Off-season workout tips for middle school pitchers

I've been getting a lot of e-mails about off-season workout programs. Many pitchers are already getting started with their off-season strength training. One of the e-mails I got was from a dad whose son is 13 and will be working out this off-season for the first time.

He wanted to know how his son could develop strength safely.

I believe that there are two requirements that any kid must have in order to workout with weights:

• They should be mentally mature enough to know what they are doing and why they are training. (The ability to concentrate is an important factor in a resistance training program.)
• They should be physically mature, beyond puberty, which for some kids happens later than others.

With the above factors in mind, it is possible for younger pitchers to gain strength through training, but it must be kept within reason.

Parents and coaches need to make informed decisions for their players. With younger kids, I think the emphasis should be on overall conditioning and strengthening the ligaments and tendons. Ligaments connect bone to bone and tendons connect muscle to bone.

A junior high pitcher, such as Jake, should concentrate on proper technique, which comes from performing movements with light weights or no resistance.

That's because exercise habits formed at a young age are more likely to be carried over into adult years. If movements are performed incorrectly at a young age, it's much more difficult to correct the movements later in a boy's baseball career. (The same principle holds true for the necessity of developing proper pitching mechanics at an early age, by the way.)

A modified off-season workout program for junior high pitchers should be prepared on an individual basis. I have done that for you in my new guide to pitching workouts, The TUFFCUFF Strength and Conditioning Manual for Baseball Pitchers, but additional precautions may need to be followed.

My TUFFCUFF program for this age group involves predominately lightweight or bodyweight exercises, and a high number of repetitions. This helps to prevent injury by not overworking young, growing joints with  "bulk" workouts. As a pitcher, you need to be lean and powerful, not bulky.

Junior high school age is a good time to develop general coordination in pitchers through creative, active games. I also encouraged Jake's dad to have Jake participate in numerous sports and physical activities throughout the year other than baseball.

If you're the parent of a junior high school pitcher looking for pitching-specific workout guidance this off-season, check out The TUFFCUFF Strength and Conditioning Manual for Baseball Pitchers.

A better way to throw bullpens

There's a lot of talk these days in baseball circles about "sport specificity" -- that is, training the specific movements that a sport requires of its players.

For baseball pitchers "specificity" often includes performing explosive, plyometric strengthening exercises (with body weight or medicine balls, for instance) as opposed to doing a typical weight-room workout -- bench presses on a bench, leg extensions on a machine, etc.

The med ball and plyo workouts are better than traditional weight-room workouts because they more closely mimic sport-specific movement. (I have yet to see a pitcher make a pitch from his back, such as his body placement when performing a chest press on a flat bench.)

But while much of the focus of sport specificity in baseball has focused on weight-room training, another, perhaps more important aspect of "pitching specific" training has been largely overlooked: throwing.

Think about the last time you threw a bullpen in practice. What did you do? If you're like most baseball pitchers across the US, you threw a bullpen consisting of about 35 to 80 or 90 pitches, all in a row.

Hmm.

Is this how you pitch in a game? Do you ever make this many pitches in a row in a game?

Of course you don't (unless you're getting completely shelled).

That's because the goal of a pitcher is to be out of an inning in 12 to 15 pitches. So guess what: By throwing those 35- to 90-pitch bullpens, all in a row, you're wasting your time -- because that's not how you pitch in a game. You're not reaping the full benefit of the "work" your putting into your workout. And who has time for that?

So what can you do to make your bullpen routines more sport specific and beneficial to your development as a pitcher?

Divide the number of pitches you're going to throw on a given day into five or six smaller increments or "sets."

For instance, if you are going to throw a 75-pitch bullpen, instead of throwing 75 pitches in a row, throw five "sets" of 15 pitches, with about five minutes rest in between each "set."

Because you're resting in between sets, your bullpen session is going to take you longer to do than throwing pitch after pitch, all in a row. But it'll prepare you far better for the "sport specific" requirements of pitching than quickly breezing through another bullpen session. That's because this principle of pitching specificity relates not only to type of activity done (throwing a bullpen) but also the intensity and rest periods at which the activity is performed (throwing bullpens in "sets," with periods of rest in between, just like you pitch in a game).

This is how I threw bullpens in college and in pro ball. (It was my college pitching coach at Bradley University, former Major League pitcher Mike Dunne, who steered me in this new, better direction of throwing bullpens.)

The next time you throw a bullpen, make it "pitching specific": Throw it in "sets." I think you'll be happy with the results. I certainly was.

The key to developing strength in youth pitchers

There's an on-going discussion on my pitching forum about how to safely but effectively build strength in "pre-high school" pitchers.

A 14-year-old member asked how he can gain weight but also get bigger. "My coach told me to get some protein supplements," he says. "Does any one have any recommendations for what would work best for me?

"Also if you start to weight training too early can it stunt your growth? I have been told it does, and I have been old it doesn't!"

It doesn't.

But developing strength in younger players has to be done correctly. It should be supervised by an adult or coach, and it has to be taken seriously. I also suggest using only lightweight or body-weight exercises. You don't have to push it with the weights, particularly at 14 years old, the age of the forum member who asked the question.

Train the movements. That's what's key.

Movement-based pitching training is the most effective way to develop "pitching specific" strength, power, stamina, and flexibility.

I started lifting at 13 years old, when I advanced from the "Little League mound" (45 feet) to the regulation mound (60.5 feet). My dad and I worked out at a local fitness center before school, two or three times a week. (I got permission to miss homeroom, since we showered at the fitness facility.)

The complete workout program I did at 13 and 14 years old is in my TUFFCUFF Strength and Conditioning Manual for Baseball Pitchers. It takes about 60 minutes to do.

But it includes 3-lb. shoulder conditioning circuits (standing front raises, 45-degree raises, and side raises, as well as others); body-weight squats, walking lunges, and step-ups; push-ups; physioball sit-ups; and, of course, running/sprinting outdoors, on a treadmill, or biking on a stationary bike at various distances. (TUFFCUFF has six stationary bike programs in it: three for an upright bike and three for a recumbent bike.)

Every few months, I'd get a technique check up from a personal trainer. That's because my dad wanted to be sure I was doing the movements correctly. After all, we were training movements -- and proper form is paramount. TUFFCUFF has more than 509 pictures and illustrations to guide you.

I never took supplements at this age, however. And I don't recommend it. It's not that diet isn't important.

It is.

But if you aim for fresh foods with color, supplements (even vitamins and minerals) may not be necessary. It's always best to ask a physician if in doubt.

Look for fresh foods with a lot of color. The more color, the more nutrients -- and the better for you. I'm not talking about cookies with colorful frosting or orange-colored chips. I'm talking about fruits and veggies: bananas, apples, grapes, carrots, yams. Eat all other foods in moderation. This goes for high-protein foods such as chicken and red meats, too.

Younger kids will "fill out" or bulk up as they get older. I don't think it should be the emphasis of a young kid's pitching training. Let is happen naturally. And it WILL happen if you focus on movement training and good nutrition first.

Working hard in the weight room, using proper form, and eating nutritious foods will allow you to pack on good muscle safely and effectively.

Finally, remember to drink plenty of water. The one diet mistake most young kids make is they don't drink enough water and other "no calorie" or "low calorie" fluids -- such as diluted Gatorade and PowerAde; diluted 100% fruit juices; and skim milk, 1% milk, or soy (if you can stand the taste!) milk.

As for "stunted growth"? It's not true. I'm 6-foot-3.

For more information about my latest guide to pitching workouts, click here.

How many different baseball pitches should you throw?

A member of my pitching forum started a thread on pitching grips.

Because I've gotten quite a few e-mails about the topic, I thought I'd address it here.

A lot of pitchers want to know how many different pitches they should work on: Two? Three? Five?

I think a big misconception many pitchers have is that they think that the more pitches they throw, the more difficult they'll be to hit.

More times than not, the opposite is true. The trap I see a lot of pitchers falling into is spending time throwing many different pitches -- fastballs, sliders, curveballs, screwballs, splitters, changeups, palmballs, knuckleballs, etc., etc. They never master one or two, which reminds me of that old saying: "Jack of all trades, master of none."

In high school, you need just two "plus" (above average) pitches (fastball/changeup) or three average pitches (fastball/changeup/breaking ball).

In college, you need two plus pitches and a third average pitch.

In professional baseball, you need three plus pitches (and some starters have a forth average pitch).

I'm counting four-seam and two-seam FBs as one pitch, by the way.

When it comes to pitching grips, more is not better. Master the fastball and another pitch. Make those pitches above average and you'll have a ton more success than throwing a dozen junkers.