View Full Version : winter exercises
Charger567
09-26-2006, 08:48 PM
I did some research, and when the winter starts I will probably do anything you guys can confirm will help me as a pitcher. I am 13 years old, and want to get to 75 by the spring, currently a little below 70. Will it be possible for me to jump 5+ mph over the winter?
I will be doing, according to my online research:
Medicine Ball Exercises
Longtoss
Gentle Rotater Cuff Exercises
Some work on one of those biking exercise machines, high resistance to strengthen my legs
Will these help, and what else can I do?
Baseball gLove
09-27-2006, 02:50 PM
Lunges, both legs.
XFactor
09-29-2006, 08:49 PM
And pitching, a lot of it.
EdmondsFan#1
09-29-2006, 10:51 PM
Yeah, exercises and all that is great but you know what is going to really help? Pitching, think about it. Excersises... I don't even want to talk about my opinion on these because i'll probably get banned...
You want to throw faster, you know how to throw faster? Practicing your fastball more. It's like saying, I want my curveball to break more, practice it more. Master it. Find a warehouse, and paint a strike zone on a wall and fire away. Maybe even get a portable mound for it. Maybe even get a matress and paint a strike zone on it (this is what i hear Barry zito and Billy wagner did when they were kids) and in the winter just put on a heavy coat every day it's not snowing and practice. That's what i'm going to do.
What size are you? I'm asking this because at 13, in 6 months you will probably gain 5 mph just becuase you are at the growing age. As long as you keep your arm used to pitching and conditioned so it's not rusty after the winter you will probably be at 75...
Just so you know though, 5 mph is a pretty big difference. Our shortstop for our school team was clocked at 74 mph and he throws hard.
Fastest thrower i know for his age was a freshman pitcher for our best high school and he was clocked at 82 mph. And now he is a sophmore, maybe pitching 89 or so. Not to discourage your or anything, but i think 74 is alot harder then you think it is. Just becuase kids all say they can throw 70 nowadays doesn't mean it is true. I'm not saying you are a liar, but , yeah, i'd just stick to practicing pitching.
Charger, I'll have some workouts posted on my website within the next week. I'll post here when they are ready.
Charger567
09-30-2006, 06:08 AM
Seniors is hard for me now, it's a bit hard to throw strikes...
But anyway, I was pretty much the dominant pitcher in my district last year for williamsport. I pitched 3 games in the district and allowed 3 hits and 0 earned runs. Thats when everyone was telling me I threw 70.
CanadianKid
09-30-2006, 09:23 AM
Working out is good, especially legs, but since your 13 I'd stay away from heavy weights. Running is VERY good, both long and short distance. Builds leg strength and stamina. However the most important thing is to be throwing on a daily basis, not always at game speed but to build up arm strength.
Since your probably still growing you'll gain that 5mph on your fastball just from natural growth, that's what happened with me.
IMO I wouldn't work with weights until you start highschool but for now running, long toss, sqauts(with out weights) and lunges are all good.
EdmondsFan#1
09-30-2006, 02:07 PM
Seniors is hard for me now, it's a bit hard to throw strikes...
But anyway, I was pretty much the dominant pitcher in my district last year for williamsport. I pitched 3 games in the district and allowed 3 hits and 0 earned runs. Thats when everyone was telling me I threw 70.
Wow, yeah, you are probably pitching around 70 then...
Maybe you should make sure your mechanics are good too, just because a kid is throwing 70 doesn't mean you have flaws in your mechanics ;)
Charger567
10-01-2006, 05:23 PM
Man, this fall league is killin me..
Every game since moving to a new distance I haven't been myself. When I was getting hit, I wanted to give up pitching, because I thought I was a little leaguer and wouldn't be any good after. Then when I heard about Dick Mills saying that speed is all about development, I wanted to quit even more. My dad is 5"5' and my mom is 5"3'. My brothers are about 5"7' and fully developed. But today I went into my backyard to throw with my dad, I didn't pitch but I was throwing gas from about 70 feet away. What does this mean? Why can I not throw like this in a game? (BTW: That was with a sore shoulder, and I was throwing meat with a fairly well prepared arm.)
XFactor
10-01-2006, 09:47 PM
Perhaps you get a little too nervous before you start the game?
Perhaps the mentality you take with you on the mound is counter productive?
If I, before every game I pitched in, said "What if I can't throw any strikes? Aww what if I really suck, I should quit." Do you think I'll do very well? Probably not.
But no, to throw with velocity, this is what Dick Mills has to say, "Remember force is mass X acceleration. If a pitcher is skinny like Angels Ervin Santana 6'2" 160 who pitches at 92-96 mph, it is because he has good speed of movement and smoothness from proper timing of his body. A larger pitcher like Clemens at 6'5" 240 does not have to move as fast because he has a larger mass."
He goes on to say to someone who was concerned about their son gaining velocity. "Your son will gain velocity from improving his mechanics and if he is not fully developed yet he will gain added strength from that natural development. Further development could mean more explosiveness and more speed of movement. But that also has to be trained.
The key to velocity is gaining speed of movement from mechanics while focusing on smoothness. "
Charger567
10-01-2006, 10:16 PM
Perhaps you get a little too nervous before you start the game?
Perhaps the mentality you take with you on the mound is counter productive?
If I, before every game I pitched in, said "What if I can't throw any strikes? Aww what if I really suck, I should quit." Do you think I'll do very well? Probably not.
But no, to throw with velocity, this is what Dick Mills has to say, "Remember force is mass X acceleration. If a pitcher is skinny like Angels Ervin Santana 6'2" 160 who pitches at 92-96 mph, it is because he has good speed of movement and smoothness from proper timing of his body. A larger pitcher like Clemens at 6'5" 240 does not have to move as fast because he has a larger mass."
He goes on to say to someone who was concerned about their son gaining velocity. "Your son will gain velocity from improving his mechanics and if he is not fully developed yet he will gain added strength from that natural development. Further development could mean more explosiveness and more speed of movement. But that also has to be trained.
The key to velocity is gaining speed of movement from mechanics while focusing on smoothness. "
I have heard that too many times. But it doesn't make sense to me. Are you telling me the only difference between me and Curt Schilling is my mechanics and size?
... But today I went into my backyard to throw with my dad, I didn't pitch but I was throwing gas from about 70 feet away. What does this mean? Why can I not throw like this in a game? ...
You may want to try a different mental approach. If my suspicion is right, you focus on "looking" like a pitcher while on the mound but just try to throw the crap out of the ball when you are throwing flat ground.
XFactor
10-02-2006, 08:10 AM
That is exactly what I'm telling you. So keep practicing until you get it right.
bbjunkie
10-02-2006, 08:41 AM
I have heard that too many times. But it doesn't make sense to me. Are you telling me the only difference between me and Curt Schilling is my mechanics and size?
That is exactly what I'm telling you. So keep practicing until you get it right.
There are two problems with this theory. First, a reasonable argument can be made that mlb pitchers are freaks of nature whose body make-up allows them to put the kind of stress they do on their arms. Most of us just aren't genetically equiped to do that.
Second, there is also the danger of repetitive stress injury. You have to build rest time into any sports schedule. Sports medicine doctors suggest taking 3-4 months off from any specific sport each year. Continuous pitching over the winter will probably result in little improvement, and may result in injury.
Play some other sport. My son is 13 and is currently running cross country. He plans to wrestle, play basketball and possibly play tennis before his travel team starts playing next spring. He does have one baseball team practice a week over the winter, but even that is going to give way to skiing in Jan and Feb.
At your age you need some variety in athletic pursuits and to make time for fun. You could burn out on the kind of regimented exercise routine XFactor seems to be advocating.
XFactor
10-02-2006, 03:09 PM
Ohh yeah, he is 13 isn't he? I thought he was 17 for some reason. Go ahead and enjoy your youth.
Charger567
10-02-2006, 05:04 PM
At my age, will throwing in the winter increase my velocity? I live in Newton, MA meaning the weather in completely unpredictable.. We had two feet of snow in one day two years ago, and last year we had less than two feet altogether.
Charger, I finally have my website updated. Click below for sample strength training programs.
Prime Time Training (http://www.geocities.com/billvasko)