Posts Tagged ‘throwing’

OFF SEASON THROWING SCHEDULE

Posted: November 23, 2018 in Baseball
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

The beginning of November is synonymous with the end of baseball season. The World Series has just ended, all of the big travel ball tournaments have ended, and the high school fall season (in Florida, at least) is coming to an end.

So hopefully the next thought that crosses your mind is:

“What’s the best way to prepare my arm over the offseason”

This used to be a very black and white matter for me. You ABSOLUTELY HAVE to take time off. Like as close to 2 months as possible. Definitely 1 month.

The sign I used to put over the baseballs during the “No Throwing” period

 

But with experience, and hopefully some wisdom, I have learned there are endless scenarios for athletes that require a grey area to answer the question above.

So here are the guidelines we suggest to our athletes, and a few examples of situations that require us to work in the grey area:
  • We recommend that all baseball players take 4-8 weeks off from picking up a baseball.
  • For the way the yearly schedule works out for most of our guys, we are recommending that they take 4 weeks off (all of November) from throwing.
  • As I mentioned, most of the high schools just finished fall ball and travel ball teams have their tryouts around the weekend of January 12. So taking 4 weeks off allow the athletes adequate time (6 weeks) to get ready to throw 100% at a tryout.
When it comes to customizing a program, some of the factors that play in to the length of time off throwing are:
  1. Injury History– Ideally more rest time and longer on ramping before spring season for athletes coming off an injury or less than a full year back from an injury.
  2. Velocity– The higher the velocity, longer the down time. This rule becomes less of a factor the older an athlete is. For example, a high schooler that throws 96 needs more time off relative to his peer compared to a 27 yr old in Triple A that throws 96.
  3. Previous Calendar Year Innings Pitched– Obviously the more innings pitched, the longer we would like to have the pitcher rest, up to 2 months.
  4. Upcoming Calendar Year Innings Projections- If a pitcher is going to be the ace for the high school team and play travel ball in the summer, we are going to project 80 innings (50-60 IP for school and 20-30 IP for summer team). If the athlete is also pitching in the fall, that total number for the year is closer to 100 innings. If the pitcher is a reliever, his projection is probably closer to 20 innings in spring and 20 innings during the summer. Clearly, 2 pitchers that may have a 40-60 inning difference over the course of a year should also have different off season programs.
  5. Role on the Team– This one does coincide with Innings Projection, but I think of this more in the sense of “When does the pitcher need to be ready to compete at 100%?” For instance, a junior in college that is the returning ace and a projected draft pick needs to be ready to compete at 100% on opening day. A junior who threw 5 innings last year and is trying to prove himself need to be ready to compete at 100% on opening day of INTRASQUADS. It doesn’t do him much good if he well rested to sit the bench.
  6. Stage of Development- Player A could go 3 months without throwing off a mound and first time back on the bump they have command of 3 pitches. Player B has zero feel for his mechanics and can barely throw a fastball in the strike zone. Having Player B go 4-6 weeks without touching a baseball could significantly stunt his development, where it’s probably necessary for Player A to have the time off. Instead, take the 4-6 weeks with Player B and implement sub maximal mechanical and throwing drills. If done properly, the athlete is still getting a break from high intensity stress on his arm while working on his weaknesses.
Long toss is a great way to increase arm strength, but is that what YOU need this offseason? 

So this year, we have made an adjustment and put guys into a few different categories. We have some pitchers that are going to not touch a ball for 4-8 weeks, others that will throw 2-3 times a week at a very low intensity, and still others that will continue normal throwing through the winter.

We all have that kid that would completely forget everything if he stops throwing for any amount of time. Is it really in his best interest to take time off and have everything he’s worked on for the past 10 months completely disappear?

The biggest thing to remember as sports performance or skill coaches is our number 1 job is to help the athlete improve at their sport. Having the same off season throwing plan for every single baseball player is not going to help each person. We are trying to be more and more creative in the way we handle our throwers in the off season so we can maximize results and minimize stress on the arm.

Having said that, we wanted to provide an Off Season Throwing Calendar. This will give you a day-by-day guide to prepare your arm for the season. REMEMBER, IT IS JUST A GUIDE. Listen to your body and modify the program as needed. Please feel free to email me at barrett@revolutionsp.com or contact me on any social media platform if you have any questions.

Advertisement

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Posted: March 16, 2017 in Baseball, General Health
Tags: , ,
0

The Great Debate: Long Toss

Posted: February 2, 2014 in Baseball
Tags: , , , ,
0

Dylan Bundy warming up with long toss

Dylan Bundy, long toss enthusiast

Baseball is a funny sport. Years ago, kids played baseball every day. No pitch count, no innings limit, just trying to throw the ball past the other boys in the neighborhood. Arm injuries were fairly uncommon, especially when compared to today’s standards. Tommy John comes along and returns to pitch in the big leagues after having a major arm surgery. The surgery becomes more common, and so a rehab protocol is put together. In this protocol, it is suggested that the player progresses back to 120 feet to conclude his rehab. The protocol does not state that the player should stop there or never throw a ball over 120 ft again, it’s just simply the end of the rehab.

And this is how the “120 ft rule” was born.

Someone thought it made sense that if an injured pitcher coming off a major surgery shouldn’t throw over 120 ft within 8 months of surgery, then by golly no one should.

The other major thought behind this rule is your mechanics start to change to put arc on the ball after 120 ft. I agree with this. Mechanics are slightly altered and the release point changes as a player begins to extend the distance. If you want to keep the same mechanics and release point that you have when you pitch, you should only throw off a mound to a squatting catcher. Throwing on flat ground at any distance will alter your mechanics when compared to the mechanics of pitching off a mound. But throwing from a mound increases the torque on your shoulder. Quite the conundrum.

Angles of flat ground vs mound

Angles of flat ground vs mound

Theoretically, I don’t mind the 120 ft rule. If a player could properly warm up his arm and throw each throw as hard as he could, properly using his entire body and not just his arm, I would be in favor of it. In fact, I wouldn’t see the need to go back to even 120 ft.

Realistically, that can’t/won’t happen. That distance isn’t sufficient to warm up an advanced high school or college arm, so chance of injury will increase if you really try to let a few go at 100%. Also, it’s human nature to do as little as possible to accomplish any goal. If the goal is to throw the ball 120 ft, it is difficult to use the entire body as much as you should, leaving the shoulder to make up the difference.

Finally, it is much easier to get feedback as the distance increases. If you ease up on a throw, the ball falls 10 ft short. If you get beside the ball, it moves more and doesn’t carry as well. It teaches the player, especially younger athletes, how to sync their entire body during a max effort throw and get the most out of their legs, hips, back, etc.

Two other reasons I am a huge fan of long toss:

1. It provides a longer arc for the arm to decelerate. If you have read any of my other articles on pitching, you know I am a huge proponent of training the body to decelerate. Long toss provides a longer arc for the thrower to slow down his arm, and encourages the rest of the body to help with it as well so it’s not just the shoulder and elbow bearing all of the distraction force. Fleisig and colleagues (1996) state, “The kinetic chain helps to reduce stress placed on the throwing arm by transferring most of the weight and momentum of the body to the lead leg.”

2. It encourages the rest of the body to help the shoulder and elbow bear the distraction forces (the force put on the arm after you let go of the ball, the arm pulling away from the body). Most shoulder injuries occur as the “rotator cuff muscles try to resist distraction, horizontal adduction and internal rotation at the shoulder during arm deceleration” and later recommends “exercises emphasizing eccentric contractions should therefore be performed with appropriate range of motions and speeds of movement. The best exercise for throwing is some form of throwing” (Fleisig, et. al. 1996).

Trevor Bauer warming up

Trevor Bauer warming up

I would never say that one training protocol is perfect for everyone. I’m sure you can find many successful major league pitchers, such as John Smoltz, that never long tossed and still does not believe in it.

However, I do believe that for the reasons listed above long toss can be a very important tool to utilize for the majority of baseball players, both pitchers and position players, when trying to improve arm speed.

Just like everything else, long toss is just a piece of the puzzle. It is important to continue to work on pitching mechanics on a mound and have a baseball specific strength and conditioning program in place. There should be a throwing program, much like a weight lifting program, that is designed to prime YOUR body for the season.

Like weighted balls, or throwing in general, there is both risk and reward with long toss. Consult a knowledgeable professional before you begin any throwing program to make sure it is right for you.

Reference

Fleisig, G. S., Barrentine, S. W., Escamilla, R.F., Andrews, J.R. (1996): Biomechanics of overhand                      throwing with implications for injuries. Sports Medicine, 21(6), 421-437.

Post-Season Progression for Pitchers: The Arm

Posted: December 28, 2012 in Baseball
Tags: , , , ,
0

While resting your arm is an important part of the offseason, it is just one of the many pieces to the puzzle. Professional and amateur players alike should have a progression they go through so they are ready at the beginning of their respective season. Wondering aimlessly through the gym for 4 months doing random exercises, reps, and sets is basically lying to yourself that you worked hard this off season. And while work ethic might not have been the issue, there is someone out there who is working just as hard…and smarter.

Since this topic is rather broad and I could write a book on it, let’s break it down and start with the moneymaker: The arm.

I recently decided (within the last 15 minutes) that I hate the term “arm care”. Care is a word that is associated with physical weakness. I’m not going to use a word that goes completely against the goal and mindset I am trying to accomplish. For that reason, I will now refer to it as arm training or strengthening. Creative, right? Go ahead and jump on the bandwagon now. You heard it here first.

In all seriousness, you will never hear me say “arm” and “care” in succession again. Here is a very basic overview of what a pitcher’s offseason should look like for arm strengthening specific work ONLY. I will get to the other parts of the body in the near future.

Professional Pitchers 

Weeks 1-2: Completely off.

Weeks 3-4: General adaptation aka get back into the routine of lifting. Normal upper body exercises

Weeks 5-6: Light manual/weighted/band rotator cuff work, scapular mobility work

Weeks 7-8: Shoulder stabilization (overhead carries, lateral core extensions w/ med ball, o’head oblique extensions, turkish get-ups), wall dribbles

Week 9-10: Overhead med ball throws, arm motion w/ weight 

Somewhere around this time throwing will start back. Schedule the arm strengthening around your throwing. Throwing should be done before the workout or on off days.

Week 11-14: Overhead med ball throws decrease in frequency and weight as throwing increases. Shoulder stability, scapular mobility, arm motion with weight, and rotator cuff continue

Week 15-16: Throwing distance should be increasing, flat grounds start, weighted ball throws from 90/90 position to release,

Week 17-18: Bullpens begin, long toss intensity increases, Overhead med ball throws cut down to once a week, weighted ball throws from power position

Week 19-20: Bullpen intensity increases, weighted ball volume decreases

Week 21-22: Ready for spring training. Bullpens and long toss at 100%. Normal in-season arm maintenance

Final Thoughts

For weighted ball throws, I would stay in the 6-11 oz range. My rule of thumb on weighted throws is decrease weight as range of motion increases. Weighted balls should be thrown into a net, not to another person. I would also not recommend using weighted balls without the instruction and supervision of someone in the strength and conditioning field that knows what they are doing. They could possibly cause injury if misused, or if you are not physically developed enough to use them. It is important to have a solid base of strength before using weighted balls.

This article was meant to serve as an overview of an offseason arm strengthening program. Obviously, there is a lot of detail left out. Hopefully it can serve as a general guide as you shape your offseason program.