If you take a look at the 3X Pitching Profiles, which are measurements of speeds and distances of some of the best pitcher’s mechanics in the game, you will discover that most of these pitchers have either above average 3X into hip to shoulder separation or below average hip to shoulder separation with above average 2X. To truly understand what is going on here and how this effects velocity, it is important we first understand the relationship of 3X to 2X and hip rotation.

3X to 2X and Hip Rotation

Triple extension (3X) – Is the extension of the drive leg knee, ankle and hip flexor and it will usually extended in that order. The 3X approach to pitching teaches us that achieving 3X before front foot strike will create hip rotation just at or just after front foot strike. It will also promote more explosive hip rotation which leads to optimal hip to shoulder separation. This hip rotation is occurring because when the drive leg achieves 3X, it pushes the hip flexor of the back hip forward before front foot strike. This will just open the hips a little, so when the front leg lands and stabilizes, the hips slam completely open towards the target. If the pitcher does not open the hips through 3X before front foot strike, hip rotation will happen late, reducing hip to shoulder separation.

Double Extension (2X) – This is the extension of the knee and ankle of the front leg at front foot strike into pitch release. The 3X approach to pitching also teaches us that achieving 2X before pitch release is critical to support hip to shoulder separation and it will transfer more energy or power into the ball increasing velocity. Taking 2X even farther into hyper-extension will force the hips to completely open towards the target. We know the more open the hips are towards the target at release, the more front leg extension will occur which will put more power and energy into the ball, increasing pitching velocity.

How 3X and 2X together Promote High Pitching Velocities

The best way to understand the relationship of 3X to 2X, is using the car crash analogy, which I have used a few times on this site. 3X would be the high performance car heading towards an immovable brick wall (2X). The passenger (test dummy) in the car is the ball. We do not know the effect of 3X to 2X until the car hits the wall. The farther the passenger flies out of the car, the more effective 3X to 2X worked together.

Just like when pitching, 3X is our acceleration system and 2X is our breaking system. If we increase 3X then 2X must support it to increase pitching velocity and vice versus. They work hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other.

On the elite level, when a pitcher is working to break 90mph, the relationship of 3X to 2X becomes even more important. In the case of Brandon Morrow (see 3X Pitching Profile) he has an above average 3X with a below average 2X and he is a 95+mph pitcher. In the case of Justin Verlander (see 3X Pitching Profile) he has a below average 3X with an above average 2X and he is a 95+mph pitcher. The diamond in the rough here is that both these pitchers have an above average relationship between 3X to 2X. This is why they throw in the upper 90′s.

Let’s look at these pitchers and their 3X to 2X relationship, so we can learn how to improve our relationship of 3X to 2X. Brandon Morrow has one of the best 3X moves in the game but he has a below average 2X move to support it. If you watch his front leg stabilization in slow motion you will see that it never flexes or moves after front foot strike, it is stabilizing and supporting his explosive 3X, like the immovable brick wall in the car crash analogy. This is allowing all that power from 3X to slam the hips open into his stabilized but not extended front leg, like in the car crash analogy. If he had a weaker 3X, with his below average 2X, he would lose velocity but if he had an explosive 2X like Justin Verlander, to go with his explosive 3X, then what would happen? This would change the car crash analogy. The brick wall would now be replaced with another car moving towards the original car at the same speed. Let’s replace these cars with bumper cars so the impact is greater. Now what would happen to the passenger in the original car? He would project himself even farther out of the car at impact. So you can see how powerful 3X and 2X can be if they work together. You can also see how if you increase one and decrease the other, at the same rate, then you haven’t effected velocity but if you increase one without decreasing the other then you increase velocity. 3X to 2X go hand in hand, so you must understand their relationship before you can effectively use them to increase velocity.

How to implement 2X before Pitch Release

The key to implementing 2X into your delivery is through both the motor coordination training of the component through drills and strength and conditioning. Let’s look at them separately.

Motor Training 2X – When using drills like the Med Ball or Target throws in the 3X Pitching Velocity program you want to work to keep the front leg knee behind your heal when in these drills. This will allow you to more easily achieve 2X. Once the front leg knee pushes out over the front foot it becomes too difficult to achieve 2X. These drills will help you develop the motor coordination around 2X because when you are in these drills, you are positioned with your hips open to the target at start. 2X will not occur if your hips are closed towards the target. This is why it is difficult to practice 2X within your entire pitching delivery. If you are not opening your hips at front foot strike then it will be almost impossible to achieve 2X before pitch release. This is why I recommend using the drills in the 3X Pitching Velocity Program to train this 2X motor skill.

Strength and Conditioning 2X – This is important to support 2X because for a pitcher to achieve 2X before pitch release, he must have strong quads and flexible hamstrings to complete this movement. If a pitcher is able to get the hips open at front foot strike but does not have the strength to fire the quads against the force of the landing leg hitting the ground and his hamstrings are not strong and flexible enough to support this extension and forward trunk tilt movement then the pitcher will never achieve this velocity component. The 3X Pitching Velocity program uses heavy load training to develop the quad power along with lifts like the RDL’s to develop the hamstring flexibility.

The Science behind 2X to 3X

If you need more science to support this information in this article then please study more about the physics of impulse and momentum. You can actually put together the math that supports this 3X to 2X relationship.

Here are also the studies that support these pitching components.

NPA Velocity Study conducted 2005-2006

http://www.nationalpitching.ne…..UV_NPA.pdf

“The results from our study indicate that just about 80% of a pitcher’s real velocity comes from the torque of hip and shoulder
separation”

ASMI – Comparison of High Velocity and Low Velocity Pitch Deliveries

http://www.asmi.org/asmiweb/re…..itches.htm

“Compared to the low ball velocity group, the higher ball velocity pitchers demonstrated less lead knee flexion velocity after front foot contact and greater lead knee extension velocity at the time of ball release. Extending the lead knee in this manner may provide stabilization allowing better energy transfer from the trunk to the throwing arm, and could be a critical factor in pitch velocity.

More open pelvis angle at the time of ball release (REL) also correlated with increased pitch velocity increased.”

High Pitching Velocity and Foot Sync

The reason synchronizing the feet before front foot strike is important is because it helps trigger hip rotation. The opening of the front foot will start the rotation of the hips during the stride. If the front foot opens early during the stride then hip rotation will start early. This will limit power production while also slowing hip rotation after front foot strike.

This is why it is important to trigger hip rotation just before front foot strike. Opening the hips just before front foot strike will promote more explosive hip rotation because the hip is forced to open faster due to the short amount of time it has to open before landing. It is also critical to understand that the front foot triggers the hip rotation but the back foot is what is driving the power of the hip rotation. This is why the feet must work together to create explosive hip rotation just before front foot strike.

Notice the animated clips here of Trevor Bauer and Aroldis Chapman. It is a close up of their feet moving together during the pitching delivery. What you see is the drive leg foot kicking the ankle through to complete triple extension just as the front foot is opening for landing. This synchronization of the feet is critical for power production, a good stride length and ultimately explosive hip rotation.

How to Synchronize the Feet During the Pitching Delivery?

The key to synchronizing the feet during the stride is in the “Load” position. This is the position where the pitcher is set up for launch, the clip here of Trevor Bauer starts in this position. The force vector (ankle to knee) is in a linear position and the lift leg is following the lead of the front hip. Most pitchers who open up the front foot early or who do not have a good drive leg ankle kick have a poor “Load.” The poor “Load” is mainly the result of a late linear force vector. The earlier the pitcher can line up the force vector into a linear position, the faster the pitcher is moving through the stride and the more distance the pitcher is covering in the stride. All that is left to do at this point is to throw open the front foot as you also fire the drive leg foot to extend just before front foot strike. Here is an animated clip of  Trevor Bauer moving from this “Load” position into front foot strike perfectly. Notice how his feet movements come before his hip rotation at front foot strike. There is several drills in the 3X pre and in-season program to train the motor coordination around these components.

It is important to note that if  Trevor Bauer  would have not aligned his force vector so linear early in his stride or lead so effectively with his front hip then he would have opened his front foot early and reduced his power production and explosive hip rotation that occurs just at front foot strike. This would seriously reduce his pitching velocity while also putting more work and stress on his arm.

The problem with over coaching front foot strike is that all of the power production that must occur before front foot strike is forgotten. This will develop an accurate pitcher but if the pitcher struggles with power issues then he will be a low velocity accurate pitcher with a higher chance of having arm problems. Unfortunately, this is not going to get him to the next level.

The key to coaching front foot strike is to first coach the power stride before you move into front foot strike. If the pitcher has done his job and conquered his power issues and has developed an explosive stride then front foot strike becomes critical in converting this power into torque.

How to Convert Stride Power to Torque at Front Foot Strike?

This understanding of stride power converting to core torque through front foot strike was developed here at TopVelocity.net first. This is the foundation of 3X Pitching. Before 3X Pitching was developed here, no other source had defined why harder throwers use longer faster strides to throw harder. The only source to come close to this discovery was the National Pitching Association in their 2005-2006 Velocity Study where they proved that more hip to shoulder separation creates more throwing velocity. The study acknowledges the importance of the stride power but does not define the conversion of this power into hip to shoulder separation and then into the velocity of the ball.

The Holy Grail to Power Pitching

This description of how power from the stride converts to hip to shoulder separation is the Holy Grail of the power pitcher. The better you are at converting stride power to core torque at front foot strike, the better your velocity and precision, therefore the more dominate you are as a pitcher.

This conversion occurs more efficiently and effectively when triple extension (3X) is achieved before front foot strike. This means the ankle, knee and hip flexor are all fully extended, in an explosive manner, before front foot strike occurs. This not only builds stride power but it also opens the hips to the target before the front foot lands. When the front foot lands it stabilizes and converts the 3X power, using ground reaction forces, back up the landing leg into the front hip. 3X power and stabilization of the front leg at front foot strike creates explosive hip rotation. If the shoulders stay in-line with the target during the stride then this explosive hip rotation will move the hips away from the shoulders before the shoulders have time to react and launch. This separation of the hips to shoulders creates torque in the core which multiples the force and launches the shoulders in the same direction towards the target. This process continues to activate and multiple force up the upper kinetic chain, until the ball is released.

How Placement of the Front Foot can Effect Velocity and Precission?

Notice the picture here of Tim Lincecum. He is not landing on a straight line towards the target (see original foot position). This is because for his front leg to stabilize and promote optimal hip rotation at front foot strike, his front foot must land on his center of gravity. If his foot had landed in a straight line towards his target then he would not have established good balance at front foot strike which good balance leads to good stabilization. He would also not have allowed his hips the opportunity to open completely towards the target. The front foot landing on line with his center of gravity is both critical for power conversion and complete hip rotation.

Tim Lincecum is not the only pitcher to do this in his delivery. Notice the other examples on this page of power pitchers landing with their center of gravity not always on a straight line.

* Important Notice *

Just because you land inside the straight line towards the target with your landing leg foot doesn’t mean that you are landing with your center of gravity. The only way to check this is using video analysis and filming the front side of your delivery.

You should only make these adjustments with your front foot strike once you have developed good stride power and distance using the 3X Pitching Velocity program and you have determined your center of gravity at front foot strike. Making these adjustments before developing good stride power and distance and achieving optimal hip to shoulder separation at front foot strike will be putting the cart before the horse and the result may only be accuracy without velocity.

If we compared the pitching delivery of a power pitcher to a high powered riffle then the force vector would be the barrel and triple extension would be the trigger. Without either one, your high powered riffle is junk. It also doesn’t matter how much gun powder is in the gun, without the barrel or the trigger, it is useless.

Most young pitchers have very poor stride power because they do not achieve triple extension in their strides. This component along with the gun powder, which is our muscles, produce power in our strides. Without this component and poor leg and core strength, our power production is limited.

What is the Force Vector?

This is the angle of the ankle to knee. Starting in the drive leg, this is the direction that force is being produce. If the ankle to knee is vertical then the force will be produced in a vertical direction. Because the stride moves in a linear direction, towards the target, a pitcher can not produce force or power in the stride until the force vector is linear. The force vector is also important in the landing leg. When the landing leg stabilizes and produces force back into the hips, the force vector must also be angled in a linear direction instead of a vertical direction.

Why is the Force Vector so important to increase velocity?

The National Pitching Association in their 2005-2006 Velocity Study here, proved that 80% of a pitchers velocity is based on the degrees of separation between the hips and shoulders at front foot strike. The 3X pitching approach has proven that triple extension before front foot strike, along with triple flexion of the landing leg at front foot strike, is what enhances this hip to shoulder separation. Therefore the force vector must be in a linear direction for triple extension to occur in the drive leg and optimal stabilization to occur in the landing leg.

How to Implement the Force Vector into the Pitching Delivery?

Most young pitchers struggle with this critical component. Their force vector stays too vertical through their strides. The reason for this is the lack of power and mobility. Power and mobility is pretty much a catch 22. You cannot have mobility without power but you can have power without mobility and to have a linear force vector in your drive leg during your stride, takes both power and mobility to implement.

The best way to improving your force vector you must first start with building a base level of strength through the entire body and then start enhancing power production by introducing speed and power movements. Once you have developed some explosive power which can be measured in a vertical jump then you want to start training this power through full range of motion to enhance mobility. This must be done with both a throwing program and a strength and conditioning program. This is the foundation of the 3X Pitching Velocity program. This is why this off-season program is so effective in increasing velocity. If you are serious about your pitching career and you want to develop an explosive stride to help increase velocity and prevent arm injury then you must start this 16 week program today.

For more information of the 3X Pitching Velocity program continue visit the home page.

Let’s first get some footage of your pitching. Shoot some video of a few pitches of you pitching so we can analyze your first move in increasing pitching velocity. Make sure that this footage is shooting from a side perspective, chest facing the camera like Trevor Bauer here. Once you get your footage onto a computer, you then need to find a video player that will give you the ability to move frame by frame, so we can analyze each frame.

Misconceptions of the Pitchers Leg Lift

Conventional wisdom coaches the pitcher to come to a Balance Point during the leg lift. If you analyze video of hard throwers you will find that the majority of them never come to a static balanced position at leg lift. They start moving forward during the lifting of the leg which puts their head and front hip inside their drive leg when their leg lift is at its peak.

Another major misconception of the leg lift is that the leg lift is strictly used to lead the delivery. This means the pitcher must have an aggressive leg lift and then must continue to use the leg lift to drive the stride into front foot strike. This will create a dead drive leg and prevent optimal hip to shoulder separation. If you have spent more than ten minutes on this site, you will learn that the key to velocity is in the drive leg using triple extension (3X). This aggressive leg lift approach will also force the pitcher to open his front hip early in the delivery which is another reason for decreasing hip to shoulder separation and power production.

The Importance of the Pitchers First Move

These major misconceptions to the pitchers leg lift are so critical to overall velocity because they have a bigger effect on the delivery than any other component. The reason is because this is the first move of the pitching delivery. The reason the first move is so important is because every other move is a reaction to this first move.

The pitching delivery is a sequenced chain of movements that move through the muscular and skeletal system that start from ground reaction forces and move up the body into the ball at release. This means the biggest impact on the movement chain comes in the beginning and not at the end. Just like any other chain reaction in the physical world the beginning sets the rest of the movements into motion. For example; think of a multiple car accident like in the picture here. The first car hits the second car which then flies into the next one and so on until you have no cars left to hit or the energy runs out. If the first car did not hit the second car then the chain reaction never would have occurred. Also the speed of the first car will determine the severity of the entire accident. This is no difference with pitching mechanics. This is a simple analogy to illustrate why the first move in the pitching delivery is so critical and it can have such a major impact on your overall velocity.

How Adjusting Your First Move Can Increase Pitching Velocity

The most effective way to start building momentum in the beginning of your leg lift is to establish your forward movement before your rotational movements. This is ultimately the 3X approach to pitching velocity. What this means is that if your forward or linear power movements are going to create your rotational movements or torque then you must start your first move with a linear or forward movement.

The best example of this first move is in the video clip here of Trevor Bauer. Notice when he lifts his leg, it moves up and then his front hip starts moving forward which in return pulls his lift leg back towards his drive leg, closing off his hips. The 3X approach teaches us that to enhance power through your entire stride, you must keep your front side closed to the target until just before front foot strike. The point of this article is that we must close off the hips during the leg lift as a reaction to a forward movement and not first as a rotational movement of the hips.

What this first move adjustment will do is allow the hips to lead and force the lift leg to drag or follow the hips. If the first move begins with a basic rotational leg lift to a balanced position then the lift leg could easily dominate the stride and fly open early, killing momentum and power production.

The best way to discover if your first move is more rotational or linear, is to slow down your pitching delivery using your pitching video. If you see your leg lift lifting back towards the drive leg before you start your hips towards the target then this is a rotational leg lift. The adjustment you need to make is like Trevor Bauer here, first lift your leg straight up and before it reaches its peak, start taking your front hip towards the target. This movement should then rotate your lift leg back towards your drive leg and put you in a better position to build a power focuses stride.

The key to discovering this loss in velocity is through video analysis, it is a critical tool to identifying what is killing pitching velocity. If you are experiencing similar issue or you are dealing with some of the issue listed below then post your video here in the forums for a FREE pitching velocity analysis and we together, will discover the number one issue that is killing your pitching velocity.

I have discovered many reasons why these pitchers, who have contacted me over the years, are losing their velocity. I have listed the top 10 reasons here outside of strength and conditioning. I will address training issues that kill velocity in another article. These mechanical issues are usually the result of a pitching coach who has made some big changes or a pitcher who has learned some misguided information. Read this list and if you feel any of these issues deal with your delivery then I highly recommend that you send in your video for analysis.

10 Ways to Kill your Pitching Velocity

1. Changing your arm path – This has to be the most common mistake made for pitchers. Your arm path has very little to do with your velocity. What changing your arm path does is force you to slow down your stride speed to adjust to your new arm path. Because stride length to stride speed is such a big factor to pitching velocity this adjustment in arm path can be detrimental to pitching velocity.
2. Pulling glove side – Trying to pull with your glove side or even trying to reach out with your glove side will have a similar effect of changing your arm path. It will force you to slow down your lower half to allow your glove side to take over. It can also force you to open your shoulders early which will decrease your hip to shoulder separation at front foot strike which is the component that is responsible for 80% of your velocity.
3. Pull down throwing arm to release – It is a big misconception that pulling down your throwing arm generates more velocity. The opposite is true. Look at all hard throwers at release. They are releasing the ball above their heads over the tip of their hat and the arm is full extended. Pulling down the throwing arm during release will prevent early internal rotation of the throwing arm. Early internal rotation of the throwing arm after external rotation is listed as a high velocity component in the ASMI case study of a Comparison of High Velocity and Low Velocity deliveries.
4. Reach out to the plate with your lift leg – This mechanical adjustment causes a pitcher to open the hips early which prevents optimal force production. Most coaches who take this approach are trying to increase stride length but what they are forgetting is the most important part to having a long stride which is stride speed. A long slow stride will do nothing for a pitcher but decrease velocity. A long stride is only beneficial if the pitcher is accelerating his speed through the stride.
5. Feet closed power position – Most inexperienced pitching coaches will coach pitchers from the so called “Power Position,” this is the position at front foot strike. When the pitcher is in a full stride with glove elbow in line with target and throwing arm cocked. The mistake these coaches make is that they coach the pitcher in this position with the feet closed to the target. This means for a pitcher who throws right his feet are facing third base and for a pitcher who throws left his feet are facing first base. All hard throwers land with both feet facing the target. This is how they are capable of generating hip rotation immediately after front foot strike. If you have been coached to land with your feet closed and then to rotate your hips open after front foot strike, then this will destroy velocity because it does not support good hip to shoulder separation.
6. The Balance point – Balance is another big misunderstanding in conventional pitcher mechanics. Balance is more a component of strength and conditioning the pitcher instead of the mechanics of the pitching delivery. There is no mechanical component in the pitching delivery that will help the central nervous system balance the body. It is already programed to do this and through strength and conditioning we can enhance the pitchers ability to balance itself through high velocities. This being said the conventional approach to pitching which says the pitcher should be balanced at leg lift, is absurd. The pitcher should be balanced at all points in the delivery. Coaching the pitcher to stop at leg lift to find his “Balance Point” will only decrease velocity because all hard throwers are moving forward during the lift leg position. Stopping to find your balance at leg lift will make it harder to build your optimal speed through your stride.
7. Cocking arm high and back to second base – Having a high cocked arm angle through the stride and into front foot strike will not only hurt velocity but can hurt your arm. How it hurts velocity is it reduces hip to shoulder separation. When your front foot hits, the rotational forces begin to build torque in the body so by keeping your arms closer to your body allow for more rotation similar to an ice skater spinning around. The more the skater pulls their body into their core, the faster they spin.
8. Drive leg rotation instead of extension – The 3X approach to pitching believes that triple extension of the drive leg is not only the best way to build stride power but it is the best way to create optimal hip to shoulder separation. Coaching the drive leg to internally rotate into front foot instead of drive and triple extend into front foot will reduce stride speed and not coil the body as well at front foot strike which will reduce velocity.
9. Lean into your stride – Some pitching coaches will coach a pitcher to lean over their belt buckle during the stride. Some will even coach the pitcher to crouch inward at leg lift. This can hurt velocity if at front foot strike the pitcher is not tilted over the butt. It is easier and more effective to start in a tilt position. Tim Lincecum is a great example of this tilt and it is a big reason for his ability to create so much torque at front foot strike. To learn more about the tilt read this article called, The Pitching Key to Torque is in the “Tilt”.
10. Droping your lift leg down before you begin your stride – I have seen tons of low velocity pitchers come to me with video of them lifting their leg to start their delivery and then immediately putting it back down before they start their stride. What is the point of the lift leg if you put it down before even moving forward? I have heard coaches teach this to prevent the lift leg from opening early in the stride. Slowing down the pitcher will never fix any mechanical issues. You are always better speeding up the lower half when trying to fix a mechanical flaw.

Pitching Velocity Information and Articles

If you have found yourself a victim of some of these velocity killers or maybe even all of these velocity killers, then you need to STOP pitching now and take a step back. You are wasting your time even pitching with these pitching velocity killers. I highly recommend that you schedule an off-season ASAP and use a program like the 3X Pitching Velocity program to re-program and re-develop your central nervous system and muscular system to that of an efficient, explosive athlete/pitcher.

What you will learn from this site and through the 3X program, is that no mechanical adjustment can help you develop the speed and power issues that are killing your pitching velocity. The one thing that all of these 10 issues that kill pitching velocity have in common, is that they all are the effects and problems that arise when a pitcher has speed or power issues. This is why you need a program that will train you, as much as coach you, to become an elite, explosive, high velocity pitcher. Post your video today to see if you have any of these issues that are responsible for killing your pitching velocity.

Here are some articles to help you increase your pitching velocity:

Pitching Mechanics Video Analysis

Improve Pitching Velocity Tips

Pitching Velocity Tips

FVS Velocity Program for Position Players

The key for position players to increase velocity comes in these four components; Force Production, the Force Vector, Front Leg Stabilization and Hip to Shoulder Separation. If a position player wants to increase velocity, he must enhance Force Production, focus his Force Vector towards his target, Stabilize his front leg at front foot strike and convert this force or power into hip to shoulder separation. If you are new to this site then this may be the first time you have read these terms when describing the throwing motion. Here are some simple definitions of these components to help you understand this approach.

Force Production – This is the force applied in the throwing delivery either through the drive steps or step, before front foot strike. In the last drive step force production is enhanced through the ankle kick of the drive leg. This will start force production at the foot where the body is in contact with the ground and this ground reaction force will move up the leg, into the hips, to create hip rotation.

Force Vector – This is the direction of the ground reaction forces. The force vector is the angle of the drive leg ankle to knee. The ankle to knee or force vector must be in line towards the goal or target.

Front Leg Stabilization – The front leg must also produce force which comes at front foot strike. When the front foot lands, this force moves into the ground and where there is an action there is an equal and opposite reaction which is that force moving back up the leg. If the leg continues to stabilize, this force will travel into the hip, to assist in creating hip rotation.

Hip to Shoulder Separation – This is the most critical component of all throwing deliveries. All the other components are used to serve this main component. Enhancing hip to shoulder separation at front foot strike is the key to reaching your top velocity from any position. This component describes the separation of the back hip to back shoulder at front foot strike. The more hip to shoulder separation the more coil or torque in the core which will create more velocity while reducing the stress on the arm.

The difference between the FVS throwing motion and that of the 3X Pitching throwing motion is how force production is generated. In the FVS throwing motion, force production is a product of the few drives or momentum in the body during the movement towards the ball. This is because most throws from positions start with body movement and in the pitching delivery, the pitcher must always start in a static position.

The similarities of the FVS throwing motion and the 3X pitching throwing motion is everything after force production. Speed and power is still just as important to generating velocity, in both throwing motions. The more powerful athletes in the field will also be the harder throwers, if their mechanics are using their full power, like here in the FVS approach.

The Problems with Changing your Arm Path

If you define the pitching delivery in the two phases as labeled here in this article called, How to Throw Hard and even Harder, you will learn that when the arm is starting to apply the force to the ball which happens after external rotation of the throwing arm, the arm path is moving in a straight line towards the target. This means that when conventional wisdom says you should have a short arm path in the beginning of the delivery and a long arm path at the end, this changing of the arm path actually has no effect on the velocity of the ball. What this is doing is making a mechanical change to your delivery which is the why your velocity is changing.

If you look in Professional Baseball you find all different styles of arm path and no relationship with velocity. This is because velocity is based around stride speed or power and the relationship between the rotational pivots which are the hips and shoulders. Being that the arm is connected to the shoulders, it does have some control of the shoulder pivot but ultimately the shoulders are in control. Based on the 3X Mechanics velocity is mainly influenced by the relationship of the hips to shoulders at front foot strike. The arm path can go almost anywhere it wants, as long as the shoulders are closed while the hips are open at front foot strike. You could pitch like Tim Lincecum and put the arm down behind your back during your stride, or like Zach Outman who looks like he is stretching his throwing arm while he is striding, either arm path will have an effect on velocity if their other mechanics do not change.

The lesson learned here is never focus on arm path, it does not control the legs, core or shoulders and it will more than likely have a negative effect on your pitching velocity. If you want to learn good mechanics to increase pitching velocity then stay away from conventional wisdom and learn to implement the 3X mechanics which you can see here in this pitching 101 video.

All of the 6 components of 3X Pitching Velocity are representative of a ballistic or explosive movement during a specific point in time. If the pitcher tries to implement these components into their deliver as choreography then the final result will be negative. It is critical that you use drills to develop the motor coordination of each component of the delivery as you move through the entire sequence. This way the final result will always be positive.

This is the revolutionary approach behind 3X Pitching. The problem is most pitchers who start 3X Pitching are searching for a program to help them increase velocity. This means they have mechanical issues and most of these mechanical issues are the negative results of the lack of power in their deliveries.

When you are dealing with power issues in the pitching delivery then trying to solve the problem through mechanical adjustments is like beating your head against a wall. So I have decided to list the Top 3 Pitching Power Issues here to help prevent those who feel they have encountered the same issues and would like to stop beating their heads against the wall.

The Top 3 Pitching Power Issues

1. A Weak Drive Leg – This will cause the pitcher to land with a short stride without achieving triple extension before front foot strike. This will force the hips to open after front foot strike reducing hip rotation speeds which will effect hip to shoulder separation.
2. A Weak Landing Leg – This will lead to lead knee flexion at front foot strike which will effect momentum transfer and core torque.
3. A Weak Core – The core muscles of the body are in the stomach and back area. This will effect the elastic energy transfer from hip to shoulder to forward trunk tilt and external rotation of the throwing arm. The failure to transfer this energy through the kinetic chain into the ball, will force the pitcher to finish standing up at release or force the pitcher to rock forward at release. Both of these mechanical flaws will produce a negative result.

These top 3 pitching power issues carry with them all of the major components of high velocity deliveries. This proves that most of these mechanical flaws can be solved by leg and core development. Specifically training the athlete to produce more leg and core power. I have found through my practice of coaching and training 3X Pitching that I find quicker results in the weight room because these power issues are being solved a lot faster than in the throwing program. It is critical though that the 3X velocity System which is the 3X throwing program, be used during the training process to implement the motor coordination during muscle development. This way we know that our new power development is being implemented into our deliveries and not wasted.

The 3X Pitching Velocity Program continues to have success because of this revolutionary approach to pitching velocity. You will find similar approaches in Olympic Sports and Speed training and you would think that this approach to pitching would be used more often in the game of baseball but it isn’t. If you are working to increase velocity in your pitching delivery and you are not aware of or dealing with your power issues then you need a program that is going to help you combine strength and conditioning,  with pitching mechanics, without it working against each other. 3X Pitching is that program!

What is the best way to use the glove side to increase shoulder and pitch speed?

Before I go into answering this question please understand that there is several critical mechanical components that occur before the glove side even comes into play during the pitching delivery. It is essential when learning velocity focused pitching mechanics that you master all of these critical components before front foot strike which is when the glove side takes action. You can learn all of these mechanical components in the 3X Pitching Velocity Program.

When the glove side is ready to serve its purpose, it must immediately spring into action and become an effective fulcrum for the shoulders to launch. This means it must tuck tightly under the glove arm and shoulder. The tuck should be enough for the chest to push forward while the glove arm bicep is fully contracted like when curling weight. Do not let the glove drop or the elbow to swing out towards the dugout. The elbow must stick into the obliques of the core. By tucking the glove side up and under the arm and keeping it tight with the chest pushing forward this will set a strong fulcrum for the shoulders to efficiently accelerate around. Remember the purpose of the tuck is to create a stable fulcrum or pivot, NOT to assist the throwing arm during the launch. Using the glove side to assist the throwing arm during the throw will cause instability in the pivot point, slowing down the speed of the shoulders and could also cause arm drag which can lead to elbow and shoulder injury.

The best way to learn the glove side is to watch the glove side of hard throwers in slow motion.