How do a lot of professional pitchers get so "thick" in their upper body if pitchers are commonly advised against doing bench press or heavy upper body lifting?
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Wait a few days and we might find out! 
McNamee says it's HGH and PED's while Roger says it comes from working his butt off.
McNamee says it's HGH and PED's while Roger says it comes from working his butt off.
quote:Originally posted by Fungo:
Wait a few days and we might find out!
McNamee says it's HGH and PED's while Roger says it comes from working his butt off.
IMO, a good bit of 'em are just born with it.
According to Mrs Clemens it's HGH and based on her appearance I would agree.
I don't think bench press is discouraged. It's more like they (trainers) don't want pitcher to necessarily build upper body mass. It's really about mass-muscle building that becomes restrictive in movement or full range of motion. You do not have the fluidity.
Whatever you do to build mass / strength in the upper body you have to stretch and then stretch some more.
All players need to stretch upper body to be able to throw better. It allows for quicker arm speed and range of motion.
All players need to stretch upper body to be able to throw better. It allows for quicker arm speed and range of motion.
quote:Originally posted by switchitter:
I don't think bench press is discouraged. It's more like they (trainers) don't want pitcher to necessarily build upper body mass. It's really about mass-muscle building that becomes restrictive in movement or full range of motion. You do not have the fluidity.
It is not discouraged, but too much weight is.
We recently stopped teasing son about his "birdie chest" which seems to be filling in as his body matures.
quote:Originally posted by Fungo:
Roger says it comes from working his butt off.
And his butt went right to his upper body.
Another thing about benchpress is that you do not want to take the bar all the way down to your chest. You want to stop about an inch to two inches from your chest. The thinking is that going to your chest takes you beyond the comfortable range of motion for your shoulder. You put too much stress / tension onto the front of the shoulder which could develop into tendenitis.
I'm sure someone with more knowledge could probably explain that more and better than I just did.
I'm sure someone with more knowledge could probably explain that more and better than I just did.
If you are going to bench press then you also need to do rows or something similar to balance the muscles.
quote:Originally posted by TPM:
We recently stopped teasing son about his "birdie chest" which seems to be filling in as his body matures.
Hey, hey, hey! Go easy on the birdie chest... they get the job done TPM!
See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcWx2VbT_j8&feature=related
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Looks like birdie chest implants! You are too funny.
Ryno,
I'm not sure I understand your comment, but based on her (Mrs. Clemens') appearance, I'm going to see if I can interest MY wife in some HGH!
I'm not sure I understand your comment, but based on her (Mrs. Clemens') appearance, I'm going to see if I can interest MY wife in some HGH!
I got my wife some HGH for Valentines Day. I will inject her tomorrow. 
McNamee's Candy Company makes a nice "Roid Sampler", just for the ladies on valentine's Day.
Our coach has 2 large, thick Atlanta phonebooks duct taped togther and the boys put it on their chests when they are bench pressing. It keeps their shoulders from going past parallel. Only the pitchers use this. They also can't go past parallel when they are doing lat pulldowns.
And if you need the phone number for Mama Fu's Asian House Restaurant in Toco Hills they'll be able to look it up for you between sets.