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Does Increasing Arm Strength Increase Velocity?

March 25, 2011

Arm StrengthBasic physics teaches us that to throw a ball at your top velocity you must use more than just your arm. You must use the entire kinetic chain, along with every muscle group that will help you reach your top velocity. There are countless articles on this site on how to use more of your body to increase velocity and there is also the revolutionary pitching velocity program called 3X Pitching to coach and train you how to pitch with your total body and increase velocity from 5-10 mph. Outside of this information lets go into more detail on arm strength and velocity.

Arm Strength and Velocity

To answer the question, YES, more arm strength will increase velocity but it could prevent you from reaching your potential top velocity. The arm muscles that are responsible for generating arm velocity is the Pectoralis major, Subscapularis, Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres minor and Latissimus dorsi. Technically these are not arm muscles because they are more apart of the shoulder, but these muscles are responsible for moving the arm. This is one of the problems with using the phrase “arm strength” when talking about throwing velocity. Read more

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

Pulling Down is Slowing Down

October 26, 2009

lincecumAlan Jaeger’s Long Toss program uses what he calls the “Pull down phase.” This is because after throwing the ball 300 feet in his “Air it out” program he wants you to pull down your delivery so you do not continue to launch the ball high as you move closer to 60 feet. The problem is this goes against the science of velocity.

Pitching velocity is the product of momentum and torque. You can read countless articles on this site about Momentum and Torque. Pulling the ball down during release prevents early internal rotation which is a key component to velocity as stated in the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) case study called Comparison of High Velocity and Low Velocity Pitch Deliveries. Read more

Written by Brent Pourciau · Filed Under Pitching Articles | 34 Comments