aaronuconn Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Heres my question, how can I add speed to my fastball? Like what kind of workouts should I start doing. I recently heard abs were very important, so I started doing crunches regulary. What are some arm workouts I could do? A couple years back I purchesed a wrist strengthener, would this help me with gaining velocity? I have fairly strong thighs, and can leg press above average for my age. So can anyone out their help me gain 5-10MPH on my fastball? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigschiff7 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Time, you really can't add 5-10 mph out of nowhere...As you get older, your arm naturally will get stronger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgbaseball Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Maturity and aging is the absolute best thing to increase your velocity. As you get older, your muscles and body in general becomes stronger. For now, get a resistance band and locate some good exercises to do in your free time. When I was recovering from my shoulder surgery for baseball, I was connected at the hip to a resistance band. Make it your best friend. As general advice, keep working out. Legs and core are extremely important, and they produce all your leverage and torque while throwing. Gaining 5-10 mph will definitely happen overnight, but over time you can gain a few mph. Be patient and persistent with your workouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronuconn Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 I have something like this.... Will this help me gain velocity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgbaseball Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 A little bit maybe. That would be better for developing the flexors and extensors in your arm to obtain stronger wrists for snapping off curveballs and sliders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronuconn Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 I also heard Push ups and Bench presses are pretty much pointless for a pitcher also. Is this true? Kg, would working your biceps help at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynNets24 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 how old are you and how fast can you pitch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronuconn Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 14 and about nearly 70MPH... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynNets24 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Hmm i guess thats good for oyur age i dont really know. Im 16 and can throw 84 MPH Fastball, Well thats what the Speedameter said at ESPN Zone :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgbaseball Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 In general, it's best for pitchers to be very toned, not built, to develop good stamina and such. Biceps don't play a huge part in pitching, so don;t concentrate just on those. The muscles in your rotator cuff and shoulder play a bigger role than the biceps do in pitching. Pushups and bench pressing won't hurt anything, but are great for triceps and chest obviously. The reason I know a fair deal about this stuff is because I'm in school for being a physical therapist concentrating on the sports aspect, especially baseball. There are plenty of pitching workouts available online that will help with all parts of pitching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronuconn Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 This is a list that I saw on the internet for what NOT to do, so these look right KG? * Bench pressing with the bar - use dumbbells * Miltary press * Clean and jerk - (shoulder and back) * Upright rows * Dips * Lat pulldowns behind the neck * Preacher or concentration curls (elbow) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgbaseball Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 A lot of those are just on there because they put a lot/too much pressure on the shoulder and elbow. The only one I personally would say not to do is the pulldown behind the neck; it's pointless. Rows were a staple in my rehab program, and I'd recommend them to anyone. The other ones could be dangerous to a pitcher if you try and max out on the bench or curls, you could strain or tear something. Basically if you want to do those exercises, fine, but try and do them at low weight/high reps. Concentrate a lot on the core and leg strengthening exercises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronuconn Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 Ok, will do! Thanks a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Unit Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Hmm i guess thats good for oyur age i dont really know. Im 16 and can throw 84 MPH Fastball, Well thats what the Speedameter said at ESPN Zone wow i can only hit 70's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speels Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 One thing you can do is play a lot of long toss. It's highly underrated in the strenghthening of the arm. The good thing about it is that it is actually using your throwing technique which will help your muscles remember what they should be doing. Don't over-do the long toss, but make sure that when you are not pitching pens, that you work in the long toss. It's also important that you throw the ball no higher than 10-12 feet off the ground. You'll find that over time, you will be able to get the ball farther as you become stronger. Ypu may have to one bounce the ball to your throwing partner, but trying to hit the spot a little closer to the player will help you see improvement. The other thing you have to make sure you don;t do is over throw the ball. Trying to throw that ball at 120% is not going to help, but actually hurt your arm long term. Throw at 90-97% and your arm wil get stronger over time. Don't forget to work those legs by running pole to poles. 20 a day will help you gain stamina which is important because the more stamina the legs have, the less stress there is on your arm and the longer and harder you will be able to throw. Also as mentioned above, the resistance band is also good to use, as it helps strengthen the proper throwing muscles. Hope this helps a bit, and if you need more help, let me know. I have a little experience as I coached a kid who we improved his fastball from 86-92 mph over the course of one year. He got drafted, but quit to play hockey I think he works on the rigs now :oops: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bama Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I'm no baseball coach, but I would suggest (other than growing up) you do tons of long toss, long toss, as speels said, is very underrated and will definately help your velocity. Also, you may want to rework your delivery. I had a deceptive delivery i used to amplify my slider, when I changed to a more standard delivery, i gained some velocity on my fastball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgbaseball Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 The only problem with that is advanced hitters will know when you're throwing each pitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronuconn Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 Ya, Ive been doing long toss. Thats what I always do during pratices. Thanks speels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 14 and about nearly 70MPH... Wow. That's amazing at your age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronuconn Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 Thank you, but I am heading into my Sophmore year, so even well im under age, im still goin against people my grade who can throw 75ish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northpaw Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Ive gained about 10 mph over the last year and a half.....4 days a week of this has u....im up to 89 and last summer i was 80 tops www.pitchingcentral.com www.pitchingwithconfidence.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidewinder Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Kids mature physically at different times in their development. Dont sweat it. "Strengthen and Lengthen" are the keys to maximizing your arm as well as mechanics. Every body is different as to your pitching mechanics, so lots of bullpens will allow you to find what works best for you and for building up your arm. Long toss is huge and so is muscle, ligament, and tendon development through resistance training. Surgical tubing is great and you can attach it to a chain-link fence. I like using a Bowflex also to develop all the little stabilizer muscles too in my workout. I wish I would of had that during my career. One trick that I liked to do when possible was to stretch it out(long toss) immediately before getting loose on the Mound. Start easy and then put some snap into it, doing your best to hit a target. Then when you get on the Mound, suddenly you feel like you have extra pop and can really locate your pitches. Strengthening your legs and core are very important. Running, biking, leg presses/curls/extensions, calf raises, situps were key. Also, wrist curls, bicep curls, tricep extensions, chest flys, rowing. Jobe shoulder exercises too. Ideally, you want to toss the ball immediately after an upper body workout to "lengthen" and keep the feel in your arm and the touch in your fingertips. For endurance and getting the toxins out of your system quicker after throwing, do your running or biking. When starting, I would do my heaviest running/biking the day after. When relieving, I would do my running/biking every day, but not for as long. We always did alot of stretching and situps and poles! Spring Training was always tough the first week because of all the extra stretching that we did, that I wasnt used to doing so much during the off season. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northpaw Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 wow one of the few peopple on here that actually knows what there saying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalmilita87 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Can someone help me out with the Knuckelball??? i mean, i know how to throw it but i cant put any movement on it, is get very little movement and its just a beach ball for the hitters, i dont know how hard i can throw but my hero has always been Trevor Hoffman, and i try to use off speed pitches more often, im also working on a sinker, so can someone please help me out with those pitches, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MancrushOnNomar Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 Can someone help me out with the Knuckelball??? i mean, i know how to throw it but i cant put any movement on it, is get very little movement and its just a beach ball for the hitters, i dont know how hard i can throw but my hero has always been Trevor Hoffman, and i try to use off speed pitches more often, im also working on a sinker, so can someone please help me out with those pitches, thanks!There's a reason hardly anyone throws a knuckler anymore. It's almost impossible to throw well. For the most part it's either you can or cannot, it's very hard to get better at, it's more of a natural movement kind of thing. I learned to throw a knuckler in high school, and can still do so well, it's just a natural feeling out of my hand so it's always be a successful pitch for me. There's a number of ways to grip it, most pitchers like Tim Wakefield use their fingernails to get a grip on the ball and extend the fingertips as they release. I never had fingernails that could grip the ball like that, so I use the front of my fingernail and my first knuckle to rest along the seam, then using a pushing motion out of the hand. Most people will tell you a knuckle ball will have no spin, and that is absolutely false. If the ball does not rotate it will have that beach ball effect you were talking about. The key is to try to get one to one and a half revolutions from your hand to the catcher's mitt. With a good slow rotation, the wind will really catch the seams and make the ball dance like a kid having seizures. I hope I've helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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