There are more statements in this article that need to be addressed.
We’re told that “on a heavy leg day” Pujols and his trainer “were banging out sets of 10 on the leg press with nearly 1,200 pounds.” There is no good reason for any athlete to do leg presses, let alone do them with this much weight. To utilizing the leg press in a training program is to ignore the need for athletes to perform ground-based, multi-joint, explosive, three-dimensional movements. To have an elite athlete grind out sets with 1,200 pounds is pure folly.
Working in a leg press – or Smith machine - forces the body to move in a manner determined by the machine and puts unnatural forces on the muscular-skeletal system, especially the back, hips and knees. Adding this kind of crazy weight to the formula is a recipe for disaster.
Towards the end of the article we get this passage, which reveals just how little Pujols’ trainer understands the process of training an athlete for sport.
“Mihlfeld’s off-season boot camp is so intense that Albert sees the regular season as his only real ‘downtime,’ training-wise. ‘The baseball season is like an off-season for me because it seems easy compared to what Chris and I do to get me ready for 162 games or more.’ Adds Mihlfeld: ‘The philosophy is to maximize his performance by teaching his body how to perform while fatigued.’”
This is wrong on all counts. You don’t prepare the body for a sport like baseball by tearing it down in the off-season. There is no basis in science or common sense to make this assertion.
The concept of rest and recovery has been lost on these bodybuilding-style trainers and this is where the taint of drugs affects legit guys like Pujols. The modern philosophy of bodybuilding routines is predicated on the fact that the competitive bodybuilders who design, follow and reap the benefits from these high-volume programs are on drugs that help them to grow. Without drugs, professional bodybuilders and their programs would garner little attention.
However this misapplication of principles is leading countless athletes down a counter-productive path. Pujols asserts that this program has helped keep him from breaking down, but the reality is that last year he suffered a severe oblique injury and has had a recurring elbow problem. As performance coach Robert Stephens said above, over time this kind of program will give Albert problems with regard to wear and tear injuries.
The high-volume of this program, particularly all the arm work, can certainly be blamed for some of Pujols’ elbow woes. All of the wear and tear that comes from all the sets and reps will definitely put unneeded stress on joints and connective tissues. And it’s no wonder that Pujols had an oblique problem last season given the lack of explosive, multi-joint movements at the expense of machine-based machines that are included in this 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!!!