Strength Workouts For Softball: Key Exercises to Use

In this article, I’m going to share a few essential pieces of equipment that any coach can use to create simple and effective softball workouts for their team. Strength workouts for softball can be easily performed in any open space with the right equipment, drills and techniques. The right equipment helps maximize effectiveness whether it’s one player or 100 performing a given workout, so let’s explore a few of my favorite pieces.

Cost-Effective Strength Workouts for Softball

I’m a cost-conscious person, so I always try to find the best balance of cost and value.

One thing I’ve learned over the years as a baseball and softball academy owner is that the cheapest product is not always the least costly. At my softball / baseball academy we learned early on that buying cheap products often forced us to re-buy the same things again when they broke.

Keep in mind that sometimes spending a little more is worth it for a substantial increase in durability and longevity.

Note: This article contains affiliate links, which means that if you buy a product from a link on this page, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. This helps me continue to produce great free content for the softball community, so thank you in advance.

Softball Strength Exercise #1: The Sliding Leg Curl

The sliding leg curl is perhaps the BEST exercise players can do in an open space.

The hamstrings and glutes are weak and underdeveloped in almost every player, yet they are the key muscles involved in throwing and sprinting faster. Strength workouts for softball should always include a heavy emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings.

The sliding lunge (below) is also a great exercise for overall leg strength.

For players who want to get faster (and who doesn’t?) these are a MUST. Fortunately, they’re safe, easy to coach (just yell a lot for players to go slow on the way down) and require only paper plates or cheap sliders.

Required Equipment: Paper Plates, Frisbees or Sliders

We prefer sliders because they last forever and aren’t expensive. But some teams use paper plates or frisbees, however frisbees are NOT typically cheaper than sliders, nor do they work as well.

Go here to check out the very durable and easy-to-use sliders we use everyday.

Softball Strength Exercise #2: The Band Pull-Apart Circuit

I’m going to include one video here, but check out this complete article of mine that details all of the main Theraband CLX exercises that we use with softball and baseball players.

Required Equipment: Theraband or Looped Bands

You can make do with lots of types of bands, but these two recommendations below will be the most convenient and effective, based on my years of experience training athletes and teams.

Theraband CLX bands

I really like the Theraband CLX, as they’re small, portable and reasonably durable. They’re certainly not bulletproof, but they last a season for the vast majority of our players who take care of them.

Go here to check out the Theraband CLX – they come in single pre-cut bands for one person, or 25yd boxes that are $120-$190 dollars but will get you about 22 bands when you cut them yourself ($6-8 per player).

41″ Looped Bands

For an ultra-durable option, these 1/4″ looped latex bands are great–they are the same bands used for assisted pull ups and we actually used to sell them.

Go here to check out the 41″ flex bands on Amazon. They’re about $10 each but are basically bulletproof.

Softball Strength Exercise #3: Sandbag or Goblet Squat

The goblet squat requires a single dumbbell or kettlebell, and if you have access to them you’re all set. Again, strength workouts for softball should include safe, effective squat variations, and the goblet squat is a great choice.

The goblet squat is the best squat variation for beginners–they’re safe, easy to perform and coach, and teach good squatting form. But, if you don’t have access to dumbbells or kettlebells at your facility, consider making some sandbags, which will be a great, multipurpose solution.

The video below shows a more expensive sandbag option that is great, though pricey. Below the video you’ll find my pick for more cost-effective options, where you can buy a bunch and have them for the whole team.

Required Equipment: Sandbags

Go here to check out fitness sandbag options on Amazon, including the one shown below that is highly-rated.

Fitness Sandbags

There are LOT of ways to get creative with sandbags, and you can find all sorts of options to fit your budget. But if your whole team is going to use them, perhaps consider going with a more durable option like the above.

You can throw multiple “filler bags” inside the one larger bag to make the weight customizable. You could have one station with a 40lb bag, one station with a 20lb bag, etc. for different exercises and athletes.

Softball Strength Exercise #4: Farmer’s Carries with Fat Grips & Buckets

You can easily use your existing ball buckets with Fat Grips slipped over the thin wire handles. This will give your players a tremendous forearm exercise, even if the weight isn’t too heavy. If you have dumbbells–even just a pair or two (in the 20-50lb range) they would be the best solution.

Yes, the 2″ grips shown below are thick and will be tough to hold, but that’s the point. For girls with exceptionally small hands, shop around for smaller grips.

Recommended Equipment: Silicon Fat Grips & Buckets or Dumbbells

Fat Grips

Go here to check out Fat Grips on Amazon, and shop around for the many variations that might suit your softball team best.

Assembling The Exercises into a Workout

Today we’ve covered the following exercises:

• Sliding Leg Curls & Lunges (best for indoors on a hard surface)
• Band Pull Aparts for shoulder strength
• Sandbag & dumbbell Squats and Lunges
• Fat Grip Farmers Carries

All of these exercise types would make great stations within a practice or dedicated workout. I’m also a huge proponent for teaching the push-up properly, as it’s a foundational upper body strength exercise for any athlete, male or female.

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Softball Workouts FAQ

Have a question? Leave a comment below!

What are good exercises for softball players?

Softball players need to be explosive both sprinting and rotating (such as swinging a bat and throwing). In the weight room, focusing on the glutes and hamstrings will help improve sprint speed and batspeed. Throwing medicine balls and working on rotational power will improve batspeed and throwing velocity. Forearm and upper body strength is also important. A balanced program will include variations of hip thrusts, squats, medicine ball throws, push ups, heavy farmers carries and rowing exercises.

What is conditioning in softball?

Conditioning is a little different than strength training, as conditioning refers to having more endurance for the sport. Conditioning in softball should consist of lots of short sprints, because running to each base is a short sprint. Running down a fly ball, chasing a ground ball in the hole are also short, explosive bursts that should be mimicked in training. A good conditioning workout will consistent of sprints, agility training and a little bit of longer-distance, high-effort runs to really make the body tough and resistant to fatigue.

How do you get in shape for softball?

To get in great softball shape, a combination of strength training workouts, conditioning workouts, and practice will give the best balance. It’s important to be a strong as possible while still being flexible, but also having the endurance to repeat full-speed sprints in the field and on the basepaths.

How can you make your arms stronger for softball?

Push ups are the foundation of good upper body strength, along with rowing exercises to hit the muscles of the back. A 2-to-1 ratio of rowing exercises to pushing exercises (like push ups) should be used to keep the throwing arm healthy and posture healthy. Farmers carries are a great exercise to build upper body strength and grip strength.