If you’ve ever played baseball or even watched a baseball game, you’ve probably seen batters warming up for their at-bat with a weighted “doughnut” around the end of the bat. The idea is that the added weight on the end of the bat will prime the player’s nervous system to swing the bat with more force, and when they take the weighted donut off and swing a normally weighted bat, they will be primed to swing harder and faster. Seems logical, right?

The only problem is, it doesn’t work that way.

Some curious researchers thought to test this long-standing tradition of warming up with a baseball doughnut and found that although the batter felt as if they were swinging the bat with greater velocity, their bat speed actually slowed and their timing was off. In a game where milliseconds and millimeters make a significant difference in the outcome, that can be a big problem.

So why, if we have evidence that this practice does not do what it’s supposed to do, will you still find little league and major league players alike warming up with the weighted doughnut around their bats? The unfortunate reality is that people often do things simply because that’s what they’ve always done. Major league players are just doing what they’ve done since little league, and little league players today are just doing what they see the major league players do on TV, and so the cycle continues. Add to this the fact that perception (falsely) supports the theory -- the player feels like they swing faster after they remove the doughnut, even though they are not -- and you have a recipe for unwavering persistence despite contrary evidence.

Humans are stubborn creatures that will often continue to do things a certain way simply because that’s the way they’ve always done it or seen it done. This habit creates massive blind spots in your awareness and performance. “I/We have always done it this way” is not a statement of value of efficacy. Get rid of your preconceived notions and you might find some blind spots that need your attention.

- PS

4/16/19

• “Blake”

• 4 rounds for time:

• 100’ overhead plate walking lunge (45/25)

• 30 box jumps (24”/20”)

• 20 wallballs (20/14)

• 10 handstand push-ups

• *35min time cap