in Athens in August. When it comes to predicting the team's chances of winning their third Olympic gold in as many tries, Jung is uncharacteristically bold. "We definitely have the talent to win a gold medal. We, and all our opponents, know that," she says. "Now it's just a matter of putting all the pieces together."