It’s a number that can have a huge effect on a baseball player’s season, impacting how athletes feel and how they perform. But it’s often overlooked and neglected, despite being a common cause of decreasing results.

The good news? It’s simple to track.

All you need is a simple bathroom scale.

In over a decade of working with baseball players, losing bodyweight is one of the most frequent challenges I’ve seen players face in season. However, it’s also one of the easiest things they can control in a sport where outcomes don’t always match the process.

So why is losing weight a problem in-season?

Any time bodyweight decreases, there will be, to some degree, a loss of muscle. And no athlete wants to have something they worked so hard to build in the offseason start disappearing right when they need it most.

Hear me out on some quick physics:

Force = mass x acceleration
Bodyweight (which can be considered mass) is a key component of how much force an athlete can produce.

Power = force x velocity

The amount of force an athlete can produce greatly impacts their potential power.

The take-home message: losing weight is likely going to lead to a loss of power.

Why’s that a big deal for a baseball player?

Power is a huge component of bat speed and throwing velocity. It’s necessary for being successful at any type of max effort explosive movement. Essentially, having more power means you can throw the ball harder and swing the bat faster, which are characteristics that lend themselves to successful outcomes on the field.

On top of that, recovery will likely be hampered since losing weight means the body is in an energy deficit and doesn’t have enough fuel to properly rebuild and repair itself after training and competing.

Why do so many athletes tend to lose weight in season?

The first reason is too many of them don’t track it, and therefore have no idea they are losing weight. Adjustments aren’t going to be made if no one is aware they are needed.

Sometimes the busy schedule of practices and school on top of games and travel distracts athletes, and they don’t notice they’ve stopped eating as much or as often as they used to. Game day nerves often prevent players from taking in the calories they need to get through a long day at the field. Spending more time playing and practicing leads to missed meals.

All of these things can cause a caloric deficit to occur quite quickly.

The second reason is simple math: calories going in aren’t equaling calories burned.

Most athletes overestimate how much they’re eating. Using a calorie-tracking app or even simply recording meals and snacks in a notebook may bring to light what changes are needed. Working with a registered sports dietician or nutritionist can also help athletes get back on track and develop healthy habits that can stick with them for the rest of their careers.

What can athletes do to maintain their weight in season?

First, track your weight regularly so that you can course-correct immediately if you start to drop. How often should you weigh yourself? At minimum, twice per
week—ideally at the same time of day and wearing approximately the same clothing (wearing shoes and heavy sweats will be different than socks and a light t-shirt with shorts).

When I was a college baseball strength coach, I’d have guys weigh in every time they had a session in the weight room, year-round. One year, after joining a program at a school in a hot climate, we actually picked up a bathroom scale at Wal-Mart and travelled with it during our weekend road trips. We’d weigh guys in the hotel lobby when they came down for breakfast each morning. This also helped us monitor hydration, which is also super important for both health and performance. If guys were suddenly three pounds lighter than they were the day before, we knew we had to address their fluid intake because they likely were dehydrated.

Also, planning out a schedule for your food is crucial. Putting in the effort to do that ahead of time will pay off by helping you make sure you have balanced meals with plenty of protein, enough meals to get you through the day, and sufficient snacks to fill in the gaps between meals.

Bring snacks to the field. If you can’t eat them at practice, have them on the way there or right after you leave. Also, bring snacks to class. Bring snacks to your friend’s place. Don’t go anywhere without snacks—you’ll be glad you have them if your day takes an unexpected turn and you find yourself facing a significant amount of time without eating.

Aways know what your next meal will be. Don’t make the mistake of relying on the school cafeteria only to discover they’re serving something you don’t like or something that won’t sit well in your stomach when you need to be running around the field. Planning ahead also leads to better nutritional choices instead of having to settle for whatever you can scrounge up.

Control Your Controllables

Investing effort in taking care of your body by maintaining weight throughout your season is something that impacts more than your current performance—it also sets you up for early success when the offseason begins. Instead of having to make up ground and rebuild what you lost, you can start making new gains and looking ahead.

We’ve loved seeing our athletes start their seasons with so much success this spring. As conference play begins, we encourage players to lean on the work they’ve done to keep trending in the right direction. We’re always here for you to support with anything you need!

Best,
Jen