Top 10 Arm Care Exercises For The Pitcher
To learn how these exercises should be used in either the off-season, pre-season or in-season please reference the 3X Pitching Velocity Program which also includes sets and reps along with all the instructional videos.
Building On The Gold Standard
At the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma , our founder James A. Nicholas, MD was paramount in offering evidence-based medicine that addressed not only the injury, but the athlete. In 1976, Dr. Nicholas developed the concept of linkage by highlighting the importance of proximal stability for distal mobility.10 This concept has been the catalyst for developing the NISMAT Arm Care program. To maintain a healthy throwing arm, we needed to provide evidence-based exercises that not only address strength but also address flexibility and endurance from the trunk to the hand.
The goals of developing the NISMAT Arm Care program were: Exercises should be evidence-based. Focused exercises that are evidence-based will maximize the efficiency of the arm care program. Develop a program that considers the concept of linkage described by James A. Nicholas. Develop a program that is portable and can be performed in any setting. In todays baseball lifestyle, players, trainers, and parents are always on the road with minimal access to high level, expensive strength equipment. This program was designed to utilize elastic-resistance exercises with no additional equipment required.
Resistance Band Exercises For Baseball And Softball Players
Each of the exercises in our list below has been labeled best for a particular type of athlete , but they can each be used by all types of players as long as theyre performed correctly.
Weve also recommended a particular type of band for each of the exercises listed below. You can learn more about each brand in the Types of Resistance Bands section at the end of this article.
1. Throwing Motion
Best for: Baseball pitchers .Best band to use: Jaeger.How to do it:
How many sets and reps:
- 2 sets of 4 to 6 reps.
- Intermediate: 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps.
- Expert: 5 sets of 8 to 10 reps.
Purpose: This exercise helps improve bloodflow to the muscles of the shoulder, back and chest. Warming up those muscles properly can lead to a decrease in the incidence of injury.
What to look for: If the band has too much tension, the throwing motion will look strained rather than fluid. This movement should not require excess exertion.
2. Banded Victory
Best for: Baseball pitchers .Best band to use: Jaeger or Crossover.How to do it:
How many sets and reps:
5. Glute Walks
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Other Types Of Resistance Bands
Long Loop Resistance Bands
Best used for: These bands come in resistance weights from 15 pounds to 200 pounds, so the potential for exercise utilization is almost limitless. Typically, these bands are best used for strengthening and stretching the larger muscles of the body .
Limitations: Without a clip to easily attach the band to a fence, it can be difficult to find ways to fasten these bands to a stationary object outside of a traditional gym setting.
Additionally, even the lightest band is sometimes too heavy for focusing on the smaller muscles of the rotator cuff in throwing athletes.
Short Loop Resistance Bands
Best used for: These smaller bands are best used to loop around the legs and feet of athletes. They can be instrumental in activating important musculature of the hips, and can be a great asset to add to an athletes pre-practice or pre-game routine.
Limitations: Obviously, the smaller the band the more limited the potential exercise list. Although these bands are fantastic, I wouldnt make them the only band utilized. Instead, use them in conjunction with the ones mentioned above.
Standing Crossbody Adduction Posterior Shoulder Stretch Https: //videosfileswordpresscom/8r58tjfg/stand
This exercise was chosen to improve and maintain posterior shoulder tightness. Escamilla et al.26 highlighted the advantages of this internal rotation for maintaining internal rotation range of motion loss between innings.26 The NISMAT arm care program recommends performing this against a wall or side of dugout to maintain a more stable scapula.
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Muscles To Work Out To Throw Baseballs Harder
Although baseball is a team sport, the blame for losses is often heaped disproportionately upon the pitcher. While this is hardly fair, it is a reality, so pitchers need to take every advantage they can to help their teams win. One way to gain an edge is by working hard in the weight room performing exercises to strengthen certain muscles can help you throw the ball harder and frustrate hitters who can’t keep up with the speed of your pitches.
Arm Strength Baseball Throwing Shoulder Exercises
The shoulder is one of the most important parts of the body when it comes to baseball. Whether a baseball player is pitching, hitting, running down baseballs in the outfield, or diving for an infield ground ball, it is vitally important to build, maintain and protect the shoulder. If a baseball player’s shoulder is unhealthy then they will not be able to perform to their potential and could cause career ending injuries.
Baseball is different from other sports in the aspect of one body part or limb experiencing intense wear and tear. Baseball players must work hard to strengthen their rotator cuff to withstand the stresses of throwing and overuse. Utlize KB Powerbands and all four levels of resistance to build shoulder strength today.
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A Quick Overview Of The Arm Muscles
There are two main parts of a human arm: the forearm and the upper arm. The forearm is the part of the arm that extends from the elbow to the hand. The upper arm extends from the elbow to the shoulder. Baseball requires both upper and lower arm strength.
There are actually a lot of muscles in the arm. The upper arm has five muscles while the forearm has twenty, which is split into the anterior and posterior compartments. While it is not essential that you memorize every single muscle in the arm, this information can be useful for understanding how to improve your arm strength.
Your biggest takeaway of this section should be that your arm is more than just your bicep. In fact, for baseball, the bicep is not always as helpful.Forearm, wrist, and shoulder strength tends to be much more important than huge biceps. Correct batting requires strength and flexibility in your forearms and wrists. You need strong shoulders to put up with the wear and tear of pitching. Strong forearms and wrists also make pitching easier and more accurate.
Types Of Resistance Bands
Its important to familiarize yourself with some of the different types of bands that exist. While many brands offer similar products, there are a few different styles that function better or worse for particular purposes.
Also, although there are hundreds of generic brands on the market, there are a few industry standards that are known to consistently produce quality products.
We use these brands at Athletes Warehouse, a facility that trains over 500 athletes every week. The bands listed below have endured constant use over the course of the past five years, seldom needing replacement.
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Gain Arm Strength With Better Training
We need to start looking at arm strengthening for softball players not just as injury prevention, but as performance enhancement. Its easy to tap into a few extra miles per hour when we get the muscles that accelerate and decelerate the ball strong, stable and in great condition.
Whether its softball windmill pitching or overhand throwing, these four exercises will pay off.
Arm Exercises To Increase Pitch Velocity
The harder a baseball pitcher can throw the ball, the more difficult it is for batters to hit. You can incorporate both baseball related and non-baseball-related exercises into your workouts to increase your throwing velocity. A combination of strength and flexibility training can get your fast pitch moving faster while avoiding injury.
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Don’t Run Long Distance
-
Do run sprints instead. Pitching a baseball places an explosive, intense demand on your central nervous system. Thus, you need to train in a similar manner.
The perfect type of training stimulus for this is sprintsnot long distance endurance running, which over time teaches your body to become slow.
The Top 7 Exercises For Baseball Players
Do you want to improve your throwing and batting skills? These exercises work your whole body to increase your strength, power, and rotation. Whether you want to improve your throwing as a baseman or outfielder, or get better at batting, these exercises can help!
Want to improve your pitching skills? Learn more here.
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Essential Shoulder Exercises For Baseball Players
10 Essential Shoulder Exercises for Baseball Players
Spring training has commenced for Major League Baseball and the excitement of a new season is upon us. The baseball preseason is not just for showcasing young talent, but also for the veterans to transition back to the field after several months off. While many elite baseball players understand the concept of an arm care program, youth players often miss the opportunity.
The demand placed on youth baseball players has continued to rise with more players engaged in year-round baseball. Not surprisingly, the injury rates to the shoulder and elbow including Tommy John surgery, have skyrocketed. Throwing a ball just once puts significant torque on the shoulder and repetitive throwing without adequate shoulder strength can lead to injury.
The following list is recommendations we have for youth baseball players to significantly reduce the injury rates for the upper extremity. This blog will only address the final recommendation and provide videos of the 10 essential exercises for any baseball player or overhead athlete.
- Use correct throwing mechanics
- Adhere to specific pitch count recommendations based on age
- NEVER continue pitching when the arm feels tired: pitching with arm fatigue is one of the best predictors of arm injury. Coaches and players need to understand that pain or soreness does not need to be present for a pitcher to be pulled from the game.
- Engage in a proper arm care program like the one presented here.
Nismat Arm Care Program
The NISMAT ARM Care program addresses musculoskeletal strength and mobility during each of the stages of pitching. Below you will find each exercise included in the NISMAT ARM Care program, the target muscle or movement, and the phase of pitching in which the specific muscle is working at its peak. This breakdown can also be found in Table 1. Appendix A has photos and a link to the formal program.
| Acceleration |
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Side Plank With External Rotation Https: //videosfileswordpresscom/0opdxnyz/sideplank
This exercise was chosen for activation of infraspinatus, supraspinatus, teres minor and posterior deltoid. During the pitching motion the infraspinatus reaches its peak MVC during late cocking , supraspinatus reaches its peak MVC during early cocking , teres minor reaches its peak MVC during deceleration and posterior deltoid reaches peak during acceleration .2,8,19 Historically, the side-lying external rotation exercise has been shown to activate these muscles: infraspinatus 42-62% MVC, supraspinatus 51% MVC, teres minor 67% MVC and posterior deltoid 52% MVC.12,18 The NISMAT Arm Care program, based on Krause et al.21 recommends using a side plank position to elevate the muscle activity in posterior deltoid and infraspinatus.
Kneeling Band Shoulder Er To Press
While the Side-lying ER is an AWESOME exercise, it does have its limitations. Most importantly, it keeps your arm at your side, whereas throwing a baseball involves being in a 90/90 position of the shoulder and elbow.
This Kneeling Band Shoulder ER to Press is a progression off of the Kneeling Band Shoulder ER, which we showed you in our blog last week when we first introduced Ben.
Done correctly, this will light up the posterior rotator cuff to a greater degree than the regular ERs. Additionally, its more beneficial for those who have over the top deliveries, although all can benefit from it.
Having said all this, its a very commonly butchered drill. Watch the video tutorial closely, keep it SLOW, and be sure to not let your hand migrate forward as you press overhead.
We usually recommend doing this drill for 3 sets of 8-10 per arm in-between sets of lower body exercises and as part of their post-game routine.
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Balance Strengthen & Condition
The eleven step J-Bands exercise routine is designed to balance, condition the rotator cuff & surrounding muscle groupsall while building arm strength for baseball players. The J-Bands exercise routine is crucial for injury prevention, endurance, recovery period and increased velocity. It is an essential workout for any player whose goal is to have a long and healthy career. The J-Bands allow you to perform 11 basic exercises to strengthen and protect the rotator cuff muscle group.
Standing Cable Baseball Swing
The standing cable swing improves trunk rotation, ab stability, and core strength with resistance training. The standing cable swing is one of the greatest exercises for baseball players because it advances the power behind the bat and protects the back and shoulders. Make sure to rotate from the hips, not being stiff in the hips.
YouTube:
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Arm Care Drills That Helped A Yankee Throw 100 Mph
When I introduced you to Ben Heller and his incredible story, I discussed three things that helped him improve his fastball from 92-94 MPH to 95-98 and touching 100 MPH:
1. He trained with a purpose four to five times per week2. He worked on his hip and upper back mobility restrictions3. He trained on one leg and in the lateral plane
Now were going to narrow our focus to arm care drills specifically and discuss a few that helped Ben make the velocity jump that he did:
- The Kneeling 1-arm Band Y
- The Side-lying ER
- The Kneeling Band Shoulder ER to Press
Pitchers Are Made In The Off
A few weeks ago I get this email from the parent of a 14 year old pitcher…
The email said:
Coach Ellis If pitchers are made during the off-season, what workouts should pitchers do to improve their pitching skills, their velocity, and their strength and conditioning?
Have you ever wondered the same thing?
Most of us want to know what workouts are most effective and produce the best resultsespecially as we approach the fall and winter seasons. And this is exactly what I’m going to share with you in this article:
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The Importance Of Baseball Shoulder Stretching
The nice thing about shoulder stretching is that it can be done anywhere and anytime. With a simple band or towel the throwing arm can easily be stretched. It is really important to warm up the shoulders and body when preparing to perform in baseball. This is important for outfielders, infielders, pitchers and catchers. Warming up and doing shoulder exercises enable a baseball player to increase range of motion and throwing velocity. Warming up and doing shoulder exercises improves body posture, throwing ability, increases rotation and stability, reduces stress, and improves the blood circulation in the shoulders. In order to throw the fastest pitch or drive the ball from the plate, baseball players need to develop shoulders that can withstand an intense baseball season. Kbands training has a shoulder warm-up video that provides strength and condition training performed with resistance bands and with dumbbells. Kbands training also offers many other baseball videos. We offer a wide range of baseball training videos from the position specific, to increasing speed, and how to run faster. Resistance band training is a great way to improve range, increase momentum, and strengthen the upper and lower body and the core. Kbands training provides insight and exercise specific instructions and videos that are step by step for a baseball player’s convenience.
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