Lorenzen's workouts: bats, balls, walls -- oh my!

CINCINNATI -- Bat walking? Spinal waves? Stomach crunches while upside down? Reds reliever Michael Lorenzen might be homebound during the coronavirus pandemic, but his creativity for workouts has not been stunted.

Players around Major League Baseball have been forced to do likewise since Spring Training was halted a month ago, and many are using what’s in their home environment to stay in shape -- and sharing their ideas with fans on social media.

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Nationals closer Sean Doolittle has made use of his dogs while catcher Manny Piña has pushed an SUV up a road. During a March 30 post on Instagram, Lorenzen showed that all he needed for one workout was a bat.

It wasn’t for hitting, however. Lorenzen used his for a “bat walk challenge,” which involved holding a bat vertically from the floor and moving hand-over-hand from bottom to top while stretching himself horizontally.

Lorenzen, 28, has been dedicated to all forms of working out -- including weightlifting, yoga and a cardio regimen -- since before he debuted in the Major Leagues in 2015. It’s helped him succeed as both a right-handed reliever and hitter. He has seven career home runs -- including four in '18 -- and he added playing semi-regularly in the outfield to his resume in '19.

In a video series he calls the “Zen Den,” Lorenzen has been hosting a 15-minute home workout for fans to follow.

A recent video had Lorenzen explain the benefits of performing spinal waves, a wall exercise that he began in 2017 to relieve a stiff back. Once after a win, where he hit a home run, Reds teammates celebrated with spinal waves of their own.

“Power and, everything else, comes from the center out,” Lorenzen said in his instructional video. “If you take care of your spine, you’re going to take care of a lot of other things. … All you need to start is a wall. A wall and some self-confidence because you’re going to look funny when you do it.”