Best Upper Body Exercises for Baseball Players

Strength & conditioning is one of the ultimate development tools for baseball players.

If you talk to any elite baseball player, they inevitably bring up the time they've spent in the gym. But it's not how much time they're putting into the gym that matters—it's what they're doing that translates to performance.

Unfortunately, many players and coaches are still training like it's 1980, crushing old-school bodybuilding lifts designed to add muscle—but not translate to the baseball field or batter's box.

Gone are the days of "chest and tris" workouts with no purpose beyond aesthetics. Today's elite baseball players train with intention and intensity, focusing on movements that directly transfer to their on-field performance.

In this article, we'll break down the top 10 upper body exercises that deliver the highest return on investment for baseball players. No fluff, no gimmicks—just exercises that develop the upper body strength that translates to baseball performance.

Let's dive in.

The Science Behind Upper Body Training for Baseball

Before we dive into specific exercises, it's important to understand how baseball movements create unique demands on the upper body.

Baseball players develop specific imbalances from the repetitive, high-velocity rotational patterns of throwing and hitting. These patterns create disproportionate strength in the anterior chain (front of the body) and can lead to weakness in the posterior chain (back of the body).

This is why random upper body exercises from bodybuilding magazines won't cut it. Baseball players need targeted, intentional training that:

1. Addresses the specific imbalances created by baseball movements
2. Strengthens the kinetic chains that transfer power from the ground through the core and into the arms
3. Develops both the prime movers AND the stabilizers that prevent injury during high-velocity actions

The Importance of Upper Body Development for Baseball Players

Is upper body strength actually important for baseball players? Absolutely—and here's why:

Throwing Velocity: While we often attribute throwing power to the lower body and core (which are certainly critical), the upper body plays a crucial role in force production and transfer. Strong lats, rotator cuffs, and scapular stabilizers are essential for both velocity and arm health.

Batting Power: Generating bat speed is a full-body movement that begins with the ground and transfers through kinetic chains. Upper body strength—particularly in the back, shoulders, and arms—allows players to maintain bat speed through contact and extend their power to all fields.

Injury Prevention: Baseball's repetitive throwing motion creates significant stress on the shoulder and elbow. A strong, balanced upper body with well-developed stabilizer muscles helps absorb these forces and reduces injury risk.

Positional Strength: Whether diving for a ball, reaching to make a tag, or holding a runner on, baseball requires functional upper body strength in unpredictable positions and angles.

Training Priorities for Baseball Players

Unlike traditional bodybuilding splits, baseball players should organize their training around movement patterns rather than body parts.

For optimal baseball performance and injury prevention, we recommend:

• A minimum 1:1 push-to-pull ratio (our baseball programs actually use a 1:2 in most workouts)
• Equal emphasis on vertical and horizontal movements
• Unilateral (single-arm) exercises to address throwing-related imbalances
• Anti-rotation and rotational exercises to develop core stability and power transfer

With these principles in mind, let's dive into the top 10 upper body exercises that deliver the highest ROI for baseball players.

1. Half Kneeling DB Shoulder Press

Movement Type: Vertical Push

When it comes to "press" exercises, most baseball players default to bench press.

In reality, this is one of the most valuable exercises for baseball players, and we'd argue far more valuable than the bench press.

Execution: Set up in a half-kneeling position with one knee down and the other foot flat on the floor. Hold dumbbells at shoulder height with palms facing forward. Brace your core tightly, keeping ribs down. Press the weights overhead with controlled power while maintaining your braced position. Lower with control back to the starting position.

Baseball Transfer: This exercise allows baseball players to recruit more shoulder activation, control a load in the overhead position, and practice getting controlled and braced with their ribs/torso. This directly translates to a stronger throwing position and the ability to maintain posture during the violent rotational movements of throwing and hitting.

Baseball players can also load up this exercise fairly heavily without compromising shoulder health, making it ideal for developing functional strength that transfers to the field.

‍

2. Half Kneeling Lat Pulldown

Movement Type: Vertical Pull

The "lats" (Latissimus Dorsi) are the powerhouse muscles of the upper body that are essential in throwing mechanics.

Execution: Set up in a half-kneeling position with your back knee down. Maintain a tall posture with your core braced and ribs down. Pull the handle down with control while maintaining your brace position. Focus on driving your elbow down and back, feeling your lat engage fully. Control the weight back to the starting position.

Baseball Transfer: Strong lats directly translate to throwing velocity by creating the proper deceleration required in the follow-through phase. Many players overuse their lats in throwing but only through a limited range. Training the entire range with this exercise builds both throwing power and arm resilience.

We think that all baseball players need to be intentionally developing the lats. Stronger lats will translate to velocity. While a lot of guys love machines like the lat pulldown in the gym, we prefer this variation because it allows you to train unilaterally—ultimately allowing baseball players to develop strength equally instead of just their stronger side.

Being in a "half kneel" also allows players the opportunity to really get braced in their core and make strong pulls.

‍

3. Incline Chest Press

Movement Type: Horizontal Push

Baseball players love crushing out chest exercises.

And while the bench press is typically the "go-to" for athletes, we typically keep this out of our baseball programs.

Execution: Set up on an incline bench (30-45 degree angle) with dumbbells held above your chest, palms facing forward. Lower the weights with control until your elbows form a 90-degree angle. Press back up powerfully through the full range of motion. Focus on keeping your shoulder blades retracted and stable throughout the movement.

Baseball Transfer: The incline allows for more recruitment of the shoulders and develops the push muscles in a more complete way. The bench press puts a lot of torque on the shoulders, is bilateral, and has a fixed back (which often creates shoulder compensations and further imbalances). For baseball players, the incline DB press creates a more functional upper body push that better mimics the mechanics needed in throwing and hitting.

During the season, we'll typically reduce the volume but maintain intensity with this exercise—usually 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps with quality.

‍

4. Chin Ups/Pull Ups

Movement Type: Vertical Pull

The Chin Up or Pull Up are classics for a reason.

They're probably the greatest single exercise for developing upper body strength and integrating kinetic chains.

Execution: For chin-ups, grip the bar with palms facing you, hands shoulder-width apart. For pull-ups, grip with palms facing away. Start from a dead hang position with shoulders engaged. Pull your body up until your chin clears the bar, focusing on driving elbows down and back. Lower with control to the starting position.

Baseball Transfer: This exercise develops the back, shoulders, and arms as an integrated unit—exactly how they function during baseball movements. The strong back development from consistent pull-up work creates the foundation for arm health and throwing power.

For reference—chin ups are palm in, pull ups are palms out. This is an important difference as it radically changes the muscle recruitment pattern. Chin Ups recruit more biceps, which we like for baseball players—while the Pull Up shifts recruitment to being more lat dominant.

We'll see a lot of baseball players who can't do Chin Ups. Or they do reps that look like they're out of a Crossfit nightmare. We want to make sure that you're not swinging into reps. In our baseball workout programs, we use the Eccentric Chin Ups for players who a) can't do clean reps and b) need to add muscle and strength. This involves stepping up on a box or jumping up and then controlling your body only on the way down for 5+ seconds.

This gets players rapidly strong, and we'll see them add 5+ reps in a month or two.

‍

5. Off Bench Row

Movement Type: Horizontal Pull

We see a lot of Coaches these days trying to complicate rows, but the Off Bench Row (sometimes called the 3-Point Row) is undefeated.

Execution: Place one hand and the same-side knee on a bench, with the opposite foot on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in your free hand, allowing it to hang straight down. Maintain a flat back position with your core engaged. Row the weight up by driving your elbow high and back, squeezing your shoulder blade at the top. Lower with control.

Baseball Transfer: This exercise develops the pulling muscles in a way that directly translates to both hitting and throwing power. The unilateral nature helps address the imbalances common in baseball players who throw repeatedly with one arm. The braced position also teaches players to maintain torso stability while generating force—a critical skill for power transfer in baseball movements.

It allows players to get braced and strong through their core while making strong and heavy pulls—really loading up those pull-based muscles. This is a great exercise to start to get heavier with and really load up. We also like to add an eccentric focus by adding 3-5s on the way down.

Either way—make sure you're getting strict and eliminating rotation through your torso.

‍

6. Banded Pull Aparts & No-Moneys (external rotations)

Movement Type: Horizontal Pull

These are actually two different exercises, but we like to do them together.

Execution - Pull Aparts: Hold a resistance band at chest height with arms extended forward. With straight arms, pull the band apart until it touches your chest. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end position, then control the return.

Execution - No-Moneys (demo here): Hold a band with both hands in front of you, elbows bent at 90 degrees and tucked to your sides. Keeping your elbows pinned to your ribs, rotate your forearms outward against the band's resistance. Control the return to starting position.

Baseball Transfer: These aren't fancy or fun exercises—but they're insanely valuable for baseball players and should be considered staples in almost every workout. Both of these exercises target the small muscles of the upper back and shoulders that contribute to shoulder stability. Not only will adding these exercises to your warm-up or workouts help keep your shoulders healthy, but they'll restore some balance to your upper body, improve shoulder alignment, and can improve your mechanical positions.

During in-season periods, we recommend baseball players perform these exercises 3-4 times per week, either as part of a warm-up or as standalone "prehab" work.

‍

7. Rotational Landmine Press

‍

Movement Type: Rotational Push/Pull

Alright, so for this article we wanted to focus on pure upper body exercises—but we'd be doing you a disservice if we didn't include at least one rotational based exercise.

Execution: Set up with a landmine attachment (or place a barbell in a corner). Hold the end of the bar at chest height with both hands. Start with your body rotated away from the landmine. Explosively rotate your body while pressing the bar forward and up. Control the return to the starting position.

Baseball Transfer: This movement directly mimics the rotational patterns used in both hitting and throwing. It trains the kinetic chain to transfer force from the ground through the hips, core, and into the upper body—exactly as happens during baseball movements.

The reality is, baseball players should have dozens of rotational based movements in their programs. All of our baseball programs include multiple rotational exercises each day.

This is done with a Landmine and isn't meant to be heavy. We want to load and explode here. Driving from the hips just as if we're batting or throwing.

We could call this exercise the bat speed amplifier—because it's one of the most effective exercises in loading up the exact chains and muscles that translate to the batter's box.

8. Off Bench YTWs

Movement Type: Horizontal Pull

You can only throw as hard as your weakest link allows you to.

Execution: Lie face down on an incline bench. For Y's, raise your arms overhead in a Y position. For T's, extend arms straight out to the sides. For W's, bend elbows at 90 degrees with upper arms parallel to floor, then rotate shoulders externally. Each position should involve squeezing the shoulder blades together.

Baseball Transfer: These movements develop the often-neglected muscles of the upper back and rotator cuff that are critical for both throwing performance and injury prevention. The YTW sequence creates balance in the shoulder complex and strengthens the muscles responsible for scapular control—essential for maintaining proper throwing mechanics.

And while these next exercises aren't fun or exciting—they are insanely valuable in developing the stabilizers that will not only bulletproof your shoulders but also let you throw harder.

They not only challenge the rotator cuffs and shoulder stabilizers, but they also allow players to train through full ranges with control—which truthfully is more valuable than even the strength development gains.

You should have this exercise (or some variation) in your program at least weekly.

‍

9. Push Ups

Movement Type: Horizontal Push

As baseball players advance in their training, they often dismiss push-ups as too basic or "beginner" to have value in their program.

But the reality is, push-ups are one of the most effective exercises that can integrate the entire upper body while creating full-body strength demands that directly transfer to baseball performance.

Execution: Begin in a high plank position with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Keep your core engaged, back flat, and body in a straight line from head to heels. Lower your body with control until your chest nearly touches the floor. Push back up to the starting position by fully extending your arms.

Baseball Transfer: Push-ups develop the pressing muscles in a way that requires core stability and shoulder control—exactly what's needed during both hitting and throwing. The scapular movement during a proper push-up also trains the shoulder blades to move optimally, supporting healthier throwing mechanics.

Once an athlete can perform 12-15 perfect form push-ups, they can progress to variations that further challenge their baseball-specific strength:

1. Eccentric Push-Ups: Eccentric strength is crucial for baseball players, particularly for arm deceleration in throwing. Take a standard push-up and add 5-10 seconds lowering phase with perfect control. This creates tremendous muscle-building stimulus while strengthening the deceleration patterns needed in throwing.
2. Alternating Hand Elevated Push-Up: Baseball rarely allows you to generate force from a perfectly symmetrical position. This variation—with one hand elevated on a ball, med ball, or low box—challenges your ability to stabilize through asymmetrical positions, much like throwing or swinging.
3. Spiderman Push-Ups: As you lower into the push-up, bring one knee toward the same-side elbow, then return to the starting position as you push up. This variation engages the core rotational muscles and hip flexors while training upper body strength—creating a movement pattern that mimics the rotational sequence of throwing and hitting.

Our baseball workout programs feature over 10 different push-up variations tailored to the specific demands of baseball. During off-season training, we'll often program push-ups 2-3 times per week, while in-season we might reduce to once weekly but with higher intensity variations.

Don't sleep on push-ups—they're a fundamental movement that delivers incredible value when performed with proper intensity and intention.

‍

10. Waiters Walks

Movement Type: Carry/Stability

This is a sleeper pick.

Execution: Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell overhead with one arm fully extended, palm facing forward (as if carrying a tray). Walk with controlled steps while maintaining perfect overhead position. Focus on keeping your shoulder packed, core tight, and ribs down.

Baseball Transfer: This exercise builds tremendous shoulder stability through the exact ranges of motion used in throwing. It teaches baseball players to maintain shoulder position while moving—a skill that directly transfers to more consistent throwing mechanics and reduced injury risk.

Most athletes have seen Suitcase or Farmer Carries (we love both) but the Waiter Walk is an exercise that we absolutely love for baseball players to develop those shoulder stabilizers.

Walking with a weight (which doesn't need to be heavy) challenges you to stabilize at the shoulder. We want to make sure that players are challenging themselves to keep their elbow forward, core braced, and always staying in control.

We usually progress this to a Bottoms Up Waiters Walk which makes it far more challenging. Here you hold a Kettlebell with the bottom up for even more of a stability demand. We like players to stay light here and focus on perfect stability.

‍

11. Banded Ys

Movement Type: Horizontal Pull

As a baseball player, you're probably no stranger to this exercise.

Execution: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a light resistance band in both hands. Raise your arms overhead in a Y position, pulling the band apart as you reach full extension. Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top position. Control the return to starting position.

Baseball Transfer: This exercise specifically targets the lower traps and rotator cuff muscles that are critical for shoulder health in throwing athletes. It counteracts the anterior dominance that develops from throwing and helps maintain proper scapular positioning during the throwing motion.

Pitching Coaches have become obsessed with arm care exercises—and variations of this exercise are in most programs.

This "Banded Y" is our favorite because it demands scapular control through an extended range of control. Because it's essentially the opposite of your throwing mechanics—it's a great exercise for addressing the natural imbalances that throwing creates, ultimately leading to healthier arms and shoulders.

We not only build this into our "pre-habs" (which we do each workout) but also into the bulk of workouts.

‍

12. Face Pulls

‍Movement Type: Horizontal Pull

This might be the most underrated exercise for baseball players.

Execution: Set up with a cable or resistance band at roughly face height. Grip the rope attachment or band with both hands, palms facing each other. Stand tall with a slight hip hinge and core engaged. Pull the rope/band toward your face, focusing on driving your elbows wide and back. At the end position, your hands should be beside your ears with elbows flared. Hold for a brief pause, squeezing your shoulder blades together, then control the return.

Baseball Transfer: Face pulls target the often-neglected posterior shoulder muscles—particularly the rear deltoids, rhomboids, and external rotators. These muscles are critical for maintaining shoulder health during the repetitive throwing motions in baseball. The exercise helps counteract the forward shoulder posture that many baseball players develop from throwing, hitting, and general lifestyle habits.

As we touched on earlier, baseball players are notoriously rounded forward in their shoulders and upper bodies. While most people have this forward rounded posture from too much sitting, it seems more pronounced in baseball players because of the repetitive throwing motion and the forward-leaning batting stance.

Face pulls directly counteract these poor postures while strengthening the exact muscles needed for proper arm deceleration during throwing.

This exercise can be done with bands or cables, but is an exercise that every baseball player should have in their program. It doesn't have to be—and often shouldn't be—heavy. Focus on creating that intentional pull back and pinching your shoulder blades together with a pause at the end.

We even recommend adding a banded version in your warm-up routine 3-4 times per week. During the season, when shoulder fatigue becomes more common, these can be a game-changer for maintaining arm health and throwing consistency.

For players focused on increasing throwing velocity, don't overlook this exercise. A stronger, more balanced shoulder complex allows for more consistent and powerful force transfer during throws. Think of it as insurance for your arm health that simultaneously improves performance.

‍

Putting This Into Practice

Alright, so the next question is—what's the best upper body workout for baseball players?

The truth is—there isn't one.

Whether it's a u12 player or an MLB player—we consistently recommend full body workouts. This allows us to train in a more integrated way versus breaking apart our body into different parts.

With the intensive physical demands that baseball puts on the body, we need to be intentional with how we train the upper body and make sure that we're integrating push, pull, and stability-based exercises into our workouts.

For baseball players, we recommend:

• A 1:2 push-to-pull ratio to counteract the anterior dominance that develops from throwing
• Training upper body 3-4 times per week as part of full-body sessions
• Reducing volume but maintaining intensity during the season
• Incorporating these exercises within a comprehensive program that addresses lower body and core development as well

This is why we built our Relentless Baseball programs—to deliver the exact training programs that baseball players need to develop not only a healthy, bulletproof body but also develop the physical attributes that translate to the field.

If you're looking to take your training to the next level, you can find all of our Relentless programs here! If you're looking to integrate these exercises into your own training program—we recommend you check out our "Workouts for Baseball Players" article where we teach players how to build their own workout programs!

Get out there and get Relentless!