Pitching speed is an integral aspect of baseball playing. From beginner Little League pitchers to professional Major League baseball players, coaches place great importance on increasing pitching velocity.
While many pitchers focus on endless squats to build leg strength and rotating medicine ball exercises to strengthen their core, they could miss one key area that can unlock more power: deceleration.
Box Jumps
Box Jumps are one of the best exercises to improve pitching speed as they engage your entire body in an explosive movement while using swinging arm motions – making this exercise not only enjoyable but safe (for your shins!).
Jumping onto a box forces your lower body and hips into dynamic movement, enabling you to generate power while jumping up. The more power you can generate, the faster and higher you’ll jump. Furthermore, this activity doesn’t require any special equipment; all it requires is boxes of various heights.
If you are new to box jumping, start off small (12-24 inches). As soon as you feel comfortable and can land softly on top of the box, gradually work your way upward in height until your form improves and you become confident enough.
One of the more frequent mistakes when performing box jumps is failing to control your landing, whether due to too high of a box or strain when jumping onto it. Either way, this can result in injuries as well as sore lower bodies when landing on it.
Think like a gymnast when landing. Your feet should land quietly and softly – nearly noiseless if possible – to allow your body to absorb force more appropriately than slamming down hard on an unforgiving surface, potentially leading to injury.
If you are struggling with landing, working with a personal trainer could help fine-tune the mechanics of your landing and provide drills to improve quality of landings regardless of level or experience. They will also be able to point out any common mistakes rookies tend to make when performing this movement.
Plyometrics
Enhancing pitching velocity requires an integration of power, technique and explosive strength. Milliseconds can make the difference between homeruns and strikeouts; therefore it is vital to train all aspects of the throwing motion – from lifting weights for power development to plyometric training as a comprehensive way to enhance one’s natural ability to throw harder.
Plyometric exercises combine explosive movements with brief periods of rest to increase force-velocity relationships, helping athletes move faster, jump higher, run quicker, as well as enhance balance and agility. Plyometrics offer athletes many benefits by increasing the rate at which their bodies generate and absorb force – increasing how fast the body generates and absorbs force and thus speeding them up overall.
Plyometrics can be done by anyone, however they’re most effective when integrated into an overall training program that also incorporates resistance exercises. Although it is beneficial to participate in these types of exercises regularly, plyometrics should be avoided by people with injuries or those susceptible to joint pain or tightness who require special consideration when exercising.
When including plyometric exercises into a training regimen, it’s also vital that the proper technique be employed. Landing softly on the ground while avoiding collapsing upon impact and reaching full extension at the top of every jump are both vital in order to avoid injury and improve performance.
As well as using proper technique, athletes should also strive to progress their plyometric workouts gradually over time by adhering to periodized training principles. Periodized training involves altering reps, sets and intensity over a given time period – thus producing noticeable gains over time.
Plyometrics can be an invaluable way to increase pitching speed. By engaging in box jumps, depth jumps and lateral bounds pitchers can increase lower body power, coordination and reactive strength–thus increasing their pitching speed on the mound. The 3X Pitching Velocity Program utilizes several plyometric exercises including 2LB medicine ball throw variations and target throws as part of its training regimen in order to help elevate pitchers’ game.
Leg Extensions
When it comes to building leg power, no exercise compares with leg extensions in terms of developing leg power. Exercising this movement with correct form is crucial as it strengthens all quad muscles while protecting the knee joint – both vulnerable areas during pitching that necessitate protection from injuries. To maximize results from this workout session.
Leg extensions help train the foot to plant a powerful triple extension which influences linear and angular velocity in delivery. This is important, as longer strides generate more momentum to increase pitching speed – however this also makes pitchers more prone to elbow injuries as it requires explosive strength to increase speed without risking injuries.
Leg extensions provide another important advantage, in training the deceleration phase of pitching arm after it leaves your hand, to reduce torque and pressure exposure that could potentially cause injury.
Sparta Science conducted a study which revealed that athletes who possess the ability to quickly decelerate their arm have lower chances of shoulder injury, as this allows energy from legs and hips into rotational force required for throwing.
One of the major problems associated with pitching is that too many pitchers focus too heavily on creating linear energy, leading them to fall short of their pitching potential. If you want to be an exceptional pitcher, however, you need to learn how to transfer energy from legs and hips into rotational forces that bring arm through for delivery of the ball.
Boosting pitching speed requires being consistent in your training regimen. Top pitchers don’t get where they are today by accident; they have worked tirelessly and continue to improve. Implementing exercises such as those mentioned here into your routine can help you meet your goal and take your game to new heights.
Lateral Movement
Baseball and softball are sports of lateral movement and rotation – from pitchers stepping off of their mound to rotate in their throwing motion, through base stealing starts or crow hops to throwing hard into an outfield field. Power required for these movements comes from an entire kinetic chain consisting of hips, trunk and arm muscles. Studies examining the kinematics of overhead throwing have demonstrated a correlation between pelvis rotational velocity, shoulder-and-hip separation and forward trunk tilt, and throwing speed (Lehman et al. 2013). Lateral medicine ball throws can help develop lower body components of the kinetic chain in order to increase pitching velocity as well as explosive strength for maximum pitching velocity.
