VSP Spotlight – Stepinac Baseball’s AJ Liberati

This week’s VSP spotlight shines on Stepinac baseball player AJ Liberati. AJ has been one of our most consistent athletes this off-season. AJ is the prototypical example of how consistency + hard work = results. He desperately needed to increase his lean body mass in order to make real gains in the weight room when it came to his strength & power. And even more so when it came to his speed development on the turf. The results are clear as day…

Let’s dive into it! 

Lean Body Mass

Force = Mass x Acceleration

If you want to get stronger, more powerful, & faster… you need to increase your force production & the rate at which you create it. The first part of the puzzle is increasing the mass.

AJ came to us in June at around 150LBS. Being a 6 Foot 16 year old, we needed to increase that mass ASAP. Through various conversations about nutrition, caloric intake, & macros, we were able to create the perfect nutrition plan to help AJ gain the mass he needed. Since June, AJ has put on 25 LBS of mass & is now weighing in around 175LBS! 

Now, if the mass went up & if he maintained or gained acceleration… the force production should have sky rocketed right…? 

RIGHT!!!!

Force Production

Two tests we use to measure an athlete’s force production capacity are the mid thigh pull & belt squat ISO tests. 

In June, AJ’s mid thigh pull came in at 221 LBS & his belt squat came in at 227 LBS.

Now… 333 LBS & 575 LBS respectively!

So it’s clear. The force production went up. But what about the rate of force production? Were we able to maintain or increase the acceleration to increase his power & speed?

What do you think…?

Power & Speed

How’s this for an answer: Every. Single. Metric. Improved.

Vertical Jump: 21.8 -> 26

RSI Flight Time: .72 -> .36

Broad Jump: 75 -> 98

Triple Jump: 269 -> 294

10 YD Dash: 1.94 -> 1.60

30 YD Shuttle: 5.53 -> 5.21

40 YD Dash: 6.53 -> 5.14

5-10-5 (R/L): 4.81/5.12 -> 4.63/4.47

We are just going to let these results speak for themselves. 

Takehome Message 

These off-season gains are some of the best we’ve seen. Mass up. Strength Up. Power Up. Speed Up. 

And the big take home message… Consistency + hard work = results!

Take it from AJ… this stuff works!!!! So the real question is… what are you waiting for?

See ya in the gym!

Written By:

Jake Lebovitch – Assistant Director of Performance & Content Manager