The 12 Best Back Exercises for Baseball Players

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.

Front-angled view of a player at the top of his movement of a deadlift exercise

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
About Shelby Doggett

Back Exercises For Baseball Players

1) Medicine Ball Rotational Throw

Starting position for the medicine ball rotational throw. Player in an athletic stance while holding the medicine ball on his back hip. — Starting position with the medicine ball on your outside hip

Demonstrating how to do the medicine ball rotational throw. Heel of the back foot comes off the ground while throwing the medicine ball off the wall. — Pivot the outside foot, rotate the hips, and throw the ball at the wall

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

Starting position for a standard pullup. Arms are shoulder-width apart and player is hanging with his arms extended. — Starting position with the arms shoulder-width apart

Demonstrating how to do a traditional pull up. At the top of the movement and the player's chin is above the bar. — Bring the chin above the bar

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

Demonstrating the starting position for performing a weighted pullup with a weight attached to a belt. Player is hanging from a pull-up bar with his hands shoulder-width apart. — Starting position with the arms shoulder-width apart and a weight attached to a belt

Demonstrating how to perform a weighted pullup with a weight attached to a belt. At the top of the movement and the player's chin is above the pullup bar. — Bring the chin above the bar

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

Starting position for a deadlift exercise. Player is bent down with a straight back and gripping the hex bar with both hands. — Starting position with bent knees, hips back, and a flat back

Top of the movement for a deadlift exercise. Player is standing completely straight while holding a hex bar with weight. — Standing upright in a straight line at the top of the movement

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)

Demonstrating the starting position of the bent over low row exercise with a straight bar. Player is using a reverse grip with his palms facing outward, his back is at a 45-degree angle, and the bar is hanging just below his knees. — Starting position with palms facing out, upper body at a 45-degree angle, and the bar below the knees

Demonstrating how to perform the bent over low row exercise with a straight bar. Player is raising the straight bar to just below his belly button. — Bring the bar to the top of the belly button

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

Starting position for the dumbbell row exercise. Player is resting his left knee and left hand on a flat bench. His right foot is on the floor and his right hand is holding a dumbbell. — Starting position with one knee and one arm resting on a flat bench

Player's left knee and left arm on resting on a flat bench with his right foot flat on the floor. He is holding a dumbbell in his right hand and raising it toward his body to complete a single arm dumbbell row. — Raise the dumbbell toward the outside of your chest

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)

Demonstrating the starting position of the inverted row exercise. Player is hanging underneath a straight bar with his feet elevated on a plyometric box. — Starting position underneath a bar, arms extended, and feet elevated

Demonstrating how to do the inverted row exercise with feet elevated on a plyometric box. At the top of the movement the player's elbows are bent so his chest can touch the bar. — Bend elbows and bring chest to bar

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)

Starting position of the neutral grip pull-up exercise. Player is hanging from a pullup bar with his arms extended and his palms are facing each other. — Starting position with palms facing each other and hands shoulder-width apart

Demonstrating how to do a neutral grip pull-up. Player's chin is above the pullup bar while his palms are facing each other. — Bring the chin above the bar

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)

Steve Nelson in the starting position for the back extension exercise. Legs are secured by leg pads, thighs are resting on the thigh pads, and player is bent over and holding a weight — Starting position with legs and thighs secured on pads and head close to the floor

Steve Nelson demonstrating how to perform the back extension exercise. Body should be in a straight line at the top of the movement. — Body should be in a straight line at the top of the movement

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

Starting position for the lat pulldown exercise. Arms should be extended overhead and gripping the straight bar. — Starting position with arms extended, palms facing out, and thighs under thigh pads

Demonstrating how to do a lat pulldown. Chin is above the bar while seated — Bend elbows until the bar is level with the chin

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

Starting position for the seated cable row exercise. Legs and arms should be extended with hands gripping a close-grip bar. — Starting position with legs and arms extended

Demonstrating how to perform the seated cable row exercise. Elbows are bent and bringing the bar to your body. — Bend elbows and bring the bar toward your upper abdominals

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

Starting position for cable face pull exercise. Player's arms are extended while grabbing each end of the rope with both hands. — Starting position with arms extended

Player pulling each end of the exercise cable so the ends of the rope are next to both of his ears. — Pull each end of the rope toward each ear

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.