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Increasing Speed and Power for Pitchers and Baseball Players through Plyometrics

Elite pitchers and baseball players are not only strong but also explosive. This requires not only strength but the ability to apply that strength quickly and can be a bit more involved than simply training strength only. This is where plyometrics come in. Plyometric exercises typically involve rapid, powerful jumping and/or hopping movements preceded by a preloaded countermovement. This targets the fast-twitch muscle fibers, the primary muscles that are responsible for generating force rapidly, as in throwing or hitting a baseball or the initial take-off when attempting to steal a base.

Let’s get into it…

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Ankle Mobility and Strength / Stability… You need BOTH! – Part 1

One of the most common issues we see in our athletes is a lack of ankle mobility and strength / stability, more specifically dorsiflexion range-of-motion. Whether you’re a pitcher, position player or catcher, since the foot and ankle are the first to hit the ground, your ankles are essentially “ground zero” for all things that happen later in any movement.

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The Scapular Stabilizers… Why Are They Mission Critical? – Part 2

In Part 1 of this 2-Part article, we review scapular stability, why it’s important and the fact that training it does not happen in isolation. We also covered some of the big players, namely strength and motor control of the cuff as well as tissue quality of the internal rotators. Today, in Part 2, we’re going to sum up the rest of the big players and talk a bit about putting it all together.

Let’s go…

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Passive vs. Active Hip and Shoulder Mobility… Why It Matters?

Hip and Shoulder Mobility

Putting your foot up on a table and stretching out your hamstring might feel good and can give you some temporary relief if done for long enough and frequently, but this newfound “Passive” range-of-motion (ROM) will more than likely NOT transfer to game play. This, requires what we call “Active” ROM.

Why? Let’s get into it…

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The Scapular Stabilizers… Why Are They Mission Critical? – Part 1

What is Scapular Stability?

The Scapula (shoulder blade) attaches to your ribcage via two main muscles, the serratus anterior and the trapezius. These muscles (with help from the Rhomboids), pull in different directions to help keep your shoulder blade stable while your arm moves and accepts force. They are otherwise known as your “scapula stabilizers”. Why is it Important? Continue reading “The Scapular Stabilizers… Why Are They Mission Critical? — Part 1”

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Training Power with Post-Activation Potentiation (PAP)

I love to use the phrase, “training doesn’t happen in isolation”. In other words, there’s a time to train strength and a time to learn to apply that strength quickly. Post-activation potentiation (referred to from here on out as “PAP”) is a phase we use once harder throwing begins at the mid-point of the off-season with our more advanced athletes to train explosive power.

What exactly is PAP?

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How to Improve Shoulder IR in the Off-Season

Being efficient and staying healthy as a pitcher is highly reliant on both internal (IR) and external (ER) ranges of motion at the shoulder.  In this article, we are going to focus on the IR side of things.

    • What exactly is shoulder IR
    • Why is it important to baseball players
    • What are some of the more common causes of poor IR
    • How to assess passive vs. active ranges of IR
    • When to train shoulder IR

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Do You Have an Arm Care Program?

Do you have an arm care program?  It’s a question we’re often asked by parents of young athletes. Unfortunately, this question also comes with an expectation that any arm care program would be mostly focusing on band work. This couldn’t be farther from reality. With respect to throwing a baseball nothing happens in isolation, and a great arm care program is no different. I can recount many conversations with parents about arm care. And, when I tell them that it’s about a number of different things, including strength training,  I can see it in their eyes. Their response often is “but I’m looking for arm care”.

Let me explain!

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Training Deceleration in Baseball Players

In the field of sports performance, we are always looking to improve an athlete’s force and velocity production. By building a bigger “motor” we can improve “horsepower,” giving the athlete the ability to move at higher speeds.  In baseball, this can equate to a player throwing harder, bat speed, or getting down the baselines quicker (first step quickness). However, when we build a bigger motor, we also must build better “brakes”.

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Training for Force Production… Improving Tissue Quality and Global Movement Patterns – Part 3

Welcome to Part 3 of “Training Better Force Production”.

After developing Ground Force (Part 1) as well as Elasticity / Acceleration (Part  2), we need a more restorative stimulus that works to restore tendon and tissue quality at the muscular and connective tissue level. In this third and final article of the 3-part series, we’re going to talk about doing just that.

Continue reading “Training for Force Production… Improving Tissue Quality and Global Movement Patterns — Part 3”