Posts Tagged ‘pitchers’
January 8th, 2010 | 
Author: If you haven’t already realized, I love grip training and my favorite piece of equipment is my rock rings. These versatile rock climbing holds feature four different grips to challenge one’s open hand strength. They make for some super hard chin and pull ups, but can be tied to basically anything…like dumbbells!
Rock Rings rigged to dumbbell with carabiner
Close up of the three finger pocket in use
Pictured here is Adam Baxley, a freshman catcher at Frostburg U. What we did with him was a 4 hold drop set – he started with the most difficult grip (3 finger shallow pocket) then when he couldn’t hold anymore, picked the weights back up with the next easiest grip, ending with the big sloper hold. This way we were able to get his hands under tension longer, which resulted in a really tough grip exercise (he’ll attest to that).
Hand and finger strength is really under-appreciated and under-trained in the baseball community. This blows my mind, as the last thing a thrown ball is in contact with is the (drumroll please) fingertips! Sure, doing wrist curls, holding heavy things, etc. etc. develops grip and forearm strength, but it’s just not the exact type of strength I see as most important- fingertip strength. If you haven’t been to your local rock climbing wall recently, you’ll realize how lacking your finger strength is – even if you have monster forearms and a great closed hand grip.
I’m hitting the rock climbing gym 2-3 times a week right now. Do I expect it to help me throw harder? Yes. I do. Can’t imagine how it wouldn’t.
As I was in there, it suddenly dawned on me: Pitchers are just unlike everyone else in the sense that what they do is so physically violent, that they have to do what is called “prehab” just to reduce the likelihood (or in reality, delay) injury.
Its pretty much a fact that if a pitcher doesn’t do regular rotator cuff, scapula, and forearm work (basically the whole pitching arm), he is doomed to inevitable, catastrophic arm injury. Doing prehab doesn’t guarantee health by any means, as tons of diligent pitchers still injure themselves regularly, but its our insurance policy, and at the very least gives us a better chance of not being injured. Read the rest of this entry »
I don’t know where the idea that pitchers need to be world-class distance runners came from, but it is complete and utter nonsense. Some cardiovascular conditioning for pitchers is beneficial, but not at the expense of power. According to research cited in the NSCA book, Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, excessive aerobic conditioning has an adverse effect on power and strength. This means that every time a coach makes his pitchers run long distances, it is essentially subtracting MPHs from their fastballs and making them less effective.
Think this guy has a decent fastball? I doubt it.
Many coaches subscribe to the notion that “good” workouts end with their pitchers exhausted and on the verge of vomiting. Again, this is pure, unadulterated crap. The only thing these types of workouts are good for is breaking down the muscles in a pitcher’s legs and making them weaker. Good trainers and coaches will prescribe exercises that challenge the athlete but never make them ill. Read the rest of this entry »
The chin up v. pull up debate has been mulled over by the baseball community for quite some time now. We all know that performing either or both of these exercises is the key to developing strong, wide back. Yet, some say pull-ups are harmful for throwing athletes, and it’s hard to know what to believe.
First off, the difference: a chin-up is done with a supinated (palms facing) grip, as opposed to the pronated (palms away) pull-up grip.
The baseball fitness community seems to be accepting of chin-ups just fine; the issue is with pull-ups, which are supposedly the cause of too much rotator cuff stress, hypertrophy, and tightness.
Why are pull-ups associated with such negatives for throwing athletes, whereas chin-ups are not?
The noteworthy difference between the two, as far as rotator cuff stress is concerned, is in the arm placement. On pull-ups, especially with wide grips, the arms are externally rotated, which causes more recruitment (and stress) of the rotator cuff. I agree with avoiding wide pull ups because of the high amount of rotator cuff strain.
A wide pull up - note the externally rotated arms
Chin up; note the arms are tucked close to the body, keeping the focus on the back
Because of the supinated grip on chin-ups, the arms track closer to the body, resulting in far less rotator cuff recruitment. The arms simply cannot flare outward as easily on chin-ups, until the grip gets extremely wide. Yet, the arms can stay tucked on close-grip and neutral grip pull-ups as well… Read the rest of this entry »
Probably the most difficult facet of the recovery process has been me, in my head, wondering if I have plateaued, and whether or not I will continue to improve in the coming months.
I remember the first time I threw off the mound. It was timed so that I started in Florida, during our spring break trip, and I can recall my 3rd bullpen session, which I threw on the side at the University of Miami. That day I felt really fresh, and was confident in my arm after having two mound sessions already under my belt.
So I did my 45 throws or whatever at 60 feet, and I remember feeling like I was popping the ball. It was on a line, and it had a nice crisp sound, and I was just pleased as shit about it.
3 or 4 weeks later, I was still doing largely the same routine, but throwing with more intensity. I felt like it was time to get out the radar gun. I was throwing 75%, so I figured I should be around 70 with very little effort. So I start throwing, and they start shouting back my velocities…
64. 62. 61. 64. Really? So now I try to throw a little harder. 64. 64. 63. What? I just muscled up and its still only 64? This is ridiculous. Thing was, I didn’t feel like I was throwing 75%, I felt like I was throwing 100%. It was the hardest I had thrown in 6 months, and it looked and felt like I would never again throw a ball over 65 mph. Not happy. Read the rest of this entry »
This is the time of year in which it is time to turn one’s focus toward next spring, which means making goals and working toward becoming a better ballplayer.
So set some goals. If you don’t, it will be much harder to stay on track this winter as the weather turns sour, school starts to wear on you, and your comfy bed calls your name.
Get there.
I like to set my goals at the upper limit of what’s realistic, and I don’t worry too much if I don’t reach them, as long as I come close. Many people need to do the opposite, and set many smaller, more manageable goals to act as stepping stones toward a final, better product. To each his own. But, no matter your method, there needs to be a finish line somewhere and the vision to reach it.
So for my winter, which lasts from now until March, my strength goals are the following:
-Reach 195 pounds while staying below 8% bodyfat.
-Deadlift 450×5
-8 Reps Rock Ring Chin-Ups with 45lb added
-Develop the core of a gymnast
My assault on these milestones is going to be pretty complex, so brace yourself: I’m going to:
-Deadlift, chin-up, and lift my ass off
-Eat like a man twice my size
-Only eat carbs for breakfast, and pre and post-workout
-Eat more vegetables than a vegan hippy
I also have pitching-specific goals, but they are more broad, not worth sharing, and really just sum up to: be the most polished, healthy and powerful pitcher I can be. That’s every pitcher’s goal, anyway.
The following six exercises are prescribed to any ballplayer with elbow pain. Be it tendinitis, UCL strains, sprains, or surgery, these forearm exercises are the ones that strengthen the whole forearm and ward off future elbow problems. To the untrained thrower doing this prehab can also add a few MPHs, as the forearm and hand are the last mechanical parts in the delivery of a throw. Today is the perfect time to start doing these exercises regularly.
These exercises can be done with dumbbells or a flat or tubular Thera-band (Flat is preferred). You can find Thera-Bands here: Thera-Bands 6 Yard Box (6 in. wide)
Pronation, supination and ulnar deviation are best done with a ban, mini-sledge hammer or baseball bat (though they are shown below with a dumbbell).
Forearm Flexion
With palms facing up, curl the weight toward you using your wrist.
Forearm Extension Read the rest of this entry »
Novelty in the weightroom isn’t always a good thing, but sometimes can provide a fun pick-me-up when routines get stale.
The following are two of my favorite exercises that aren’t very well known, both of which, ironically, start with a Z. These were introduced to me by my strength and conditioning coach at UMBC, Fred Cantor.
The Zercher Squat
The Zercher Squat is a front squat in which you carry the bar in the crux of your elbows. Yeah, you could put a pad or towel there, but that takes the fun out of it.
It’s a great exercise because it easily allows proper and deep squatting form, and it requires more core recruitment to prevent forward lean.
And, it is fun to do with a partner because you can laugh as you both grimace in pain. You can also compare pain tolerances and find out which one of you is the soft one.
The Dreaded Zercher Squat
The Zottman Curl
This is a cool exercise because it combines a concentric bicep curl with an eccentric reverse curl. Gives a nice blast to the brachioradialis and the forearm extensors.
A special thanks goes out to Andrew Sacks, the bad mofo demonstrating in the video. Without an intact ACL or a working pancreas, he still had the courage to do the video . Commitment.
Having a strong shoulder is of the utmost importance for pitchers. Throwing velocity, injury resistance, durability and stamina are all improved by developing strong, stable shoulders. Why strength and stability? Because strength is what is going to allow you to throw as hard as you can, and stability keeps your upper arm properly aligned and firmly in the shoulder socket, preventing wear and tear on connective tissue.
Shoulder pops and clicks when you move it? Those are a result of weak stabilizers. Good thing is, the following shoulder circuit is going to make those a thing of the past, and add a few MPHs in the process.
This shoulder circuit is done for 2-3 complete cycles of 12-15 reps per exercise. For beginners, this is going to probably require only 2lb dumbells, and the goal is to build up to using 3, and then 4lb dumbbells with perfect form for 3 sets of 12-15. The circuit is performed straight through, but I have grouped the exercises according to the body position (prone or standing).
Prone Segment
This segment is performed on a tall bench, training table, or bent over with a flat back. Notice it consists of the LYT circuit plus prone skiers and scapula pushups.
L-Raise
Start with back flat. Pinch shoulder blades and raise arms. Finish by externally rotating
Y-Raise
Keep shoulder blades tight and reach out with hands
Picture this: You set a goal to bench press 200 pounds. To accomplish this goal, once or twice a week, (maybe three times) you go into the gym and bang out 5 hard reps of bench press and call it a day. Would this manner of training get you to your bench press goal? No way. Why? Because your muscles aren’t getting enough of a stimulus to grow or get stronger. Duh.
Throwing is the same way: throw sparingly and you won’t develop your arm to its potential. Throw often and your arm will be strong and durable. Ever see an infielder, especially a catcher, go down with arm problems? Probably not too often. But if you’ve been around baseball long enough, you’ve surely noticed that outfielders complain about their arms hurting as much as anyone. The reason for this is that outfielders infrequently throw, both in practice and in games, and when they do it is often with maximum effort.
Why, physiologically, does throwing a ton make you throw harder? Your body just recognizes the need to build strength because the muscle group is consistently stimulated. This is why climbers have incredible hand strength, and cyclists have monster calves and thighs. They’re both just doing what they do for hours a day, and their bodies respond by sending the muscular reinforcements.
Pitchers should not consistently go hard and rest on alternate days. It’s stressful, the arm doesn’t learn to recover quickly, and the repetition needed for growth isn’t there with too many off days. Off days are needed every week, but limiting them to 1 or 2 is ideal, and the other days should be filled with high volume, low intensity throwing to keep your muscles working. Read the rest of this entry »