For those of you that follow me on social media, I’m sure you saw my announcement last week that I have recently signed with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League. I am honored to be a part of that organization and playing with those guys again in 2012. I want to make it clear however, that just because I signed with an independent ball team does not mean I can’t be signed by a MLB team as well. Until I throw my first pitch with the Blue Crabs in 2012, I can be signed by a MLB team without them having to buy out my contract. Once I’ve thrown a pitch in independent ball, the MLB team that wants to sign me must buy me out of my contract. Having that option available makes the future still uncertain even though I have signed to play somewhere. Having gone through this scenario last year, I’ve been able to fine tune my off-season workouts and conditioning to best suit my needs as I move forward.

There is one thing that’s certain at this point. Come April, I’ll head up to Maryland to begin the 2012 season. What is uncertain, however, is when or if a MLB team will come calling and need me to report to their spring training in February or March. This makes the throwing program and workout program very difficult to fine tune. I’ve figured out that if I work out and throw based on a MLB team’s spring training schedule, I’ll be ready for anything. The worst thing that would happen is that I’ll be beyond ready come April when I have to report to Maryland for the independent ball season. I’ve found that preparing for the earliest possible scenario motivates me and drives me to work hard and hope for the best.

My workouts are well-rounded, and I enjoy keeping my muscles guessing. I try to change it up often. Not only does this help with boredom, it keeps your muscles “thinking” and doesn’t allow them to become used to the same routines. A big focus for me is conditioning. I do a workout called Turbo Fire, which is a mix of high intensity training and kickboxing. I also run and ride the bike. My running is usually more sprints than long distance, but that all depends on the workout that I had and the amount of throwing that I’ve done the previous day. I work out my legs and core a lot, and because of my shoulder surgery, I do a lot of rotator cuff maintenance. Putting your body through a 140-160 game schedule demands that you keep your body in top condition.

I’ve been throwing since December, and that’s usually when I begin my program. I feel that it’s very important to slowly work up to long tossing, and building arm strength over an extended period of time tends to work better for me than jumping right in and trying to get game ready quickly. Once I have long tossed enough and my arm feels strong, I’ll hop on a mound. Personally, I get 5-6 bullpen sessions in before heading off for Spring Training. There is a fine line between being ready to go for Spring Training and being game ready too early. The latter tends to cause players to burn out in August.

As always, thank you all for the support that you show me at the stadium, in person, or on social media. I sincerely appreciate each and every one of you. Thanks to MLB reports for allowing me to give you a sneak peek into my off-season workouts, regardless of my destination. My hope is that I’ll play in a town near you and we can meet at the stadium. Make sure to come and say Hi if you see me! You can find me on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/michael_schlact or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/michaelschlact