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 Improve Batspeed & Power – Weighted Batswings  


 Improve Batspeed & Power – Weighted Batswings

Weighted batswings are a common method to improve a hitters batspeed and power. However in most cases the implements inviolved (donuts, weighted bats ) are used incorrectly and can do more harm than good. 
 
When doing this form of training keep these 3 things in mind: 
 
1. Choose a bat that is the same length that you always swing. 
 
2. Only increase the weight by a couple of ounces. Putting too much weight is trhe most common mistake. You are swinging not weight lifting. 
 
3. Above all keep your proper swing mechanics. Working off a tee will help you keep them dialed in. 
Aaron Thigpen is owner of Gamespeed Sports in Concord, Ca. We offer POWERBALL Hitting Classes (Check on Our Latest Class) which blend performance training with hitting technique. Give us a call at 925 513 -8676. #gamespeedsports#powerhitting#powerball#ejsports#performancetraining#weightedbats
 Improve Batspeed & Power – Weighted Batswings  2018-01-01T11:52:15-08:00

Play a field sport? Try “Speed Endurance” Training to Keep Up.

Field sports like Soccer, Lacrosse and Rugby require bursts of varying speeds over  varying distances all over the course of 60- 90 minutes. The unpredictable ebb and flow of these sports require specific speed demands.  While aerobic endurance (continuous running) is important it is “Speed Endurance” that determines your ability to sustain a high level of competitive performance. Want to stay in the game? Develop your “Speed Endurance”.

Here are a few suggestions:

  1. Integrate “speed sets” into skills sessions. For every 10 min. skill training 3 min. Intensified speed.
  2. Vary the reps, length of runs, intensity (%of effort).
  3. Vary the movements; lateral, start stop, jumping.
  4. Vary your starting positions: Staggered, Balanced, Running, Skipping, Jump.

These bouts of intensified  speed will allow athletes to adapt to higher intensities of training, become more efficient with running mechanics,  play at higher paces and improve their ability to recover under fatigue.

Sample Speed Endurance “Speed Intensified Circuits” for a 60min practice.

Staggered Starts 3 x Left  & 3 x Right @ 20 yards

Speed Skater Cuts  3 x 4 Cuts and Go @10 yards

Skipping Start 3 x 5 yards and Go @ 20 yards

Tuck Jumps  and Go  5 x Tuck and Go 10 yards

Sprint Shuttles (Walk or jog back) […]

Play a field sport? Try “Speed Endurance” Training to Keep Up.2021-07-04T14:36:56-07:00

Speed Training – Practice Decision Making To Improve Performance

Concord Ca, – Aaron Thigpen , Gamespeed Sports performance
Years ago I had a ball player named Johnny Ash first as a highschooler at Bishop ODowd then as a collegiate at Stanford, then as a minor leaguer (Astros). He was a solid athlete who worked hard, wasnt the most physically gifted but he put in the right work. However, Johnny was clutch, probably the most clutch hitter I’ve seen. Over his careeer I watched him be in pressure situations and come up with not just a hit but the right hit (College World Series). Was it luck? How did he do it?
He and his father Wil intently worked on scenario based hitting mentally and physically practicing a whole range of scenarios and pressure situations to elicit the proper mental and physical response at game time. In his case it wasnt luck, it was skill. 

It’s game time you scan the court or field. Teammates and opposition dot the landscape. What do you do? Can you anticipate your next move? your opponents? The mind has to process in a split second what the appropriate response needs to be. Is it luck,  instinct or purposeful training? I think its some of the latter. […]

Speed Training – Practice Decision Making To Improve Performance2022-01-03T23:46:28-08:00

Speed Training – Visual Recognition for Optimal Performance

Concord Ca, Aaron Thigpen Gamespeed Sports Performance

Dynamic sports like baseball, football, basketball and soccer require not just fleet feet but a fleet mind. Your ability to see and recognize competitive situations will determine your performance. Notice athletes who always seem to be in the right spot at the right time. Is this some innate ability or is it the culmination of hours of intent practice? I think the answer is both. Having better vision allows athletes to navigate their competitive situations more effectively. Visual Recognition is a skill that can be improved and honed with the proper training.

Steps to Visual Skill Building

  • Get a proper eye exam to identify your visual health.
  • Start with basic visual exercises to improve these abilities:
  • Focus Flexibility – The ability to change focus from a faraway object to a near one, or vice versa.
  • Peripheral Awareness – The ability to perceive what’s going on at either side of you without turning your head.
  • Dynamic Visual Acuity – The ability to see objects clearly when they are moving quickly.
  • Depth Perception – The  ability to make spatial judgments, how far away an object or person is from you.
  • Color Vision – The ability to detect different colors and shades.
  • Hand […]
Speed Training – Visual Recognition for Optimal Performance2022-01-04T11:23:36-08:00

College Bound: Athletic Infielders Academy Program

Baseball & Softball Athletes
The only program of its kind in the Bay Area.
This dynamic program offers a two-pronged approach to developing the  college bound athlete. Participants will sharpen their fielding skills and techniques with a program designed by former SF Giants player Erik Johnson of EJ Sports and strengthen their athletic skill development with exercises specially selected by Gamespeed’s Aaron Thigpen.
The sole purpose if this program is to develop “College Level infielders”. We take a developmental approach to building both the physical and technical requirements to becoming a collegiate level athlete. This is much more than just fielding ground balls and weight lifting.  Its not enough to “make the play” college recuriters are looking at how you make plays.
The academy will teach:
– Approach to the ball
– Catch and release technique
– Positioning and Anticipation
Plus many more items scouts and recruiters have an eye for  in determining your abilities for the next level.
On the athletic side the academy will provide the training to develop the physicality to compete at the next level such as:
– First step explosiveness
– Footwork & Range
– Balance & Coordination
– Throwing velocity
College Bound: Athletic Infielders Academy Program2018-08-03T21:11:11-07:00

Dominic Pipkin Top Gun Student Hits 96MPH at Area Code Games

Top Gun student Dominic Pipkin’s talents  were on full display at Day 3 of the prestigiuos Area Code Games in Long Beach Ca.  Up from a last years top velocity of 92 mph Dominic sat at 92-94mph velo before hitting 95mph on two consecutive pitches and then ratcheting it up to a tourney high 96mph. Dominic particpated in Aaron Thigpen of Gamespeed’s TOP GUN Off Season Pitchers and Throwers Conditioning Program which included 4 months of off season managed training and followed up with an highschool in season program and finally transitioned into a summer program. Under the tutelage of Pitching coach Devalin Harper he continues to blossom and establish himself as one of the country’s top prospects.

Read about his area code outing HERE: http://bba.am/Mo0g7d

Read About the TOP GUN program HERE

Dominic Pipkin Top Gun Student Hits 96MPH at Area Code Games2017-08-09T12:33:56-07:00

Fatigue Management – Outpace & Outlast Ward v Kovalev 2

Photo Courtesy BoxingScene.com Radio Rahim
By Aaron Thigpen Owner Gamespeed Sports Performance  June 2017

Concord, Ca – Leading up to the Ward V Kovlaev 2 fight much was to be said about Kovalev’s improved conditioning and stamina. HBO’s  24/7 even featured his training at altitude with a russian biathlon coach. Conversely ours explosive. Check it out HERE were at 17:09.

His manager Kathy Duva stated that he was much improved in his endurance. She loosely states the first fight was a sprint and boxing is an endurance sport. Well yes and no. I see boxing as intermitent sprinting. It takes some of both. Liken it to high intensity and low intensity intervals with a one minute rest. To solely rely on the aerobic system (endurance) is a recipe for disaster. It’s your anaerobic system (speed/power) that allows you to burst repeatedly. Boxing is a speed and power sport and developing the anaerobic energy system is paramount.

I’ve read Kovalevs strategy was to quicken or push the pace from the onset. Well if your working faster than you normally do and dont train at that pacing for a significant time (acclimate) period prior to the event regardless of how much aerobic training you have […]

Fatigue Management – Outpace & Outlast Ward v Kovalev 22018-08-19T17:52:05-07:00

Andre Ward v Kovalev 2- How we developed that unsuspected power!

Photo Credit- BoxingScene.com

Andre Wards dramatic stoppage of bitter rival Sergei Kovalev has everyone talking how the tables may have been turned. Kovalev known for his knock out power was the obivious choice for who was going to land the more devastating shots. Of course performance coach Aaron Thigpen of Gamespeed and Andre  Ward knew something else. Scott Christ of SB Nation commented in a recent article:

” The power punches were a real surprise, with Ward landing 53 of 144 (37%) and Kovalev scoring on 50 of 223 (22%), with Ward often seeming like he was landing the harder shots.”

Suprise? well not to me. From the onset of our training we worked on improving Andre’s power. Where did it come from? The answer, a complex series of rotational exercises aimed at utilizing Andres improved leg strength. Quite simply we established a better kinetic chain or simply connection between his legs, hips, and upper body torso. I believe “force/power”  starts from the ground up.  Any problems in coordination, balance,  range of motion or joint stability will prevent that “force/power” to stop prematurely in the chain or leak resulting in limited or no force/power. If you want STOPPING POWER like Andre Ward add […]

Andre Ward v Kovalev 2- How we developed that unsuspected power!2017-06-24T15:33:04-07:00

Inside Andre Ward’s Gamespeed Training Camp – (a pictoral updated weekly)

Three-belt light-heavyweight champion Andre Ward of Oakland agreed to a June 17 rematch with Russia’s former champion Sergey Kovalev at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Ward (31-0, 15 knockouts) survived a second-round knockdown to pile up rounds in the second half of his Nov. 19 first meeting with then-unbeaten Kovalev and emerged with a unanimous-decision victory by three judges’ scores of 114-113.

Ward has been training with Gamespeed’s Aaron Thigpen since preparing for his super six tournament win over Carl Froch in 2011.

 

 

Inside Andre Ward’s Gamespeed Training Camp – (a pictoral updated weekly)2017-05-20T23:27:00-07:00

Inside Andre Berto’s Training Camp – (a pictoral updated weekly)

Andre Berto (31-4, 24 KOs) and Shawn Porter (26-2-1, 16 KOs) will battle in a 12-round eliminator for the WBC welterweight title live on SHOWTIME with televised coverage beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The winner will become the mandatory for the WBC crown picked up this past weekend by Keith Thurman, who unified the WBA and WBC titles with a victory over Danny Garcia on CBS at Barclays Center.

Berto has been training with Gamespeed’s Aaron Thigpen since 2012.

Special thanks to Stepahnie Trapp of Trappfotos for her shots.  Find her at trappfotos.com

 

Inside Andre Berto’s Training Camp – (a pictoral updated weekly)2017-04-01T21:41:49-07:00

Gym Hours

Gym Hours

Monday 4-7pm

Tuesday 4-7pm

Wednesday 4-7pm

Thursday 4-7pm

Friday & Saturday Closed

Sunday 9-11am

One to One by appointment

 

 

 

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