I’ve played baseball my entire life and I’ve been going to the gym for most of my adult life, but the one thing I never did was combine those two activities. I was in the middle of a back day at the gym and started wondering what exercises I could do that would also help me in a baseball game. Instead of trying to figure this out on my own, I asked a personal trainer I’ve worked with and got her thoughts. What are the best back exercises for baseball players?
The best back exercises for baseball players are medicine ball rotational throws, pull-ups, and deadlifts.

Of course, she recommended more back exercises than just those so I compiled all her recommendations into a list. Keep reading to learn about the best back exercises for baseball players.
Pro tip: I collaborated on this article with Shelby Doggett from Can’t Miss Fitness. I’ve trained with her and I recommend reaching out to her on Instagram for a phone or virtual consultation if you’re looking for a personalized workout plan.
Article Contents
Back Exercises For Baseball Players
1) Medicine Ball Rotational Throw


Benefits to baseball players:
- Develops rotational power and speed through a player’s hips, which is beneficial for hitting and throwing
How to perform this exercise:
- While holding a medicine ball, stand 3 to 4 feet from a wall with your shoulder facing the wall
- Get in your normal ready position and bring the medicine ball to your outside hip
- Pivot your outside foot, rotate your hips, and throw the ball at the wall
- Catch the ball off the wall and bring the medicine ball back to your outer hip
Tips from a personal trainer:
- Imagine you’re throwing the medicine ball through the wall
- Focus on the speed of your movement, not the weight of the medicine ball
2) Pull-Ups


Benefits to baseball players:
- Pull-ups are good for a player’s shoulder joint health and overall upper-body strength
- Helps players build strength with the muscles they need to throw a baseball
How to perform this exercise:
- Hang from a pull-up bar, with your palms forward and your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart
- Bend your elbows and raise your upper body until your chin is above the bar
- Lower yourself to your starting position
Tips from a personal trainer:
- To get the most benefit from this exercise, be sure to use a full range of motion
- Pull-ups are great for off-season workouts
- Pull-ups are great back exercises to avoid overloading a player during high-throwing seasons
3) Weighted Pull-Ups


Benefits to baseball players:
- Weighted pull-ups strengthen your lats, upper back, rear delts, rotator cuff, and core, and are great for lower back stabilization
- Helps players build strength with the muscles they need to throw a baseball
How to perform this exercise:
- Attach a strength training plate to a workout belt
- Fasten the workout belt around your waist
- Hang from a pull-up bar, with your palms forward and your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart
- Bend your elbows and raise your upper body until your chin is above the bar
- With control, lower yourself to your starting position
Tips from a personal trainer:
- Make sure you use a full range of motion by having straight arms at your starting position
- Add more weight as your body gets stronger
4) Deadlifts


Benefits to baseball players:
- Helps provide a stable foundation for throwing harder
- Deadlifts activate the glutes and hamstrings, which helps players improve their acceleration on the base paths
How to perform this exercise:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
- With a straight back, push your hips back, bend your knees, and lower yourself to grab the bar (this is your starting position)
- With a straight back, lift the bar by pushing the floor away from you with your feet
- At the top of the move, you should be standing completely straight. Do not overextend by arching your back backward
- Slowly get into your starting position by pushing your hips back, bending your knees, and lowering the bar to the floor
Tips from a personal trainer:
- Form is extremely important. An imbalance of weight can put an excessive load on a player’s lower back.
- Players can perform this exercise with a straight barbell or a hex bar
5) Bent Over Low Row (Reverse Grip)


Benefits to baseball players:
- Strengths a player’s back and core
- This exercise aids in stabilizing a player’s midline, which helps players hit the ball harder and throw harder
How to perform this exercise:
- Stand behind a straight bar with your feet shoulder-width apart
- Grip the barbell with an underhand grip, with your palms facing up and your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart
- Your starting position will have your knees slightly bent and your upper body at a 45-degree angle to your lower body. Your hands should be gripping the barbell just below your knees.
- Lift the bar to the top of your belly button
- Lower the bar to your starting position
Tips from a personal trainer:
- This exercise can be performed with dumbbells, barbells, straight bars, or cables
6) Single Arm Dumbbell Row


Benefits to baseball players:
- Single-arm dumbbell rows work the back muscles players use to throw a baseball
- The non-rowing arm also stabilizes the body, which benefits players while they are in the ready position
How to perform this exercise:
- Place one arm and one knee on a flat bench, with your other leg planted on the ground
- With your free arm, get into your starting position by grabbing a dumbbell with your palm facing your body
- Perform a row by raising the dumbbell toward your body, on the outside of your chest
- Lower the dumbbell back to your starting position
Tips from a personal trainer:
- Your body should be stationary as you are performing this left
- Do not turn this move into a shoulder exercise by raising the dumbbell too close to your head. The dumbbell should be raised to chest level.
7) Inverted Row (Feet Elevated)


Benefits to baseball players:
- Strengths back muscles players use when swinging
- Strengths a player’s grip
How to perform this exercise:
- Position yourself under a sturdy bar (like a barbell)
- Grab onto the bar with an overhand grip and your hands shoulder-width apart
- Place both of your feet onto a sturdy surface (like a bench, plyometric box, or chair)
- Bend your elbows and lift your chest to the bar
- Lower yourself back to your starting position
Tips from a personal trainer:
- Keep your body in a straight line while performing this exercise
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together when your chest reaches the bar
- Inverted Rows can be a good replacement exercise for pull-ups
8) Neutral Grip Pull-Ups (For Pitchers)


Benefits to baseball players:
- A neutral grip is better for a pitcher’s shoulder health as it allows more natural rotational movement of a player’s wrists and shoulders
- Pull-ups build strength with the muscles pitchers need to throw a baseball
How to perform this exercise:
- Grab a pull-up bar with your palms facing toward each other and your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart
- Bend your elbows and raise your upper body until your chin is above the bar
- Lower yourself to your starting position
Tips from a personal trainer:
- Use a full range of motion by making sure your elbows are not bent at the bottom of the exercise
9) Back Extensions (Hyperextensions)


Benefits to baseball players:
- Back extensions increase a player’s overall strength when swinging
- Back extensions work the glutes, which helps a player’s acceleration while running bases
- Back extensions help to strengthen a player’s erector spinae, which supports the lower spine
How to perform this exercise:
- Position yourself on a back extension machine with your calves and thighs locked into place against the pads
- Cross your arms
- Slowly lower yourself toward the ground
- When you can no longer go down, slowly raise yourself back to your starting position
Tips from a personal trainer:
- Players can increase the intensity of this exercise by holding a weight
10) Lat Pulldown


Benefits to baseball players:
- Lat pulldowns target the lat muscles, the largest muscles in the upper body, which are crucial for players accelerating their arms when throwing
- Lat pulldowns also work a player’s shoulders, arms, and core
How to perform this exercise:
- Using a pulldown machine, grab the bar with an overhand grip
- As you lower yourself to the seat, tuck your upper thighs firmly under the thigh pads and sit on the bench
- Pull the bar down in front of your face until it is level with your chin
- Slowly raise the bar to your starting position
Tips from a personal trainer:
- Use a wide grip to target the wide-back muscles
- Use a narrow grip to target the muscles along the spine
- Aim to keep your upper body stationary
11) Seated Cable Row


Benefits to baseball players:
- Builds overall strength for throwing and hitting by targeting the upper back and shoulders
- Helps with core stability, which is needed for good posture on the field
How to perform this exercise:
- Sit on the bench with your feet on the front platform and your knees slightly bent
- Get into your starting position by grabbing the row bar handles and straightening your legs so your upper body is at a 90-degree angle with your legs
- Bend your elbows and bring the handles toward your upper abdominals
- Slowly straighten your arms to get back into your starting position
Tips from a personal trainer:
- To isolate your back muscles, turn this into a single-arm seated cable row
- Aim to keep your upper body stationary
12) Cable Face Pull


Benefits to baseball players:
- Builds strength in a player’s upper back to help prevent rotator cuff injuries
- Works the deltoids, shoulders, traps, and lats
How to perform this exercise:
- Grip the rope so both palms are facing up
- Take your starting position with your arms straight and holding the rope at about chin-level
- Pull the rope toward your face so each end of the rope is next to your ears
- Hold this position for 2 seconds
- Slowly extend your arms to your starting position
Tips from a personal trainer:
- Try to keep your shoulders down so you are working your upper back. If your shoulders are too high then this becomes more of a shoulder exercise.
About Shelby Doggett

Shelby Doggett provided the exercises in this article.
Shelby is a NASM-certified (National Academy of Sports Medicine) personal trainer, specializing in cardiovascular training, weight-loss management, and muscle building. She is also the owner of Can’t Miss Fitness.
Follow Shelby on Instagram and reach out to her for a phone or virtual consultation if you’re looking for a personalized workout plan.