I wanted to know any weight training exercises people used to strengthen their arms in addition to long tossing
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Remember pitching is not arm strength, it is arm speed. So you do not throw with the arm rather you throw with the body (hips,legs,trunk). I'm not big on weight training so I couldn't answer that.
I agree with Bustamove! Protect those rotators and shoulder capsules! Guard them with your life. I also agree with BAM's earlier post on mechanics and timing on the bump in the unlocking steps of the effective delivery. I also totally agree that the hips, legs and trunk are the secret behind the "REAL" powersource along with the front center abdomen area. Great stuff in this thread and the other earlier thread as well in this forum! Some of the best I've seen anywhere at the risk of sounding a little on the bragging side for my small part 
Concise and to the point.
peace, Shep
Concise and to the point. peace, Shep
Shepster you seem to be the only one agreeing with me haha. Everyone else seems to not like what i've been saying.
Let me just say I recognize through my own experience what works and doesn't work and have logged thousands of hours of videocamera videotape breakdown and anaylsis and also learned from professional instructors and players who practice the things you endorse to increase velocity and develop the "REAL DEAL". You didn't learn these things you are discussing from any book. These aspects of high level pitching mechanics that you discuss sounds like a BIG LEAGUE PITCHER'S level of thinking and I know because I have been around enough of them in the past 17 years and listened to them intently as scout, coach, student and baseball lover trying to reach the pinnacle of knowledge as I did in hitting. I am now two-dimensional according to my peers and in my conversations involving both hitting and pitching and I know what to do with a pitcher and you do too because a lot of the things you believe, I believe and that came through a long learning process of trial and error hands-on experience as well as observing others who put "OUR" philosophies into action if you don't mind me saying. You are knowledgeable BAM, very knowledgeable. When I read someone's posts that I feel is really knowledgeable and on the level I'm thinking, I will post and post and post right behind that person in a thread until I feel like I have learned something new and then guess what? I post some more because a student never stops learning and I will always be a student. NOBODY knows everything, ever, IMHO.
Your Da Man Bustamove! peace, Shep
Your Da Man Bustamove! peace, Shep
Bustamove is correct that velocity comes from arms speed. But he is incorrect to suggest that increased strength doesn't contribute to increased arm speed. Stronger muscles can be trained to move more quickly than weaker muscles. That's why hitters also use weight training as part of a program to increase bat speed.
Shepster's emphasis on use of rubber band exercises in another thread is also excellent advice. Exercises that work on the arm going in reverse from the throwing direction are especially important to building up the muscles that support your arm during the throwing and follow through deceleration action. This is critical to long term arm health.
But proper weight training is part of the equation as far as your overall conditioning and development are concerned. Not just for velocity, but also for stamina.
Proper weight training, supervised by a qualified trainer, is the way to go. Ask a trainer at your local fitness center to help you build your strength and stamina while avoiding bulk that can make you "tight" or "muscle bound". Generally you want to avoid bench pressing or other bulk-building work. Rotational work that uses lower weights but higher reps is a great help.
Building strength in the thighs and hips is a goal that can truly be enhanced through proper weight work as well. Some weights workouts will enhance a conditioning program that also uses rotational stretching and exercises. Medicine balls are a good tool here.
My experience is that weight training in the off season can help you a great deal if you do it correctly and -- and this is tremendously important for a young player to accept -- if you don't overdo it. Don't fall prey to the notion that you are young and indestructible and you can just lift and lift and lift and never have consequences. Use good judgment, listen to your trainer, observe rest days between workouts, and then lay off the weights in season.
Shepster's emphasis on use of rubber band exercises in another thread is also excellent advice. Exercises that work on the arm going in reverse from the throwing direction are especially important to building up the muscles that support your arm during the throwing and follow through deceleration action. This is critical to long term arm health.
But proper weight training is part of the equation as far as your overall conditioning and development are concerned. Not just for velocity, but also for stamina.
Proper weight training, supervised by a qualified trainer, is the way to go. Ask a trainer at your local fitness center to help you build your strength and stamina while avoiding bulk that can make you "tight" or "muscle bound". Generally you want to avoid bench pressing or other bulk-building work. Rotational work that uses lower weights but higher reps is a great help.
Building strength in the thighs and hips is a goal that can truly be enhanced through proper weight work as well. Some weights workouts will enhance a conditioning program that also uses rotational stretching and exercises. Medicine balls are a good tool here.
My experience is that weight training in the off season can help you a great deal if you do it correctly and -- and this is tremendously important for a young player to accept -- if you don't overdo it. Don't fall prey to the notion that you are young and indestructible and you can just lift and lift and lift and never have consequences. Use good judgment, listen to your trainer, observe rest days between workouts, and then lay off the weights in season.
Midlodad, I agree with everything you said. 
Midlo and BigHit
Midlo, oh by the way, you two are very very knowledgeable too and the board should treat your posts with due respect as well as to BigHit15.
Actually, I agree with everything Midlo just stated too There does need to be some supervised conditioning if not for just the simple fact of maintaining current level of body-strength and increase thereof in order to create more speed. Totally agree peace
Midlo, oh by the way, you two are very very knowledgeable too and the board should treat your posts with due respect as well as to BigHit15.
Actually, I agree with everything Midlo just stated too
There does need to be some supervised conditioning if not for just the simple fact of maintaining current level of body-strength and increase thereof in order to create more speed. Totally agree
The reason why I like to see kids do funtional training instead of weight training is because in functional training you accelerate,decelerate, and stabilize. With weight training you only accelerate. The other two are very important in pitching and you won't get that with using machines in the weight room.
Just to chime in and expand on what Bustamove just said...machines should NEVER be used.
Barbells, Dumbbells, Medicine balls (highly underused IMO) and bodyweight exercises should comprise of 99% of your program.
Barbells, Dumbbells, Medicine balls (highly underused IMO) and bodyweight exercises should comprise of 99% of your program.
Jon, do you advocate the use of machines for a leg press, leg extension, or squats? Thanks in advance.
Bighit15,
NEVER use machines...EVER...unless it is in a specific rehabilitation situation...
The leg press and leg extension are basically useless and have little, if any, carryover to baseball and life activities. In addition they place the joints in a pre-determined groove that can potentially be harmful to the joints.
As far as squats on a machine I assume you mean using the Smith Machine. I highly advise against this piece of equipment as it typically places a great deal of steer force on the knee and again, forces the body in a pre-determined groove.
You want the majority of your training to be done using ground-based movements and machines usually do not allow this. Although the smith machine does, it eliminates all stability work and "core" activation that will take place during these exercises done with a barbell, dumbbell, medicine ball or bodyweight.
NEVER use machines...EVER...unless it is in a specific rehabilitation situation...
The leg press and leg extension are basically useless and have little, if any, carryover to baseball and life activities. In addition they place the joints in a pre-determined groove that can potentially be harmful to the joints.
As far as squats on a machine I assume you mean using the Smith Machine. I highly advise against this piece of equipment as it typically places a great deal of steer force on the knee and again, forces the body in a pre-determined groove.
You want the majority of your training to be done using ground-based movements and machines usually do not allow this. Although the smith machine does, it eliminates all stability work and "core" activation that will take place during these exercises done with a barbell, dumbbell, medicine ball or bodyweight.
Thanks for all the information. Just as a side note I didn't realize i probably should have mentioned this before is the arm strength isn't really for pitching specifically but just having better arm strength in general because I'm an of.
