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Single Leg Progressions… Progressing the Step-up

The anomaly of the step up in is how much it’s used while there is so little research available on its transfer to sport. Other than scattered research from the early 90s involving what the Eastern Bloc countries are doing with the step-up, the research on the exercise is limited (2). This makes it a bit of an “ugly stepchild” to the split squat or s. leg squat. While some coaches such as Mike Boyle believe that it should be avoided for athletes with knee pathologies (1), there are many coaches that have had great success with the exercise in healthy athletes. I myself love them as we train a primarily baseball population. Continue reading “Single Leg Progressions… Progressing the Step-up”

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Early Trunk Rotation and Losses in Pitching Velocity

early trunk rotation

While performing hundreds of video analysis and mocaps yearly, “early trunk rotation” rears its ugly heads more than 90% of any other disconnect we see. An early trunk puts the upper body in a more compromised position to accept ground reaction force and effectively block with the lead leg while negatively affecting timing issues and transfer of force up the chain. It can also contribute to a late arm or an arm that “drags”.  All this, of course, can ultimately lead to losses in pitching velocity.  The key is finding what is causing this early rotation, training it and putting the arm in its “sweet spot”. Continue reading “Early Trunk Rotation and Losses in Pitching Velocity”

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3 Most Common Kinematic Sequence Flaws in Baseball Swings

Having assessed hundreds of hitters at RPP, we have been exposed to all types of athletes and swings. As a part of our hitting assessment, one area we focus on is the player’s kinematic sequence and how energy transfers up the chain.  Generally, we look for an efficient transfer of power up the kinetic chain in the following order, pelvis, torso, upper arm and hand.  Although we have observed a large variety of different sequences, here are the 3 most common flawed sequences we observe among young hitters on K-vest: Continue reading “3 Most Common Kinematic Sequence Flaws in Baseball Swings”

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Pitching Biomechanics: Hip Shoulder Separation, Closing the Gap

hip and shoulder

We have talked in the past about hip-shoulder separation and its importance in the pitching motion. In this article, we will dive deeper into the idea of “closing the gap” after max separation has occurred. More specifically:

    • When does it occur (timing)
    • How quickly does it close (explosiveness)
    • How completely does it close

We will also review some potential issues and how we may address them.

Continue reading “Pitching Biomechanics: Hip Shoulder Separation, Closing the Gap”

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Hip Exercises for Pitchers, Improving Internal Rotation

hip exercises for pitchers

Similar to t-spine mobility, hip IR is absolutely essential to creating a smooth deceleration path. If the hip closes too early upon foot strike, the arm can open up early, causing an early release and cutting the ball. This can be a killer for not only velocity but spin efficiency and vertical break as well. In addition, a poor decel pattern can cause the arm to “slam shut”, creating damaging forces on the shoulder and elbow. Below are several great hip exercises that every pitcher could take advantage of to get some of that IR back.

Continue reading “Hip Exercises for Pitchers, Improving Internal Rotation”

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How to Create the Best Prescription for Power

When I first started training, I like many others believed that if we just keep improving absolute strength our athletes would continue to get bigger, faster, and stronger. Fast forward to many years later, and I can tell you with a great degree of confidence (and experience) that most metrics crucial to sport such as speed, explosive ability, and change of direction can only be improved for about the first year simply by increasing absolute strength, as in getting stronger, by utilizing big compound lifts under high load.  However, Continue reading “How to Create the Best Prescription for Power”

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What are the Best Baseball Band Exercises for Pitchers

Band Exercises for Pitchers

There is certainly no shortage of pitching bands and baseball band exercises for pitchers.  There are actually so many that it can make your head spin.  We use several baseball band exercises for pitchers as a part of our pre-throwing routine and over the years we have refined them down to what we believe to be the min / max of what you should be doing. Continue reading “What are the Best Baseball Band Exercises for Pitchers”

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5 Lower Half Pitching Issues Preventing a Consistent Release Point

Lower Half Pitching

It’s no mystery that one of the keys to successful pitching is a consistent release point.  While I do believe that the term “repeatable delivery” is a bit of a stretch, and that many times inconsistency in your arm slot can be a major cause of difficulty in repeating your delivery, I believe we need to dig a little deeper and look closer down the kinetic chain to lower half pitching issues. Continue reading “5 Lower Half Pitching Issues Preventing a Consistent Release Point”

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3 Pillars for Enhancing First Step Quickness

As a driven high school baseball player with hopes and dreams of playing college baseball your attention is constantly being directed towards sculpting yourself into the quintessential 5-Tool player. The 5-tools below are skills of the game that scouts are looking for in potential prospect(s) to help give their teams the greatest opportunity to compete and ultimately win a national championship.

    1. Your running speed & overall athleticism
    2. Your throwing strength & accuracy
    3. Your defensive skills
    4. Your batting average
    5. Your ability to hit for power

The intention behind this article is to hone in on the first tool…. SPEED, and answer the question “WHY?”. Why is speed such a sought-after tool for scouts and offer you 3 things YOU can do to develop this skill. Continue reading “3 Pillars for Enhancing First Step Quickness”