Let’s face it, throwing the ball at your top velocity is risky but so is returning punts in the NFL. If we are going to enhance our ability while promoting a long and healthy career, we must understand how our bodies work and how to prevent injury. The American Sports Medicine Institute has already informed the public that pitching injuries spawn from three main factors; Overuse, Poor Physical Fitness and Poor Mechanics. To take this information further, I will list here the top 10 pitching secrets to prevent injury in order from the most significant to the least but still significant.

Pitching injury prevention secrets

1. More Hip to Shoulder Separation – This is not only a major pitching velocity secret but it is also a major injury prevention secret. You know it is a good tip when it will increase both velocity and prevent injury. It will prevent injury because it allows the arm to stay relaxed while the body builds the power instead of the arm working to build the power. Optimal hip to shoulder separation will put the throwing arm behind the ball through release. If the pitcher has poor hip to shoulder separation then his arm will get out front early, preventing proper pronation. This is also critical for good deceleration which promotes arm health.
2. Increase Your Stride Distance and Power – I would bet that pitchers who have longer strides, have less arm issues than pitchers with shorter strides, but I have no research to back this up. I am making this claim strictly from my experience playing, coaching and analyzing this game through my career. The theory is that a short stride will prevent the pitcher from building more stride power which will force the arm to generate most of the velocity. This will then lead to more wear and tear on the arm and then eventually an injury. Increasing your stride distance is the first step towards injury prevention. The next step is increasing your stride power.
3. Do Not Swing Your Arm - The arm should never swing out of the glove, especially behind the back or way above the shoulder before the shoulders fire towards the target. This is what leads to the infamous inverted W or in laymen’s terms the M. It puts the arm in what is called the “Red Zone,” this is the zone where the shoulder and elbow are most vulnerable because there is more torque being applied to the joints based on the positioning. To prevent over abusing the arm, we must train it to follow the body and not lead the way. The revolutionary approach to pitching velocity called 3X Pitching has proven that when the arm starts the delivery, the body takes a back seat which reduces velocity and leads to injury. This swinging of the arm is a sign that the arm is taking control and in return, most of the stress.
4. Do Not Pull Down to Release – It feels strong when your arm is firing towards release and you start pulling down on your forearm to force your arm through its final path to the target. This pulling down of the forearm makes it feel like the ball is screaming out of your fingers tips. This may increase velocity but it comes with a big price. The price is the effects of overworking the forearm muscles. These are small muscles that when they fatigue, the body losses the fine motor skills of the hand which will effect your pitch grips. Most important, it will put more wear and tear in your elbow. This pulling down of the arm is not a component of hard throwers. It is what pitchers do when they are struggling with transferring stride power into core torque and then the velocity of the ball. Instead of pulling down to release, work on more hip to shoulder separation and good forearm pronation.
5. Build Joint Integrity Weekly – Just like eating, taking a shower or brushing your teeth, if you want to pitch at your top velocity through a long career then you must perform rotator cuff exercises to strengthen your cuff two times per week. You would be surprised the amount of pitchers who never do this. Post rotator cuff surgery, if I miss a few weeks of joint integrity training while in-season, my shoulder stability begins to fail. It is amazing how quickly I can loss this stability and strength. This loss of stability overtime will definitely lead to injury. For a complete rotator cuff program check out the 3X Pitching Velocity program.
6. Develop More Core and Leg Strength -  If you have weak legs and core then where will your body get its power? The shoulders and arms. I have worked with pitchers who are so weak in their core and legs that when they try to increase their stride distance, their arms start flapping like a bird trying to take flight. If you look at some of the biggest legs of pitchers in Major League Baseball you will find a ton of healthy, hard throwing pitchers. Nolan Ryan is probably the best example of this in my lifetime. He stayed in the upper 90′s even into his 40′s. He has tree trunks for legs and he never had a serious pitching injury.
7. Quality Throws over Quantity – If you want to “strengthen your arm” do it with your strength and conditioning program, like in the 3X pitching Velocity program. Do not do it with your throwing program. Your throwing program should be used to improve your mechanics with drills and a low volume of throws, like in the 3X Pitching Velocity Program. Do not use your throwing program as your strength and conditioning program, this will only lead to overuse and abuse of your shoulder and elbow. This is why I do not support extreme long tossing.
8. Avoid Machine Lifting – Machine weight training is terrible for athletes. It promotes pattern overload and will make a pitcher more vulnerable to injury. This is the case because when using machines for lifting weights, like with a press movement, the machines forces the pitcher to take the same path of movement every single rep. When using free weights, the pattern of movement is always different. There is a mechanism in the body to prevent the overload of one muscle or muscle group which will prevent over fatigue of a single muscle or muscle group. By changing the path of movement, the body uses different muscles or muscle groups to share in the work load. When a muscle is fatigued and the reps continue, other muscles take over to over compensate for the malfunction. In the shoulder, this will change the efficiency of the movement and force the shoulder to rotate off axis. This has been proven to lead to serious joint injury.
9. Eat like a Pro – If you do not give your body the building blocks to a healthy pitcher, in its diet, then how is it going to maintain itself as a healthy pitcher? This is the most neglected secret of injury prevention. Most athletes and especially pitchers believe they can eat whatever they want whenever they want. This is complete ignorance. If you can take the time to learn the basics of a healthy diet and how to feed your body what it needs then you are at least giving your body the chance to stay healthy.
10. 10 Hours of Quality Sleep Daily – If you are not sleeping at least 10 hours when training or pitching then you are not giving your body what it needs to repair itself. If you can follow secrets 1-9 then this last pitching injury prevention secret will work wonders for your career. A quality nights sleep can mean the difference between a great days performance and a good days performance. Losing sleep overtime prevents the body from fully recovering and rebuilding which eventually leads to injury.

The Position Statement also mentions that the use of the curveball at the youth level may be an issue but no research exactly shows why. ASMI states that the problems could be that throwing a curveball enhances the effects of the three major factors of primary injury for youth pitchers. Here is a list of their recommendations for preventing injury.

ASMI Injury Prevention in Youth Pitchers

1. Watch and respond to signs of fatigue. If a youth pitcher complains of fatigue or looks fatigued, let him rest from pitching and other throwing.
2. No overhead throwing of any kind for at least 2-3 months per year (4 months is preferred). No competitive baseball pitching for at least 4 months per year.
3. Do not pitch more than 100 innings in games in any calendar year.
4. Follow limits for pitch counts and days rest.  (Example limits are shown in the table below.)
5. Avoid pitching on multiple teams with overlapping seasons.
6. Learn good throwing mechanics as soon as possible. The first steps should be to learn, in order: 1) basic throwing, 2) fastball pitching, 3) change-up pitching.
7. Avoid using radar guns.
8. A pitcher should not also be a catcher for his team. The pitcher-catcher combination results in many throws and may increase the risk of injury.
9. If a pitcher complains of pain in his elbow or shoulder, get an evaluation from a sports medicine physician.
10. Inspire youth pitchers to have fun playing baseball and other sports. Participation and enjoyment of various physical activities will increase the youth’s athleticism and interest in sports.

It is interesting that ASMI advises to learn good throwing mechanics to prevent arm injury but they never mention to use a strength and conditioning program to improve the poor physical fitness issues. The answer always seems to be just rest more or do not throw to much. I believe in pitch counts for all levels but we must stress the importance of a good strength and conditioning program for all levels, even the youth level as a key component to preventing injury.

The 3X Pitching Velocity program was developed for the mature pitcher but can easily be modified for the youth pitcher. Checkout the Beginners Guide to 3X Pitching to learn more (Coming soon..)

This is a great pitching mechanics 101 video to watch if you are first learning this approach to pitching. This approach to pitching in this pitching 101 video will not only add 5-10 mph to your velocity but it will help reduce the chance of injury, increase longevity and give you more confidence on the mound. Here is what is included in this introductory video to 3x Pitching.

3X Pitching 101 – 3x mechanics

• 2 Phase Delivery
  • Stride Phase
  • Throwing Phase
• 3X Components
  • Lift Leg Momentum
  • The Load
  • Triple Extension & Separation
  • Chest Thrust & External Rotation
  • Internal Rotation & Elbow Extension
  • Stabilization

Pitching Mechanics 101 Video

You can view this pitching mechanics 101 video above or here at youtube under pitching 101. If you like this pitching 101 video then please select the thumbs up or the like button. Thanks and I hope this pitching 101 video helps you reach your pitching velocity goals.

If you have completed this pitching mechanics 101 video and you are interested in learning more or starting the 3X Pitching Velocity Program then please check out the 3X Pitching Velocity Program.

3X

3X Pitching

3X stands for Triple Extension. Triple Extension is the extension of the ankle joint, the knee joint and the hip flexor. Triple Extension or 3X is the foundation of 3X Pitching. This term comes from the Olympic Lifting world which was the springboard for sport specific training. The reason that Triple Extension is so important is that this is how athletes move and generate power. Without Triple Extension or pushing off of the ground, we are almost powerless. Better athletes are able to bounce more force off of the ground through the stretch shortening cycle and Triple Extension than others. Before I get more into Triple Extension, the stretch shortening cycle, ground reaction forces, Triple Flexion, the Kinetic Chain and other advanced terminology that will help teach you a cutting edge approach to pitching velocity, (that at the current time very few coaches are teaching and will allow you to reach your velocity goals) I will first cover the philosophy, benefits and the inspiration of this velocity enhancement and injury prevention focused approach to pitching.

The 3X Philosophy

Most approaches to pitching mechanics are arm or upper body focused. Most of them are mainly focusing after front foot strike. This would be when the lead leg lands just following the stride. The 3X approach to pitching is lower body focused and believes that the arm is only along for the ride and not the main tool for developing your top velocity. In the case study from the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health called “An EMG Analysis of the Shoulder in Throwing and Pitching” by Doctors Jobe FW, Tibone JE, Perry J, Moynes D states that during acceleration of the shoulder and arm, the shoulder and arm had a lack of muscle activity, even though the arm was accelerating forward in space. Here is the conclusion of the entire study:

Five male subjects’ throwing and pitching motions were analyzed by dynamic electromyography and high speed photography. Electrodes inserted into the deltoid and rotator cuff muscles attempted to define muscle activation patterns during the throwing and pitching cycle. The wind-up or preparation (Stage I) had no consistent pattern. Cocking (Stage II) had a sequential muscle activation pattern of first deltoid activity, followed by the S.I.T. muscles and finally by the subscapularis muscle. Acceleration (Stage III) had a lack of muscle activity, even though the arm was accelerating forward in space. Follow-through (Stage IV) was the most active stage with all the muscles firing intensely. The muscle patterns observed during the cycle were largely characteristic of attempts to decelerate the arm.
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6829838)

This proves that the power to move the arm through the acceleration stage, to throw the ball to the target, was created before the acceleration stage, which is also before the arm is ever being used to throw the ball. This means that from the beginning of the leg lift, through the stride and all of the mechanical events that occur after front foot strike, this is when power is being generated. The 3X approach to pitching uses science to teach pitchers how to generate more power before the acceleration stage of the arm.

The scientific formula of 3X Pitching is based on the science of matter and energy and their interactions, which is better known as physics. Older descriptions to pitching like “Drop and Drive” or “Stand Tall and Fall” are broad labels on pitching styles but fail to define a scientific approach to pitching. 3X Pitching starts by defining the three most important components and their relationships: force, acceleration, and torque. To understand the importance of the relationship between these three we must first define them separately.

1. Force - is a cause to move by pushing or pulling.
2. Acceleration - is the change in velocity over time.
3. Torque - is a twisting force.

Now let’s put them together in their relationships. Force starts the delivery through a pushing or pulling effect to generate momentum. Acceleration is the change of speed or velocity of that momentum and Torque is adding a twisting force to take advantage of the elastic properties of the body to assist the speed or velocity of the momentum. As you can see these three components are critical and must all be present when pitching. What it is teaching us is if you max out these three components, by increasing your body’s ability to generate power in your pitching delivery, you have reached your top velocity.

This is a very simplistic way to define pitching and pitching velocity through physics but it is a very significant way to define it as well. “Occam’s razor,” is an old teaching that says “the simplest explanation is more likely the correct one.” This means if you can break something complicated down into its simplest form then you may just have your answer. This answer is the formula for the 3X Pitching approach. Later on in this book I will uncover the building blocks that will build on top of this formula and teach you how to incorporate 3X Pitching into your own delivery, which will help you reach your velocity goals.

The Benefits of 3X Pitching

Of course, before you do anything in life you want to know why you are doing it and the answer to the “why” lives in the benefits. The list of benefits that come from the 3X approach to pitching is as follows.

1. More Power
2. More Velocity
3. Longevity
4. Less Chance of Injury
5. More Confidence
6. More Success

Velocity enhancement alone is a major benefit that sells most pitchers but you must make sure that you are not gaining a negative with your new positive. For example, you wouldn’t want to gain velocity and in return develop a labrum tear. Therefore you must make sure that with velocity enhancement comes injury prevention. This is another big plus about 3X Pitching.

I first developed this approach learning how to pitch again injury free. The bonus was the velocity gains. Once I started to notice the velocity gains while my arm was feeling better and stronger, I realized that I was on to something special. This doesn’t mean that you can’t get hurt once you learn 3X Pitching. What it means is it takes a more total body approach to pitching, which helps pitchers who have more “all arm mechanics”, reduce the stress they are putting on their rotator cuff and elbow. The effect of these total body mechanics will also improve your longevity. This means you will not only be able to throw more pitches at a higher intensity in the game but through your entire career. Finally with all of these benefits comes confidence, and ultimately success, but this doesn’t come without a price. The price is in the workload. It will not be easy to implement 3X Pitching into your own delivery, so if you commit, you must be certain that you will find success. If you can’t make this commitment, then I wouldn’t recommend changing what you have been doing up to this point in your career.

Inspiration of 3X Pitching

I was 18 years old and a late bloomer with a full scholarship to a top level Junior College. I was only 6 feet and 175 pounds at the time. I was set up to be the second starter in rotation for the top Junior College pitching staffs in the state. My coach was expecting a lot of me and I also had a few NCAA DI schools interested. The problem was my arm was killing me. During the second game of the season, into the 4th inning, my arm hurt so bad I was forced to take massive amounts of pain killers and on top of that I had to punch my arm while sitting in the dugout so I would feel the pain of the punch instead of the pain of the inflammation in my arm. I was facing the first batter of the inning and it happened like it was out of a movie. I threw a pitch and my arm completely gave out. I could no longer move it. I looked at my coach and he knew something was wrong. He took me out and said, “go ice your arm and we will see how it looks tomorrow.” One week later I still could not move my arm. I had surgery and my life changed forever. After 6 months of rehab, I had made no progress. My arm still hurt and I couldn’t throw the ball. At this point every major Doctor in the area told me I would never pitch again. I even worked with the strength and conditioning coach for the Dodgers and Giants and he told me that I was finished. I was 18 years old and my life of baseball was over. I could not accept this because it made no sense to me at all. This is why I decided to grow up and learn what had just happened in my life.

What I first learned was that the medical field is flawed. They do not have all of the answers. Hell, they had only one answer for me and that was “sorry we can’t help you.” I then went to coaches and pitching instructors who said if you can’t pitch, then you must be finished. This is why I was forced to learn this myself or move on in my life. I loved the game and my talents, so I refused to give up on them. I spent the next five years looking outside of baseball and outside of the medical field for answers because I felt that baseball and medicine had failed me. What I found was that baseball and the medical professions live in their own little cocoons and there is a whole new world of information that has yet to penetrate these organizations. This mainly has to do with politics and traditions. Once I learned that there is a lot more information out there than what I was told, I never stopped searching for more. This searching lead to a new approach to pitching and training for me and this is how I not only pitched again but reach my velocity goal of 94mph and played minor league ball after doctors and baseball told me I was finished.

Even after I decided to retire from professional baseball, I am still searching for more information today, 16 years after my surgery. This searching and my pitching experience has given me the knowledge of pitching mechanics that very few people possess. I would have to say that my inspiration to the 3X Pitching approach came first from my career ending injury and then the discovery that most approaches to pitching were so old that I felt I could discover something revolutionary. I will let you be the judge of that.

Triple Extension (3X)

When I first learned of the phrase Triple Extension I was shocked. I was in college and I was being trained by the top strength and conditioning Coaches in the Nation, post surgery. I could not believe that in my entire career, from rec ball to high school ball in both football and baseball, I had never heard of this terminology. I was actually very upset. It felt like all of my previous Coaches were holding valuable information from me to hinder my success. This was the day I saw the light…………………………………………………………….

Entire book for purchase. Coming soon…..

Download 3X Pitching sample here!

http://chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/PitcherInjuryAnalysisProject/Patterns.html

It is always nice to find unconventional thinking when it comes to pitching instruction. I recommend you read his article. I was forced in my early career to overcome a serious shoulder injury, because I wasn’t taught this important piece of information. Ever sense my almost career ending injury, I have been coaching this theory, but never referred to it as the “Safe Zone.” I will now!

Here is another article from Dr. Harding at Wellington Orthopaedic, talking about the “Safe Zone.”

http://www.wellingtonortho.com/health/shoulder-safe.html

This theory of injury prevention, which you can read about in full detail in Chris’ article, is based around this picture of Mark Prior. Mark Prior suffered a rotator cuff injury after this picture was taken. What he is doing is “Scap Loading” with his elbows way above his shoulders. The problem here is he is impinging his supraspinatous muscle with this movement. Read my article on “How to prevent or overcome shoulder surgery?” to get more details on the rotator cuff and impingements. Chris recommends, in his article, that a pitcher should “Scap Load” with the elbows below the shoulders to prevent this impingement of the rotator cuff, which causes more wear and tear. I recommend this as well, because it not only will prevent impingement, it will increase “Separation” and create what I call the “Power Curve.” The “Power Curve” refers to acceleration in either a straight line or a curve. In learning about centripetal force, which I first studied for a science project in elementary school, you will find information about this “Power Curve.” I listed it here:

“The direction of an object in movement around a circle is changing; hence, its velocity is also changing and this in turn means that it is experiencing acceleration…..The acceleration of an object in rotational motion is always toward the center of the circle.”

This means that acceleration has more of an opportunity to increase when curving around a point in time, because velocity increases when either the direction changes or the speed of the object increases. If you have ever heard that old saying, “Thumb to thigh, then palm to sky” or “Get into the T position,” you have been coached to pitch like what Mark Prior is doing above. This also means, when your “Palm is to the sky,” the direction of the ball from that position to the release point, is more of a straight line. If you “Scap Loaded” in the “Safe Zone,” like Greg Maddux here, when the shoulders rotate and the elbow hits the “Wall,” your hand and ball is pulled behind your head like Tim Lincecum below. This means the path of the ball or the direction of velocity, is going to be more of a curve. Therefore more potential velocity and less wear and tear on the rotator cuff.

In conclusion, you must read Chris’ article because this will save your career and it questions these conventional thinking pitching coach’s about physics and how it applies to their coaching theories. Any questions please comment or post in the discussion board.