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Olympic Lifting Increases Pitching Velocity

June 12, 2008

Weight Training and Velocity, Strength Training and Pitching Velocity, Olympic Weight Lifting and VelocityBoth Strength Training and Pitching Velocity are NOT on different ends of the spectrum of sports as conventional wisdom would have you believe. Specifically Olympic Weight Training and Velocity are both closely related and this article will help explain how and why.

To understand the effects of Olympic weight lifting and velocity on pitchers, you must first understand how velocity is measured. I will use Newton’s second law of motion, along with the Catapult Theory, to explain pitching velocity.

Newton’s Second Law:

States that the acceleration (velocity) of an object in motion is dependent upon two variables – the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the object. As the force of propulsion acting upon the object increases, the acceleration of the object increases. As the mass of the object increases, the acceleration of the object decreases.

Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion

a = f/m (f = force, m = mass, a = acceleration)

Let’s put this into baseball terms. Newton’s second law of motion would state that to throw a baseball 90 mph would require 6.5 pounds of pressure applied to a baseball, with a mass of 5 ounces, for two tenths of one second (.20). Read more

Written by Brent Pourciau · Filed Under Pitching Articles | 6 Comments