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conditioning Pitching Articles

Pitching Articles, Baseball Pitching Articles, Pitching Velocity 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.

Take This Pill And Throw 90mph!

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · June 17, 2009

Pitching Velocity Pill

Why waste your time and money on pitching coaches and strength and conditioning when you can get all the velocity you want in a pill?

Do you want to know what it is like to throw 90 plus mph?

Do you want to dominate every batter you face?

Do you want to get drafted in the top round and sign for millions?

Then you do not have to wait any longer? All your dreams will come true in this one pill. Velocity is the latest in medical advancements in the world of genetic therapy. This pill will genetically remodel your body to throw a baseball 90 plus miles per hour. Once you take this pill you will feel a burning sensation in your arm and after 33 seconds your next pitch will exceed 90 mph. Read more

The Split Perspective Of Separation

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · February 17, 2009

Separation PitchingSeparation is a major component to developing top velocity and longevity. Separation means having separation from your back hip to back shoulder at front foot strike. Notice the picture here of Felix Hernandez. His back hip is pointing towards home plate and his back shoulder is pointing towards second base. This creates torque in the core. You can see the stretching in his jersey around the stomach area. Having more torque in the core instead of the shoulder of the arm will lead to more velocity and a healthier arm. Read more

Bad Pitching Mechanics Is A Sign Of Muscular Weakness

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · February 10, 2009

Bad Pitching MechanicsAbove 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

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · February 1, 2009

For more info on Coach Hatch visit GayleHatch.com.

coach_on_platformThe 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

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · February 1, 2009

Testosterone, Steroids, PitchingUsing 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

Pain In Triceps And Biceps When Pitching

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · February 1, 2009

Pain Triceps Biceps Pitching

* If you have shoulder pain and you would like to heal the rotator cuff without surgery checkout this page.

So you have pain in triceps and or biceps when pitching and it has more than likely been hurting for a while. You are searching the web for answers because you need this pain to go away so you can get back to business. I get it! I was you in my career.

When I had this problem and I couldn’t find the answers to a quick fix of the problem, I just looked for ways to hide the pain. I was taking Advil almost everyday and I started to have to take tons more of it because the pain was getting worse. The pain first started in my elbow and then it moved up my bicep into my shoulder.

It got so bad that I had to take the maximum dose of pain killers, along with icy hot, and in between innings I had to hit my arm so I would feel the pain of the hit and not the pain coming from my throbbing arm. This was the day that my rotator cuff tore and my career completely stopped. I was shocked and depressed at this time in my life because I had let the pain get so bad, that it ended my career.

I Want to Help You Remove This Pain

I am writing this article here to help you because I wish someone would have helped me at that point in my pitching career when the pain first started. If you have pain in your lower, or upper bicep, or your lower or upper tricep and maybe even in the back or front of your upper forearm, you are overusing and abusing your arm. If you have anyone or all of these pains, then you need to stop and listen to your body.

Pain is your bodies way of telling you that something is wrong. Pain does not just go away. It will only get worse, like it did in my career, if you do not make some changes immediately. Unfortunately, you should have not waited this long to make the changes but better late than never! Read more

Fast Twitch Pitching

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · January 28, 2009

Fast Twitch PitchingProfessional Baseball is full of genetic freaks. Long and slender pitchers who throw mid to upper 90′s like A.J. Burnett and Aroldis Chapman. At this moment, Major League scouts are combing the earth looking for these rare specimens. This is why it is so exciting when someone like Tim Lincecum at 5’9 170 pounds, throwing 95 mph, comes along and blows everyone’s mind. Yes, Tim is a new kind of freak but what he proves is that throwing hard can also be a little mans game. Tim is evidence that the strength and conditioning world is not just  hype. It is real and it is the fountain of success for any athlete. It teaches why someone like Tim Lincecum throws as hard as someone the total opposite in size, like A.J. Burnett or Aroldis Chapman. Why doesn’t Major League Baseball teach little guys to throw as hard as big guys? Because they do not have too. Major League Baseball is like a spoiled child. It gets everything it wants. Therefore, they have no need to make what they already have. Read more

How A BAD Pitching Coach Can Ruin A GOOD Pitcher

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · January 18, 2009

BAD Pitching CoachUltimately, your pitching Coach is your boss. If you piss him off, there is a good chance you may be out of a job. The problem is if he is a BAD pitching coach, he could jeopardize your career. It has happened many times before. The key is to keep the Coach happy, while you find the best support you can, to help influence your career.

What makes a BAD pitching Coach?

Someone who has no experience in playing the position at the top levels of the game, or someone who has no certified education of how to coach the position. Read more

Just Say NO To Long Distance Running

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · January 8, 2009

Pitchers Long Distance RunningIf your Coach or Trainer has you running for longer than five minutes at a SLOW pace then you are training to be just that, SLOW! Muscles have a mixture of two basic types of fibers, fast twitch and slow twitch. Fast-twitch fibers are capable of developing greater forces and contracting faster and have greater anaerobic capacity. Anaerobic means exercise without the use of oxygen as an energy source; short bursts of vigorous exercise. Sprinting is an anaerobic exercise. In contrast, slow-twitch fibers develop force slowly, can maintain contractions longer and have higher aerobic capacity. Aerobic means exercise in which energy needed is supplied by oxygen inspired and is required for sustained periods of vigorous exercise with a continually high pulse rate. Long distance running is an aerobic exercise. Read more

Can Working Out Increase Pitching Velocity?

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · December 10, 2008

I have heard many players and coaches say that working out will not increase pitching velocity. I have even heard them say that it will hurt the pitcher. I understand that this is many parents, coaches and players concerns because it seems to be conventional wisdom that working out is bad but I will be the first to tell you that if you just do your research, you will learn otherwise. It will also prove to you that those who are spreading these rumors about working out and pitching, have not done their research.

When someone tells me that working out is bad for pitching, I then ask them then why was about 70% of Major League Ball Players on Steroids or Human Growth Hormone during the Steroid Era? It isn’t because they just wanted to look good on TV. I then ask them then why was the majority of the position players listed on the Michell Report pitchers? I always get a few stutters, followed by total silence. Read more

Baseball Pitching Workout – Beginner

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · December 9, 2008

This is an excellent beginner workout. It focuses on training the body as a single unit. All these lifts support the development of Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers which will make you more explosive as an athlete. This workout was developed for pitchers but recommend for all positions. When starting this beginner program for the first time, make sure you keep your lifting weight down. Use the bar to start and once you gain confidence in your lifts, you can begin to add weight and use the percentages listed. Select the images below the workout of the lifts to view the instructional video. You can also view the Coach Gayle Hatch instructional videos here: Coach Hatch Videos to learn the lifts. Coach Gayle Hatch is a legend in the sports training world. He is most know as the 2004 USA Olympic Lifting Coach and was just named the World Coach for 2009. Some of the lifts do not have instructional videos. Search the web for exercises that would fill the role. Read more

The Pitching Workout For The Athlete

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · December 5, 2008

There are NOT many pitching workouts out there made for the athlete. This is why most of them or ineffective. The reason they are ineffective is because they do not train athletic performance. I am a USA Weightlifting Certified Trainer and I have spent the past 15 years learning from some of the best in the business. I have also tried just about every workout available. The only time I every noticed an effect on my pitching velocity was after training with the Olympic lifts. Read more

10 Legitimate Tips To Pitching Velocity

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · December 1, 2008

There are hundreds of Pitching Tips for Baseball on the web titled something similar to this article, but most of them are worthless, because they focus mainly on upper body mechanics as the means to developing velocity. Any hard thrower will tell you, there is a lot more to pitching velocity than just your arm. If you want to see significant gains in pitching velocity then read all of these key Baseball Tips on Pitching and the articles linked to it. The only way you are going to see improvements, is if you develop a good understanding of how pitching velocity is generated in hard throwing pitchers.

Remember you are bound by nothing. You have the ability to throw 90+ mph. Doctors told me I would not be able to and I proved them wrong. These tips will help you do the same. Read more

The Principle Of Specificity And Sport

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · August 24, 2008

by Chad Englehart

Introduction

Specificity of Training principle is one of the most utilized training principles used by exercise professionals today. (Kramer et al., 2002) discussed the principle of training specificity and explained that the training responses elicited by a given exercise mode are directly related to the physiological elements involved with coping with the specific exercise stress. What this means is that if an athlete wants to perform better at a particular event or skill they must train specifically for that particular skill. For example, if an athlete wants to become stronger one must lift heavy weights and if an athlete wants to jump higher one must jump. As a strength and conditioning Read more

Resisted Sprints And Effects On Kinematics And Sprint Speed

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · August 24, 2008

by Chad Englehart

Speed Training

Implied in any linear speed discussion with a Strength and Conditioning Specialist, is the concept of resisted speed training strategies. Some professionals consider resisted speed training as the most efficient sprint training technique on the planet, while other consider it not as effective because of a biomechanical stand point. Different resisted speed strategies include, towing, uphill sprints, sand sprints, and weighted sprints. Tahachnik (1992) explained that towing of weighted devices such as sleds and tires is the most common method of providing towing resistance for the enhancement of sprint performance, although the use of parachutes has also Read more

Sprint Mechanics And The 40 Yard Dash

Brent Pourciau

by · August 24, 2008

As a strength and conditioning professional one of the most prevalent questions we are asked is “Can I get my 40 yard faster and how fast can I be? This question is easy to answer, for starters everyone can get faster because speed can be taught and how fast can an athlete become really depends on their genetic makeup. According to Brent McFarlane (1987) sprinting speed can be learnt through motor educability, he goes on to explain that the skills and techniques of sprinting must be rehearsed and perfected at slow speeds and then transferred to sprints at maximal velocity. Most of us know the definition of Read more

Olympic Lifting Increases Pitching Velocity

Brent Pourciau

by Brent Pourciau · 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