Austin Womack-here to help

What is your opinion on arm bikes for pitchers? I recently had surgery on my hip (pitched with a torn labrum in my lead hip all last season) and am limited as to what workouts I can do. I did an interval program on our arm bike machine and thought it might be something worth implementing in my regular weekly schedule. I couldn't find any solid evidence or even discussion about this anywhere else and just wanted to know what your thoughts were.

Hey Austin....

First, thanks for the deadlift video.  That helped immediately get me into a better position for my deads.  

Got any tips for developing explosive lateral movement.  Doing Heidens now.  I was curious about something similar to vertical jump training (Vertimax for example) just in the lateral plane. 

Honestly, I don't have any experience using arm bikes. They might provide some benefit but my initial reaction to reading your post was "eh." I think you could spend your time doing other things that would benefit you more such as core stability work and upper body strength/maintenance. 

This all depends on how many weeks post op you are and how you are feeling but your first priority should be to get your hip and lower body back to 100%. In the meantime there is still work you could be doing to develop core strength and really target areas of your upper body that need work. A few examples could be mobility, cuff work, soft tissue work, and overall strength.

Definitely, and I think this extremely important. Power development is usually plane specific which means a crazy good vertical jump does not always translate to improved throwing velocity.

I actually wrote an article for Stack.com on this very topic. You can check it out here:

http://www.stack.com/2015/01/2...ease-pitching-power/

It is also important not to neglect strength training in the lateral plane. Exercises such at lateral lunges and lateral db goblet step ups are fantastic for baseball players.

Austin, you maybe interested in our Goodwill Series/Australia #21 year.

We have 2 teams of American players ages 14-18. Our 24 games are with the State teams. Each year we place 7 players at Major College programs.

Please view our web site <www.goodwillseries.org>

Professional scouts will coach our teams.

The Australians [December their summer] are preparing for the National Tournament.

Bob Williams

"founder" of the Area Code games

Thanks for the info!

We used the arm bike quite often with our MLB guys, especially when they were hurt in the lower extremity, as well as when we were looking to create cuff endurance. It is part of the formula- but not the whole deal. If you are injured and cant run, it is a great way to retain and gain cardio-respiratory endurance. This, along with a solid arm-ex program will help you reach your goals.