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Have you seen this video about the Seattle Mariners’ new approach to strength training? If you haven’t please check this out.

I scowled at this man Elliot the entire time this video was playing. I couldn’t imagine being a guy like him, running around calling everyone a “beautiful rotational athlete.” The dude isn’t all there.

Now, I DO think he knows what he is doing, but he acts like his new program is a whirlwind of modern science – it isn’t. Good trainers have been doing for years what he is now introducing as revolutionary, and the training isn’t nearly as complex as he makes it out to be…case in point: he pulls out a chart of Dustin Ackley’s power curve, then a minute later shows one of their players doing lateral hops.  Wow! All that technology boils down to…..lateral hopping. Lateral hopping is a good plyometric for pitchers but lets, please, not act like it’s never been done before. That could have been prescribed without dropping a dime on sophisticated software.

And take a look around this “bare” weight room. Little equipment? Hardly; they just removed the superfluous machines that no good trainer would keep around. The good things (and heavy, at that) are still there – squat racks and a lot of dumbbells. And the pulley systems are pretty expensive, despite being minimalistic, so I don’t like them pretending like it’s the gym Rocky trained in.

But Hooray for the Mariners, they do seem to have found someone who at least knows something, even if he is playing it up a bit too much.

I’ve been getting some questions about pitchers stretching routines, so I’m gonna share what I use as a pretty straightforward top to bottom stretch. In about 20 minutes you can hit all of your major muscles and joints, and be ready to go. I like to start with the lower body,  and move between stretches as fluidly as I can.

First, get some blood flowing. 5 minutes of moving around at a good pace to build some muscle and joint warmth will improve all of the stretches.

I am listing these exercises in the most fluid and logical sequence, so do them in this order and they will flow together nicely.

1. IT Band

IT Band Stretch

The IT band is an aponeurosis, or flat tendon band, that stretches from the lateral hip to the knee. This is tight on many athletes, and can restrict the thigh in multiple planes of movement, as well as cause knee problems.

To stretch, straighten one leg and cross the other in front. Lean into a wall while keeping the stretching leg straight, and you will feel a stretch down the outside of the leg.

2. Hip External Rotators Read the rest of this entry »

Today I received a package from Texas, one that I had been eagerly awaiting for a number of weeks now. The good folks at Phantom Weight Technologies were nice enough to send me multiple sets of their newest products for a full review. My weight Sleeves have finally arrived, and right out of the box I am excited about the possibilities.

Working at a serious baseball academy is giving me the opportunity to run these things through a gauntlet of tests, and I already have high school, college and pro guys lined up as willing participants. Phantom won best in show at the Dallas ABCA convention this past January, so there is a lot of buzz about them in the baseball world right now. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s cold and dreary here in Baltimore, but spring is on the way and just around the corner.  What does one usually do around April or May? Spring cleaning, of course! I’m messy, and disinterested in actually cleaning anything, but at this time, with the season on the horizon, it’s time to throw out the old and stale and bring in the new training exercises, methods and programming.  If you don’t re-examine what you’ve been doing every so often, you’ll never be up to speed with your body’s continually changing needs.

Step 1: Identify The Clutter Read the rest of this entry »

Just wanted to share my misery before I left for a long day…I’ve been out of fish oil for 3 days, and my elbow now aches, and both my knees hurt as I walk up and down stairs.  Just 3 days ago I was pain free while taking 30-40 grams of fish oil a day.  Is this a coincidence? No.  Fish oil is a very powerful anti-inflammatory, and without it my aches and pains, as well as those of the few friends I have who take large doses, come back in a hurry.  Gotta make a fish run.

I was shopping at my local asian supermarket when I stumbled across a bottle of curious capsules in the health supplements section.  On this bottle was a picture of a rather happy seal; contained in the bottle was 300 capsules worth of an assumedly unhappy seal’s oil.

I was intrigued.  There was no price, so I asked the purveyor how many yen he charged for such a cuddly health booster.  Sadly, the 39 dollars they were asking for the bottle was just too blubbery for my budget. I flopped back onto my belly and paddled away.

Yet, here I sit, wondering about the seal that got away.  The potency of the tiny capsules was high, 500mg of DHA, DPA and EPA in each, and there were 300 for 39 bucks.  I could get my usual high dose with about 10 caps per day, which would make the bottle only marginally more expensive, on a monthly basis, than my pint bottle of fish oil.  Plus, I’ve never had seal burps before…how fun!

"We need to make sure we use every last bit of him, just like the natives would"

Thing is, the price is almost right and the product is healthy, exotic, illegal and a little taboo. I’m also not all that sensitive of a fellow.  Now, I wouldn’t club a seal myself, but if it comes not only pre-clubbed but pre-cleaned and prepackaged as well, then I get the full eskimo experience with none of the muscle fatigue, cleanup or regret.

I did a little internet research, and not only is selling marine mammal products illegal in the US, but it’s highly unsympathetic.  Those poor, easily caught creatures are in desperate need of our help, apparently.  Plus, for every seal that we wring into a bottle, one more killer whale is going hungry.  I flashback to my dear Mom’s words at the dinner table…”finish your baby seal, there are hungry orcas off the coast of Africa who would love that seal.”

It’s a tough call.  I need Omega-3’s, and I like exotic food as much as I like eating healthy.  If that bottle was priced at 29 dollars I would likely be throwing back caps like feeding time at SeaWorld.  Yet, I think for now, I am priced out of the harp seal market.  Anyone wanna go halfsies with me? If so, I’m willing to concede the most playful 150 capsules to you. Club, er, hit me up if you want in.

This is a drill that I have been doing for about 9 years now.  I learned it from my friend Duane Rhine, who taught me the curveball that got me into college.  My hammer was the only reason my 78-81 arm ever saw the mound as a freshman, and this drill helps tremendously to get the spin and consistent release down.

The point of the bucket? Well, that’s your “strike” release point.  Don’t expect the ball to break at such low velocity; just work on getting tight spin from your grip and follow through. Learn to nail that bucket on a consistent basis and you will have no trouble spotting up that curve in game situations.  It’s all about repetition with proper mechanics.

I’m excited that THIS is the 100th post on Danblewett.com.  It’s a milestone that I’m pleased to report, mostly because I wouldn’t have written this much had not my readership continued to grow, and the feedback continued to be good.  Not to say that I’m driven solely on the approval others, but it’s nice to know that people are getting something out of my musings here in cyberspace.  After all, I’m in this position largely because of how much stuff I have tried, and how much failure I have experienced. Good thing is that it’s all become something useful to others, which is all you can ask for in one’s failures and tribulations.

So, as I pondered what to write for the big 100, I wondered how many of you out there know anything about me on a personal level.  I don’t write this blog as a tribute to myself, but rather just as a training resource, using applicable experiences that I might have as helpful examples.  I also wondered if anyone out there cares (the answer is probably no).  Yet, I’m gonna force feed you a little taste of what it’s like to be this internet magnate that I am, as seen through an interview with me. Now’s your chance to learn the answers to questions about me that you neither asked nor care about. Enjoy!

*Editor’s Note: After re-reading this, I’m convinced that this is my finest post to date among posts that have no value to my readers*

Read the rest of this entry »

Weighted ball training is a hot topic of debate in the baseball world.  The manufacturers, many pitching coaches, performance coaches, and players all swear by them, claiming it’s a proven way to increase velocity.  Detractors pose that there is an increase injury risk associated with throwing weighted balls.  So, what are we to think?  In this article I’m going to sum up the theory and pros & cons of throwing weighted balls as well as offer my own opinion. Read the rest of this entry »

This is a topic on which I need you, my readers, to give me some feedback. Everyone has their own methods and little tricks to keep their arm fresh.  Some guys hurt more than others, but any high level baseball player finds a way to deal with pains, aches and soreness to make it to the next game.

When my arm feels like tired garbage, I first try to flush it with blood. I do this either by:

1. Running
2. Performing lightweight, high rep exercises for that body part
3. Performing some other sort of conditioning like jumprope or light weight training circuits

If I have those weird little pains, extra soreness or aches, I might hit that area real hard with some soft tissue work.  This means I will roll on it with a foam roller, tennis ball or baseball, hit it with a massage tool, rolling pin, or my good ol’ knuckles.  Whatever the implement, I dig to the trouble spot and try to rub out any knots, and promote new bloodflow to the area.

If my elbow or shoulder, for example, gets extra sore or develops a little pain, I will also tend to crush it with extra prehab.  If my forearm hurts on the top part, I will crush my forearm extensors with wrist rolls, wrist extensions, hand openers, etc.  Again, this is trying to get blood and a new stimulus to the troubled area.

....whatever works

I’m only a believer in ice immediately after throwing, or any traumatic exercise for that matter, and I never ice after an hour has passed from my throwing session – this would slow bloodflow and have the opposite effect I’m looking for.  Ice immediately after an injury or strenuous exercise reduces inflammation, but otherwise it just reduces bloodflow.  I occasionally will use a heating pack to increase bloodflow if I’m really achy, but never the same day as the session that caused the ache.

So, it’s your turn…what do you do to keep yourself on the field and feeling good?  I want your secrets for your arm, but any body part will do!