- New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton showed off his nine-step workout routine on Instagram.
- Stanton, a former MVP, is known for his lean and cut physique.
- The workouts he demonstrated target the core, glutes, and back.
New York Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton is training for the 2022 MLB season, and his trainer Ben Bruno gave fans an inside look into how the 6-foot-6, 245-lb slugger is preparing his body.
Bruno posted videos of Stanton's pre-season weight training on Instagram and described how each workout is helping the 32-year-old star stay in shape for his 13th MLB season.
The routine includes nine workouts that target the core, glutes, and back, which are essential muscles for Stanton's role as one of baseball's most powerful hitters. His swinging motion requires strength in muscles in every part of his body to be effective.
Stanton uses weighted side raises and leg raises to build strength in his core and obliques
Stanton's first three workouts build rotary core strength by having him do rotational workouts on one side of his body at a time.
Side-lying lateral raise: In this workout, Stanton lays sideways and holds himself up with one hand on the ground and that same side foot on a bench. He then laterally raises a weight with his free arm, which rotates his core while it is under the stress of being held up on one side.
Side-lying leg lifts variation: Stanton uses the same sideways stance for this workout but holds the weight above his head instead of lifting it up and down, and pushes his feet back and forth on a sliding surface.
Kneeling cable pulldowns: Stanton gets on one knee and pulls a weighted cable hanging from a pulley on each side of his body. This builds core strength and the obliques.
Leg curls and hip extensions help Stanton protect his hamstrings from common injuries
Stanton has dealt with hamstring injuries four different times in his career, including each of the last two seasons which caused him to miss 28 games. To combat this in 2022, Bruno has Stanton focus on building hamstring resilience with leg curls.
Leg curls: Stanton does basic leg curls to build strength in his hamstring, but uses a resourceful mechanism to reduce impact. He ties a resistance band from his feet to a stationary object, then uses his heels to drag a plate back and forth while the bands add resistance.
Hip extensions: This simple workout involves standing on one leg while leaning forward and pushing your other leg back. It stretches the hip and can also help prevent hamstring injuries.
Lateral lunges keep Stanton's hips limber and mobile
Stanton does three different versions of lateral lunges. These build strength and flexibility in his coronal plane, which is important to his ability to move laterally on the field.
Traditional lateral lunge: Traditional lateral lunges involve lunging sideways on one leg while the other leg extends outward, all while holding an 80-lb dumbbell.
Resistance band lateral lunges: This variation involves lunging with one leg while a resistance band is tied around the other.
Step lunges: This variation involves taking a lateral side step after each lunge while placing the dumbbell on the ground and picking it back up with each step.
Stanton finishes his workout with a heavyweight rowing variation
Stanton's final workout is a rowing variation that involves him lying face down on an inverted bench, while holding an 80-lb dumbbell with each hand, bringing one dumbbell to his chest at a time and then back down.
This workout builds tricep muscles and multiple back muscles including the traps and delts.