The Secret to Lee Seung-yeop’s Success

The secret to slugger Lee Seung-yeop’s success is accurate timing, a clean swing, and hard muscle work.

When Lee (30, Yomiuri) set the Asian record for homeruns in a season with 56 in 2003, his rival was Shim Jeong-su (31, Samsung), who hit 53 homeruns that year. The two sluggers have different swings. Shim’s homeruns were based on a trademark power swing that fits his nickname “Hercules.” On the other hand, Lee hits homeruns with precise timing and a “cleaner” swing.

Three years later, Lee is consistent in his precision. The only change is that he now has muscle power equaling Shim’s. To date, Lee has hit seven homeruns in the 10 games he has played this year, including seven in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and three in Japanese pro baseball regular season games. His homeruns were not off weak opponents either. Major League All Stars Dontrelle Willis (Florida Marlins) and Rodrigo Lopez (Baltimore Orioles) were among the pitchers who gave up homeruns to Lee in WBC play.

Weight training-

Lee hit two homeruns against Yokohama in the first three games of the 2006 Japanese pro baseball season. Both homeruns were off pitches by Kato Takeharu, who is nicknamed, “super submarine.” His second homerun came on a contact swing that sent the ball flying 120m into the left-center stands. This was a testament to Lee’s improved physical strength. He appears to be as fit and muscular as ever.

Lee has had an amazing physical transformation since he started an intensive weight training program at the Saejin Health Club located in his hometown of Daegu two years ago. His body weight increased from 85kg to 95kg in two years. The circumference of his upper arm stretched from 14.7 inches to 16.5 inches. His thighs are about 28 inches, as thick as an adult woman’s waist.

Along with a muscular physique, his strength has also increased. The dumbbell row (the lifting and lowering of dumbbell up to one’s chest) is a weight lifting exercise crucial to developing muscles needed by a baseball player. Lee does this 30 times using a 35kg dumbbell, in addition to 30 machine squats (the bending and unbending of one’s knees at a 15 degree angle with a barbell on one’s shoulder) and arm pull machine exercises (sitting with unbent knees and pulling weights up to one’s chest) easily exceeding 100kg.

Protein diet-

Oh Chang-hun, the head trainer at the health club, shared what he thinks is Lee’s homerun secret. “He focused his training extensively on his back, shoulder, and arm muscles during the winter. Lee knows how to utilize the strength of his whole body when he swings the bat, and does not rely on one particular muscle.” Lee Seung-yeop also put himself on a protein diet which helps muscle growth, sometimes eating 10 or more egg whites a day.

uni@donga.com