Spring Training
Whether you’re a baseball star or a weekend warrior, it’s time to get going

Seattle Mariners catcher Dan Wilson gets ready for the baseball season with Club ZUM owner-trainer Peter Shmock, who emphasizes "functional" training — working on the movements and muscles we use in whatever activity we choose.

WHEN I ASKED Mariner catcher Dan Wilson if I could observe one of his winter workouts designed to prepare for spring training and the long season ahead, he said, "Sure, you can even join me." We both knew that wouldn't happen. I was there simply to lurk and learn.

So I watched him work out with Peter Shmock, who owns Zum, a downtown health club where they trained. Shmock, who twice made the U.S. Olympic team as a shot putter, has long worked with Wilson during the off-season, dating back to when Shmock was the Mariners' strength-and-conditioning coach.

Wilson takes a month off after each season to get away from baseball to clear his mind and allow his body opportunity to recover and recharge. Shmock calls this "active rest," and says it is critical for amateurs like you and me, too.

By November, Wilson eases back into shape with weight and cardio work. By January, when I observed, he was back in the batting cage and tailoring his training with baseball in mind. He was fine-tuning his body to the specific mechanics that six months of baseball calls for. You should do that, too, whether you're going to mountain bike, play tennis or whatever else takes you from inside to outside. Now's the time to prepare your body for what it will be doing.

Under Shmock's guidance, Wilson worked on rotational movement (think about the movements needed to swing a bat or pop up from a crouch and throw to second base). Everything also centered on balance — critical to a baseball player's repertoire. Whether taking after a ball, planting, turning, throwing or swinging the bat, a ball player is lost without balance and the foundation of muscle that supports torque.

Shmock had Wilson work with balls and weights, often while fighting to retain balance and engaging core muscles. Wilson would put each foot on unstable BOSU balls while using both hands and arms to circle a five-pound ball around his head and shoulders. He lifted weights poised on one foot. He pulled in a weighted cable with one arm pushing out his opposite leg.

In one move, Wilson did what looked like a "clean and jerk" weight-lifting maneuver while on one foot. The bar had no weight on it, but he still needed to bow his back a bit to finish the move. Shmock urged him to lose the bow and get his pelvis rotated to a position of support. Another drill called for Wilson to get down on both knees and play two-handed catch with a 9-pound ball.

Shmock emphasizes comprehensive movements geared toward function rather than focusing on building this or that body part in isolation. Each step along the circuit must be done fluidly and in controlled fashion. He urged Wilson to be mindful of form, especially as the weight and repetitions mounted. Wilson is a quick study because his form improved almost immediately.

On and on it went until the catcher glistened with perspiration.

"Here and in the batting cage is where you think about and work on the mechanics," Wilson said between checking out his swing in one of the mirrors that line Zum's weight area. "You don't want to be thinking of that when you're in the batter's box or throwing to second base. You want the correct way to be natural then, part of your normal movement."

I couldn't help picturing him in the batting box against Randy Johnson. Wilson, who will turn 36 at the end of this month, has been with the Mariners 10 years. He needs to prepare and have his mechanics down because he is no spring chicken by baseball standards. In that respect, it is easier to relate to Wilson than to most professionals.

In fact, Shmock likens the work he does with Wilson to the "life athlete" approach he urges for everyone. Central to the philosophy is core work, focusing on movements you use in real life and paying attention to cycles and the rhythm of energy.

Richard Seven is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff writer. He can be reached at rseven@seattletimes.com. Steve Ringman is a Seattle Times staff photographer.