People often ask me what the off-season is like. The truth is, there isn’t one. There’s just a time of year when we’re not playing games.

I love being a professional baseball player. It's what I've always wanted to do and trust me, I take it very seriously. Being on the mound is what I've dreamed about since I was a little kid and I know it takes hard work, focus and dedication to justify my presence up there. Not to mention, if you're going to play a game, there's no reason not to put everything you have into winning. I never want to walk off the field feeling as though "if I'd only trained harder" or "if I just studied the opposing batters more". I can control those things and it's part of the job to make sure I do because regret isn't an option when you get a chance to do it all over again next year.

When my season is finished - ideally in late October - I usually take a week or two off from baseball to recharge. Then my daily job is to make sure I'm ready for spring training.

But in that two-week vacation, when I remove myself from the daily routine of baseball, it's time to decompress. It gives me an opportunity to reflect on everything that transpired over the course of the year. I'm a big believer in not being afraid to fail but making sure you learn from your mistakes and come back stronger. I make adjustments throughout the year, be it physical or mental, but the season is long and challenging. If you change too much mid-season when your team and your fans are counting on you, it can sometimes throw off your whole game. The season is when it really counts and there are people looking to you as a player to carry your share of the load. That's why I try not to draw too many conclusions as it's unfolding and just leave my heart on the field in every start and let the rest take care of itself. I'll catalog any thoughts and realizations during the heat of it and make sure I fix what I can in the off-season to get better. So when we pack up our lockers and call it a year, that's my chance to sink my teeth into the past season, establish what I need to do to continue to improve and start to lay out my game plan for training.

Barry in spring training in Scottsdale, AZ

With training, everyone takes their own approach. The major leagues are filled with talented ball players who have taken different roads to success. It's important to know yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses. What situations and environments do you react to best? I know some great ballplayers whose off-season routines wouldn't be effective for me. At this point in my life and in my career I like to think I have a solid understanding about what produces the best results for me. It's all a process, constantly trying to improve and learn new things and it's driven by physical and mental preparation.

During the season, there's not a whole lot time to put in that kind of work. Believe it or not, the travel is really demanding and time is precious because everything tends to be pretty regimented. A team needs that kind of structure to stay focused and sharp. So I relish that time in the off-season when I get to train my body. It's refreshing to have the kind of time that I can use to my advantage. And there's no time to waste. The whole time I'm working on my body and honing my mental game, out of the corner of my eye I see the season sneaking up on me. The off-season is also a chance for me to get deeper into some of my passions like music and photography. I consider baseball - both in and out of season - my work and play but those other interests are my releases. That balance I strive to maintain helps keep me grounded and my focus sharp. It's how I stay ready.

When pitchers and catchers report to camp each February, I want to arrive with the confidence that I did everything within my power to be ready to go and give my team the best possible chance to win. That's what drives me. My team and my fans shouldn't ever have to worry about whether I'll be prepared. That's why I see trainers, physical therapists, and nutritionists to help keep both my body and mind strong and healthy.

In the past, I've incorporated a number of different exercises and disciplines into my routine including yoga, Pilates, water work, arm circles, long toss and repetition of my mechanics, deep tissue massage and some other typical workout activities. This past off-season, I aimed to build muscle mass and get leaner. It's a long season and I want to be sure I can have a long and healthy career. As a pitcher and with my mechanics, carrying a lot of weight isn't beneficial for my game. That's why I work so hard on flexibility and lean mass. Now, a lot of my workouts focus on improving my core strength. You may have read about this in some magazines or on the web. Some of the most powerful guys, the ones that can really turn on a ball or clock over a 100 on the radar gun don't have that ability because they have huge biceps or a chest you could bounce bullets off of. It's because their core is strong. Your legs, your back, your abs - that's your core and believe it or not, that's where your power generates from. By focusing on this, I think it will help me become a little more explosive on the mound.

I've worked with a number of different trainers that have helped tremendously, guys like Mike Clark at the National Academy of Sports Medicine and Alan Jaeger and his Sports Pro Off-Season Training Camp, which gives players six weeks of intensive training. I look it as my baseball boot camp. The off-season work I've put in over the years has helped strengthen my arm and has made me more durable and more flexible - which is crucial over a 162 season and hopefully a long playoffs.

Lights, Camera, Action! Barry films a segment for the TV show ARLI$$ on HBO.

The mental element of training is also a big part of what I do. When you're out there on the mound facing one of the best sluggers in the game, you need to be able to calm down, channel your excitement and put pitches where you want them. As obvious as it sounds, you have to breathe which isn't that easy. That's where a lot of my Yoga and mental exercises come into play. My breathing exercises also help out in a big way. You'll often see a guy step off a mound or out of the batter's box and take a deep breath. That's what it's all about. Breathing is a mechanism that helps calm me and sharpen my focus when I need it most. If I'm off my game, breathing is a way to restore balance to all the different forces - body, approach, confidence, and focus - that help me pitch.

The training regimens are as much about the mental aspect of the game as it is strengthening your body. Here's a sample of my off-season schedule on workout days:

Noon - 2:45 P.M.
Mental training, concentration, Hatha Yoga

The essence of this training combines both physical and mental skills throughout the process. So I'm preparing myself for both the practice and game situations. This helps me, as I'm working my body, strengthening muscles and increasing flexibility I am also working my thoughts. I visualize game situations so that I can get used to allowing my body to just react on the field. It's about learning to trust that if I just relax and focus, I can succeed on the hill regardless of the circumstances and regardless of the outcome.

You probably have a good idea of what Yoga is but I combine that with working on awareness, visualization exercises and understanding game management. That involves everything from understanding distractions so I can tune them out to mound management and how I get into a flow and rhythm when I'm pitching. As Yogi Berra said, "the game is 99% mental and the other half is physical". His math may have been a little off but his sentiment was dead-on.

3:15 - 3:45 P.M
Arm Care/Arm preparation - Surgical tubing (J-Bands), arm circles, isometrics

The mental approach to the game can take you from a good to a great pitcher. Let's face it though, as a pitcher my arm is my game. It's crucial I make sure my arm and all the supporting muscles surrounding it are in top shape. This portion of my day is all about arm calisthenics. With these I'm stretching, strengthening and conditioning my arm. Don't get me wrong, I work on the rest of my body, my stamina, my legs, etc. but keeping my arm strong is the payoff.

3:45 - 4:30 P.M.
Throwing program - Long toss - Mechanics

At this point in the day, I'm actually starting to play some ball as you envision it. This isn't playing catch like throwing the ball around with a friend or with your dad though, there's a little more to it. There's a process where I have to ensure that I'm always in the right throwing position, making sure my release points are correct and I have coaches helping to ensure that consistency. So it is catch, but with some rules.

4:30 - 5 P.M.
Bullpen Work - Mechanics and visualization/mental work

Then I get to the mound work. I'm throwing, working on mechanics and keeping in mind all the drills and throwing I've been doing earlier. The difference here is I'm starting to visual game situations and establish a rhythm. The goal is be able to repeat my delivery so that I can build consistency. I'm also working on my footwork, pacing, holding runners on all that good stuff a pitcher needs to succeed.

Barry following through with one of his signature
curve balls.

5 PM.
Post workout Arm Care - Surgical tubing - Cardio

At this point, it's time to cool down. I've spent so much time loosening up my muscles but the post workout routine is essential to maintain that flexibility. I'll be sore working out that hard but I want to make sure I'm loose. Then I can start thinking about what I'm going to do that night whether it's catching a band with some friends or grabbing some dinner and practicing on my guitar. I have to make sure I'm staying loose mentally too.

Another aspect of my training is nutrition. This follows me throughout the year. It's so much easier to have a healthy lifestyle all year rather than turning it on and off for the season. It takes discipline but I feel a lot better and more energetic when I’m putting the right things in my body. Of course, I love cookies as much as the next guy, but I now look at food as fuel for my body. When I think of it that way, I make better choices. It's something I'm always working at. I've worked with nutritionists who have helped shape the way I eat. Moderation is important and I'm a fan of staying natural for food - water, fruits and vegetables are all key.

Of course, eating healthy doesn't mean eating boring. The deeper in my career I get, the more important it is for me to be able to maintain my health so nutrition has become an even bigger part of my training in recent years. Now I'm hooked up with a nutritionist who used to work for NASA. He's not quite feeding me rocket fuel but he's been able to develop a nutrition plan that is specific to my body type. There's all sorts of chemistry involved and the thing I'm most impressed with is that all the food he's providing me tastes so good I sometimes have a hard time believing it's that good for me. He makes a mean cherry chocolate muffin. The focus of the nutrition plan is to provide my body with the nutrients that are essential to recovering during the season. As a pitcher, I technically go out and play every fifth day but it's an intense fifth day that puts a lot of stress on your arm, your mind and your entire body. So to be at my top form for the next start, I need to be able to recover quickly. That's what this new nutrition plan is designed around.

And again, it takes effort but I try to be as diligent as I can. It can be hard at times, but it's so rewarding to enter the season feeling ready. I'd compare it to being a student. You can spend hours upon hours studying for a big final, and that preparation can be draining. It can be scary. It can seem overwhelming. But when you're handed that test, you know you've prepared, and you know there's nothing that can shake you because you've done the work; you've covered it from all angles.

That's how I try and approach pitching.