The May 2007 edition of Muscle & Fitness magazine, features a cover story article that details the training regimen of the best baseball player on the planet, Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals.
This is the worst regimen on the planet, and is totally inappropriate for an elite athlete like Pujols.
For years the sports/fitness media has allowed this kind of nonsense to pass for performance training, be it Barry Bonds’ or Terrell Owens' program, but it is amazing that a new generation superstar is following a program that is so woefully unsuitable. The program that Pujols follows is wrong on every single point and violates every established principle for designing a performance-training program.
Chris Mihlfeld, described in the article as being Pujols’ “full-time personal trainer and training partner,” designed Pujols’ program, and these two have been together for 10 years. Mihlfeld coached Pujols at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City, and he has worked with Albert ever since.
The article highlights the program that Pujols follows - a “high-volume, body builder style” program - and we’re told, “this high-intensity approach is designed to prepare Albert’s muscles and joints” for the season “while also adding some long-ball clout to this already flawless swing.” Um, no.
With the exception of the correct description of this program as being “high-volume” this statement is wrong on all points. Actually almost every statement made in support of this program is incorrect, and I’ll get to them in a bit.
“High-volume, body builder–style” programs cannot address the complex needs of athletes, regardless of the level of competition, and by definition a program cannot be both high-volume and high-intensity, as there is an inverse relationship between these two variables. As volume increases, intensity decreases and there is no way around this. A program isn’t “high-intensity” by virtue of a person’s subjective opinion that a program is by some definition “hard.”
Bodybuilding has nothing to do with athletics since there is nothing remotely related between this style of training and the demands of sport.
Baseball is a sport that requires that its players be able to move quickly and explosively. This training program runs counter to the nature of baseball and is counter productive to Pujols’ baseball training because this program is teaching Pujols to move slower and less-explosively.
It’s a good thing that Albert is blessed with natural ability.
Mike Romano, a National Strength and Conditioning Association Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and USA Weightlifting Certified Coach who has trained athletes of all levels for 20 years, is surprised that a player of Pujols’ stature would follow such a program.
Article comments
1 - Pujolsfan
Dang Albert,chill a bit...that's why you've been off too a bad start to 2007
2 - FK
Nice article. I too, even as a novice weightlifter, found Pujols' workout a little surprising. I've read over and over again the need to do functional and compound exercises when preparing for a sport.
Was wondering if you could illustrate a better "ground based" weights workout for baseball training? I assume it would involve leg work (squats, lunges) abs (side bends, crunches), back (upright rows), shoulders (military press) and triceps and forearm work.
Is a day of recovery still advisable?
3 - sal m
FK:
thanks...
you picked ground based movements that are appropriate for any athlete, and i would add explosive movements such as the split jerk, clean, high pull and/or snatch.
including the appropriate amount and type of ground based barbell and dumbbell exercises minimizes the need to do much arm work.
a day of rest is always advisable with 2 days rest at key times in the program. elite athletes really need to rest and recover in the off-season.
the amount of volume in this workout is really incredible.
4 - Ben Connole
First off, I was a player at Maple Woods CC in Kansas City for Chris Mihlfeld in 1996-1997. I left high school, sat out a year after high school, tried out for the Kansas City Royals at a closed tryout camp where Mihlfeld was a scout. I signed a scholarship at MWCC where Mihlfeld was a coach. I got there at 140 pounds. By the time i left I was 175 pounds of lean muscle. My power numbers where up, Homeruns, RBI's, Doubles, etc.....This is the reult of Mihlfeld's workouts. By far the best coach I ever played for. His workouts consist of very explosive movements very similiar to Pujols's. I never broke down, in fact I was stonger as the season went on. You can't tell me that what Pujol's is doing is wrong, had it not been for Mihlfeld's training program I do not believe I would have done as well as I had. Everything that Mihlfeld teaches are explosive movents. I am very gracious to play for him. In fact, at 31 today, I still use most of his training ideas in my workouts and I have absolutley no complaints and if you talked to other former players they would say the same thing. B/C of his ideas we all believed Mihlfeld would move on to bigger things in which he has. There are a million so-called trainers in this world who have many ideas on how to train, what makes you think his don't work. Did you take into account the oblique strain that Pujols had maybe had something to do with the fact he takes about 500 hacks a day at a baseball.. He just doesn't go to the park and puts on a uniform and goes to the plate do you. He hits of a tee, then in the cage, then soft toss, then batting practice, then back into the cage, then back on the tee. Everyday of his life, same routine. Pujols already had an existing elbow problem thats why they moved him to first. I'm not understanding the your purpose for saying Pujol's wokkout is totally wrong. Until you experience it first hand you could never gather the benefits of Mihlfeld's traing program.
5 - joel
um- have you ever tried this workout? i didn't even read this whole article- i stopped at the part where he says- "since all albert does in the second session is shrugs, there's no need to split it up". try this workout ONE time, and you'll be begging for it to be split up more than once...
6 - bruce
For what it's worth, Mihlfeld is Mike Sweeney's trainer and he is constantly hurt.
7 - Sam
This article is the only thing "wrong." There is so much misinformation written in here I can't believe it was published at all. First off, Pujols is a 1st-ballot Hall-of-Famer if he keeps this up, and he's had 8 straight spectacular seasons already. His elbow problems are due to a partially torn Ulnar collateral ligament that could go out at any time. If you remember, Pujols was originally a 3rd basemen and outfielder but was moved to first after the injury. To date Pujols has not elected to have the surgery and go through a long and grueling rehab.
8 - Bradley
Albert is such a natural talent but I have to believe his workout regiment contributes a little to his success. And what a year he is having!!!
9 - Joe
I agree with this article. The only weight training that a baseball/football/basketball/hockey player needs is 1. FREE WEIGHT SQUAT 2. CLEAN & JERK 3. PULL UPS 4. BENCH PRESS/PUSHUPS 5. AB WORK. These type movements build the muscle base, and things such as polymetrics build the explosion.