Pitchers are at an age where they need to get better (both in physical respects and in terms of their mental approach), but are at risk of developing arm injuries. This post contains an overview of training methods and injury prevention techniques. Parts of this get lengthy, but hopefully at least parts of it are new information.
Working out:
Pitching is a very specialized position. Unlike football players who try to gain raw strength, pitchers need to develop specific muscles while simultaneously protecting their arm from injury. The best thing a pitcher can do is run both long and short distances. Distance running will develop stamina and help a pitcher work deeper into ballgames. Sprints build muscle and quickness, which translate into increased velocity. Velocity comes primarily from the legs and core – not the arm. Train accordingly.
I recommend avoiding lifts that place stress on the shoulder and elbow. Basically, lay off bench press and heavy weights for upper body exercises. Instead, opt for:
· Fast paced circuit training or similar. Ex. P90x, Insanity, Spartacus Workout (there’s a $2 smartphone app that tells you what exercises to do and how long to do them). These workouts utilize lighter weights, but are fast paced and are good for improving cardio and building lean muscle. By doing fast paced exercises, a pitcher becomes quicker and more explosive. Pitching is an explosive motion, so explosive movements are more beneficial than doing 2-3 reps of your bench press max. Throwing weighted medicine balls is another way to develop the muscles a pitcher wants to develop.
· Supplement running with leg weights to train the legs as well as the arms. Leg weights can be done with heavier weights because there is minimal risk of an arm injury.
· Stretching – a lot of athletes do yoga, but any type of stretching based exercise routine will improve range of motion and core strength. Improved flexibility translates to more velocity and reduced risk of injury. I found that a challenging yoga routine, especially in a heated studio, is as challenging a workout as anything with weights. You can find 25 minute yoga routines on YouTube or Comcast On Demand.
· Long Toss – not surprisingly, you get better at throwing by throwing. Long toss builds arm strength, including the smaller muscles/tendons that are crucial to pitching. Long toss before games and on occasional off days.
Protecting your arm:
Running is actually considered to be better for healing an arm than icing after a game. After every game, pitchers should go home and ice regardless of whether they pitched or not. If there is soreness, a couple Advil can help reduce the inflammation. On off days or game days where you will not be pitching, go for a 2 mile run to build cardio health, stamina, and will get the lactic acid (which causes soreness) out of your arm.
Many pitching injuries involve the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff isn’t the type of muscle that you should train with dumbbells. Instead, pick up resistance band tubing (http://www.amazon.com/SKLZ-APD-RKTBB-02-Bullet-Band/dp/B0053C3OR6/ref=sr_1_1?s=team-sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1340376067&sr=1-1) . You can use the baseball specific type I linked to (I think Dick’s sells it too), but any type of resistance band will do the trick. I did a 5 minute tubing routine 3-4 days per week in high school and never once had shoulder issues. My uncle pitched at the Division 1 level and had shoulder surgery in high school. He swears by these bands and says they’re the #1 reason he was able to come back.
Misc:
My personal experience with a professional pitching coach was outstanding, so I’m inclined to recommend it to you all. Typically I would go for a 1 hour lesson in the winter so that my instructor could get my mechanics straightened out before varsity practices. That way, I would look sharp at the early workouts while other guys were shaking rust off. Some years I would go back once right before the season began, other years I wouldn’t. Just depended how I was throwing. I was usually able to take note of what I learned from the instructor and apply it whenever I felt I was struggling with mechanics. The instructor I used was Tom Gilles out of Pekin. Kind of a long haul over there, but within 15 minutes of working with me, my mechanics would be in line, my fastball was harder, I could hit any spot, the changeup speed differential increased to 12mph from 8mph, and my breaking pitches were sharp. Pretty remarkable. I can’t find his contact info online, but I remember it was approx. $40 for a 1 hr. session. If you’re interested, let me know and I’ll get the contact info from my Dad.
I’m noticing a lot of guys are struggling with control or are feeling uncomfortable on the mound. The best way to improve is to throw regularly. It’s good to throw a 20 pitch bullpen in between starts, or at minimum just play catch to stay sharp. Because we often have games in quick succession, we haven’t had time for practices lately where we can throw bullpens. That makes it that much more important to throw on your own outside of games.
Any pitcher who would like to throw a bullpen and work on mechanics, please let me know. I am more than happy to work with you on mechanics either before a game, after a game, or find a mound and throw on an off day. The jump from JV to Varsity is a big one, and it’s important to prepare yourself this summer for what’s ahead.
Hopefully this information is of some value. Again, I apologize for my long-windedness. Please let me know if you have any questions, I’d be happy to go into greater detail.
Coach Stocks
