Ok, great, so you've decided that maybe there is something you can do to add some UMMPH on to your fastball. Now what? You go out and buy yourself a sweet pair of training shoes, get some new workout gear, hit the gym and start trying to squat the house! Not so fast. It's not quite that straight forward. Although, admittedly, squatting might not be a terrible place to start. So where do you start? You've got the dedication. You've committed yourself to the process, but where's a good place to start? I get the following 2 questions more than any others, in regards to lifting to increase velocity, "If you had to pick one area to focus on, what would it be?" Or, "what is the most important area to focus on?"
Unfortunately, the correct answer is "ALL OF THEM!!" But for the sake of this article, I'm going to give my best effort to "prioritize my workouts." Here is my list, in order of importance, of which areas to key on when trying to maximize your velocity "in the gym."
1.) Legs (Lower Half)
I have to tell you, this was the hardest one to decide on. In my true opinion, your legs and your core are equally important. You can have amazingly strong legs with phenomenal, explosive power, but if you don't have the core to maintain that power, and drive that ball down and toward home plate, it won't matter. On the other hand, if you have exceptional core strength, but no legs, that core never, truly, gets it's "time to shine." However, I want us to think, for a second, about the chain of events when we pitch. I want you to envision, if you will, that your body is like a whip. The process of pitching baseball starts from the ground. Energy starts in the foot of your "posting leg" and works its way up through your body, exiting out your finger tips and onto the ball. It is for this very reason, that I chose the legs as my most important area. After all, they get the whole process started. If you will conjure up that image of a whip again, think about how the base, or handle, of the whip is fatter to provide some rigidity and support to create that whipping action as the rest of the whip accelerates forward. Well, we need our "base" to do the very same thing.
2.) Core
As I mentioned before, strong and powerful legs won't do us any good if we don't have the core strength to harness that, new-found energy. It is the responsibility of the core (abs, obliques, and lower back) to aid, and support, in the transfer of energy from the lower half to the upper half. For those physics buffs reading this article, we understand that energy is lost any time it is transferred. The amount of energy lost will depend on the conductor. Our goal, by strengthening the core, is to turn it into a super conductor, limitting the amount of energy that is "lost in transfer" to a minimum. The stronger the core, the more energy gets transferred!
3.) Back
I use the term "back" loosely. Keep in mind that when I refer to the "back," that fully encompasses the rotator cuff, teres minor, and all the small muscles that surround, and make up, your "scap area." For this reason, it is hard to put it at number 3, but, to maintain consistency with my reasoning for putting your core at number 2, after you lower half, I must put your back (and all that it entails) behind your core. "But your rotator cuff is SO important," might be what you're thinking right now, and you'd be absolutely right. But, for starters, there's more to it than just your rotator cuff. There are plenty of other muscles that aid in scapular stabilization. And, while scapular stabilization is going to facilitate faster arm speed, it still won't matter all that much if you haven't, efficiently, transferred that energy from the "base of your whip" up to towards the tip.
4.) Chest & Arms
My hope is, that by ranking them last on the list, I am not down-playing the importance of any part of the machine, or, I apologize, the whip. As the adage goes, you're only as strong as your weakest link. If anything, we need to consider this. Your chest, front of the shoulder, and triceps are going to be responsible for the acceleration and propulsion of the ball forward, out of your hand. So, in that aspect, the required strength is a huge necessity. And, in keeping with the congruency of our metaphor, they must not only be strong, but flexible as well. Thus, a certain, special attention is called for to develop them to function optimally, creating elongated muscles able to withstand great amounts of elasticity and maintain a full range of motion! I suppose, if you had to pick one runt in the list, it would be the biceps. The poor guys. The pitcher's body never was the popular one at the beach.
I did want to end with one very important note that encircles all of these areas. I alluded to it a few sentences ago, and that is flexibility. With out it, none of this really matter after you tear everything off your bones because you can even bend over and touch your knees, let alone toes. So, that being said, this article was intended to be used, merely, as a general guideline to designing your pitching program. Like I said, attention needs to be addressed to all areas. But, if you're looking to "prioritize" your workouts, you can use this information to help, and when in doubt, think like a whip. After all, Indiana Jones had one!
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