It’s not like I have a “Deal of the Week” every week, but I heard about this one and had to tell you about it TODAY.  Like I said, I’ll explain why later.  Anyway, the thing is Marc over at Softball Performance is having a Crazy Super Softball Sale.

I’m not going to bore you with a lot of hype.  I’m just going to tell you what you get and why I had to tell you today.

What You Get

In a nutshell, you’re getting 12 of Marc’s Hot, Brand New, Cutting-Edge, Never-Released Before Products at 77% off including:

Yeah, that’s a lot of stuff!

Why I Had to Tell You Today

Marc is only giving all these products at the Super Softball Sale Price to 200 people.  His rules, not mine.  I know, that may sound like a lot, but I got an e-mail from Marc on Saturday letting me know that he’s more than half way through is “sale” inventory.  That’s right, over 100 people have already grabbed this packed bundle of softball peak performance goodies.  If you want to take advantage of this limited offer, Click Here before it’s gone.

Of course, we didn’t have time until after we had done all our running around on this crazy hectic day, so the lighting isn’t the best, but here’s their first try at these crazy pushups, plus some other family fun push-up stuff.

Before this year I had no idea so many different kinds of push-ups existed.  These are one of the coolest I’ve seen (not the ones with multiple people…the ones shown with just one person in the picture).

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlHex_CK9xU

Here they are in no particular order – all the specials that are ending soon

1.  Fastpitch Assistant at 41% off: get 6 months of weekly practice tips and ideas to make planning practice easier on you!  CLICK HERE to save big before the special ends tomorrow.

2.  Free Mental Game Help: Dr. Tom Hanson is GIVING you a number of awesome resources sharing success secrets of the best in the game of baseball.  Plus he’s answering some of the most pressing questions real players, parent, and coaches have about the mental game.  Learn more HERE.

3.  Workouts for Baseball/Softball: Brand new workout DVD from Coach Dan of BaseballStrength.com and you get it for “Shipping Only.” No additional costs for the workout DVD that will help you easily incorporate an effective fitness/training component to your practices or training routine.  Limited number of DVDs available, so get yours today.

4.  New Workout Video for Softball Pitchers: learn from the pros and use the exact exercises they are using to get same day results.  Barry Lovelace (the King of Core) got together some of the softball players he trains and he is going to show you the exercises they use to increase strength and pitching speed…all for just $9.  Obviously that’s a great deal that won’t last long.  Get your pitching workout HERE.

5.  Coming Soon: I think I heard Marc Dagenais mention that he’s going to be doing this personalized programs again.  I don’t have the details yet, but will let you know if and when that is available.

Whew!  That’s a lot of stuff, but it’s likely that there’s only ONE that you “really” need right now (and will put to use immediately if you get it).  Don’t go all crazy just because you can’t resist a good deal.  Just get the one program or resource that is going to help you the most right now. IF there is more than one that will help you immediately, then go for it, but I don’t want to see you spending money on something you’ll never use.  If you want the most for your dollar and you KNOW you will need/use it – then by all means, take advantage of these deals before they’re gone.

Hope you had a lovely weekend!

Crazy guy only told me at the last minute that he’s offering this brand new workout video for fastpitch softball pitchers at just $9 until Tuesday!  Ummmm, doesn’t he know that softball people are usually BUSY over the weekend and no one checks e-mail or reads blogs (especially on a holiday weekend)?  So no one is really going to know about this, except you, since you ARE here still looking for ways to improve your game over a holiday weekend.  That’s the kind of dedication it takes to be the best.  So, for you, since you’re here when most people are out cruisin’ on the weekend, you WILL get the chance to grab this new workout for fastpitch softball pitchers before the special introductory price ends.  Get it HERE.

Now, I have to say, I’ve never done the P90X program and I’ve never even really seen all the workouts included in the program so I can’t personally recommend it at this time. However, one day when I was working out using some of the exercises from Barry’s Core Power programs, I had someone ask me if all the stuff I do is from P90X.  So I do know that there is some overlap.

I definitely wouldn’t recommend the workout to everybody because it is an “extreme” program (thus the name).  However, if you are in good shape and do want to train like some college players are training, you may be interested in learning more about it.  Definitely do your research before you try anything.  All I know right now is…

1. Some of my family members tried it and loved it (and they weren’t even “elite” athletes) and

2.  There ARE college players out there who are using it

Of course, price wise, P90X is not cheap.  Barry’s Core Power program is certainly less costly and I think, for younger age levels especially, I would simply go with that. I don’t think it’s necessary to spend huge dollars on a workout program at the 10U/12U age level.  Even if you are at a more elite level remember that Barry does also work with a few NPF players, so it’s not as if his programs are only for beginners.  I also have personal experience with Barry’s Core Power workouts and I do think they are awesome!

But if you’re looking for more training ideas (so training doesn’t get boring) or a more “extreme” challenge, I’ll be checking out P90X soon.  I’ll let you know what I think after I’ve had a chance to see it in action myself.

If you’ve had experience with P90X what do you think of it as a training program for softball players?

Well, I’m going address that exact issue on a free call next week Wednesday, January 21st.

We’re also going to discuss:

• Is it useful/practical/harmful to continue this type of training during the season?
• Is it worth it to do softball conditioning with 10-12U players?
• Is it safe for kids to lift weights?
• If a player/team does not have access to a weight room, does this mean they can’t do strength work?
• If I don’t really have a pre-season “conditioning” period, how can I integrate conditioning right into my practices?
• And of course, what can I do to get into the best softball shape possible if all I have is a few weeks?

The only thing is, I can only reserve 96 spots for this call. So if you’d like to be there, go ahead and register HERE.

It’s possible that we’ll run out of lines for the live call, so I am only giving out the call information (the number to call and the access code to join us live) to those who register now. Registration guarantees that I will also be able to send you information on how to listen to the recording just in case a) you weren’t available during the live call or b) you weren’t able to get in because the lines were full.

So if you need information on how to get your team (or yourself) into the best softball shape possible in just a few weeks, go register for this free call now and I’ll see you there!

Here’s a great article from Dan Huff at Baseball Strength:

To help you get your pre-season training set up properly, I’ve developed the following checklist(s) to make sure that you have all of the necessary components in your program.

Here is your checklist for the rest of the off-season.

• 3 Full Body Strength workouts/week
• 2 speed training sessions/week
• Daily Stretching and Mobility work

It’s really that simple!

Well, maybe we need to go into a bit more detail.

3 Full Body Strength Training Workouts must include:

All Free Weight Training

Lower Body Leg Dominant Movements (Ex. Squats)

• Double Leg
• Single Leg

Lower Body Hip Dominant Movements (Ex. Straight Leg Deadlifts)

• Double Leg
• Single Leg

Upper Body Pressing Movements (always use neutral grip)

• Chest Press
• Shoulder Press

Upper Body Pulling Movements (2x as must as the pressing)

• Horizontal pulling (ex. Rowing)
• Vertical puling (ex. Pull-ups)

Core Training

• Rotation
• Anti-Rotation
• Flexion
• Extension

2 Speed Training Days must include:

Acceleration Training

• Work on technique of the first 3 steps
• Solid forward lean
• Drive the knees up and forward
• Keep the toes under the knees
• Strong piston action on lower leg (no cycle action)

Multi-Direction Training

• Lateral shuffles
• Crossover running
• Deceleration
• Stop-and-go change of directions
• Positive shin angles

Daily Stretching and Mobility Work must include:

Muscle Density Work

• Foam Roll
• Tennis Ball
• The Stick

Static Stretching

• Every Body Part
• Do the easy stretches once
• Do the difficult stretches two or three times

Active Mobility

• Move every body part through its full range of motion

Remember that not every workout needs to include every component of strength and speed, but every component must be included at least once each week.

Not sure what all those things are? I’m sure you’ve got questions on the checklist so be sure to let us know what we can clear up for you in our discussion forum!