June 22, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

Are you a good pitcher?

There is some great competition out there these days. That especially rings true if you are a right-handed pitcher. A right handed pitcher is the most competitive position in all of baseball. How are you going to stand out?

How much do you know about biomechanics? pitching mechanics?

How much time do you spend each day on your functional fitness?

Are you mentally and emotionally stable on the mound?

Are you eating like a winner? nutrition plan?

How’s your attitude on and off the field?

Do you consider yourself a leader?

Do you set pitching specific goals? If so, what are you working on right now?

Do you have the courage to tell your coach you want the ball in a crucial situation?

Does your coach and your team have confidence that you can do the job anytime?

Are you fully prepared each game mentally, physically and emotionally? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching Pitchers, General Baseball, General Pitching, Nutrition, Pitching Grips, Pitching Mechanics, Pitching Tips, Pitching Workouts Tagged With: Pitching, Pitching Mechanics

May 2, 2011 By The Pitching Academy 1 Comment

Pitch Count! What is Acceptable?

Pitch count! What is Acceptable?

The other day we sent everyone an e-mail that talked about pitch count and what is acceptable and what isn’t. We also discussed that Leagues should actually change their number of innings pitched rule to number of pitches. The number of pitches is more important than the number of innings because you can pitch 30 pitch innings. After three innings of that any pitcher can be toast.

We received a number of responses to the e-mail thanking us for it, but one that stood out came from Ric from New South Wales. Pay attention to what he writes about their league rules for pitch count. Do you agree or disagree what they are doing there?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching Pitchers, General Pitching, Nutrition, Pitching Workouts Tagged With: Pitch Count

April 30, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

Pitchers: Avoid Arm Injuries

More often than not, the best pitchers on most youth baseball teams have a natural ability to throw the ball. Unfortunately these same pitchers are the ones that are at higher risk of arm injuries because they lack functional strength to carry on the workload of pitching. The coaches pitch them often, almost too much, because winning seems to be the only thing on their mind.

If you pitch it is vital that you follow a pitching specific workout regimen that will give you the proper strength and flexibility that pitching requires. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Pitching, Nutrition, Pitching Mechanics Tagged With: Pitching Specific Workouts

March 5, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

Sports Nutrition Made Easy

We at the Pitching Academy want to introduce to you an expert in the area of sports nutrition. Sports performance expert Jeff Cavaliere has just released his brand new Teen Sports Nutrition Blueprint program.

In a nutshell, this resource takes everything a coach, parent or athlete needs to know about sports nutrition, hydration, calories, meal planning; (even training supplements) and breaks it down into simple, every day language you and your athletes can understand and implement. The Pitching Academy recommends Jeff’s work as he’s built a great track record with numerous professional athletes. You can have a look for yourself below. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Nutrition

December 26, 2010 By The Pitching Academy 1 Comment

The Baseball Challenge

The Baseball challenge

Nate and I hope you had a great Christmas. We want to ask you how you feel. Are you feeling sluggish and tired? Are you experiencing mood swings? headaches? etc.

If you are you are not alone. This time of year many people feel sick because of what they have eaten. They give themselves permission to take a break from their regular routines and gorge themselves with food (sugars) that isn’t the best for them (empty calories) I know this may be a boring topic for many because we all love food and many of us struggle eating unhealthy food but why do we continue to do it?

If you are a real athlete. One who wants to take your game to the next level; you cannot ignore what you put into your body. You literally are what you eat. The problem with most little league players and high school players is they eat like garbage and they don’t necessarily get fat so they look okay on the outside but they wonder why they feel sick on the field at times, sluggish and not at their best.

Let’s talk about Sugar for a second and how bad it truly is for us.

I don’t mean the naturally occurring types of sugars. I am talking about the flat out SUGARY treats and foods that are totally packed with sugar.

Why does it matter if you eat refined sugar?

Sugar has been linked to a host of issues that can ruin your health including:

Sugar is addictive

Sugar will make you FAT

Sugar slows your metabolism

Sugar can suppress the immune system (sick!)

Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides (fat!)

Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function (injury!) Pitcher’s be careful!

Sugar can cause premature aging

Sugar contributes to obesity

Sugar can cause arthritis

Sugar can contribute to heart disease

Sugar can decrease growth hormone (we need that for recovery!)

Sugar can change the structure of protein (weaken muscles and disrupt muscle repair)

Sugar can cause headaches

Sugar can cause depression

Sugar causes constipation (nice!)

The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more FAT in the bloodstream than it does starch

My challenge to you is to REMOVE SUGAR FROM YOUR DIET THIS WEEK!

JUST TRY IT! It’s only ONE week! If it seems overwhelming…then just commit to ONE day. Then, after successfully doing it for ONE day…try it another day! Then another! Break this challenge down into HOURS if you need to. Tell yourself: “I am not going to eat sugar for the next three hours.” Then after you successfully do that, see if you can increase the challenge for yourself. Don’t forget to tell yourself how AWESOME you are for doing this!

I think this is the perfect time of year to start getting rid of all of the crappy food you eat. Most of us adults commit to our health every January. Some of us last a few hours and others a few days, even a month or two. The sad thing is that we won’t commit to our health for a lifetime which is what we all know we need to do.

We are ADDICTED to sugar! Did you know that sugar is just one chemical bond from being a DRUG?

So….we LIKE sugar. I know I DO! But, I also know that when sugar is absent from our daily nutrition intake…our bodies function better and we (eventually) feel better and don’t CRAVE it like we do when we are eating it on a regular basis.

Your first 2-3 days are going to be very challenging because sugar is everywhere and we really are addicted to it! But, don’t give in to the cravings! Stay strong and SUBSTITUTE a healthy fruit or veggie when you want that treat. You will be SO proud of yourself at the end of the week when you see that you were the MASTER of your body and didn’t let an external stimulus (SUGAR) master you!

You can do this!! By the way, don’t tell yourself tomorrow is the day you will start because tomorrow never comes. Commit to the challenge now!

We want to hear about your progress with this challenge in February. Let us know how you do.

Start the new year off with our new Baseball DVD series which includes some outstanding baseball workouts in there. Time to get into the daily routines that make you great!

Filed Under: General Baseball, Nutrition

April 27, 2010 By baseballfans Leave a Comment

Nutrition For High Performance Athletes!

I just finished Eric Cressey’s Maximum Strengthbook. Amazing!

Eric is a renowned strength coach and record-setting powerlifter as well as a regular contributor to Men’s Fitness magazine. I met Eric while attending a pitching clinic through The National Pitching Association in San Diego. After hearing Eric speak, I was immediately impressed at his knowledge of strength training and conditioning. I’m not easy to impress.

Lately I have been intrigued about nutrition and how many “so called” athletes ignore the basic fundamentals of it all. I just lost 25 lbs in 4 months myself and many people, including me, didn’t think I had that much to lose. I owe a very large part of that weight loss to following nutritional guidelines that you will find in Maximum Strength.

If you really want to perform at your peak, nutrition is the last thing you want to ignore. Athletes who ignore what goes in their body will never know what peak performance is or what it feels like.

In Eric’s new book Maximum Strength, he reminds us how important it is for athletes to follow strict nutritional guidelines. Of course he does a great job backing up everything he says through scientific data and research. And he does it in a way that is very entertaining and easy to understand.

Eric talks about how, as athletes, we cannot just follow a simple nutrition plan. Athletes have a special set of nutritional needs due to our bodies’ performance limits with physical training. Cressey says “Hard training places unusual stress on the body, and special nutritional measures are required to fully absorb and adapt to such stress, so that the stress builds the body up instead of breaking it down. Athletes perform better when they incorporate advanced nutrition practices that go beyond the standard recommendations.”

He continues giving the following Tips that are backed by years of scientific research and data. Here are some nutritional tips ‘habits” that Cressey outlines in his book, but to fully understand what foods you will need for your workouts and body type, you will simply have to read the book.

Eat every two or three hours
Eat a complete, lean protein on each eating occasion
Eat vegetables on each eating occasion
eat veggies and fruits with any meal, other “carbs” only after exercise
Eat healthy fats daily
Don’t drink beverages with more than zero calories (I like that one)
Eat whole foods instead of supplements whenever possible
Plan ahead and prepare meals and snack in advance
Eat as wide a variety of foods as possible
Don’t break the rules more than 10 percent of the time

He continues talking about great supplements to consider like creatine, fish oil, protein blends and vegetable supplements; explaining in great detail why these supplements are so great. He also writes about supplements to avoid which surprised me.

This is a great book for anyone to read and apply, not just high performing athletes. Eric provides a full 16 week weight training program that will help get you in great physical shape. I recommend the investment!

Click here to Order!

Filed Under: Nutrition

Are you a good pitcher?

Are you a good pitcher?

Pitch Count! What is Acceptable?

Pitch count! What is Acceptable?

Pitchers: Avoid Arm Injuries

Pitchers: Avoid Arm Injuries

Sports Nutrition Made Easy

Sports Nutrition Made Easy

The Baseball Challenge

The Baseball challenge

Nutrition For High Performance Athletes!

Nutrition For High Performance Athletes!

Ultimate Baseball Instruction

Free Instructional Videos!