Pitching Training: What To Focus On This Off-Season?

During your pitching training this off-season, it's important to remember that your legs are your best assets to a long, healthy and successful career. I strongly encourage you to focus some considerable attention on building strength, power and endurance in your lower body.

I'm talking about conditioning your lower body by doing ground-based lower body exercises, adding olympic lifts, stretching, etc. The ground-based part is important. We pitch on our feet, so you should train on your feet. Squats are better than seated leg presses. Lunges are better than seated leg extensions. You get the point.

Of course, all this is laid out for you in my baseball pitching workout program.

Pitching Exercises: A Comparison Between Front Squats And Back Squats

The squat, as you may know, is arguably one of the best lower-body exercises for baseball pitchers -- it's ground-based, functional and utilizes just about every muscle from the waist down.  That last part is key.

But while many baseball pitchers focus solely on more traditional back squats (I know I did), this article talks about the benefits of doing front squats, too, as well as some important tips on being smart and using correct form.

No matter how you look at it, squats are my all-time favorite. And at the height of my career in college and pro ball, I could do 2 sets of 455 pounds at 10-12 reps each set (I wanted endurance, not max). Do you squat? How much? How many times?

Shoulder Exercises For Baseball Pitchers

Have you done your Jobes shoulder exercises or throwers 10 today?

Training During The Holidays

During the holidays, most of us are forced to change up our training routines, pitching workouts and throwing programs to fit in family activities. Here are a couple of helpful pointers for keeping the training going during the holidays.

1) Don't forget your ball and glove - grab a family member and have a catch. Even 10 minutes, extending it back to 120 feet or so, is better than nothing and will help you keep your touch on the ball.

2) Go early – with a house full of friends and relatives, there is a strong chance you won't make it to the gym for that 5 p.m. workout session. An early dog gets the bone approach might be the answer.

3) Find a gym – the gym near your in-laws house may not have platforms, plyo boxes and flex bands, but you can do alternative exercises instead. If you don't have access to a gym, do some interval running, sit ups, push ups, bridges, body-weight squats, body-weight lunges, etc. Bring along your resistance bands (tubing).

4) Get tough - by all means, if you haven't picked up a copy of my 52 week, year round conditioning program for pitchers, you should consider looking into it. It contains more than 190 exercises and variations of the types of things you can do to get in awesome pitching shape.

No excuses, only gains.  Happy holidays!

Sample 7 Day Throwing / Conditioning Program For Starting Pitchers

Every college baseball program has a different training routines for their pitchers. Here's a sample 7-day throwing/conditioning program that starting pitchers follow at Div. 1 Indiana State University.

Sunday - Game Day Start (80-110 pitches)

Monday - Rest/30-40min run/med-ball abs/rotator-cuff strengthening

Tuesday - Long toss/long sprints

Wednesday - Light throwing/weights/mild flat-ground bullpen to get the touch and feel of pitches/medium sprint work

Thursday - Really light throwing/short sprint work/abs

Friday - 15-25 pitch bullpen (to get touch and feel) at 75-85%

Saturday - Throw to get the arm loose/pregame running (30yd sprints)

Sunday - Game Day Start (80-110 pitches)

4 Ways To Get Optimum Pitching Velocity, Movement And Control

There's a nice post here on the High School Baseball Web regarding the development of optimum pitching velocity, pitching movement and pitching control. One member nailed it with his response: the 4 things that will help any pitcher with getting optimum velocity, movement and control with his fastball are as follows.

1. Try to stick with 2-finger grip. The closer together his fingers stay (without losing control) the more force he'll transfer to the ball, and the better the movement.

2. Make sure your thumb and middle finger cut the ball in half. A small difference on the ball can lead to a big difference in hitting locations at the plate.

3. Check your hand in the glove before he starts to throw. Make sure your hand is directly behind the baseball. This set-up can help keep the hand behind the ball throughout delivery; helping with velocity and control.

4. "Aim small." Rather than aiming to hit the "glove" focus in on a spot in the glove about the size of a dime, and throw the ball through the spot (not to the spot).

Of course, other factors that affect pitching velocity are the development of functional strength, and the develop efficient, repeatable mechanics -- this will go a long way to help as well.

3 Nutrition Tips To Help Baseball Pitchers To Recover Faster From Workouts

To help your body recover from the stress of your baseball workouts, you should try to consume calories within 30 minutes of the end of your training session. It will help you trigger your body out of a state of breakdown and into a state of recovery.

When I was pitching in the Chicago Cubs organization, my post-workout meal consisted of 20 to 30 grams of protein and 40 to 90 grams of carbohydrates. We were taught to shoot for a ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 carbs to protein.

1. Shakes were my favorite because they contain protein that your body can easily digest

2. Chocolate milk is also a great, cheap option because it's got the sugar (carbs) and protein you need at a fraction of the cost of shakes

3. Any meal that balances 4 ounces of protein with a large helping of carbohydrates is good, be creative!

Why Many Baseball Workouts Fail To Adequately Condition The Pitcher ... And How To Fix Them!

The problem with most high school baseball workout programs? They're created by the football coach. Now usually there is nothing wrong with these programs from a strength standpoint. But football is certainly different from baseball, and the workout should be adjusted accordingly. That's because in football, the majority of the movements require the athlete to use their chest and "push." In baseball, and especially with pitchers, the athlete needs more balance because he is using his arms to throw. This requires more upper back strength, an area that is often under-worked in most workout routines.

Now let's build on this for a moment. A "push" exercise is normally an exercise used to strengthen the front of the upper body (i.e. the chest). A "pull" exercise is normally used to strengthen the back of the upper body (i.e. a seated row).

As you may know, most people choose to do more chest or "push" exercises because they are easier, more common, and work the muscles that you can see in the mirror each morning.

Think about it for one minute. When you look in the mirror, you look at your chest, biceps, abs, and quadriceps (thigh muscles). We don't look at our upper backs in the mirror.

In addition we sit a tremendous amount during the day. We sit at our computers, sit in our classroom, sit in the car to and from school, sit to eat, etc. Because of this large amount of sitting, certain muscle imbalances are going to occur. Sitting over time causes the muscles in the front of the shoulder to get tighter and the muscles in the back of the shoulder to become longer. Any muscle group that is longer has a tendency to be weak and for a pitcher a weak upper back spells trouble.

To off set these imbalances we want to make sure our workouts incorporate more upper back strengthening exercises. The proper ratio for a pitcher is 3 times the amount of upper back or "pull" exercises as chest or "push" exercises.

For example, if a pitcher performs 3 sets of bench press, then he would need to do nine sets of upper back exercises (example: 3 sets of Ys, Ts, and Bent Ts).

For position players, the ratio should be 2:1 instead of 3:1 but the upper back should always be worked a little more frequently.

To learn more, pick up a copy of my TUFFCUFF Strength and Conditioning Manual for Baseball Pitchers: A 52-Week Guide To Pitching Workouts and Throwing Programs.

Pre-Season Pitching Workouts And Throwing Programs For Pitchers

If you've ever experienced pitching arm pain in the early part of the baseball season, chances are you didn't prepare properly in the pre-season. In this article, we'll take a closer look at pre-season workouts and throwing programs you can do to prepare and be successful.

Your throwing program should have two 4-to-6-week training phases. The first phase should start approximately six weeks before the start of your team's pre-season workouts. Your goal during this time should be to get ready for pre-season workouts, not opening day. The purpose of the second phase is to condition your arm for the season opener.

Pre-Season Pitching Workouts

In the first phase, slowly get your arms, legs and trunk in shape so that pre-season drills will be easy. Warm-up and stretch before and after each workout to reduce soreness and the risk of injury. Condition your total body, not just your arm. Don't neglect your trunk. When throwing, your body is a 3-link chain: lower body; trunk; and upper body. Forces are initiated in the legs, then transferred to the upper body through the trunk and finally applied to the ball by the hands and fingers. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In the body, the weakest link is often the muscles of the abdomen and trunk. A weak mid-section will not let you transfer 100% of the forces generated by the lower body to the upper body for application to the bat or ball. The end result is a loss of arm speed, bat speed and power. The only way to compensate for this loss of speed and power is to place more stress on the arm and shoulder muscles.

Pre-Season Throwing Programs

Use the following throwing program in phase one to prepare for pre-season workouts. Play catch and do long toss drills for at least 2 weeks before throwing off a mound. Toss for 17 minutes on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and play catch for 10 to 15 minutes on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.

Start long toss at 50 feet. Throw for 1 minute at 50 feet and then move back to 60 feet for a minute. Move to 70 feet for a minute and then throw for 2 minutes at 80 feet. Back-up to 90, 100 and 120 feet for 2 minutes each. After 2 min at 120 feet, move up to 100 feet for a minute and then shorten the distance by 10 feet each minute, ending at 60 feet. Make quality throws at the end -- throw the ball straight without an arc. Make 90 to 100 throws in 17 minutes. Use your total body, especially your hips, legs and trunk to reduce stress on your arm.

When To Start Pitching Off A Mound

After you have played catch and long toss for 2 weeks, it's OK to start throwing off a mound. Throw off a mound 2 to 3 times per week for 5 to 10 minutes per day. Throw only fastballs and change-ups for the first 2 weeks. Play catch and do long toss drills on non-mound days. Substitute the 17-minute long toss workout for mound work, if you don't have access to a mound.

Once pre-season workouts begin, you will systematically increase the frequency and volume of your throwing program to include work on the side, pitching batting practice and intrasquad games. Hopefully, your coach will have a systematic pre-season plan. If not, there are several books -- including The TUFFCUFF Strength & Conditioning Manual for Baseball Pitchers and The Complete Pitcher's Ultimate Guide to Advanced Pitching -- that can provide valuable information.

17-Minute Pitchers' Throwing Program  

                                                                                                                                                                                                           

(Feet)	(Min)	Throws
50	1	5 – 6
60	1	5 – 6
70	1	5 – 6
80	2	10 – 12
90	2	10 – 12
100	2	10 – 12
120	2	10 – 12
100	1	5 – 6
90	1	5 – 6
80	1	5 – 6
70	1	5 – 6
60	2	10 – 12

Developing Arm Speed For Pitching

In this post, I want to focus on how to develop arm speed for pitching. Because of what I do, I talk to guys all the time about teaching pitching mechanics. I ask guys what they teach to increase arm speed. Some guys say weight transfer is very important, others say it is rotation. When I work guys during private instruction, I emphasize both as being important.

I strongly believe arm speed is correlated with how fast your body is moving toward home plate, and I think speed and force is increased by a complete rotation of the upper arm, just like a swimmer using a "crawl stroke". I think circling the upper arm is an effective way to generate arm speed because it allows the arm to externally rotate back before the pitch.

On eteamz.com, Gary Adams UCLA's former coach, has a basic drill on doing arm circles with 1 baseball in each hand focusing on the speed of the arm. Then, he talks about working up to 2 or 3 baseballs in each hand, while doing the circles.

If I could pick one sport all my pitchers could participate in when not playing ball, it would be swimming. Can you think of a better sport that promotes arm and force behind the speed? But again, ultimately proper mechanics go a long way in arm speed as well as long tossing.