Baseball Hitting

As with most aspects of sports, hitting a baseball is a very simple motion that gets very complicated with repeated and specific use. The motion of swinging a bat puts a great deal of strain on the upper body, particularly the shoulders and back. Add to this the impact of a baseball traveling about 90 miles per hour, and even a hard day of practice can take its toll on your body.

Finding Your Perfect Swing

The impact between bat and ball produces a satisfying sound to the batter, but also sends a lot of force into his body. This travels down his bat and through his arms, and improper batting form can seriously hurt your wrists or even neck. Professional baseball players often do exercises to strengthen their wrists, as fluid motions are the least destructive. If your wrists don't get jarred when you hit the ball, they won't hurt after the game.

This force goes both ways, though, and the batter wants to transmit as much force of his own into the ball. By making his swing as efficient as possible, the batter is able to put the most possible energy into the contact of bat and ball. By doing this, the ball goes as high and as far as it can--an ideal hit.

Since swinging a bat happens so quickly, it's nearly impossible to spot problems with form. To solve this problem, many experts use slow motion cameras to analyze each miniscule step in a batter's swing. By looking for dips, pivots, or steps that are out of place, an analyst can show a batter what he's doing wrong, and make his game better with just a little well-informed advice.