Beach-ready in eight weeks: get that body solid in just two months with a special plan designed by major league baseball's best conditioning coach - Summer Special

Men's Fitness, June, 2002 by Matt Fitzgerald

Save for their salaries, most major league ballplayers aren't nearly so different from guys like you. Like you, baseball players want to look good in the summer. The only difference is that they want to look good hitting literal home runs, while you want to look good hitting metaphorical ones.

So we approached Gene Coleman, director of conditioning for the Houston Astros and author of 52-Week Baseball Training, with a question: Could the core conditioning methods he prescribes for Jeff Bagwell and gang during spring training be modified to work for ordinary guys who just want to look great? Without hesitation, the most experienced strength and conditioning coach in baseball replied, "Of course."

The muscle-building and fat-shredding interval-training exercises and workouts that follow come straight from the big leagues, except you won't get paid $5 million a year to do them, and you won't get sent off to the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs if you don't. Perform them faithfully during the next eight weeks, however, and they will improve your chances of being a primetime player on opening day at the beach. Play ball!

THE PLANS

Your spring training program will have either two or three stages, depending on your initial fitness level. If you slacked off during the winter, start with the Total-Body Circuit Workout. Complete it three times a week for four weeks and then move to the Multiset Total-Body Workout.

If you didn't totally hibernate during the winter and made it to the gym regularly, start with the Multiset Total-Body Workout three or four times a week for four weeks, then move to the Four-Day Split Routine for another four weeks. Either way, after eight weeks you'll feel and look better, and not just to yourself.

TOTAL-BODY CIRCUIT

Perform 12-repetition sets of each exercise below, in order. Rest for 45 seconds between exercises. For each movement, choose a resistance that would allow you to do two more reps than you actually perform. Do the circuit twice in the first two weeks and three times in the next two weeks. Take a day off between weight-training sessions. After completing the circuits, do 20 minutes of light cardio, or do the cardio as a separate workout on off days.

MULTISET TOTAL-BODY WORKOUT

Perform three sets of eight to 10 repetitions of the following exercises in this order: forward lunge, modified pull-up, push-up and reach, dumbbell shrug, chopping wood, baling hay, triceps press-down, standing calf raise. Every other workout, replace the forward lunge with the squat and touch, and baling hay with the weighted crunch. Rest for one minute between exercises. For each movement, choose a resistance that would allow you to do two more reps than you actually do in the final set. Complete this workout three or four times a week with a day's rest between each session.

After completing the workout, perform the cardio interval session, or as an alternative, do this as a separate workout on off days. In the first two weeks, do eight sprints; in the next two weeks, do 10.

FOUR-DAY SPLIT ROUTINE

Break up the 10 strength exercises into separate lower-body and upper-body workouts. In the lower-body workout, do the following exercises in this order: forward lunge, squat and touch, chopping wood, standing calf raise, medicine-ball crunch. In the upper-body workout, do the following exercises in this order: push-up and reach, modified pull-up, dumbbell shrug, baling hay, triceps press-down. Perform four sets of six to eight repetitions using a resistance that would allow you to do one rep more than you actually do in the final set. Rest two minutes between sets. Do each workout twice a week.

After completing the routine, perform the cardio interval session, or do it as a separate workout on alternate days. In the first two weeks, do 12 sprints; in the next two weeks, do 15.

THE EXERCISES

1. FORWARD LUNGE (quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes) Stand with your feet placed comfortably apart and your toes pointed forward. Rest a barbell on your upper back (1a). Take a large step forward with your left leg and dip down until your left thigh is parallel to the floor (1b). Push off the floor with your left heel; return to the starting position and repeat. Do a full set with your left leg, then switch to your right leg.

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2. MODIFIED PULL-UP (lats, rhomboids, biceps) Place a barbell on the lowest rung of a squat rack. Lie down underneath the bar and grab on to it with both hands using an underhand grip (2a). Pull your chest up toward the bar, and at the same time draw your pelvis forward so your body forms a straight line from head to toe (2b). Slowly lower yourself back down, but don't let your butt touch the floor.

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3. SQUAT AND TOUCH (quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, hip abductors, hip adductors) Stand on your left foot with your right leg bent just enough to elevate your right foot off the floor (3a). Bend your left knee as you simultaneously bend forward at the waist. Reach down with your right hand and touch the floor in front of you (3b), then stand again without allowing your right foot to touch down at any time. Do a full set with your left leg, then switch to your right leg.