Proper nutrition and fitness is extremely important for umpires. This page offers resources for umpires looking to establish or build upon a fitness routine.

It's important to properly stretch before a game. You may use your own stretching routine, or you might like to try the one developed by Major League Baseball: the 3D Free Standing Stretching Matrix. It is designed to address the muscle groups and movements used while umpiring. Some umpires do three sets of each stretch before a game, while others do three or four stretches daily, working their way through the entire chart over the course of a week or more.

Proper nutrition and hydration, or lack thereof, can have huge impact on your performance on the field. This article from Top End Sports gives a good overview of nutrition and hydration specifically for sports officials.

If you're starting a lifting program and don't know what you're doing, it's probably best to hire a personal trainer, or take a class. Barring that, Krista at stumptuous.com has some excellent information on weightlifting and women's fitness in general.

Lance Schoenwald is a personal trainer, professional umpire, and umpire clinician. The following information is from his webpage, and is reprinted with his permission.

Below you will find several workouts, consult your doctor or (lisc.) personnel to see what workout best fits your needs.

Off Season

Workout #1 Push/Pull

Day 1 Push Day
Push up/ Flat bench 3 (sets) x 15 (reps) weight= 55% of max
Shoulder press 3x15 55% of max
Triceps pushdowns 3x15 55% of max
Abs
30 min of cardio (50%-65% of VO2 max)


Day 2 Pull Day
Lat pull down 3x15 55% of max
Seated Rows 3x15 55% of max
Bicep curls 3x15 55% of max
Hamstring curls 3x15 55% of max
Dead lifts 2x10 40% of max
Abs
30 mins of cardio (50%-60% of m VO2 max)


Workout #2

Day 1
Flat bench press 3x12 70% max
Incline Bench press 3x12 70% max
Shoulder press 3x12 70% max
Triceps pushdowns 3x12 70% max
Triceps kickbacks 3x12 70% max
Abs
30 mins cardio

Day 2
Lat Pull downs 3x12 70% max
Pull up's 3x10
Seat Rows 3x12 70% max
Bent over rows 3x 12 70% max
DB Bicep curls 3x12 70% max
BB Bicep curls 3x12 70% max
Abs
30 mins cardio


Day 3
Leg Press 3x12 70% max
Step ups 3x12 40% max
Hamstring curls 3x12 70% max
Squats 3x12 70% max
Dead lift 3x10 40% max
Ab's
30 mins cardio

Day 4
Off day
30 mins cardio


Workout #3

Day 1
Flat bench press 3x10 75%
Incline bench press 3x10 75%
Decline bench press 3x10 75%
DB Flat bench press 3x10 75%
DB Incline bench press 3X10 75%
DB Decline bench press3x10 75%

Abs
30 mins cardio

Day 2
French Bicep curls 3x10 75%
DB Bicep curls 3x10 75%
Straight bar Bicep curls 3x10 75%
Tricep push downs 3x10 75%
Tricep kick backs 3x10 75%
Dips 3x10

Abs
30 mins cardio

Day 3
Front Pull downs 3x10 75%
Seated Rows 3x10 75%
Bent over rows 3x10 75%
DB Bent over rows 3x10 75%
Dead lifts 3x10 50%
Should shrugs 3x10 75%
Pull ups (Palms facing you) 3x10

Abs
30 mins cardio


Day 4
Straight bar shoulder press (front) 3x10 75%
DB shoulder press 3x10 75%
Up right rows 3x10 75%
Front raises 3x10 75%
Squats 3x10 75%
Hamstring curls 3x10 75%
Lunges 3x10 75%

Abs
30 mins cardio (low intensity)


In Season


Workout #1
Total body 3-5 times a weeks.

Push up's failure
AB crunch failure
Pull up's failure
AB crunch failure
Dry Squats (no weights, your weight x 2)
AB crunch failure

Cardio

1-3 min walk
3-4 min jog
4-5 min walk
5-7 min jog
7-8 min walk
8-9 min jog
9-10 min walk
10-12 min jog
12-13 min walk
13-14 min run
14-15 min walk
15-16 min run
16-17 min walk
17-18 min run
18-19 min walk
19-20 min run
20-21 min jog
22-25 min walk