Home Posts tagged "Weight Training Baseball" (Page 2)

Healthy Shoulders with Terrible MRIs?

In the same grain as Monday's post on lower back pain, today, I thought I'd highlight some of the common findings in diagnostic imaging of the shoulder, as these findings are just as alarming.

Do you train loads of overhead throwing athletes (especially pitchers) like I do?  Miniaci et al. found that 79% of asymptomatic professional pitchers (28/40) had "abnormal labrum" features and noted that "magnetic resonance imaging of the shoulder in asymptomatic high performance throwing athletes reveals abnormalities that may encompass a spectrum of 'nonclinical' findings."  Yes, you can have a torn labrum and not be in pain (it depends on the kind of labral tear you have; for more information, check out Mike Reinold's great series on SLAP lesions, starting with Part 1).

slap_lesion

This isn't just limited to baseball players, either; you'll see it in handball, swimming, track and field throwers, and tennis as well.  And, it isn't just limited to the labrum.  Connor et al. found that eight of 20 (40%) dominant shoulders in asymptomatic tennis/baseball players had evidence of partial or full-thickness cuff tears on MRI. Five of the 20 also had evidence of Bennett's lesions.

The general population may be even worse, particularly as folks age. Sher et al. took MRIs of 96 asymptomatic subjects, finding rotator cuff tears in 34% of cases, and 54% of those older than 60 - so if you're dealing with older adult fitness, you have to assume they're present in more than half your clients!

rtc-tear

Also, in another Miniaci et al. study, MRIs of 30 asymptomatic shoulders under age 50 demonstrated "no completely 'normal' rotator cuffs."  People's MRIs are such train wrecks that we don't even know what "normal" is anymore!

As is the case with back pain, these issues generally only become symptomatic when you don't move well - meaning you have insufficient strength, limited flexibility, or poor tissue quality.  For more information on how to screen for and prevent these issues from reaching threshold, check out Optimal Shoulder Performance from Mike Reinold and me.

Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!

Name
Email
Read more

Mobilizing the Throwing Shoulder: The Do and Don’t

Q: I recently opened up my own place to train athletes, and wanted to thank you for all of the knowledge you have passed along, as it has been a big factor in designing my own training philosophy.  The majority of my athletes are baseball and football players in the high school and collegiate level, and I had question for you regarding my baseball players specifically. Nearly every player I work with (and for the most part every pitcher I have worked with), has tight shoulders due to over-use, being imbalanced, and weak.  I have them performing a ton of upper back work in comparison to pressing movements, rotator cuff work, sleeper stretches, and myofascial release.  It helps greatly, but they still seem to never get back to a full range of motion or an actual natural throwing motion.  Because of this, I was wondering what you thought about adding in shoulder dislocations using a dowel rod or broomstick to help with shoulder mobility. Because the players I work with are either in college because of their ability to play baseball, or have a chance at being drafted or getting a good college scholarship from their arms, I want to make sure that everything I do makes them better instead of hurting them in the long run for what looks like a quick fix when they are with me. I'd love to hear any thoughts you might have on helping increase shoulder mobility and the shoulder dislocation exercise, in particular.

overhead-shoulder-dislocation-1overhead-shoulder-dislocation-2

A: First off, thank you very much for your kind words and continued support. Unfortunately, to be blunt, I think it would be a terrible idea and you would undoubtedly make a lot of shoulders (and potentially elbows) worse. Most pitchers will have increased external rotation (ER) on their dominant side, and as such, increased anterior instability.  If you just crank them into external rotation and/or horizontal abduction, you will exacerbate that anterior instability.  Think about what happens in the apprehension-relocation test at the shoulder; the relocation posteriorly pushes the humerus to relieve symptoms by taking away anterior instability. We are extremely careful with who we select for exercises to increase external rotation, and it is in the small minority.  Most pitchers gain ~5 degrees of external rotation over the course of the competitive season, as it is.  If we are going to have them do mobilizations to increase ER, it's only after we've measured their total motion (IR+ER) as asymmetrical and determined that they need ER (a sign is ER that is less on the dominant shoulder).  And, any exercises we provide on this front are done in conjunction with concurrent scapular stabilization and thoracic spine extension/rotation - as you'd see in a side-lying extension-rotation drill.

Here, you've got supination of the forearm, external rotation of the shoulder, scapular retraction/posterior tilt, and thoracic spine extension/rotation occurring simultaneously on the "lay back" component.  And, the opposite occurs as the athlete returns to the starting position.  Again, to reiterate, this is NOT a drill that is appropriate for a large chunk of throwing shoulders who already have crazy external rotation; it's just one we use with specific cases of guys we discover need to gain it. With the broomstick dislocation, you're going to be throwing a lot of valgus stress on the elbow - and as I noted in my recent six-part series on elbow pain, pitchers already get enough of that.  To read a bit more, check out Part 3: Throwing Injuries.

aroldis-chapman-mechanics

While we're on the topic, be careful about universally recommending sleeper stretches.  There is going to be a decent chunk of your baseball players that don't need it at all.  In particular, if you have a congenitally lax (ultra hypermobile) athlete (high score on Beighton laxity test), a sleeper stretch will really irritate the anterior shoulder capsule and/or biceps tendon. These players don't really need to be stretched into IR; they just need loads of stability training.  You'll find that these guys become more and more common at higher levels, as congenital laxity serves as a sort of "natural selection" to succeed for some people.  So, universally prescribing the sleeper stretch becomes more and more of a problem as you deal with more and more advanced players and could be jacking up multi-million dollar arms.  You'll even find guys who can gain 10-20 degrees of internal rotation in a matter of 30 seconds  - without any shoulder mobilizations - just with the appropriate breathing patterns.  It just doesn't work for everyone.  Honestly, the only way to know is to assess; each pitcher is unique. The obvious question then becomes "why are you seeing shoulder "tightness.?"  Is it postural?  Is it an actual range of motion you've assessed?  Is it guarding/apprehension in certain positions?  And, what is a "natural throwing motion?" They said Mark Prior had "perfect mechanics" and he has been injured his entire career.

mark-prior

What is "natural" is not what is "effective" in many cases, so you have to appreciate that throwing is an unnatural motion that may be necessary for generating velocity, creating deception, and optimizing movement on a certain pitch. It might seem like shameless self-promotion, but I would highly recommend that you pick up the DVD set Mike Reinold and I recently released: Optimal Shoulder Performance.

shoulder-performance-dvdcover

It covers all of this information in great detail, plus a ton more.  Baseball players - and particularly pitchers - are a unique population as a whole, and within that population, each one is unique. I'd also strongly encourage you to check out Mike Reinold's webinar, "Assessing Asymmetry in Overhead Athletes: Does Asymmetry Mean Pathology?"  It's available through the Advanced CEU online store. Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
Name
Email
Read more

The Hips in Baseball Hitting

In just the past few days, I've had two separate conversations with some really knowledgeable CP "dads" who also happen to have a ton of experience with coaching youth baseball players, particularly hitters.  In both conversations, a (paraphrased) line that stood out was "improving as a hitter in the teenage years is largely about learning to use the hips."

In contrast, have the same hitting conversation with just about any professional baseball player, and he'll tell you "I hit with my hands."

So who is right?  Do professional players not use their hips?  Or, do kids not use their hands?

Actually, both parties are right.  You don't get to professional baseball in the first place if you don't use your hips well when hitting.  And, you don't succeed (and stick around) in professional baseball unless you use your hands efficiently and have remarkable hand-eye coordination.  It's just multiple levels of natural selection that set the best apart - and they may sometimes forgot about the early stages of progress.

Need proof?  Watch a little league batting practice session, and then go to a big-league game to watch their batting practice.  The young players all pull the ball on every pitch, whereas the big-leaguers usually spray the ball all over the field, moving from the opposite field to the pull side.  They do this with their hands and wrists, all the while taking the hips for granted.

batting-practice

Think about this: how many more TFCC (wrist) injuries and hamate (hand) fractures do we see in professionals when compared to teenagers?  There are a lot more - because this area gets used a ton more.  Kids, on the other hand, get stress fractures if they misuse their hips.  It's no surprise, given the crazy rotational velocities and ranges of motion we see in hitters (outlined in my old articles, Oblique Strains and Rotational Power and Oblique Strains in Baseball: A 2011 Update).

What is a surprise, though, is that nobody has caught on to the ramifications of what this means for the youth baseball player who is learning to hit.

If a kid wanted to be a NASCAR driver, would we start him with a few 200mph laps at the Speedway amongst dozens of other drivers?  Of course not.

kid_driving_car1252453542

Why, then, do we have kids playing 180-200 games per year between school teams, AAU, fall ball, and even winter ball?  Where is the opportunity to learn how to hit in a controlled environment (closed loop), as opposed to trying to learn how to hit in live situations off of kids with no control (open loop).  Don't get me wrong; many programs do a tremendous job with instruction and really do build outstanding technical hitters - but as much as I hate to say it, the occupation of "hitting coach" seems to be a dying profession.  Why?

1. Schools are starting to put batting cages on campus for year-round hitting, and some kids don't appreciate that they need to learn to hit.

2. Some people see more money in AAU programs than individual instruction.  If a hitting lesson is personal training, running a team practice is semi-private training: more money in less time (and it's usually cheaper for the players).  This strategy can work if it's executed properly with sufficient coaching on-hand and the right demographic in mind; I have seen some AAU programs that are run with outstanding organization and excellent individual instruction at crucial parts of the year.

kidbatting

What is the right demographic?  I can't say for sure - but I can tell you that we need to be really careful in dealing with kids in the 11-17 year-old range.  They're learning to use their hips in an incredibly technically precise motion while their bodies are changing rapidly thanks to growth spurts and the fact that they spend 20 hours a day on their cans, thanks to sleeping, sitting at school desks, and playing around on Facebook and Instant Messenger.  We're giving more physically demanding challenges to less physically prepared (and, many times, less motivated) kids.

Kids need good hitting instruction early.  They also need targeted mobility work, foam rolling, and appropriate resistance training.

Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!

Name
Email
Read more

The Importance of Strength and Conditioning for High School Baseball Players

Yesterday, the Division 1 North Baseball Semi-final here in MA between Lincoln-Sudbury (20-2) and Lawrence (20-2) got rained out - and postponed to today.  As many of you know, we deal with over 30 players from the LS high school baseball program, plus several in middle school and multiple graduates who are now playing college baseball. With no game, local reports were left looking for something about which to write, so an interview with Coach Kirk Fredericks took place - and one of the topics that was brought up was the effect of strength and conditioning on the program.  Here's an excerpt from the article: Meanwhile, L-S has been on recent offensive tear, which includes putting up 10 and 16 runs in its first two tournament contests, respectively. As a team, the Warriors have 25 home runs this season and 62 (14, 11, 12, 25) in their last four seasons. In Fredericks' first five seasons with the team, L-S combined for 19 (5, 1, 5, 2, 6) home runs. "In the last four years, we've been working with Eric Cressey, our personal trainer, and he's really made a difference," said Fredericks. "We've also played at the same fields and the kids have been dedicated to getting stronger. The numbers don't lie."

anderson I moved to Boston in 2006, so this is the fourth season I've gone through with the L-S guys - and while I knew power numbers had increased, I didn't realize that they had virtually quadrupled.  I did, however, get my first hint of what was happening when we saw seven pitchers hit 80mph on the radar gun on the first day of tryouts this year.  This is a pretty big deal for any high school, and certainly one in Massachusetts that has to compete with nasty winter weather and the draw of lacrosse, track, tennis, golf, and volleyball during the spring season.  It's also significant because the competition in the area has improved quite a bit; L-S actually faces many of the players from other schools that we train - and they've gone 85-10 since the start of the 2007 season (when they won the state championship). Needless to say, it was pretty cool to be able to put some numbers with the trend we'd been observing.  And, it serves as a great reminder that - contrary to what a lot of "old school" coaches will try to tell you - a strength and conditioning program is absolutely essential for high school baseball players to not only perform at a higher level, but stay healthy in the process.  In this four-year period, LS baseball has had only one arm surgery, and it was in early 2008 on a player who had been misdiagnosed on ulnar nerve issues since middle school.  He's now playing Division 1 baseball.  The guys understand that arm care is about more than just some foo-foo rotator cuff exercises. This is what happens when the players in a program dedicate themselves to something and are consistent with it over the course of several years. Please enter your email below to sign up for our FREE newsletter.

Name
Email
Read more

The Fascial Knock on Distance Running for Pitchers

A while back, I had the privilege to experience Thomas Myers in seminar for the first time.  For those who aren't familiar with Myers, he is the author of Anatomy Trains and a pioneer in the world of bodywork and fascial research.

at-2e-cover

There were a wide variety of attendees present, and Myers made dozens of interesting points - so the take-away message could easily have been different for everyone in attendance as they attempted to fit his perspective into their existing schemeta.

While I enjoyed all 150 minutes of his presentations, the portion of Myers' talk that jumped out at me the most was his list of the eight means of improving "fascial fitness:"

1.       Use whole body movements

2.       Use long chain movements

3.       Use movements including a dynamic pre-stretch with proximal initiation

4.       Incorporate vector variation

5.       Use movements that incorporate elastic rebound - this consists of cylic motions of a certain speed (for instance, cycling wouldn't count)

6.       Create a rich proprioceptive environment

7.       Incorporate pauses/rest to optimize hydration status

8.       Be persistent, but gentle (prominent changes can take 18-24 months)

A big overriding them of Myers' lecture was that the role of the fascia - the entire extracellular matrix of the body - is remarkably overlooked when it comes to both posture and the development of pathology.  He remarked that he doesn't feel like we have 600+ muscles in the body; he feels like we have one muscle in 600+ fascial pockets because they are so interdependent.  And, in this fascia, we have nine times as many sensory receptors as we've got in muscles.

Think about what that means when someone has rotator cuff problems - and treatment only consists of ice, stim, NSAIDs, and some foo-foo rotator cuff exercises.  Or, worse yet, they just have a surgical intervention.  It overlooks a big piece of the puzzle - or, I should say, the entire puzzle.

For me, though, these eight factors got me to thinking again about just how atrocious distance running is for pitchers.  I have already ripped on it in the past with my article A New Model for Training Between Starts, but this presentation really turned on a light bulb over my head to rekindle the fire.  Let's examine these eight factors one-by-one:

1.       Use whole body movements - Distance running may involve require contribution from the entire body, but there is not a single joint in the body that goes through an appreciable range of motion.

2.       Use long chain movements - Pitching is a long chain movement.  Jumping is a long chain movement.  The only things that are "long" about distance running are the race distances and the length of the hip replacement rehabilitation process.

3.       Use movements including a dynamic pre-stretch with proximal initiation - This simply means that the muscles of the trunk and hips predominate in initiating the movement.  While the hips are certainly important in running, the fundamental issue is that there isn't a dynamic pre-stretch.  This would be a dynamic pre-stretch with proximal initiation:

4.       Incorporate vector variation - A vector is anything that has both force and direction.  Manual therapists vary the force they apply to tissues and the directions in which they apply them.  There are obviously vectors present in exercise as well.  Here are 30,000 or so people, and pretty much just one vector for hours: forward (to really simplify things):

Incorporating vector variation into programs is easy; it just takes more time and effort than just telling someone to "run poles."  Take 8-10 exercises from our Assess and Correct DVD set and you've got a perfect circuit ready to roll.

5.       Use movements that incorporate elastic rebound - Sorry, folks, but even though the stretch-shortening cycle is involved with jogging, its contribution diminishes markedly as duration of exercise increases.  And, frankly, I have a hard time justifying bored pitchers running laps as "elasticity."

6.       Create a rich proprioceptive environment - There is nothing proprioceptively rich about doing the same thing over and over again.  They call it pattern overload for a reason.  Pitchers get enough of that!

7.       Incorporate pauses/rest to optimize hydration status - Myers didn't seem to have specific recommendations to make regarding work: rest ratios that are optimal for improving fascial fitness, but I have to think that something more "sporadic" in nature - whether we are talking sprinting, agility work, weight training, or dynamic flexibility circuits - would be more appropriate than a continuous modality like jogging.  This is true not just because of duration, but because of the increased vector variation potential I outlined earlier.

8.       Be persistent, but gentle - This one really hit home for me.  Significant fascial changes take 18-24 months to really set in. I am convinced that the overwhelming majority of injuries I see in mature pitchers are largely the result of mismanagement - whether it's overuse, poor physical conditioning, or improper mechanics - at the youth levels.  Poor management takes time to reach the threshold needed to cause symptoms.  In other words, coaches who mismanage their players over the course of the few months or years they coach them may never actually appreciate the physical changes - positively or negatively - that are being set into action.

stressfracture

Distance running might seem fine in the short-term.  Overweight kids might drop some body fat, and it might make the practice plan easier to just have 'em run.  Kids might not lose velocity, as they can compensate and throw harder with the upper extremity as their lower bodies get less and less powerful and flexible.

However, it's my firm belief that having pitchers run distances not only impedes long-term development, but also directly increases injury risk.  Folks just don't see it because they aren't looking far enough ahead.

Please enter your email below to sign up for our FREE newsletter and you'll receive a deadlift technique video!

Name
Email
Read more

Training Schedules for Summer Baseball

Q: I've been going through some research, and your articles about training between starts, and I was wondering what kind of approach you take with college pitchers who are playing summer ball. Do you treat them as in-season and try to keep them fresh for their starts, or are you more aggressive with them since it's not their primary season? A: My answer is - as always - it depends. If you have a younger player who is weak, scrawny, and altogether physically unprepared, he is going to train hard.  The long-term benefits of that training far outweigh any short term decrements in performance (which, as I'll note in a second, can easily be attenuated markedly). If we are talking about a more advanced player for whom summer ball performance may be extremely important (e.g., an unsigned draft pick in the Cape Cod League during the summer after his junior year who is trying to get his signing bonus up), you have to treat things quite a bit differently.  And, within this category, we manage starters and relievers differently. For starters, it's pretty easy, as they generally have predictable seven-day rotations.  I outlined my thoughts with the 7-day rotation component of A New Model for Training Between Starts: Part 2.  Here it is: Day 0: pitch Day 1: challenging lower body lift, light cuff work Day 2: movement training only, focused on 10-15yd starts, agility work, and some top speed work (50-60 yds); upper body lift Day 3: low-Intensity resistance training (<30% of 1RM) circuits, extended dynamic flexibility circuits Day 4: full-body lift Day 5: movement training only, focused on 10-15yd starts, agility work, and some top speed work (50-60 yds) Day 6: low-intensity dynamic flexibility circuits only (or off altogether) Day 7: pitch again

jenkins

I treat relief pitchers as if they are position players - but if we know that there is a good chance that they'll throw in the next 24-36 hours, we'll markedly drop the volume and intensity and just focus on them leaving the gym feeling "refreshed."  If they have a longer outing (more than an inning), we'll get some really good weight-room work in the next day, as we know they won't have to pitch that night.  If it's a shorter outing and they may be expected to throw two days in a row, we'll go easier (potentially even pushing things back a day). Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
Name
Email
Read more

Great Feedback on Optimal Shoulder Performance

We just received this great feedback on Optimal Shoulder Performance: "I just recently finished the Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD's.  Without a doubt, that was the best $100 I've spent on a home based CEU opportunity. The material was very well presented, the talks cut to the chase, and provided tons of practical ideas that I have already put into practice with my baseball and softball players. "In addition to the downloadable PowerPoint slides PDF, I took tons of notes because both of you offered up such great information. "I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants a quality shoulder DVD to add to their professional library. "Thanks, guys, for a very high quality practical product!" -Kevin Collins, MS, ATC

Click here to pick up your own copy of Optimal Shoulder Performance!

shoulder-performance-dvdcover

Read more

Random Friday Thoughts: 5/14/10

1. It's been a while since I published a Random Friday Thoughts blog, but in reality, it's by design.  You see, if I just publish every Friday, it isn't very "random," is it? 2. Pretty cool stuff: Cressey Performance and Lawrence Academy athlete Tyler Beede was featured on the cover of ESPN Rise magazine this month.  Tyler's headed to Vanderbilt on a baseball scholarship.

ty-espn

3. After seven years, I'm switching from Sprint to Verizon for my cell phone.  I feel liberated...like an old man busting a move.  That's a random - but awesome - way to kickstart your weekend!

4. At the other end of the spectrum, you have THIS GUY, who was awarded (in a court of law) the title of "Worst Tennis Professional on the Planet."  I wonder if he gets a trophy for his mantle for that one....

5. Here's a book recommendation for you that's somewhat related to fitness: The 7 Rules of Achievement.  It's written by Tom Terwilliger, a former Mr. America.  I met Tom at a seminar back in January, and his enthusiasm is absolutely contagious.  He's got a pretty cool story himself, but the real gold in this book is how he breaks things down step-by-step in helping people get to where they want to be in their professional and personal lives.  It's self-help stuff, but more entertaining and less preachy than anything else I've read in this regard.

7-rules-book

6. In addition to my own article at T-Muscle last week (Favorite Supersets), I also contributed on a compilation by Nate Green, Your Training Split Sucks.  Check 'em out, if you haven't already.

7. Here's a short, but solid piece about CP athlete and NY Mets Prospect Jim Fuller, who is having an excellent season this far: Marlborough's Fuller off to a Good Start in Class A.

8.  In the past two weeks, I've had four people email me asking about a mentorship at Cressey Performance.  If we were to do a 3-4 day mentorship consisting of lectures, hands-on teaching, and observing athletes in action, would you be interested?  If so, shoot us an email at cresseyperformance@gmail.com.  It would occur sometime between October and March.  Nothing firm, but I thought I'd throw it out there to gauge interest.

9. I'm looking for some good recommendations for books on CD.  I just finished up my last one, and always like to have a good one in my car for whenever I'm driving.  The last three good ones have been What the Dog Saw, Switch, and Born to Run.  I prefer non-fiction.  Thanks in advance to anyone who has some suggestions to make in the comments section!

10. Finally, a big happy birthday goes out to CP pitching expert Matt Blake, who - as you can tell from the following video - turns 11 today.

Read more

Is Pitching Velocity Really that Important?

About this time last year, I attended and spoke at at big sports medicine conference organized by Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School.  Given that it was baseball season, and the event's organizers were all also on staff with the Boston Red Sox, a big focus of the event was the diagnosis, treatment, and causes of throwing injuries to the elbow and shoulder. One of the organizers happened to be my good friend Mike Reinold, who is the head athletic trainer and rehabilitation coordinator for the Red Sox.  As you probably know, we collaborated on the Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD set as well.

shoulder-performance-dvdcover

One of the resounding themes of Mike's talks was that throwing hard is not the single-most important factor in being a successful pitcher.  Rather, success is all about changing speeds and hitting spots.  The point is an important one - and it's backed up by the success of the likes of Jamie Moyer, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddux.

Why is it so important for youth pitchers and parents to understand this?  It's because it demonstrates that long-term success is not about dominating in little league; it's about acquiring skills that allow for future improvements.

Youth pitches should focus on commanding their fastballs with consistent repetition of their mechanics early-on - not just throwing hard.  If you think you have the fastball mastered at age 9 and simply learn a curveball so that you can dominate little league hitters, you're skipping steps and trying to ride too many horses with one saddle.  It's not that the curveball is inherently more stressful than any other pitch; it's just that - as the saying goes - "if you chase two rabbits, both will escape."

youthpitcher

While kids need variety, they shouldn't try to master too many different complex skills at once.  Step 1 is to have command of your fastball - not just to throw it hard.

Step 2 is to learn a good change-up to start creating the separation to which Mike is referring.  Breaking pitches can come later.

Need proof?  I recently saw some statistics that demonstrated that the MLB average against off-speed pitches has decline each of the past three years.  Meanwhile, not surprisingly, the average MLB fastball velocity has increased by about 1mph.  Throwing harder made all those off-speed pitches more effective by creating more separation.  So, yes, throwing the crap out of the ball is still important - but only if you know where it's going - otherwise the average fastball velocity wouldn't be higher in Low A ball than it is in the big leagues.

Oh, and in case you need further proof of how MLB general managers perceive the importance of off-speed pitches, Phillies First Baseman Ryan Howard gave you $125 worth when he signed a new five-year contract last month.  While the MLB average against off-speed pitches has steadily declined over the past three seasons, Howard has gotten better.

ryanhoward

The take-home message is that youth pitchers need to develop the mechanical efficiency and physical abilities that will eventually make them able to throw hard in conjunction with a solid assortment of off-speed pitches.  They don't need to light up radar guns and showcase curveballs when they're still regulars at Chuck 'E Cheese.

Related Posts

Developing Young Pitchers the Safe Way Overbearing Dads and Kids Who Throw Cheddar

Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a Copy of the Exact Stretches used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
Name
Email
Read more

Stuff You Should Read: 4/27/10

Here are some reading recommendations for the week: Q&A: Partial Knee Meniscectomy - Here is a great blog from Mike Robertson about training modifications for those who have had a portion of the meniscus removed.  Mike's a brilliant knee guy (definitely check out Bulletproof Knees if you haven't already).  Stick around Mike's site and read a bit; he's been kicking out some great content lately. bpkAre You Inflamed? - This is a good one on the nutrition side of things from Mike Roussell. What Makes Roy Run? - This was an awesome article about Roy Halladay from a few weeks ago in Sports Illustrated.  To be blunt, a ton of professional baseball pitchers are lazy, one-trick ponies who rely on natural talent and don't work hard to fulfill their potential.  Halladay is an exception to that rule: a guy who has worked incredibly hard to become arguably the best pitcher in the game.  This is a tremendously well-written and entertaining piece about the path he took and how he deserves every bit of success that comes his way.  Phillies fans are lucky to have him.
Read more
Page 1 2 3 4 12
LEARN HOW TO DEADLIFT
  • Avoid the most common deadlifting mistakes
  • 9 - minute instructional video
  • 3 part follow up series