STACK spends a day with MLB superstar Mark Reynolds to see how he prepares for Spring Training and the regular season grind.
About the Video
Mark Reynolds knows he has to train harder than before during the off season. He shares his experience of not being fit and how it negatively affect his game as well as being healthy and playing better because of it.
TRANSCRIPT
Mark Renolds: Hi I'm Mark Reynolds, third baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Stay put for a sneak peak at my off season workouts. For this off season, my training goals, I've set them pretty high. I came off a good career last year with the Diamondbacks and I don't want it to be a fluke. I want to trim my body fat and
get faster and quicker. The more I'm in the gym the more I feel comfortable and better prepared for the season.
I've always made it a goal to stay in the best shape as possible in the off season. I remember my very first off season pro ball; you do nothing for four months and I didn't really know what to do with my time, I didn't really work out that much and I went out there and had a mediocre season in the minor leagues that year. I told myself it's my career, I've got to take it serious. So I trained as hard as I could, the next off season I went out and had a career year and kind of proved to myself I have to keep it going and stay in shape. The regular
bench press, I don't perform it on the standard bench. It's bad on your shoulders and being baseball players we really have got to take care of our shoulders and elbows. So that's something I do on a physio ball. You can have better range of motion, you can control the weight better and it's better for you.
Baseball you're always running and you've got to use your fast pace muscles in your legs and I know a lot of guys who have had problems with their hamstrings and are never really 100 percent and I do those just to keep them strong and to keep them engaged so my body doesn't forget about them. I do the one leg single leg
squat off the bench or the box. It isolates the area you're working on a little bit more.It takes some practice getting used to it, getting your balance but it's well worth it. Alternating foot switches on the bench is just a plyo exercise and I basically do it to get my heart rate up and sometimes I do it in the middle of my workout out to keep my heart rate going.
I've got two BOSU balls and I put them a little more than shoulder width apart. It's basically another squat to work your stabilizers and not be on solid ground. It's one of those things that just a beneficial exercise that works different areas that you wouldn't normally work with a normal squat. We have pretty high expectations as a team and myself personally.
Last year I exceeded all my goals I made by a long shot. I want to set my goals just like I did year and the way I can attain them and if I go over that's a plus. Baseball is 162 games, if you come into the season out of shape you're not going to be able to stay consistent, stay healthy. All the things that you work out to get better at it comes true when you start playing. I was stronger in my upper body, my core and switch muscles to be able to swing the bat. The bat was lighter, my abs were better engaged and I had a better chance to be successful at the plate because I was in shape.
I'm just never satisfied with where I'm at. I always want to get better, get stronger, get consistent; nothing's set in stone and having those things that's in the back of my mind and personally wanting to get better keeps me going.
For more with Mark Reynolds, check out his
Dumbbell Shoulder Circuit 
