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.

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Putting on the Brakes to Throw Gas… What is Lead Leg Block?

lead leg block

The lead leg block is the act of slowing down your body’s momentum with your lead leg at landing. In biomechanics, deceleration and the lead leg block can be represented by peak changes in angular velocity. Think about your car. The gas pedal represents your drive leg at the start of the pitching delivery (power output) and the brakes represent your lead leg’s role at foot contact (power absorption and transfer of force).  Let’s cover this in three parts:

    • Why is it Important to be Good at Decelerating?
    • What We Look For?
    • How We Address Lead Leg Block Issues?

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