If you want to increase pressure inside the deflated soccer ball, you have two options. You can 1) apply external pressure (i.e. squeeze it), or 2) Fill the ball with more air.
In one situation, we’re decreasing surface area. In the other, we’re adding air. Both accomplish the same task (increase pressure inside the ball), but I want to focus on on the second one: Adding air to the ball.
Our best throws and swings often happen when we learn how to do this.
Buckminster Fuller holding a biotensegrity model
In Old School vs. New School: The Application of Data and Technology into Baseball, one of the most important concepts discussed was the idea of biotensegrity. Previous logic tells us the body is comprised of a system of fulcrums and levers that flex and extend. Baseball players defy this logic. Fulcrums and levers don’t account for rotation, let alone other movements that utilize multiple planes of motion. As a result, we have to use a different model when analyzing human movement.
In a biotensegrity system, we find order and structure through tension and compression. The same way you create tension in the deflated soccer ball is exactly how our body creates tension to hit and throw: We add air. Our “air pump” isn’t an external device. It’s something we do over 20,000 times per day: It’s how we breathe.
Before we swing or throw, our body starts as a deflated soccer ball. This creates a constraint. We need a large amount of tension present when it’s time to transmit force into the bat or ball. This tension isn’t created by squeezing individual muscles. It’s created through our breathing patterns.
The next time you’re working with a hitter or thrower who’s:
Struggling to find stability
Loses tension fast
Has a tough time transferring force up the chain
have them try this simple trick:
When they make their move out of balance, have them breathe in. Once they breathe in, have them hold their breath to create tension. When it’s time to swing or throw, have them breathe out and exhale forcefully.
