October 3, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

Pitching: Light Dumbbell Exercises

Last week Nate gave you some great insight on how to be a better hitter. I hope you played close attention to what he had to say and are reviewing the videos he sent you.

This weeks focus is on pitching workouts. We get asked often what are some of the best pitching workouts out there? Well, there are literally thousands of workouts you can be doing to get into optimal pitching shape and many of them work. Unfortunately, you just won’t have the time to do all of them you want to so you have to pick and choose the ones that work best for you. I’m not giving you excuses, there’s is just some fantastic stuff out there right now and you may want to do it all but you physically can’t.

What we want to show you this week are some exercises you want to make sure you don’t leave out of your pitching workout program.

In this video you will learn some important light dumbbell exercises that you should do three times a week. I learned these exercises a long time ago (when I was twelve) and used them a lot when I competed. In fact, I still do them because they are great for the rotator cuff and compliment a good shoulder workout.

As part of pitching workout week; make sure you take advantage of today’s offer! You can receive our pitching grips/pitching workouts DVD for only $25. Learn more here!

Filed Under: Pitching Workouts

September 18, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

Last Day for Baseball Pitching Grips/Workouts

We are hoping you got a lot out of this weeks emails and videos about how to throw different pitches. We showed you how to throw a curveball and slider, how Mariano Rivera throws his cutter, why you need a changeup and we showed you a curveball drill. We are anxious to tell you what’s going to happen next week but we will save the excitement for Monday. We know you’re going to like it though.

Today we just want to let you know that it is the very last day to pick up your pitching grips and workouts DVD at the discounted rate. Many have already taken advantage of the opportunity, but if you are one of the one’s that haven’t now’s your chance.

Here is what you will be getting. [Read more...]

September 8, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

No Slouching, It’s Time To Work

For the last two seasons, more and more parents are contacting both Dan and I in the early fall about hitting or pitching lessons with their son. The “off season” is much shorter than it used to be as people realize that competition is fierce in the middle school and high school levels. It take more than just a few months of baseball in the summer to develop skills that create high level success.

Both Dan and I maintain that proper knowledge of the fundamentals of hitting and pitching are immensely valuable to learn at an early age. This is why we have chosen to produce articles and videos on all things related to hitting and pitching and send them to you daily. Over the summer we backed off to a couple emails per week as baseball slowed and many of you took vacations. Now that school is back in full swing (for most), it’s time to resume our emails Monday through Friday mornings. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching Pitchers, General Baseball, General Hitting, General Pitching, Hitting Mechanics, Mental Game of Baseball, Pitching Grips, Pitching Mechanics, Pitching Tips, Pitching Velocity, Pitching Workouts

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 15, 2011 By The Pitching Academy 1 Comment

Pitching: Pain in The Arm?

We received some great comments and questions about our newsletter last week called “warm up routine for pitchers.” Many pitchers agreed that their warm up program consists of jogging a little around the field with their teammates and just playing catch. If you missed the article, just click on the link above and read it. It’s a great one!

This is one of the questions we received from a concerned parent and coach in regards to the article.

What about after the game? What kind of cool down stretching do you suggest? What about icing the arms, etc?

A cool down is just as important than warming up to pitch. I believe many arm injuries begin when pitchers don’t take the cooling down process seriously. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching Pitchers, General Pitching, Pitching Workouts Tagged With: Pitching Workouts

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 22, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

Cross Training: Cardio For Baseball Pitchers

Cross Training: Cardio for Baseball Pitchers

If you’re like me you like to add some variety to your pitching workouts. Before the internet, I used to go insane trying to think of new creative ways I could workout and still get all I needed to ensure I would stay healthy throughout the season. With the internet, it has become easy to find what pitching workout routines work for you and which ones don’t. As you know, pitching specific workout routines can be a bit repetitive, but they don’t have to be. Today I want to talk about what pitchers can do to keep their cardio workouts fun and different every week.

If you have been receiving our newsletter for awhile now, you know that pitchers are not long distance runners, they are sprinters. Why? We start and stop all of the time. We need to work on explosive movements, quick bursts of energy toward the plate.

Here is a list [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching Pitchers, General Baseball, General Pitching, Pitching Workouts Tagged With: Pitching Workout

March 25, 2011 By The Pitching Academy 1 Comment

A Lesson on Pitching Grips

A lesson on Pitching Grips

I was challenged last night by one of my pitching students to show him how to throw another effective pitch he could use in his next game this Saturday. He already throws a great fastball, curveball and decent C-change and he is dominating. You and I both know that mastering a different pitch takes time, repetition, trial and error and patience to get the ball to break or change speeds exactly how we want it, when we want it.

At first I simply ignored his request laughing it off because I thought he was just being silly. Less than a minute goes by and then the light goes on: [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Pitching, Pitching Grips, Pitching Workouts Tagged With: Pitching Grips

March 22, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

Pitching Specific Workouts

Today, as you know, every training regimen in any sport is specialized and unique in it’s own way. With that being said it is imperative that you understand that if you are not conditioned to pitch you won’t excel as a pitcher.

You need to workout like a pitcher to enjoy the full benefits of maintaining your health on the mound. Your mechanics are only as good as your conditioning program. Your goal is not to become bulky, but to workout the tendons and ligaments that help support big muscle groups. Pitchers don’t get injured in large muscle areas; they often get injured with connective tissue and small muscle groups. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching Pitchers, General Pitching, Pitching Workouts Tagged With: Pitching Specific Workouts, Pitching Workout, Pitching Workouts

March 14, 2011 By The Pitching Academy Leave a Comment

CORE STRENGTH CRITICAL TO A PITCHER’S SUCCESS

Core Strength Critical to a Pitcher’s Success

Your core is the hub that connects your entire body’s kinetic chain. So, in order to transfer energy from the ground to your arm, that energy needs to transfer through your core.

Here is a list of your core muscles, locations and functions. This list will help you realize how important a role your core plays for athletic success.

Rectus Abdominis Abdomen Flexes the trunk

Transverse abdominis Abdomen Supports the abdominal wall

Internal Obliques Abdomen Abduct and rotate the trunk

External Obliques Abdomen Abduct and rotate the trunk

Multifidus Muscles Back Extend and rotate the spine

Spinal Erectors Back Laterally flex and extend the spine

Quadratus lumborum Low Back Laterally flexes the trunk

Gluteals, hamstrings, hip rotators Hips Extend and laterally rotate the hips

Throwing the baseball is a feet to fingertip exercise. You are only as strong as your weakest link. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching Pitchers, General Pitching, Pitching Mechanics, Pitching Workouts Tagged With: Pitching Success