Most gimmicks on the internet, that claim to increase pitching velocity or just enhance pitching performance, mainly focus on the upper kinetic chain like the arm. This would include gimmicks like the latest "Speed Chains" and the old school "Weighted balls."
They all use the word "Arm Strength" when selling their product. This is also the case with programs that use extreme long tossing as the means to building the power pitcher, which well respected institutes like ASMI have proven this to be an inadvisable practice. I spent my career weeding through this clutter trying to find the answers to pitching velocity after my arm surgery and my intuition always told me I was wasting my time with these all arm approaches to pitching velocity. I uncovered 3X or triple extension as the secret to velocity because when I decided to stop looking for the quick results program and start building towards my success, I began to see the light.
Most baseball coaches and players do not want to hear that if you want to hit bombs or throw gas, it is only going to happen with an insane work ethic which starts with heavy load training in the weight room. This is because this type of training is a ball breaker. Not many ball players have the "balls" to spend 3-4 days a week kicking their butt in the weight room, especially with the total body Olympic lifts. This is because this type of training is what separates the men from the boys. I am not trying to be macho here. My intentions are to show those, who want to hear it, that your ability to throw harder will come if you are man enough to put a maximum effort into a training program that incorporates heavy load training. Especially using lifts that involve triple extension as the means to generate power. It will not come by substituting your throws with heavier balls, chains or long distances. You will see some results but not the results you will discover using a 3X training program that involves heavy loads and a superior throwing program.
Study Proves Velocity Comes from Lower Extremities
I continually post scientific evidence on this site to support my claims and programs and here is more evidence to help give you the confidence that my word is supported in the science world. Here is a study from the Department of Orthopaedic Biomechanics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. It is called Characteristic ground-reaction forces in baseball pitching. You can view the study here http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9474404. This was the final results of the study:
This study validates the clinical impression that the lower extremity is an important contributor to the throwing motion. Based on this study, strengthening of the lower extremities could be inferred to be important both to enhance performance and to avoid injury.
This study recorded data from the throwing mechanics of 7 pitchers and found that the explosive push off or drive of the lower kinetic chain, along with the ground reaction forces from the landing limb of the lift leg, increased arm velocities. They also stated that "poor mechanics at the arm may originate in the lower extremities." This is another study that once again supports TopVelocity.net's claims that triple extension, which is the extension of the drive leg ankle, knee and hip flexor, along with triple flexion, which is the stabilization of the three joints of the lift leg at front foot strike, is the foundation to building the explosive or power pitcher. I highly recommend that you purchase the 3X Pitching Velocity Program to learn more about this approach. It comes with the 3X Pitching eBook which will give you more information and more scientific evidence behind 3X Pitching.
I promise you that greats like Jim Morris, Billy Wagner, Nolan Ryan and Bob Feller didn't get to the heights of greatness using methods similar to "Speed Chains" and "Weighted Balls." They were all involved in some type of heavy load training using the lower kinetic chain. Even the old timers like Bob Feller, who was an advocate for fitness, and who grew up on a farm bailing hay, which bailing hay and power cleaning are cousins, spent his off season kicking his butt to get better. Don't let the elites fool you in Major League Baseball today. Just because you see them using methods like Yoga and stretching before games, doesn't mean this is how they got to the "Big Leagues." My favorite quote from the legendary Nolan Ryan should give you a better perspective of what it is going to take to reach your goals and dreams.
"Pitching in the big leagues is a dream. Preparing to pitch in the big leagues is a nightmare." - Nolan Ryan