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

T-Raise

Tightly pinch shoulder blades together

Prone Skiier

With arms straight, extend arms back toward your butt and up to the sky

Scapula Push Up

In pushup position with arms locked, let shoulderblades slump together, then press up fully keeping arms straight

Standing Segment

Front Raise (thumbs up)

Thumbs up front raise

60° Scaption (thumbs up)

60 degree raise on the scaption plane

30° Scaption (thumbs up)

30 degree scaption plane

Abduction (palms down)

Side raise with palms down

Open Palm Rotation Raise

Start with arm at opposite side, palms down; Raise and gradually rotate to finish with palms up

Sword Raise

Start with arm on opposite side, raise up as if unsheathing a sword. Be careful to not go behind the body, which would stress the elbow.

Side Lying External Rotation

Pictured with left fist propping the right arm up. Use fist or a towel to keep the arm off the torso

Internal Rotation (pictured with band)

Starting position

Ending position. Note fist under the arm to bring humerus forward

Yes, the circuit is 13 exercises long and takes the better part of an hour,  but it is worth it.  Being diligent with this circuit 2-3 times per week is going to bombproof the shoulder and rotator cuff and make you a stronger, more durable, and more than likely, harder throwing pitcher.

I want to thank Michelle Daniels, who was my athletic trainer at UMBC.  She taught me these exercises and brought me back to life following my surgery.

How do I know this? Because I have an unexceptional arm, and I’ve done a lot of squeezing.  I learned how to get the absolute best out of it, and for me, I believe the best is yet to come.  

As a high school senior I pitched at 78-81.  As a college sophomore I pitched at 85-89.  By Junior year (before my elbow went) I was sitting at 89-92.  

Thing is, I’m not special.  I just had good coaching, a great strength and conditioning coach, and a terrible, desperate desire to throw harder and develop into a good pitcher, one worthy of a chance at pro ball.  

The following are the 9 things that I credit with making a big jump in velocity, and which will continue to provide me with gains.  The bottom line is no matter how hard you throw, you can throw harder if you are willing to put all your effort into the list below.

1. Total Body Strength

      • This means just getting in the weight room, and increasing your strength and size as a whole.  This is the first step, the foundation for creating tremendous strength in more pitching specific areas.  Many youngsters simply haven’t the general strength to throw a ball in the 80s or 90s, and while some areas are more important to throwing than others, the body works as a whole.

2. Excellent Conditioning

     • Again, this is fundamental and adds to general body strength, but in a different way.  I can’t say exactly why being in great, great shape makes a pitcher throw harder, but I think it has something to do with creating a body that is fatigue resistant, because every part of you gets tired when you’re running and pushing yourself past your previous limits.

3.  Excellent Mechanics

       • This is often not accomplished until the previous two points are covered, because general body strength is needed to create the body control which is the basis for good mechanics.  Throwing with excellent mechanics maximizes your body’s muscular potential.  Thing is, getting to the point of having pro-quality mechanics takes tremendous repetition and the ability to make subtle changes, which a person of poor body-control simply cannot do.

4. Long Toss

      • Long toss stretches the arm out and teaches you to really get out in front with the ball.  Reaching out and extending your body is a big factor in throwing hard. Long toss also allows your body to find it’s own maximum mechanical efficiency, in that you are trying to throw the ball as far as you can; your body figures out with each throw how it best accomplishes that.  

5. Prehab (specific attention to shoulder/elbow)

     • I talked about prehab in a previous post, saying how it is the only thing keeping pitchers in the game and off the DL.  While it does prevent injury, it also strengthens the areas that are chief in throwing a baseball, i.e. the rotator cuff and forearm.  Pitchers who have extraordinary shoulder and forearm strength are almost certainly going to throw harder than those who don’t.

6. Core Strength with Emphasis on Rotation

    • Throwing is both linear and rotational, with the legs driving toward the plate and the core/hips rotating the torso to deliver the ball.  Again, total body strength is key, but a pitcher should take his core a step further, and aim to have the midsection of a gymnast.  

7. Strong Legs

     • Most people know this one.  Your legs carry and drive you toward the plate.  The more drive you can get out of them, the harder you should be able to deliver a pitch.  

8. Flexibility and Joint Mobility

      • You’ve see the beanpoles and the Tim Lincecums throwing gas.  They do this because they can move in any way they choose, and their joints and muscles don’t impede each other’s movements.  Have tight hips?  You won’t throw as hard,  I promise.  Tight shoulder capsule? You’re losing MPHs and increasing the likelihood of injury.  I know because I’ve been there.  

9.  High Repetition

       • Throw more.  Make sure you rest enough, but throw more.  

More Information to Come

Keep tuning in, because I am going to make a detailed individual post on each of the 9 items listed above.  As always, I’m open to comments, as this blog is a way for me to share the things that have helped me become a better ballplayer, though I still have a long way to go.

Yet despite it’s popularity, the YTWL circuit is often done improperly, and actually contains some movement patterns that aren’t useful: specifically, the W.

My shoulder routine has consisted of the YTWL for a few years, coupled with an additional standing shoulder/rotator cuff circuit.  However, for the YTWL, it is time for a upgrade, and that is why I have made the switch to the YTLP.

My friend Nick Tumminello at Performance University has been evaluating the YTWL for a while now, and has done a series of videos on how to perform his newly developed L-Y-T-P circuit perfectly, many of which are featured below.  Read some of his other great training articles on this page.

Nick has made a lot of changes to the circuit, which I am going to highlight in this article.  The biggest is a call to eliminate the W pattern, which he swaps for the (P)ivot Prone.  Rest assured, adopting the new circuit is going to give you stronger shoulders and more scapular stability than you’ve ever had before, even if you’ve already been doing the YTWL.

Before you get going…

Go in order: The order in which you perform these exercises matters!  LYTP is ideal because it progresses from most difficult to least difficult, thus allowing you to face the hardest exercises when you are fresh.

Choose your posture: you can perform this circuit a few different ways:

-laying prone on a flat bench, training table or the floor

-standing with knees bent and a flat back (as if doing an RDL)

-with knees bent and stomach on a stability ball

-standing with your back bent to 45° (this is good as a way to work the same muscles on a new angle).

-prone on an incline bench, at any angle up to 45°. (Again, to alter work angle)

The following video goes deeper into the issue of posture:

Gimme a L

The L is the first exercise.  To perform, lay prone with arms hanging down. Pinch your blades together as you pull your arms straight back, keeping your elbows at 90°.  Then externally rotate them back to finish.  Lower them in the reverse sequence.

Finish Position of L-Raise

Gimme a Y

The Y is next.  Rather than rehash, watch the video below for full instructions:

Gimme a T

Third in line is the T.  Again, we have a good video to explain:

Gimme a P

And we will end with the pivot prone, which represents our P.  As Nick explains in the following video, the pivot prone reinforces a developmental movement pattern that we are all born with.

What’s that spell?

LYTP!  Well maybe it’s not that exciting, and it’s certainly doesn’t spell anything, but it will do wonders for your shoulders and scapular stability.

As a pitcher, I usually perform these with 2-4 lbs, for 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps, 2-3 times per week.  Each rep is done with a 1-3 second pause at the top.  If you’re a beginner, start without weight, get a good pause at the top, and then progress with weight as strength increases.

I can remember doing these without weight for 20-25 minutes a day a few years ago, trying to correct for a condition called SICK scapula. I got stronger in a hurry, and have had healthy shoulders since. The LYTP is a great circuit to get that bullet-proof rotator cuff.

One major adaptation of the pitcher is in shoulder range of motion (ROM). Pitchers have incredible, otherworldly external rotation.  The average person couldn’t dream of contorting his arm in such a way.

My buddy Andrew Germuth showing off his external rotation

My buddy Andrew Germuth showing off his external rotation

And what price do we pitchers pay for enjoying such lavish external rotation?  You guessed it! A tight rotator cuff and a subsequent deficiency of internal rotation. (there is always a catch!)

So what?  Does it matter if a pitcher has poor shoulder range of motion internally?

The answer to this question is unequivocally “yes.” Any trainer or physical therapist will tell you that a lack of ROM in any joint is pathological and indicative of underlying problems.  Normal ROM should exist in all one’s joints, and if not, there is a probably a problem as to why.  In many populations these imbalances in flexibility might not impair day-to-day functioning, but for athletes and especially pitchers, inflexibility poses major problems.

Dr. Craig Morgan and colleagues are researching the link between elbow pain (up to and including full blown ligament tears requiring Tommy John surgery) and internal rotation.  What he is finding (as he found in me) is that a huge amount of pitchers coming to him have significant GIRD (glenohumeral internal rotation deficiency), and once that GIRD is reduced to an amount within 20 degrees of the internal rotation of the non-throwing shoulder, the pitchers very often return to throwing without pain.  Internal rotation deficits are caused by posterior shoulder capsule tightness, which can be alleviated using the sleeper stretch.  Restore your internal rotation ROM and you will be throwing healthier and harder.

The Sleeper Stretch

The basic form is as follows: lay on your hip with knees bent, with ankles in line with your spine.  Prop your head (or don’t if you like being uncomfortable) under a towel or pillow, your glove or whatever.  Extend your throwing arm out in front of you at 90°.  Keep your chest out and don’t lean back.

Sleeper Stretch Starting Position

Next you need to pinch your shoulder blades together, hard, and hold them that way throughout the stretch. This is crucial, and the stretch is useless without pinched blades because your shoulder will be in improper position.

The WRONG Way – Blades not pinched, shoulders misaligned

The CORRECT way - blades pinched, shoulders in better alignment

CORRECT – blades pinched, shoulders in better alignment

I held a pencil in the middle of my back for effect – think about holding something there while you perform the stretch.

Once your blades are held together, take your other hand and GENTLY push your arm toward the ground.  Don’t force it, just give it enough of a push to feel a stretch. I have to stretch mine 3 times daily to keep it loose, and from the beginning it will take a few weeks to really loosen up.  Forcing it won’t help, it will just cause more problems.

A good sleeper stretch

A good sleeper stretch

Notice how much internal rotation I have in the above picture: about 45 degrees. Once I go through this I gain about 10° more, but that’s it.  Watch what happens when I don’pinch and hold my blades together:

The WRONG way. If you look like this, your shoulder blades are not pinched

The WRONG way. If you look like this, your shoulder blades are not pinched.

If you see someone at the field doing the sleeper with their palm almost on the ground, correct them, because they are doing it wrongly.  Try it the right and wrong way so you feel the difference.  In proper position with blades pinched, if you have 45 degrees like I do, then you are looking great.  When I go in for checkups I measure symmetrical to my left. Everyone has a different setpoint, but no one can put their palm to the floor. It looks about the same, though, which is why players so often do it incorrectly.

Variations and Reps

So now you’ve mastered the form in the 90° position.  The three positions from which you will stretch are 90°, 70°, and 110° from your shoulder to your body. Stretch your arm for 3 sets of 30 seconds at each position.  Even at 70 and 110, keep a 90° angle with your forearm and upper arm.

Correct angle between forearm and upper arm

 Correct angle between forearm and upper arm

INCORRECT angle between forearm and upper arm

INCORRECT angle between forearm and upper arm

Proper stretch at 70 degrees from body

Proper stretch at 70 degrees from body

Proper stretch at 110 degrees from body

Proper stretch at 110 degrees from body

The orientation of muscle fibers in your rotator cuff varies, which is why stretching three positions is recommended.

So do your sleepers daily, and do them correctly.  If you do, you’ll be taking a huge step toward both keeping yourself injury-free, and picking up some MPHs. Flexibility plays a big role in velocity, and I picked up 3-4 from increasing my ROM in my shoulder and in my hips.

Additionally, check out my great new article and video on Sleeper Stretch Variations!

Update – Here is a video from the Morgan-Kalman clinic, where I was taught this stretch. Watch it!

**I am a strength coach and pitching instructor in the Central Illinois area. Personal training, pitching lessons, and custom training programs are among my available services. If you liked this post, please subscribe to my monthly newsletter – you will receive member-only tips, tricks and/or special offers on services and products.**
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Thanks for reading! -Dan Blewett