Your favorite hardball heroes are gearing up for what may well be the most important part of the season: Spring Training. The holiday season is over. Resolutions for the new year have already been forgotten. They are carrying the same few extra pounds as you are. They are not in competition form. While they are aided by good genes and millions of dollars worth of motivation, they still have to work at getting in shape just like the rest of us.
That being the case, why not declare Spring Training for yourself, or even your entire household. Granted, no one died and made you commissioner of 123 Shady View Ln. But you can lead by example. Here are a few ideas for making Spring Training a reality for you, and those you care about:
Play Ball!
A lot of people try to play baseball. Few can manage it well. Baseball is a game for elite athletes, and the children of elite athletes. In part, that is why softball exists. You don’t have to be able to throw a ball at 100 mph. And you certainly don’t have to be able to hit one of those incoming meteorites to enjoy the game, or something an awful lot like it.
Softball equipment differs from baseball equipment. It is not good to mix and match the two. If you don’t have a local retailer of softball equipment, you can look online for places like Homerun Monkey that offer specialized equipment for all phases of the sport. Homerun Monkey’s softball bats cover the range of official lengths and weights for both slow pitch and fast pitch softball for kids, men, and women’s variants of the game.
Once you have the right equipment, you can grab the kids and drag them, kicking and screaming if necessary, away from the GameZone Advanced. Once you get them outside and into an open field with gloves, a ball, and a wicked looking stick, they will do the rest in short order. It will be game on before you have a chance to shout, “Play ball!”
Don’t Call It a Diet
Naturally, what you eat is an integral part of getting back in shape. If all you eat is junk, then it could be said that you have an unhealthy diet. You don’t fix an unhealthy diet by going on a diet. You fix it by altering your present diet to something more healthy. No one can go on a diet. If you are alive, then you are already on a diet. The only thing anyone can do with regard to their diet is to alter it for the better or worse.
Healthy snacking is a great place to start. You can reward the big win by not going to McDonalds. Replace chips with fruit. If you absolutely have to have something that comes in a vending sized bag, you can try something like NatureBox. That is a company that offers a unique spin on healthy snacking. Getting the munchies does not have to mean packing on the pounds.
Mental Gymnastics
Finally, it is not just your body that needs to be in shape for the new season. It is also your mind. One of the great things about baseball is the focus on stats. With enough stats, whole seasons can be played in the mind. For some difficult parent and child relationships, baseball stats were the one thing they shared that brought them close together.
The memorization is a healthy, mental exercise. It can also make the season more fun. It is nice to know the backstory behind a few players that you do not normally keep up with. Pick a few. Make a project of it. And follow them throughout the season.
Spring Training isn’t just for the pros. It’s for everybody.
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