Mike Easler's Conditioned To Hit

Hello Hitters,

I’ve asked my friend and professional strength coach, Brandon Smith to provide some “rules” of Nutrition for Baseball players.

Here are 14 Nutrition tips to make you  “Conditioned To Hit”

Remember, a dangerous hitter is Conditioned to Hit in all phases of the game, including nutrition and recovery.  Please leave a comment if you have questions regarding any of these guide lines!

Stay Focused

Mike “The HitMan” Easler

Hello Hitter’s,

I hope you’re all hitting ropes!

I just returned from another trip to New York Yankee’s Old Timers’ Day. I batted 6th and played Center field!! They must think I can still go get it!!  

I had to cover some ground on a double hit in the gap by Mickey Rivers (something I didn’t train for).

I might have been a little over anxious at the plate and grounded out back to the pitcher.

By-the-way, the pitcher I was facing was Ron Guidry! He looked as good as he did in 1978 when he won 25 games!

I felt good in batting practice and my stance felt solid at the plate. I just couldn’t control myself (hey, I’m not getting many at-bats these days!!)

My stance was spread out and balanced. I felt good. Good balance is something that many hitters, even professionals, do not have.

It was great getting to play in the New Yankee Stadium again, but it was tough to see the “Old” Stadium torn down to the ground!

The "Old" Stadium

I hope to be back next season to continue in the great  tradition of Old Timers’ Day. Next time I’ll get  some hits.

Hello Hitter’s!

I hope you’re all hitting ropes!

We have been going through my FIVE essentials to become a dangerous hitter.

Here is number 4. Contact

Solid Contact is what we all strive for as hitters. Nothing feels better than hitting a line drive struck right in the middle of the sweet spot. Nothing feels worse than getting jammed or hitting one off the end of the bat (especially if you are using aluminum bats).

My best advice or tip for solid contact is to try and hit every ball hard. All the great hitters I have ever played with tried to hit the ball hard every time they took BP or practiced off the batting tee. Trying to hit the ball hard every time will keep you in an aggressive mind set and over time, you will be making better contact. Also, when your contact is going bad, or you are in a “dry spell” try to hit every ball hard, up the middle. You will cut down your swing (while staying aggressive) and make contact on the sweet spot more often.

Solid contact is a result of squaring up and making aggressive swings with great balance. Practice swinging hard when hitting on the Tee and then again while taking live BP.

PS For some fun please fill out this short survey.

Hello hitter’s,

Hope you’re well and hitting ropes!

There is one aspect of baseball and hitting that I can’t teach, and that’s how to compete. You have to compete at your highest levels EVERY time you step on the field.

The best way to do that is HATE TO LOSE! You should hate to lose more than you love to win.

If you want playing time, and want to impress a scout or your coaching staff, play hard all the time.

“Conditioned to Hit” is about mental preparation as much as it is about hitting and physical prep. 

Compete hard everyday, and you will become a dangerous hitter!!

Concentration is the 2nd of my 5 essentials to hitting. Without the ability to concentrate and focus, no athlete can compete on a daily basis.

Hello Hitters,

How would you like to know what a pitcher is thinking on every pitch, every inning and in every count? Statistically, pitcher’s have the advantage over the hitter. They know what they will throw, how fast and where it will go.

I have always regarded pitcher’s as the enemy. It was me against him. I wanted to beat the opposing pitcher anyway I could.

I’ve now consulted with the enemy! My friend and professional pitching coach, Rick Smith, gave me all the insight a pitcher has. Rick was my pitching coach when I managed the Nashua Pride in the Atlantic League. His information was invaluable to me.

I’m now going to reveal everything about a pitcher….how they think, how they want to control every aspect of the game, what they want to throw to get you out.

When you purchase “Conditioned to Hit”,  I will personally send you coach Smith’s book about pitching. All you have to do is forward your receipt to support@conditionedtohit.com after you purchase “Conditioned to Hit”.  That’s is. Simple.

Finally get the advantage over pitchers and really become dangerous at the plate!

Order your copy of “Conditioned to Hit”, forward your receipt to support@conditionedtohit.com and I will personally send you “Pitching, How to Get Hitters Out”

Stay Focused and destroy pitching!

                                                                            Mike “The HitMan” Easler

Hello hitters,

All good strength programs must change during a season. A program will change depending upon the length of season, time of year, how often you play (starter or reserve) phase of program and goal of program.

Right now, most High School and Colleges are finished with their seasons. Workouts will be mostly recovery based and the volume and intensity will decrease as well. Most programs will take a week off (or even two) before getting ready for next season.

No matter what time of year it is, body weight exercises are always a good option. You can use them for recovery purposes, or add speed and volume for a more intense workout.

Here are 5 great bodyweight exercise for you:

1. Squats (single leg and two legged)

2. Planks- always a great low-impact core exercise

3. Jumps- jumping is a great way to add strength and power

4. Push Ups-an old school exercise that will never go away!

5. Sprints- Vary the distance and rest time

Check out these other all purpose bodyweight exercises.

As always, check with your physician before beginning any type of exercise program.

A strong hitter is a dangerous hitter.

See you in the batting cages soon…..

Mike “The HitMan” Easler & Brandon Smith

Hello Hitters,

I can’t tell you how excited I am that Spring Training is here and people are gearing up to hit!

I can tell you that not taking care of your body will put you on the fast track to injury. We don’t want that because You Can’t Hit if You Sit! You can’t play up to your potential if you are injured. An injury will also cause you to compensate your swing and your mechanics….most likely sending you on a “dry spell” at the plate!

My friend, Brandon Smith and professional Strength Coach talks about two things when we give hitting clinics, and those two things are Recovery and Pre-Hab.

Recovery is what you do for your body after a game or work out, and pre-hab is what you do for preventative measures during workouts. Now, I can’t tell you that you will never get an injury…that wouldn’t be true, but I can say that you can decrease the likelihood of injury and the time that you will miss because of them.

Of course, the most common injury site for baseball players is the shoulder. You must have healthy shoulders to hit! You must spend ample time during your off-season, pre-season and in-season to make sure your shoulders function properly.

Brandon has had great success with “Secrets of the Shoulder” and wanted me to tell you about it.

This is a program that all baseball players Athletes, should be on.

Remember, baseball is a sport where “overuse” injuries are common. Unless you play one inning right handed, and the next inning left handed, you are open for an injury.

Check out secrets of the shoulder and get an advantage on the competition. Stay healthy and get more opportunity at the plate!!

Mike “The HitMan” Easler

Hello Hitters,

I hope you are having a great year so far (even if it’s only less than a week old)

In our Ebook “Conditioned to Hit” Mike and I talk a lot about preparation and goals.

I want to share a quick and easy

First you must define your dreams and define your purpose. To do that, answer these three questions.

Answer these three questions in a detailed paragraph and read it out loud every day.

Gain momentum and achieve success one day at a time, one at-bat at a time and you will achieve all of your goals.

Hello Hitters,

Now that the post season is here, a question I get all the time comes to mind.

I have been coaching professionally for the last 20 years and one of the questions I get all the time is “How can I get my son to relax in pressure situations?” 

Normally my response is this:  You must believe in yourself, your God given ability and your conditioning and preparation, to perform well under pressure.  You must tell yourself you were born for this and remember why you work so hard in every practice and every off season.  Nothing will stop you from performing to the best of your ability.

I feel this way about pressure.  Lack of knowledge causes fear and apprehension.  When you have prepared yourself properly and when you have trained and conditioned your body properly, then you are ready to perform under any circumstance.  You train and practice just to be ready for these tough situations that come up during the ballgame. 

If you have trained your properly and practiced your skills to perform, then all you can do is give it your best shot, and let the chips fall where they may.  No one is successful all the time.  Baseball is a game of failure.  But it is how you respond and deal with failure. You learn from failure and bounce back fighting.  Just like the Rocky movies, you come back fighting, refusing to be defeated.

My favorite saying to all my students is, “Relaxed Hitters are Dangerous Hitters”

The better prepared you are, the more relaxed you can be. You WILL come through in the clutch!