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athlete Pitching Articles

Here are some pitching articles on this important pitching velocity topic. This topic is currently open for discussion. You can either comment on the articles below or start a thread in the pitching forums.

Studies Prove Olympic Lifting Has Less Injuries Than Major League Baseball

There is a ton of misleading and incorrect information in baseball when it comes to the benefits and risks of explosive power training for the baseball player. Many coaches, especially those who played before the drug era, work hard to discourage their students from explosive resistance training. Especially when it comes to Olympic Lifting and their reasons are usually; its dangerous, it will injury you, it has no effect on speed or velocity, or we didn’t use this back in my day. This is unfortunate because for years Olympic style resistance training has been proven the most effective style of training when developing the power athlete (1,2,3) and if you have learned anything here at TopVelocity.net, you know that more power, equals more pitching velocity.

So, is all of these fears about Olympic Lifting as an effective approach to building the power pitcher valid? Hopefully this article will give you all the information you will need to answer this question. Just based on my experience using these lifts in my career to overcome a potential career ending rotator cuff tear and seeing the results of those I have trained to increase pitching velocity with the Olympic lifts has convinced me, but I do not expect my experience to convenience you. This is why I have done the research for you.

* Yes, that is Bryce Harper power cleaning with glow in the dark weights and no shirt on! Don’t know what he was thinking either and yes, the old school coaches are correct, his training has nothing to do with his monster homeruns. Its his pink wristband.

Read more

10 Reasons Most Pitching Velocity Programs Fail

How many “Pitching Velocity Programs” have you purchased or used this year? How many of them have only had a small impact on your pitching velocity? How many of them do not give you all of the information? How many of them are a total waste of time and money? How many of them just confuse and frustrate you? In most cases pitching velocity programs fail and I have listed below the 10 reason I believe why.

Before we go over these 10 reason it is important to know that the reason high velocity, like 90 mph in high school, college or professional baseball is so attractive to scouts is because only a rare few can touch it or compete above it. If the “Perfect” pitching velocity program did exist, where everyone could touch 90 mph after using it, then 90 mph would eventually become the 85 mph of today.  The point is just because everyone doesn’t gain a 90 mph fastball from a pitching velocity program doesn’t make it a failure. These 10 reason below and their descriptions are the reason I believe most pitching velocity programs are failures. Read more

3X Pitching – Podcast Episode 3

Listen to the entire 3X Pitching Podcast Episode 3. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by selecting the button on the far right.

3X Pitching – Podcast Episode 3 Transcript

This transcript is a rough draft. It is recommended that you listen to the podcast above.

3 Is the Magic Number

Hey, Brent Pourciau, TopVelocity.net!

This is the 3X Pitching Podcast Episode 3! Read more

Pitchers Stop Living In Fear Of Weight Training

Baseball is one of the last sports to embrace the performance benefits of weight training. The same fears that are coming from the conventional wisdom of the game of baseball existed even in football back in the 1950’s. Everyone was told that weight training would ruin the football player by making him bulky, slow, tight and injured. Sports like Football, basketball, all of the Olympic sports and even Golf have grown up to learn that this was not true. Weight training has helped to mold some of the greatest athletes in the world. Baseball is slowing coming around to this phenomenon but many of the conventional coaches in the game continue to live in ignorance and continue to beat this fear of weight training into the young players of this game. Read more

Bench Press For Pitchers – Pros And Cons

So who is afraid of the bench press? Don’t be scared! There has been for years a lot of controversy around the bench press for pitchers. The conventional pitching coach describes the lift as a guaranteed career ending device, “It will destroy your rotator cuff or make you too tight when you throw!” You may have heard these exact words before coming from your pitching coach. The problem is this is just a lot of misinformation from coaches who are uneducated in the world of strength and conditioning.

The bench press is NOT THE BEST LIFT to enhance performance in the weight room but it does have some benefits for the pitcher. This article will cover the Pros and Cons of the Bench Press for Pitchers, so you can move past the controversy and start moving closer towards your pitching goals.

* To learn more about the 3X Goals, used for the 3X Pitching Velocity Program then check out this forum thread here called 3X Pitching Goals. Read more

Post-Activation Potentiation: A Pitching Velocity Phenomenon

My biggest pitching idol growing up was Nolan Ryan. I worshiped his Pitching Bible like it was, “The Bible.” In this book he lists his everyday routines as a professional ball player, from what he ate to his strength training program. This was the first time I had ever heard about a pitcher lifting weights. What absolutely blew my mind was when he talked about his weight training circuit he would do just before pitching a game. I thought this was revolutionary. Why was he doing this and was it the secret to his success? I never discovered the answer to this question until trying it in my own career and also learning about a muscle phenomenon called, Post-Activation Potentiation. Read more

Long Toss Vs 3X Power Throws

 In the 3X Pre-Season program, the “Old School” approach of Long Tossing is replaced with the revolutionary 3X Power Throws. These throws revolutionize the traditional throwing practice of Long Tossing by incorporating the 3X Mechanics and velocity support. Once you learn this cutting edge approach to an in-season throwing program you will not want to go back to your old ways of Long Tossing.

The problem with the traditional Long Toss was discovered in the latest case study performed by the famous ASMI which was backed by the famous Dr. Andrews. You can learn more about this study here. The final results proved that the traditional long toss, along with the popular extreme long toss, not only is destructive to your pitching mechanics but it puts a tremendous amount of stress in the elbow. The 3X Power Throws were developed to eliminate this stress in the elbow while also promoting the 3X pitching mechanics. The results have been revolutionary. Read more

Pitching Velocity Quick Tip #4

This Pitching Velocity Quick Tip will cover the pros and cons of throwing the football. Throwing a football can promote arm health, specifically in the throwing elbow. This is because the football forces the athlete to have good wrist pronation at release. This is critical for velocity and protecting the eblow. The problem is you must learn how to throw the football correctly to benefit from this important pitching component. If you only throw the football the way most athletes throw a football then it could have a negative effect on your pitching. Watch this video to learn more!

Some coaches may prohibit you from bringing a football to practice. I always got in trouble for this because it would always turn into a football game. Make sure the you check with your coach before bringing it on the baseball field. If you coach protests this then use the football on your own.

The football can be a great tool for a pitcher but only if you have a good understanding of how to use the football as a pitching aid. You can get some drills with then football for pitchers in the Beginner Guide to 3X Pitching which is now a part of the 3X Pitching Velocity program.

 

Pitching Analysis Paralysis

If you want to pitch like an elite pitcher then it makes a whole lot of sense to try to model yourself after an elite pitcher. Kind of like when you were a kid and you looked up to some older brother or some celebrity. You might have worn the same cloths as them or listened to the same music as them because you knew the more you lived like them, the more it may be possible to understand and become them. As odd as it sounds, this isn’t a bad idea. I have to admit, I did it in my career and it worked. The problem becomes, when is it too much? Read more

Force Vector Pitching

Is your pitching coach teaching the force vector?

More than likely your Pitching Coach has no idea what Force Vector Pitching is and why it is so critical for velocity. I would love to see the look on his face when you ask him what force vector pitching is and why is it so important.

I have talked about the Pitching Force Vector many times on this site and in my analysis. It is also in the 3X Pitching Velocity program and the fact is, I really can’t talk about this critical component enough. Read more

Pitcher Power Curve

The Pitcher Power Curve is worth as much as the 3X Pitching Velocity Program. It has taken me the past 20 years to develop the 3X Program which is built on the Pitcher Power Curve.

Velocity is a product of power and if you can understand how we generate power as athletes, you will then discover how you can personally increase and maintain pitching velocity.

Power is both speed and strength. It isn’t enough to be an athlete who can only move a lot of weight or an athlete who can only move very quickly. You must be that athlete who can move a lot of weight, very quickly. This is called explosive power or explosive strength. This can all be measured in what I call the Pitcher Power Curve. Read more

Healing The Pitcher With Water

Healing the Pitcher with water, it’s amazing to me. Dehydration: a basic cause of injury to the athlete. We drink all kinds of fluids, throughout our lives, while playing sports in Little League, High School, College and Professional Sports and we are still fighting the effects of dehydration. Chronic injury, injury on a play that an athlete has preformed a thousand times… have you ever questioned what is going on?? Many Trainers have and those who have been introduced to the benefits of Kangen Water are excited that there is an answer to helping their athletes be ‘Stronger, Faster and Bigger’. Read more

Baseball Strength Training Program

If you want to play at the next level then you are going to have to increase your ability to generate power. Power is measured as both speed and strength. Increasing your bodies ability to generate power, along with total body mechanics, will enhance your potential to hit the ball farther, throw the ball harder and run a lot faster. Studies have proven that heavy load training is the most effective way to increase your bodies ability to generate power. This is because heavy load training is more effective in remodeling fast twitch muscle fiber and developing more motor units. The problem here is most baseball coaches do not believe in this style of training. They believe that this style of training makes the ball player tight and bulky. If you have a training program that uses low reps with heavy load training then hypertrophy will be minimal. This means you will get a lot stronger and faster instead of just bigger. Even though size has been proven to enhance performance. Read more

Baseball Workouts To Make You Bigger, Stronger, Faster

In the game of baseball, all skills require small muscle groups moving big muscle groups. This means you must use a strength and conditioning program that not only develops you to become Bigger, Stronger, Faster but it builds joint integrity as well. Most training programs neglect either the effectiveness of training the big muscle groups and only isolates the small muscle groups and vice verse. A training program that is built around both muscle groups is far superior to the others.

It is important to also make sure that you are educated in the mechanics of the lifts. The Olympic lifts are some of the most powerful lifts in the weight room to training the athlete to grow Bigger, Stronger, Faster. These lifts though are as intricate as learn proper throwing or hitting mechanics. You must spend as much time learning these lifting mechanics as you spend learning your throwing or hitting mechanics. This would mean you need a program that comes with a trainer who is educated enough to coach these lifts or a training video that will replace the trainer. You will find some great training videos below along with the baseball training programs. Read more

Pitching Supplements For Recovery

Recovery can be a pitchers worst enemy or his best friend. If a pitcher is able to recovery faster than the average athlete then he has a significant advantage. The benefits to faster muscle recovery after a workout or game is reduced muscle fatigue which leads to higher velocity and more pitches thrown. Another big benefit is less chance of injury. Therefore the more quickly you can reach full recovery after a performance has a major effect on your success as a pitcher. This is why supplements have become a major part of sports today!

The remedies of today for muscle recovery are continuously improving. There are always new supplements coming out on the market that claim to improve recovery. The hard part is determining the ones that actually work without wasting a lot of time and money. I have put together a list of products and links to purchase these products at amazon.com. This way I will save you time and money. These are products that I used in my career which helped me not only overcome a career ending injury but to reach my velocity goals of 94mph. I am not claiming that these products will do this for you but they will definitely help. Read more

Increase Speed

How important is Speed to you on the mound?

It better be important because if you look up another word for speed in a Thesaurus you will get Velocity. Now let me ask that question again with the other word.

How important is Velocity to you on the mound?

Now, I hope I got your attention. If you are confused then I suggest you read my article called The Phenomenon of Speed Mechanics! Read more

If Speed Kills Dont Kill Your Speed

By Kurt Hester

Every coach knows that speed is the most dominate factor in sport. Coaches recruit fast athletes and design their offenses and defenses with that speed in mind. If these afore mentioned assumptions are correct, then, why are strength coaches training these same athletes to become slow and un-explosive. Read more

Bad Pitching Mechanics Is A Sign Of Muscular Weakness

Above average coordination is a sign of fast twitch muscle strength. Fast twitch motor neurons recruit more muscle fibers. This means more control of the body and also more explosive power. The biggest problem for a pitching coach, when working with a pitcher who does not have good hip rotation or who does not load and build a full body stride, is that this is the result of poor core and leg strength and no mechanical drill will fix this problem.

Drills only help pitchers who are having a hard time changing flawed muscle memory. It doesn’t help pitchers who have good muscle memory but poor muscle strength. This is why we have weight rooms. This is why any coach who tells you that weight lifting will NOT help you as a pitcher is clueless and is wasting your time and maybe even your money. A good strength and conditioning program that incorporates Olympic lifts, plyometric training and an intense speed training program is essential to developing good pitching mechanics. Good athletes make good pitchers. Read more

Coach Gayle Hatch

For more info on Coach Hatch visit GayleHatch.com.

The USA men’s weightlifting head coach at the 2004 Olympic Games, Hatch was inducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame’s inaugural 14-member class in August 2003, along with Baton Rouge’s Alvin Roy; and the USA Olympic Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame in April 2002. He received the NFL Strength & Conditioning Coaches Society “President’s Award” for his role in developing the profession at the 2005 NFL Combine. Hatch served as meet director of the 2000 USA Olympic Trials. In 2007-08, Hatch worked at LSU as basketball strength and conditioning coach after his program helped the 2006 Tigers reach the Final Four. Read more

Boost Your Testosterone And Growth Hormone Levels Naturally

Using steroids and growth hormone (GH) injections to increase your levels of testosterone and GH has more bad side effects than positive returns. This is why I speak against these illegal drugs. Through proper strength and conditioning, an athlete can naturally stimulate their bodies testosterone and GH levels. The reason for athletes increasing these levels is to grow bigger, stronger, faster, which means your body is healing faster than it is breaking down. This is very beneficial for pitchers because quicker recovery between appearances will result in more velocity, better consistency and less chance of injury. This is why the Michell Report was full of professional pitchers using these illegal substances. These pro pitchers were looking for the hormonal edge but going at it in the wrong direction. Thank you to the strength and conditioning world, we have now learned that the hormonal edge can be obtained naturally, through a proper strength and conditioning program. Read more