Increase Velocity

When you find it, please order me one.

Google Ron Wolforth.
a very no-nonsense, hard working program... I have never worked with anyone who has gone thru the whole thing but I and others have 'borrowed' some of his stuff ... probably worth a look.
good luck

If your son is "consistently" 86-89 he is amongst an elite group of pitchers. Bum, Jr, was 86-89 in h.s. and was drafted as a smaller LHP.

Mid 90's? (The holy grail for all pitchers.)

Tell us more about your son.. what school, record, size, etc. Let us know.

I have had great success with increasing my pitcher's velocity using the Jaeger Throwing Program.

top velocity

wogdoggy, do you know someone that has tried this program? If so, can you tell me some specifics ?

quote:

Originally posted by 2013 HSDAD:
wogdoggy, do you know someone that has tried this program? If so, can you tell me some specifics ?

i bought the original woolforth program,,but never really pursued it with my kid because he was too young and un interested..I think after talking with brent and watching his breakdowns on you tube that he has more answers than woolforth's work out..brent can break down video tape and rehabilitated himself..check out his stuff on you tube..personally I would give him a shot before woolforth..but thats just my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by trojan-skipper:
Google Ron Wolforth.
a very no-nonsense, hard working program... I have never worked with anyone who has gone thru the whole thing but I and others have 'borrowed' some of his stuff ... probably worth a look.
good luck

Wolforth is good. If you can get N y m a n's throwing information, he's also good. I've heard good things about Top Velocity.

Just stay away from Mills, Marshall, and House.

quote:

Originally posted by 2013 HSDAD:
Has anyone purchased and actually gone through a program to specifically increase pitching velocity. There are several out there but I'm hoping to get some feedback on one or more that work. Presently have a soon to be HS senior that is consistent with a FB between 86-89 and he wants to be in the low to mid 90's (who doesn't). thanks!!

Increasing velocity properly without causing injury, takes a long time, it doesn't happen very quickly. And there are peaks and valleys that come with the gain.
Is your son LHP or RHP? My RHP was touching 91 HS senior, and after 3 years of conditioning in college he was touching 94. Since then he has gained 4-5 more. So over an 8-9 year time span he has gained about 1mph in consistant velocity per year.
I don't know much about throwing programs, physical maturation, core and lower body, and proper repaeated mechanics will increase velocity.

My son is a 2015 RHP and is looking for a program to increase his velocity. One program under consideration is the weighted baseballs through Baseballvelo.com. This is the program that Tom House developed with others and was recently profiled on HBO with Steve Delabar.

I am looking for some feedback from anyone that has a 15/16 year old use this program. Does it work and did your son any have injury issues using the program?

quote:

Originally posted by bigkatlee:
My son is a 2015 RHP and is looking for a program to increase his velocity. One program under consideration is the weighted baseballs

So, do you think there is a 'muscle' in the shoulder or arm that needs to be developed/bigger in order to increase velocity?

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:

quote:

Originally posted by bigkatlee:
My son is a 2015 RHP and is looking for a program to increase his velocity. One program under consideration is the weighted baseballs

So, do you think there is a 'muscle' in the shoulder or arm that needs to be developed/bigger in order to increase velocity?

I honestly don't know. I am just a dad that is trying to figure out to help my son throw harder. Trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. I am also looking at the Jaeger long toss program.

That's why I asked you. I would not be interested in a program that believes this.

Personally, I bought a radar gun and tried out different things. If he got faster, I kept doing it.

As far as increasing arm strength for an outfielder, which program would be better?

Crossover Symmetry for $185

Jaeger for about $80

Ron Wolforth's program for $250

This program for $60

If anyone knowss of anything else feel free to let me know.

Isn't there some program called the 90mph club? Some good ideas, but he may have just put his name with some kids who hit a growth spurt. I didn't look into it enough to find out if it's the real deal or not.

DLOCK15- This is my personal feeling about the products you listed...and only my feeling, so take it for what it's worth.

I've done Crossover Symmetry and Jaeger and my arm responded to Jaeger MUCH better...not that the Crossover Symmetry was bad, I just liked Jaeger better. I haven't heard of the last link you posted. I haven't done Wolforth's program but I've heard nothing but absolutely marvelous reviews.

Most of the programs out there that are successful have similar ideals and philosophies. But I can almost guarantee that the creators of each program will tell you that their product only works based on what the consumer makes of it.

quote:

Originally posted by Low Finish:

Wolforth is good. If you can get N y m a n's throwing information, he's also good.

I agree with this post. I am not sure how active N-Y-M-A-N is in baseball these days, but it may be worth your time to contact him. Tell him the details and maybe he would be willing to help. In my opinion, he is the best in the world at maximizing a player’s velocity.

If that doesn’t work, I would consider a combination of Jaeger and Wolforth. I know Wolforth’s programs are closely related to the S-e-t-p-r-o material.

My son is 16 and I have looked through most of the stuff being talked about here. We have been to Wolforths ranch and I have all of his DVD's. We have been to Eric Cressey's gym for an eval and workout. I had the ****** discs and even talked to Paul. He is a real person. I have Jaegers DVD.

My suggested path forward:

1) Go see Eric Cressey and get an evaluation on your sons mobility/strengths /weaknesses. Your son is at an age where he probably has built up some limitations somehwere. If you can not get there, most of his workout stuff is free on his website.

2) Long toss on a regular basis. Make sure to throw on a line on the way in. I dont think you need his DVD.

3) Wolforths DVD has some good throwing and arm car stuff.

4) Do your sleeper stretches and blackburn type exercises on a regular basis.

5) Take 2 months off from throwing late fall to winter.

My son is 16 and has gained 6 mph each of the last 2 yrs. He tops out at 86.

Good luck

2013 hsdad'

I sent you a PM.

thanks! Received and appreciated.

"Has anyone purchased and actually gone through a program to specifically increase pitching velocity. 2013 HSDAD"

I was wondering how old your son is?

Age and strength make a big difference with velcoity as well as body/frame (except for a fwe like Sonny Gray with Oakland A's) and mechanics. Strength in your core and shoulders is going to be key to increasing your velocity. There is no magic program that will lift your velocity outside of hard work and time. Everone is built different and you must figure out what works for you.

Once my son turned 19 and after two years of college strength training and long toss he was crusing 92 and the next year hit 94/95. That was up from 88/89 at 17 his HS senior year.

You are not going to buy something this summer and see drastic increases in velocity by upcoming season. Work on building core strength and doing long toss and you will increase your chance to throw harder, but a big part of it is going to be time to grow older and let your body mature.

My son is 17 and he is basically where your son was at this age (88/89). It's good to hear of your son's progress over the years and I'm starting to think that strengthening and long toss is the route to take. He does presently hit the gym regularly for core, legs, and overall strength conditioning so we'll obviously continue that. And probably going to incorporate the Jaeger long toss program in some way. Thanks for your post!

my son and i basically took what we liked from different things and worked the following in the offseason...and had success not velocity but endurance into the late innings....still throwing hard late in the game ...My son is 11 so no weights for us
1. stretch chords both forward motion and pullback motion high reps ( works the muscles to SLOW the arm down an important factor in gaining velocity)
2. Box drills( steps ups and down..jump up and down ) ect explosiveness
3. LONG TOSS..LONG TOSS
4. CHOPPING WOOD
I have also heard positive gains from HEAVY BAG punching work out which makes sense about getting the hips and shoulders involved...i am not sure you need to spend the money on a program so much as understanding what is involved in the process of pitching and where velocity comes from ....ALot of pitchers can pick up 1 to 2 mph just in perfecting their form....VIDEO analysis the key to finding where you can tighten up his delivery..good luck

quote:

Originally posted by 2013 HSDAD:
My son is 17 and he is basically where your son was at this age (88/89). It's good to hear of your son's progress over the years and I'm starting to think that strengthening and long toss is the route to take. He does presently hit the gym regularly for core, legs, and overall strength conditioning so we'll obviously continue that. And probably going to incorporate the Jaeger long toss program in some way. Thanks for your post!

IMO the best advice given here was the simplest. Core, legwork, bandwork, long toss, mechanic improvement is probably all that a 17 year old (still maturing physically) young man needs.

You might hear how someone claims their son gained a lot of velocity within a certain period of time. Keep in mind that biologically that 16 year old could actually be peaking for his max velocity and it would have happened with or without a specific program.

This may not be the case for BK's son, but I am just saying be aware that velocity increase is what it is and sometimes you just shouldn't force mother nature.

Agree TPM. There is nothing a pitcher can do to increase velocity except for the five factors you laid out perfectly: Core, legwork, bandwork, long toss and mechanic improvement.

I know there are others that advocate heavier balls, or lighter balls, or towel drills, or this or that. I personally think all of it is a pure waste of time except for the five things you mentioned. I would add a sixth thing, though: General cardio conditioning.

Beyond this, I think it was Coach May that once said, throw with a purpose.. have the intent to throw hard. I can't stress enough that a pitcher that can't compete with his fastball will eventually fade away. There are SO many h.s. and college pitchers that don't get this until its too late.

quote:

You might hear how someone claims their son gained a lot of velocity within a certain period of time. Keep in mind that biologically that 16 year old could actually be peaking for his max velocity and it would have happened with or without a specific program.

This may not be the case for BK's son, but I am just saying be aware that velocity increase is what it is and sometimes you just shouldn't force mother nature.

I believe a good part of my son's gains are due to maturing physicly. Before puberty kicked in, he gained 4 mph per year.

Who knows how much the other stuff helped, I only have a sample size of 1.

Now, if we could only get 1 more year at 6mph!!!

BK35,
I wasn't denying that your son did not gain that during that time. I was just stating that when a player is going through normal growth and puberty, the other stuff may help, or not at all.

Not to discredit any advertiser here, the ML player that has endorsed FASTARM (see above) is having TJ surgery. The message should be, buyer beware, would you all not agree?

Bum,
Defintely lots of stuff can contribute to increases in velocity. But I am with you on the basics without the fancy stuff. So are most good pitching coaches.

Cardio conditioning absolutely a must, a starting pitcher needs to be able to sustain velocity through the expected innings which increases as the player moves from level to level. Especially for those who do throw very hard.

quote:

BK35,
I wasn't denying that your son did not gain that during that time. I was just stating that when a player is going through normal growth and puberty, the other stuff may help, or not at all.

TPM

I concur. Our plan was not to sit around a see what puberty brings but to add in the other stuff also. No fancy drills or contraptions. A "good" workout routine, long toss, arm care and diet.

A critical component of a "good workout" is plyometrics, BTW.

How so?

Here's what I have found works well for my son.
Cressey's Maximum Strength with modifications for pitchers
Jaeger's long toss program with a concentrated pull down phase
Weighted ball program from Kyle at Driveline Baseball

The use of weighted balls is at best unecessary and at worst dangerous. The increase in velocity comes from conditioning, long-toss and perfecting mechanics and a repeatable delivery. The use of weighted ball throws all of that out of whack.

Besides, it is not really the arm that creates velocity. It is the kinetic chain, the whip, that is created in the pitching motion. The arm is just along for the ride.

Bum Jr. never used weighted balls.

quote:

Originally posted by Bum:
The arm is just along for the ride.

What? That's heresy!!! Burn him.

(I agree, shhh)

Must be why when tricep nerve blocks were put in place, velocity went down 20% in research studies. Yeah, the arm contributes nothing to velocity.

I can give you anecdotes of guys at our facility going from 77 to 90 in 5 months with the help of weighted balls or the work that Ron Wolforth has done (Trevor Bauer ring a bell?), but you obviously aren't interested in hearing it.

That you son reached highly competitive velocities without the aid of weighted balls is interesting but ultimately not solid evidence to the contrary.

My comment with respect to the arm refers to the kinetic chain. Any part of that chain that is broken would necessarily reduce velocity.

I'm sure you can give several or even plentiful examples of pitchers who, having used weighted balls, achieved high velocities. But can you prove cause and effect? This is what I doubt.

If my son rubbed olive oil and his head every day and sang rap religiously, and then threw 90+, would I then be able to sell rap and olive oil as aids to velocity?

Your website and work seem very impressive, but certainly you can stand the doubt of one Thomas.

quote:

Originally posted by Kyle B:
Must be why when tricep nerve blocks were put in place, velocity went down 20% in research studies.

I found this, where Dobbins 'paralyzed' the triceps, wrist, and fingers ...

quote:

In an investigation of the role of the triceps musculature during throwing, Roberts reported on the preliminary work of Dobbins who performed a radial nerve block (thereby rendering the triceps brachii and wrist and finger extensors inactive) and compared the kinematics of the throws performed prior and subsequent (Roberts, 1971). Dobbins found that the timing of the onset of elbow extension was unchanged after the radial nerve block, however prior to extending the elbow 'collapsed' into a maximum elbow flexion of 145° (from the pre-nerve block maximum of 90°). On the sixth throwing trial after the nerve block was performed, the subject was able to throw in excess of 80% of his original velocity despite the absence of active triceps (and wrist extensor) contribution. This work would suggest that part of the role of the triceps musculature is to maintain elbow flexion such that the moment of inertia of the rotating upper arm is maximized (at 90° elbow flexion).

Aren't we talking about velocity increases, not decreases?

I guess I could paralyze my leg too, and my speed would also go down. When I broke my wrist once, I had a hard time even gripping a baseball.

I think we should assume that everyone has a normally functioning arm - not a paralyzed one.

I love ya man. Keep up the good work.

quote:

Originally posted by Bum:
But can you prove cause and effect? This is what I doubt.

Your website and work seem very impressive, but certainly you can stand the doubt of one Thomas.

Blitzblau and DeRenne have done peer-reviewed research on these very topics showing velocity increases from under/overload baseball throwing programs - though Dick Mills (Dr. Brent Rushall, in reality) doubts the validity of these studies.

Doubt is not only okay, it's a plus! We should be skeptical of all claims. It's how we learn. I don't take it personally.

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:

...

I love ya man. Keep up the good work.

(Redacted the quoted stuff just to make it simple)

Conscious manipulation of the distal body parts in the kinetic chain is indeed silly, let me first get that out of the way. Attempting to actively contract the triceps or the forearm muscles does indeed apply a braking force and reduces ball velocity in the pitching delivery.

I don't even necessarily take offense with the idea that the arm is along for the ride. However, one does need to realize that the stress from long toss is really no different than the stress from throwing weighted baseballs - we're still talking about compression, traction, and proximal forces about the shoulder and elbow. Though total/peak forces do change depending on the weights selected, there is no evidence indicating that throwing weighted baseballs is dangerous.

I've written a ton on my website about this and have made a program available free of charge as well. I'm not eager to repeat everything I've written on it, but I will say I'm happy with the results I've had and athletes who have used the program have reported favorable results as well. Many have used a variant to rehabilitate injuries with positive results!

I hope I am not misunderstood. I do like the discussion, and I encourage open skepticism about weighted baseballs. However, I just want people to see it from both sides before writing them off.

(And thank you.)

quote:

Originally posted by Kyle B:
Though total/peak forces do change depending on the weights selected, there is no evidence indicating that throwing weighted baseballs is dangerous.

This is the part that worries me. So you're saying that there is evidence of total/peak forces changing but this is not dangerous?

Seems dangerous to me.

Regardless, give me the evidence any of this works. You can give me the names of X, Y, and Z who increased velocity but this could either be
the result of other factors (natural progression, long-toss, mechanical training, etc.) or what I suspect..

..the Placebo Effect.