Honestly I would use a medicine ball because your hips are the power source for any type of rotation force generated by the body and any good trainer worth his salt will tell you the same thing medicine ball throws across the body on both sides work the hips, work the hips, work the hips, and guess what work the hips. But let me break it down for you
First a batting swing takes place in the transverse plane so when one side of your body is pushing the other side is pulling just keep that in mind.
The power of a batting swing does not start in the shoulders, it comes from the hips so lets break those muscles down first:
Illiopsoas; (helps rotate your stomach)
Sartorius; (tilts the hips for position of body during the swing)
Gluteus Maximus; (also tilts the hips for position of the body)
Gluteus medius; (used for both external and internal hip rotation)
Gluteus minimus; (hip flexion and internal rotation pretty much your)
all external rotators (these muscles aid in the rotation phase when your hips are generating power from the ground)
Gemellus Superior
Gemellus inferior
Piriformis
Obturator Externus
Obturator Internus
Quadratus Femoris
Semi Tendinosus; (all depends on the handedness of the batter but used as a synergist)
TFL (Tensor Fascia Latae); Also used as a synergist
After theses muscles fire the energy they produce from the rotation of the hips depending on the handedness of the batter depends on which side of the body's muscle will be agonists and antagonists. With that being said the muscles in the torsoe are also working synergistically with the hips to increase the force of the swing. The muscles firing in the torsoe are as follows
Serratus anterior; (stabilization)
External oblique; abdominal (main synergist of the hips during rotation)
Rectus abdominis; (stabilization)
Transverse Abdominus; (mainly during the exhale breath cycle of the swing)
The upper body and the arms are mainly a conduit for the transfer of energy from the hips to the bat however almost all of the back muscles fire along with all of the muscles in the arms. The main muscles to be concerned with are as follows
Trapezius; (both lower and middle) elevate and depress the shoulder girdle for swing
Rhomboids; aid in bat holding in stance phase
Posterior Deltoids; both of these are used during the stance and swing
Infraspinatus; (part of rotator cuff and SITS muscle group)
Teres Minor; (also part of rotator cuff and SITS muscle group)
Triceps Brachii; extension of the arm during the swing
Aconeus; extension and stabilization of the arm
Biceps Brachii; stabilizer only
Pronator; Teres mainly used on trail hand to snap the bat at max power
Pronator; Quadratus same as the pronator teres
Brachialis; flexion of the arm stabilization only
Supinator; lead hand supinates to help trail hand pronate and deliver max force to ball
Brachioradialius; aids supinator and pronator muscle groups
Now there are several different phases of the the batting swing the first is the Stance phase, the only muscles firing would be those of the shoulders and the arms because they are holding the bat.
The Rotation phase is the phase when the shoulders and arms are still holding the bat, but the muscles of the hip and upper legs have begun firing, thus creating the force of the swing.
The Transfer phase is when all the muscles are firing at the same time, the bat has begun to move toward the and the pulling arm or lead arm is begining to act on the bat to put rotation on the bat that will transfer to the ball when it is hit.
The Max Power phase the hips have fired and are in a recovery state to gain control of the power generated, the upper body muscles are still being used to stabilize the bat, the power has been generated and transfered through the body to the bat, all force generated is at the end of the bat, from this point the bat will lose power.
The Recovery Phase, The main muscles that deccelerate the bat are the Bicep Brachii and the Tricep Brachii. During this phase the two muscle groups synergistically to slow down the bat and ultimately it is their lack of range of motion that slows down and stops the bat. In this phase the body is in a recoil state awaiting to be reset for another swing.
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