Kettlebell Exercises for Softball

The kettlebell provides a fantastic training aid for any athlete in the throwing sports. Softball players, in particular, can put together an exercise plan that takes advantage of the unique aspects of the kettlebell. Unlike barbells or dumbbells, KBs, as fans of this cannonball-shaped weight call them, can be used for swinging or “ballistic” types of moves that translate well to pitching, throwing and catching.

  1. Before You Start

    • You’ll want to work on your strength in the offseason, well in advance of the grind of your springtime league games. So mark your calendar around October to begin your kettlebell program. You’ll likely need kettlebells ranging in 5-pound increments from 15 to 35 pounds, matched to what you can handle based on your age, size, sex and level of conditioning. You can work out with KBs two or three times a week following a joint mobility warm-up focused on moving each joint from your neck to your ankles in gentle circles.

    Fastpitch Power’s Program

    • Strength coach Joe Bonyai of Fastpitch Power looks to kettlebells to develop your leg and core strength in the offseason. Work out with goblet squats, Romanian deadlifts, swings and split squats with your rear foot elevated. Add sets or weight to achieve progression -- a greater challenge to your muscles -- between October and February. If you want a workout with a greater conditioning component as well as strength, Bonyai suggests starting out with deadlifts and kettlebell rows with a towel. After a month, you can add squats, reverse lunges and one-arm rows.

    Workouts From an Expert

    • You can adapt trainer Dave Bellomo’s baseball workout from “Kettlebell Training for Athletes” for the similar demands of softball. Bellomo wants you to start off in the offseason with the overhead towel swing, figure 8s, the kettlebell back lunge and the two-handed swing. Add a single-arm press, the bent-over row and the single floor press. Gradually work in Turkish get-ups as the start of the season approaches. Mix it up in season with alternating cleans, double cleans and single-arm swings.

    Add the Windmill

    • Trainers who design softball kettlebell programs tend to agree on squats, swings, presses and lunges for their obvious benefits for ballplayers. Baseball trainer Mike Rojas also agrees on the KB swing and adds a perfect exercise for softball players: the windmill. This exercise entails a yoga-like angled hinge at the waist, with a kettlebell in either a hand directed to the floor, your other hand directed to the ceiling, or both. The windmill targets the core and shoulder simultaneously as well as enhancing flexibility. You’ll achieve tremendous stability in the muscles around the shoulder.