Baseball has a long-standing hesitation around strength training — the fear that getting too big might cost a player the fluid, fast-twitch mechanics the game demands. 

Brady Gates, a Junior at Grand Rapids Christian, doesn’t buy it. Since training at PowerStrength, he’s added real muscle, real velocity, and even found speed he never had — proof that in his experience, strength has only made him better.

Brady comes from a family with a serious athletic pedigree — his father Brent spent seven seasons in Major League Baseball, and his older siblings have gone on to play Division I volleyball and professional hockey. But Brady’s own results at PowerStrength are entirely his to claim.

THE RESULTS

Brady has been training at PowerStrength since last summer.

The numbers Brady tracks most closely all point in the same direction.

“Definitely a lot more muscle,” he said. “Exit velo has been going way up, velocity out of the arm, spin rate too. I put on about 13 pounds this summer — I’ve been eating a lot, but this helped me get a lot of muscle, and results on the baseball field for sure.”

THE FIRST SIGN

For a player who never considered himself a power hitter, one moment last summer changed how Brady saw what was possible.

“I’ve never really been a power guy, never been super fast,” he said. “Last summer I hit a homer — that was the first time I was like, wow, this is really working. I’ve always been on the slower end, but lately I’ve definitely been seeing my speed improve, getting faster than guys around me.”

THE MENTAL EDGE

Beyond the physical changes, Brady says the preparation itself has changed how he carries himself in games.

“Knowing I’ve gained this muscle, knowing I’ve gained the strength — it helps me go out there and know I can compete with anybody, because I’ve put the work in,” he said. “I’ve prepared.”

THE COMMUNITY HE HELPED BUILD

Brady didn’t just join PowerStrength — he helped bring his teammates in with him.

“One of the big things, honestly, is the togetherness of the group — the camaraderie,” he said. “It’s a really good group of guys, and the instructors are so helpful. You feel comfortable coming every day and getting your work in. There’s no pressure — you just compete with those around you, and it pushes you to get the most out of it.”

That culture didn’t happen by accident. 

“Me and one of my buddies, Alex, first started coming here last summer, and we told other guys how good it was, what it was doing for us,” he said. “I think they all started to buy in — if you’re all buying in together, the results are definitely better.”

WHY STRENGTH MATTERS IN BASEBALL

Brady is candid that strength training doesn’t get the same respect in baseball that it does in other sports.

“I feel like there’s more of an emphasis on it in other sports, like football, obviously,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a lack of it, but it’s not as common for baseball players to focus on strength training. But I feel like it’s definitely a huge part of the game.”

He also pushes directly back on the hesitation some players carry about adding size. 

“I feel like you can never be too big. I feel like strength is always a good thing,” he said. 

“Everything with baseball — when you’re in the box, you want to be able to hit the ball hard. You need strength for that.”

HIS ADVICE

Ask Brady what he’d tell a player considering PowerStrength, and his answer is grounded in his own experience.

“I would say it’s been really good for me, and they should definitely do it — you’ll see the results on the field, and you’ll see it mentally,” he said. “It’s overall a really good thing.”

Asked to sum up what PowerStrength has meant to him, Brady kept it to one word.

“PowerStrength is community,” he said.

WANT TO SEE BIG RESULTS?

3rd–12th grade athletes of all sports and ability levels can sign up at PowerStrength at any time throughout the year while spots remain. Choose the PowerStrength location most convenient for you — Alpine, Kentwood, Jenison, Plainfield, Holland, or Byron Center. Visit powerstrengthpro.com/athlete/contact/ to learn more or click below to schedule your assessment and get started.