25 college age volunteers were randomly assigned to groups performing either resistance training or static stretching. A 12 person control group remained inactive. All were pre-tested on hamstring extension, hip flexion and extension, and shoulder extension flexibility, as well as peak torque of quadriceps and hamstring muscles. The resistance training and stretching programs focused on the same muscle-joint complexes over similar movements and ranges. Post-tests measured flexibility and strength.

The results - which may surprise advocates of stretching to improve flexibility- showed no statistically significant advantage of stretching over resistance training. Resistance training, in fact, produced greater improvements in flexibility in some cases, while also improving strength. Whitehead emphasized that this was a preliminary study involving a small sample size and called for carefully designed research with more participants to confirm or disprove the results.

It is hard to believe that this is the only study that I could find online that had anything to do with testing the conventional wisdom of weight training and flexibility. I first discovered that the belief of weight training limiting flexibility as being completely false when I first trained with the Olympic Lifters. I have posted a video of Coach Gayle Hatch who I have been mentored by and Matt Bruce who I have watched in “AWE” many times move weight like a beast when he looks like a little boy. Watch the USA Olympian Matt Bruce perform the back squat. He is moving around 250lbs in the video like it is nothing. His hip rotation and hip mobility is unbelievable. When I first witnessed this I said to myself, how can someone like Matt, who looks like a boy, have this kind of joint flexibility and clean and jerk over his head, over 400lbs? This blew my mind! I then ask myself why do pitchers not train like this?

This study above and the flexibility of these Olympic Lifters is proof that weight training does not reduce joint flexibility or mobility. This is because they train with weight moving through a full range of motion. Before I started lifting with the Olympic lifts in my pitching career, I was underdeveloped and my flexibility was horrible. I couldn’t even touch my toes. After my first year of training my flexibility was unbelievable. I could not only touch my toes but I could kick my leg over my head. I believe this type of flexibility is far superior for the athlete than the type of flexibility developed through static stretching. Not only is this statement proven true in the above study but the science behind this theory makes perfect sense.

Functional Flexibility

Functional flexibility is a phrase that is used sometimes to define flexibility that is developed through dynamic or athletic movements. This means that the flexibility or mobility of the joint is built around the strength through a full range of motion. The opposite would be flexibility developed through static stretching which more than likely will develop flexibility in the joint without the strength. This may create a flexible athlete but it will not be functional because there is not enough strength through the entire range of motion. This type of mobility or flexibility is useless to the athlete. This is why a weight training program that trains the athlete through a full range of motion with resistance, is building a stronger and more flexible athlete. This doesn’t mean all you need to do is lift weights with a full range of motion because the range of motion must not push outside of the overall technique of the lifts. Sometimes training through a full range of motion can injury the athlete, so you must make sure that the technique of the lift is pr0moting a full range of motion and if it is not then you need to incorporate other exercises or lifts to cover the full range of motion for that specific joint, if necessary.

The purpose of this article was not to tell you that you need to use a full range of motion when lifting. It is to open a pitchers eyes to weight training as a means to not only developing strength but developing flexibility. You need to watch the instructional videos here to see how Olympic Lifting promotes joint mobility and you also need to get on a athlete/pitcher sport specific training program like the Fusion System in the 3X Pitching Velocity program to help you develop optimal strength and flexibility.

In my last interview with the legendary guru of Speed and Strength Training, from D1 Sports in Tennessee, Kurt Hester, stated that Major League Baseball is using glorified physical therapy instead of strength and conditioning. This was a shot at the lame approach to training and rehabilitating athletes in the MLB organizations. This is coming from a guy who trains some of NFL’s most explosive athletes and who was label as Gorilla Ball, when he was training the LSU tigers in the 90′s.

Kurt says that fear is a major problem with baseball players. They train the way they do because of the fear that comes from the higher levels of the game. He also says that if young baseball players trained like Major League ball players, they would never get better. The fear is that weight training, especially heavy weight training, will make you bulky and will cause injury. Kurt says the MLB’s athletic trainers are running glorified physical therapy programs and not actually training their athletes to become bigger, stronger and faster.  This is why I believe top draft picks and big salary pitcher’s like Mark Prior leave the league with a career ending injury, after only 3 years in the show, and never make it back.

This is the reason players like Barry Bonds carried his own trainers and doctors almost everywhere he went. Kurt said what makes athletes better is increasing force production. If you can train to move more explosively in a vertical or linear direction, then you are a better athlete because of it. This force production translates into running speed, bat speed and throwing velocity. This is the same approach he used when he trained the LSU Baseball team to 5 National Championships in the 90′s and 2000. He enhanced the force production of every athlete on the team and yes, even the pitchers benefited from it. They all became so developed that they were calling the LSU style of play, Gorilla Ball. This style of training, developed by Kurt Hester, was not only revolutionizing LSU baseball but the entire game. Kurt was receiving calls from Major League Managers who wanted to know why they were hitting so many runs, stealing so many bases, and their pitchers collecting so many K’s. When he would tell them that he was focusing on force production, through heavy load and triple extension training, these Major League Coach’s wanted to use his program but everyone of them shied away from the program because of the worries that they would be scrutinized for using this type of heavy load training in the MLB. Kurt says baseball is behind Golf when it comes to strength and conditioning.

Learn More about Kurt Hester

Kurt Hester is the National Director of Training for D1 Sports Training. He is known nationally for his energetic approach to training top-tier athletes.

Kurt is D1′s primary authority on sports training and is responsible for instilling the D1 training philosophy and making sure all D1 coaches properly implement and teach training programs and techniques. In addition, Kurt oversees D1′s NFL Combine Training Program.

Prior to D1, Kurt ran and owned HS2 Athletic Performance in New Orleans for nine years, where he turned out more than 400 collegiate scholarship athletes and trained more than 50 NFL draft picks. He also trained numerous MLB draft picks, high school All-Americans, state championship teams and collegiate National Track & Field finalists. Prior to HS2, Kurt was a strength & speed coach at LSU, Tulane and Southeastern Louisiana University. In addition, Kurt is still an active strength and speed consultant at Florida State, Tennessee, Illinois, Ole Miss, Alabama, Nichols State, Grambling State and the Unviersity of Miami.

Kurt, a graduate of Tulane Unviersity, was inducted into the Strength Coach Hall of Fame and holds various certifications through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, United States Weightlifting and the Speed, Agility and Conditioning Association. Kurt learned under USA Weightlifting coach, Gayle Hatch and speed coach, Tom Shaw.

If you would like to watch the interview with the legendary Kurt Hester, it is hosted on TopVelocity.net and is also a part of the 3X Pitching Velocity Program.

Pitching injury is due to joint and muscle weakness. Muscle weakness from pitching is the result of overuse and abuse, but stronger joints can handle more overuse and abuse. The catch 22 here is that high velocity training can lead to overuse. So you can have too much of a good thing! Everything in moderation like your Mother says…. The problem with this revolutionary information is that most pitching coaches dismiss heavy weight training because they have no education on how to use it properly to build joint integrity, and enhance velocity. This is because the mechanics of this type of training is as intricate as high velocity pitching mechanics, which most pitching coaches have very little knowledge of as well. This is why the Major Leagues blow millions of dollars every year searching for hard throwers, instead of training and developing hard throwing pitchers! Why pay Stephen Strasburg 50 million when you could get someone like me for nothing, then train and develop me to throw as hard as him? They would say you do not have his genetics, and I would say I also do not have a torn UCL, but the point here is that this information would be more conventional wisdom if the elite would fund these studies to help them train pitchers to develop more velocity. Instead of only searching for the hard thrower pitchers and paying them insane amounts of money.

If you read my last article Heavy Weight Training Increases Pitching Velocity, then you may have added some extra weight on the bar during your last lift. If this was you then good for you, but remember if you are going to enhance your perform through resistance training, you must be aware of the catch 22. It is like going from your everyday car, to a race car. If you are not aware of the learning curve, then you could get hurt strictly out of ignorance. This would hurt your pride as much as your body. So, make sure you educate yourself as much as you train yourself with this revolutionary approach. This means you must have an educated program that has been proven to work, which you will find is the 3X Pitching Velocity Program. If not, you will then have to reinvent the wheel and start your lesson using basic trial and error. This is not recommended because you will loss a tremendous amount of valuable time in your very short pitching career!

The remedies of today for muscle recovery are continuously improving. There are always new supplements coming out on the market that claim to improve recovery. The hard part is determining the ones that actually work without wasting a lot of time and money. I have put together a list of products and links to purchase these products at amazon.com. This way I will save you time and money. These are products that I used in my career which helped me not only overcome a career ending injury but to reach my velocity goals of 94mph. I am not claiming that these products will do this for you but they will definitely help.

Pitching Recovery Supplements

All of these products are remedies for muscle fatigue and more. The first two products help you remove the acid from your body post workout or game and the last two help you rebuild or replenish your system.

Apple Cider Vinegar – Poor this into a glass of water and drink it everyday. Especially after a workout or game. This will prevent muscle fatigue after exercise and support a health immune system. It also supports an alkaline diet.

Alka-Seltzer – Take this immediately after a workout or a game. This will help alkaline your body and speed the recovery process. This has aspirin so DO NOT exceed the recommended dosage.

Honey – Researches have proved that carbohydrates and proteins help to recover muscle after energetic weight training. The latest research proves that honey can generate the best effect among lots of carbohydrate.

Amino Acids – Amino Acids are the building blocks of your muscles. This means in recovery you need to provide your body with these blocks for it to rebuild.

Evidence that the MLB folded this hand is in articles like this here on MLB.com. The title says it all, Coach wants methods to catch on in bigs – Jaeger’s old-school, unorthodox regimen preserves arms. What will they do next, MLB forcing their pitchers to run longer distances for conditioning! This is just mind blowing. Alan Jaeger’s reason for his old school approach, over the new school approaches of the MLB which are still old school in my book, is in his quote here from the article.

“Among nature’s mightiest, most majestic creations are the Great Redwoods, which stretch skyward to heights of 350 feet and beyond…..But what might happen if you planted a baby Redwood tree in a greenhouse with a 10-foot ceiling reinforced with steel? The tree, much like a young Geisha girl’s feet shoved into unusually small shoes, would never reach its intended growth capacity. Both are examples of natural development being stunted, unnaturally. This, says Alan Jaeger, is the plight of pitching arms in America — and, by extension, many arms in Major League Baseball.”

The fact that this is the language that Jaeger uses to coach pitchers through his program is child’s play. If I was forced into a debate over this rhetoric I would have to counter his analogy with an analogy that is similar and defines the new school approach of Bigger, Stronger, Faster. My analogy would go something like this.

“Among nature’s mightiest, most ferocious creations is the Awesome Lion, the King of the jungle, who has the strength and speed to caught a Gazelle and rip his flesh to pieces…….But what might happen if you caged this Lion in a 30 foot cage reinforced with steel and barbed wire and force him to attack and kill large elephants and hippos? Much like the way Michael Vick raised his pit bulls for cage fighting. The day the lion was freed from his cage he would more than likely devour everything in his path. This, says Brent Pourciau is how I train my pitchers to grow Bigger, Stronger, Faster so they can reach their potential velocity or maybe even exceed my expectations.”

The fact that the likes of Nolan Ryan would actually entertain this old school approach on arm health for his Ranger pitchers makes me believe that major league baseball is going backwards again. Just when I thought the likes of Tim Lincecum had pushed the MLB into a new school revolution I was wrong. I believe the only hope that the MLB has is Dr. Andrew’s. If he finds the time to convince the MLB with his scientific studies of why arm injuries occur when unorthodox methods like Jaeger’s “air it out” throwing program are used then maybe the MLB will step into the future of strength and conditioning. Until then I am going to remain an MLB outcast and preach against this nonsense!

Efficient and effective pitching mechanics.

An explosive fast twitch focused total body.

Proper nutrition and supplementation.

A healthy mental approach and faith in something greater than yourself.

I understand this news can be overwhelming and a buzz killer but if gaining velocity was easy and could come in a pill form then everyone would be doing it and 90 plus mph would become average. If you want to be extraordinary then you must live to be extraordinary. Listed below are some links to get you on the right track to developing velocity, that you are so determined to obtain, in such a short period of time.

Velocity enhancement links:

10 Legitimate Tips to Pitching Velocity

Triple Extension – 3X Pitching

Ace Pitcher Handbook :: Fusion System and the 6 Components to Pitching Velocity

Baseball Video Store :: Ace Pitcher Power Pitching video

Beginner Total Body training program

Velocity Drill :: The Sled

More to come…..

Dick Mill’s says that science today has proven weight training does not increase your throwing velocity. I have yet to find any scientific information on this theory. I would like to ask Dick Mill’s, “Why, when I was a junior in college and training with the Olympic Lifts, after six months my velocity went from 82 to 90 MPH?” During that summer I played on a travel team, I would complete an intense workout and then rush to pitch a full game immediately after the workout. I may not recommend this to other pitchers but it sure did work for me. I then spent the last five or more years trying to figure out why this worked. This is when I wrote the article “Olympic Lifting Increases Pitching Velocity” and also this is when I coined the term “Triple Extension.”

The reason for my velocity improvements did come from the Olympic lifts. This is because, if these lifts are performed correctly, they will max out your core strength potential and promote fast twitch muscle fiber growth. There is no better way to train your core and fast twitch fiber, than with these lifts. If I go a week without performing these lifts, after my first day back I can feel the weakness first in my core. I even have serious soreness in my core the next few days. I also immediately feel more powerful on the field after the soreness goes away. I feel it when I sprint and throw. Just like when you do a lot of squats and your vertical leap goes up.

The biggest miss conception about these lifts are that they will turn you into Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is a fairy tale. The Olympic lifts build defined athletes. Just look at Matt Bruce here, a current Olympian. He is about 5’7 and 170 pounds. He can Power Clean and Jerk over 400 pounds and he looks like a boy in person.

If you are a pitcher and you are looking for these type of velocity improvements, then you need to drop everything you are doing and learn these lifts. You need to start a program like my “Fusion System.” This workout is the main part of the Ace Pitcher Handbook and was developed by my trainer Chad Engelhardt. It is called the “Fusion System” because it isn’t only about these lifts I have described. It is also about building joint integrity to handle more stress from the improved velocity and the sprint work to really define those fast twitch fibers.

So, if you currently have a program that involves you sitting in an air conditioned health club, on a cushioned seat, performing a chest press, then you better ask yourself, “How the Hell is this making me a better athlete?” It isn’t! Athletes are not made in health clubs. They are made in hot sweaty gyms and on dirty ball fields. Remember this, if you want to play with the “Big Guns,” you better train like one!