SJYG Winter Pitching Program
Winter Pitching Program Breakdown
NOVEMBER - (No throwing - Just training)
Pitcher specific lifts. Focusing on strengthening the proper muscles and increasing range of motion in the areas that are crucial for a healthy throwing athlete. The posterior chain was a major focus every lift whether we did upper body or lower body. It’s crucial to perform variations of the four compound lifts. For example, the barbell bench press when performed incorrectly can be detrimental to the shoulder position. We avoid the barbell and stay with dumbbells to target the shoulder stabilizer muscles. The military press is replaced with a landmine press. Throwing athletes do landmine presses because of the angled bar path promoting upward scapular rotation. The barbell back squat is still a great exercise but we mostly do reverse lunges with a safety bar. The safety bar has pads to avoid creating a cyst on the spine (I have one). Training unilateral patterns directly correlate to rotational athletes. If you ever notice, most of the sport is played in a lunge. The last compound lift variation we do is the trap bar deadlift. The depth required to perform the trap bar deadlift is much more realistic for sports. The barbell deadlift is advanced and requires a lot of flexibility that young introductory lifters just don’t have. A trap bar deadlift is much easier, typically an athlete can do at least 5 reps with the trap bar compared to their 1 rep max with the straight bar. Here is a quick list of some accessory exercises too!
Upper
ITYVs (scaps, traps, rhomboids)
Kettle bell walks (seratus anterior)
Bicep curls (bicep brachii)
Forearm curl, rolls- ups, and rice buckets (epicondyle)
Banded supinations and pronations (sup = curveball, pro = changeup)
ROWS, we did as many rows as possible for a strong POSTERIOR CHAIN
Lat pulldown (latissimus dorsi)
Cable tricep pulldown (brachialis)
Lower
Monster walks (glute medius)
Bulgarian split squats (ton of benefits, balance, hip flexor range of motion, big time posterior chain unilateral movement)
Eccentric goblet squats (focusing on changing directions fast, also known as the amortization phase)
Sled Pushes (mostly quads, good finisher and speed work)
Box jumps (jumping is one of the most explosive movements in sports)
Reverse Hypers (strengthens the erector spinae, hamstrings, glutes)
Bunny ears (strengthens the pirisformis muscle that is typically the target area for people with sciatica. The pirisformis runs cross connected over top of the sciatic nerve. Sometimes the pain is on the left, but the weak side is right side)
DECEMBER - Intro to Throwing Mechanics
In December we started going over the key points of a successful throw. Some of the key concepts we focused on were hand on time at foot strike, arm path shape, “sitting” into the back leg, hitting the brakes with front leg, thoracic extension, kinetic chain, and the finish.
Hand on time at foot strike:
Foot strike simply means when the pitcher’s front foot lands after the leg lift. Hand on time just means the throwing arm is in a strong position. Typically that means the elbow is above the shoulder, arm bent around 90 degrees, and some scap retraction taking place.
Arm path shape:
My favorite athletes to train are quarterbacks and catchers. They have a short circular arm path. The old way of “down and around” is outdated. Down and around creates a shape similar to an oval. The oval shape is known to cause shoulder problems later down the road. It is also known to cause accuracy issues such as missing arm side or high because the longer arm path arrives late at foot strike. We want the arm path to be closer to a circle or even a winding stair case. Circular arm paths increase spin efficiency, accuracy, total RPMS, and shoulder health. It is a more efficient way to throw the ball.
“Sitting” into the back leg:
Simple concept here. Basically, just teaching athletes how to throw from the ground up and use their legs. Drills like the
“squat and throw” or “hop back” are great for learning to handle ground force. We want to sit using the posterior chain not anterior. Anterior chain dominant throwers land across their body with poor direction. Ever see a hitter with straight legs? Bend those knees!
Hitting the brakes with front leg:
This is where we get into fun concepts like energy leaks. Yay! When a pitcher sits into their back leg and drives down the mound they create a lot of force. The front leg needs to then handle that force and transfer it from the ground through their body to the ball. A bent front knee or a soft front knee results in the force being wasted. When guys have a bent front knee you will see in extreme cases the whole leg moves sideways and the foot spins open. Landing strong and locking the front leg is crucial for a balanced throw and can result in a 3mph jump. If locking the leg doesn’t click, we use different key words such as flex your quad, lift your toe up, or pull the front hip back to name a few.
Thoracic extension and flexion:
The thoracic spine is the biggest part of the spine. The T1-T12. It is located in the middle. Cervical C1-C7 being the top of the spine and lumbar L1-L5 being the bottom. We don’t have to talk about the sacrolumbar. The thoracic spine is the part that twists and bends forward during the throw. Thoracic extension and flexion is referring to how the spine rotates and bends toward home plate almost like a whip. When I was a kid we called this getting a flat back. Poor thoracic movement during the throw is known to cause TOS (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome).
Kinetic Chain:
Our kinetic chain determines how well we can transfer force. You might be very strong, but can you create a movement pattern that effectively transfers all that power? Ever wonder how a smaller kid is able to throw harder than a larger one? The answer is in their mechanics. When we slow down the video frame by frame we will find the answer. The big three parts of the kinetic for me are 1. Back hip rotated 2. Front leg locked. 3. Flat back reaching toward home plate.
Finish:
Kicking that back leg up in the air after the ball is released. This part of the throw looks great in pictures. Kick I say, kick!
JANUARY - Throwing Progression (slope)
After spending the first month of throwing on flat ground getting our first throws of the year out of the way, it was time to introduce a slope. The slope is the bottom 3rd of the mound. When the height of the mound increases so does the exertion on the arm and body. This is why we progress slowly up the mound instead of going right to bullpens. In January we introduced change-ups as well. Our warm up routine has the football throw and a med ball series. At this point in the program the athletes are confident in their lifting form and really starting to get strong. They clearly feel the endorphins from working out and watching their lifting numbers increase. Asking questions like “Can I go heavier coach? Please?” The last week of January is when we tracked velocity for the first time.
FEBRUARY - Bullpens
Now it’s time to pitch! We are now able to use the full mound and throw 20 pitch bullpens. Every week we added 5 pitches to the previous total. The older guys (13 and up) are starting to feel their breaking pitches. We did our best to take video, use radar guns, and the Rapsodo . One of the things we want to improve on next year is using more video. This is my favorite part of the program. Every pitcher knows how to stretch and do bands properly. We cut back on the med ball series during the warm up to introduce plyo balls to the routine. Research shows throwing weighted balls between 3.5 - 7oz directly correlates to the 5oz velocity.
MARCH - Higher Velocity Throws - Heavier Lifts
Competition bullpens and mixing in live pitching with the hitting league. We tracked the most recent velocities to compare to the beginning of the year. The results were solid with pitchers averaging 4mph increases. To be honest we could’ve tracked velocities earlier to show a bigger difference from the beginning of the program to the end. But, that’s honestly malpractice and a program did that when I was a kid. I told myself I would never try to doc the books! Long story short they had every pitcher throw as soon as they got there, no warm up. Then the next day they went through a full stretch routine and throwing progression…everyone magically gained 5mph in a day. Wow!
Lastly, the rep counts changed from 6-8 reps (medium volume) to 3-5 reps (lower volume). Now that they have great form and a lot of time under tension from the previous 4 months of lifting, the athletes are ready to lift heavier. All in all it is safe to say the program was successful. We only suffered one injury and that athlete just returned to throwing the game speed as before the injury thanks to our partner Trifecta Therapeutics.
Winter Pitching Program Breakdown
NOVEMBER - (No throw just training)
Pitcher specific lifts. Focusing on strengthening the proper muscles and increasing range of motion in the areas that are crucial for a healthy throwing athlete. The posterior chain was a major focus every lift whether we did upper body or lower body. It’s crucial to perform variations of the four compound lifts. For example, the barbell bench press when performed incorrectly can be detrimental to the shoulder position. We avoid the barbell and stay with dumbbells to target the shoulder stabilizer muscles. The military press is replaced with a landmine press. Throwing athletes do landmine presses because of the angled bar path promoting upward scapular rotation. The barbell back squat is still a great exercise but we mostly do reverse lunges with a safety bar. The safety bar has pads to avoid creating a cyst on the spine (I have one). Training unilateral patterns directly correlate to rotational athletes. If you ever notice, most of the sport is played in a lunge. The last compound lift variation we do is the trap bar deadlift. The depth required to perform the trap bar deadlift is much more realistic for sports. The barbell deadlift is advanced and requires a lot of flexibility that young introductory lifters just don’t have. A trap bar deadlift is much easier, typically an athlete can do at least 5 reps with the trap bar compared to their 1 rep max with the straight bar. Here is a quick list of some accessory exercises too!
Upper
YVs (scaps, traps, rhomboids)
tle bell walks (seratus anterior)
icep curls (bicep brachii)
l, rolls- ups, and rice buckets (epicondyle)
supinations and pronations (sup = curveball, pro = changeup)
, we did as many rows as possible for a strong POSTERIOR CHAIN
pulldown (latissimus dorsi)
le tricep pulldown (brachialis)
Lower
walks (glute medius)
it squats (ton of benefits, balance, hip flexor range of motion, big time posterior chain unilateral movement)
centric goblet squats (focusing on changing directions fast, also known as the amortization phase)
ed Pushes (mostly quads, good finisher and speed work)
mps (jumping is one of the most explosive movements in sports)
erse Hypers (strengthens the erector spinae, hamstrings, glutes)
ears (strengthens the pirisformis muscle that is typically the target area for people with sciatica. The pirisformis runs cross connected over top of the sciatic nerve. Sometimes the pain is on the left, but the weak side is right side)
DECEMBER - Intro to Throwing Mechanics
In December we started going over the key points of a successful throw. Some of the key concepts we focused on were hand on time at foot strike, arm path shape, “sitting” into the back leg, hitting the brakes with front leg, thoracic extension, kinetic chain, and the finish.
and on time at foot strike:
Foot strike simply means when the pitcher’s front foot lands after the leg lift. Hand on time just means the throwing arm is in a strong position. Typically that means the elbow is above the shoulder, arm bent around 90 degrees, and some soap retraction taking place.
rm path shape:
y favorite athletes to train are quarterbacks and catchers. They have a short circular arm path. The old way of “down and around” is outdated. Down and around creates a shape similar to an oval. The oval shape is known to cause shoulder problems later down the road. It is also known to cause accuracy issues such as missing arm side or high because the longer arm path arrives late at foot strike. We want the arm path to be closer to a circle or even a winding stair case. Circular arm paths increase spin efficiency, accuracy, total RPMS, and shoulder health. It is a more efficient way to throw the ball.
Sitting” into the back leg:
Simple concept here. Basically, just teaching athletes how to throw from the ground up and use their legs. Drills like the
“squat and throw” or “hop back” are great for learning to handle ground force. We want to sit using the posterior chain not anterior. Anterior chain dominant throwers land across their body with poor direction. Ever see a hitter with straight legs? Bend those knees!
itting the brakes with front leg:
is where we get into fun concepts like energy leaks. Yay! When a pitcher sits into their back leg and drives down the mound they create a lot of force. The front leg needs to then handle that force and transfer it from the ground through their body to the ball. A bent front knee or a soft front knee results in the force being wasted. When guys have a bent front knee you will see in extreme cases the whole leg moves sideways and the foot spins open. Landing strong and locking the front leg is crucial for a balanced throw and can result in a 3mph jump. If locking the leg doesn’t click, we use different key words such as flex your quad, lift your toe up, or pull the front hip back to name a few.
horacic extension and flexion:
thoracic spine is the biggest part of the spine. The T1-T12. It is located in the middle. Cervical C1-C7 being the top of the spine and lumbar L1-L5 being the bottom. We don’t have to talk about the sacrolumbar. The thoracic spine is the part that twists and bends forward during the throw. Thoracic extension and flexion is referring to how the spine rotates and bends toward home plate almost like a whip. When I was a kid we called this getting a flat back. Poor thoracic movement during the throw is known to cause TOS (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome).
etic Chain:
r kinetic chain determines how well we can transfer force. You might be very strong, but can you create a movement pattern that effectively transfers all that power? Ever wonder how a smaller kid is able to throw harder than a larger one? The answer is in their mechanics. When we slow down the video frame by frame we will find the answer. The big three parts of the kinetic for me are 1. Back hip rotated 2. Front leg locked. 3. Flat back reaching toward home plate.
nish:
hat back leg up in the air after the ball is released. This part of the throw looks great in pictures. Kick I say, kick!
JANUARY - Throwing Progression (slope)
After spending the first month of throwing on flat ground getting our first throws of the year out of the way, it was time to introduce a slope. The slope is the bottom 3rd of the mound. When the height of the mound increases so does the exertion on the arm and body. This is why we progress slowly up the mound instead of going right to bullpens. In January we introduced changeups as well. Our warm up routine has the football throw and a med ball series. At this point in the program the athletes are confident in their lifting form and really starting to get strong. They clearly feel the endorphins from working out and watching their lifting numbers increase. Asking questions like “Can I go heavier coach? Please?” The last week of January is when we tracked velocity for the first time.
FEBRUARY - Bullpens
Now it’s time to pitch! We are now able to use the full mound and throw 20 pitch bullpens. Every week we added 5 pitches to the previous total. The older guys (13 and up) are starting to feel their breaking pitches. We did our best to take video, use radar guns, and the Rapsodo . One of the things we want to improve on next year is using more video. This is my favorite part of the program. Every pitcher knows how to stretch and do bands properly. We cut back on the med ball series during the warm up to introduce plyo balls to the routine. Research shows throwing weighted balls between 3.5 - 7oz directly correlates to the 5oz velocity.
MARCH - Higher Velocity Throws - Heavier Lifts
Competition bullpens and mixing in live pitching with the hitting league. We tracked the most recent velocities to compare to the beginning of the year. The results were solid with pitchers averaging 4mph increases. To be honest we could’ve tracked velocities earlier to show a bigger difference from the beginning of the program to the end. But, that’s honestly malpractice and a program did that when I was a kid. I told myself I would never try to doc the books! Long story short they had every pitcher throw as soon as they got there, no warm up. Then the next day they went through a full stretch routine and throwing progression…everyone magically gained 5mph in a day. Wow!
Lastly, the rep counts changed from 6-8 reps (medium volume) to 3-5 reps (lower volume). Now that they have great form and a lot of time under tension from the previous 4 months of lifting, the athletes are ready to lift heavier. All in all it is safe to say the program was successful. We only suffered one injury and that athlete just returned to throwing the game speed as before the injury thanks to our partner Trifecta Therapeutics.