Head S&C Coach - LSU Baseball 🐅 | Former Astros
Baton Rouge, LA
Joined August 2011
- Tweets3.2K
- Following1.1K
- Followers11.5K
- Likes11K
Pinned Tweet
Let’s geaux! Very grateful to @LSUCoachJ and staff for the opportunity!
Time to get to work developing players and winning championships!
Chris Martin, the former Houston Astros Minor League S&C Coordinator, has been named our Strength and Conditioning Coach!
#ThePowerhouse
A good example here of methods before principles.
Your zone 2 work doesn’t have to be running. Bike, elliptical, stair climber, incline walk, rucking are all examples of other methods to achieve a zone 2 stimulus.
It also highlights the differentiation between energy system development (ESD) and conditioning. ESD is general to physiology, conditioning is task specific.
The way to condition to throw 100 pitches in an outing is through a gradual pitch count build up - this naturally occurs in almost all throwing programs. There’s a reason most pitchers stay around 75-80 pitches on opening day.
ESD supplies the underlying structural and physiological changes to support conditioning when the time comes. They are often used interchangeably, but are not the same.
For pitchers specifically, even 1-2 hours of zone 2 per week can have significant benefits with limited to no downside. It’s not fatigue inducing at that intensity or volume, and there is no interference effect - that is a lazy cop out.
Lifting with your HR always above 100 potentially erodes the training stimulus you are able to get from lifting itself. Simply put, you can’t lift heavy enough without sufficient rest. Lifting itself is a lever that moves the needle more early in a career than an MLB veteran, so Trevor’s case is very different from a high schooler.
TLDR: Running is only one method of zone 2 work. Doesn’t work for you? Don’t include it in training. Conditioning and energy system development are not the same. Both have a place in training. Turning lifting into ESD may dampen the adaptations of your lifting.
Running is slowing your recovery — and most athletes never figure this out.
Your cardiovascular system matters for recovery. Higher VO2 max = faster recovery between sessions. That part is true.
But every time you run, you're pounding on your legs. You're adding mechanical stress to a body that's already trying to rebuild. You're stealing from your recovery to improve your cardio. That's a bad trade.
And here's the bigger problem: steady-state cardio isn't even what you do in a game. You don't cruise at a fixed pace. You spike. You peak. You recover. Then you spike again.
So why train in a way that doesn't match how you actually perform?
Here's what I do instead.
Throwing. Fifteen minutes of catch gets your heart rate swinging between 130 and 160. That's not warmup. That's your cardio for the day.
Then lift. Thirty minutes. Keep your heart rate above 100. The second it drops to 100, you pick up the weight again. You stay in that 100-130 range the whole session.
That's your recovery cardio. Built into work you were already doing.
No extra miles. No extra mechanical stress. No separate cardio block eating into your recovery.
You're already getting the stimulus. Stop adding more load on top of it.
Lean on it! @LucasNawrocki61
Chris Martin retweeted
Coach @ChrisMartinLSU is one of the best S&C coaches working in baseball. He keeps the main thing the main thing - on field improvement and performance.
Lift heavy? Yup
Lift fast? Yup
Sprint? Yup
BFR? Yup
He uses the all the tools to get the job done. This is how it should be done. S&C is not a one size fits all approach. He works with baseball players.
They do not get runs on the board for big lifts, or fast sprints. Those skills help create robust players - but they are not the single reason for success.
Inside this episode Chris and Justin talk all things baseball X's and O's including what it was like winning a national championship, difference in training pitchers and field players, travel, etc...
Full convo out on all platforms. Click below to watch:
youtube.com/watch?v=epkgui9F…
Chris Martin retweeted
Derek Curiel knew he needed more time and muscle before becoming a pro. In his two years at LSU, Curiel put on 20 pounds and increased his bench press PR from 135 to 250. The transformation helped Curiel become Pittsburgh's top selection.
On the Pirates future CF. For @MLB ⤵️
Yes sir! @JakeBrown_14
With the 65th pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, the Seattle Mariners select Jake Brown!
@JakeBrown_14 | @Mariners
Big time @DerekCuriel
#3 30 yd dash time
#3 CMJ Jump Height
#2 CMJ PeakPower/BM
#6 Broad Jump
(Plus a butter 275 lb rep on bench press the morning of 🤭)
Work works @JakeBrown_14
.@NoahWilson26 breaks the MLB Draft Combine 30-yard sprint record and takes the top spot in the assessment ⚡️
💜💛
Congratulations to the best Strength & Conditioning coach in the country, Chris Martin, and his wife, Rachel, on getting married this past weekend!
@ChrisMartinLSU | #ThePowerhouse
Chris Martin retweeted
Have a day, TIGERS!
Here are this afternoon’s Top Exit Speeds from an explosive day at the plate. GEAUX TIGERS!
Are you not entertained?!?!
@ArrambideCade
