The Effect of Suspension Exercise Training for High School Baseball Players

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an 8-week suspension exercise training program on the lumbar coordination, balance, and baseball-specific performance (distance throw, 60-m sprint, and bat swing speed) of high school baseball players. Methods: Twenty-one high school baseball players participated in this study and were randomly divided into 2 groups: a control group and a suspension exercise training group. The suspension exercise training was intervened in training group which consisted of 8 movements of the upper extremities and 6 movements of the lower extremities, and was conducted once per week for 8 weeks during off-season. The performance of the participants in both groups in the lumbar coordination assessment, lower-extremity balance test, distance throw, 60-m sprint, and bat swing speed was evaluated before and after training. The nonparametric Wilcoxon signedrank test was used to analyze the differences in performance before and after the exercise intervention. The Mann- Whitney U test was used to compare the percentage changes in the pre-training and post-training values of the suspension exercise training group and control groups. Results: The suspension exercise training group exhibited a little significant improvement in the lumbar coordination test (from 0.85 ± 0.11 cm to 0.67 ± 0.15 cm) and bat swing speed (from 106.55 ± 18.89 km/hr to 122.73 ± 9.97 km/hr) after training (p ＜ .05) and no significantly improved was showed in control group. The participants also exhibited no significant differences in other outcome measures. Conclusion: The suspension exercise training conducted once per week for 8 weeks improved a little bite of lumbar coordination and bat swing speed. The suspension exercise training can be applied as a supplemental training method in regular training.