Weight Training for Pitchers

[slingnit]

12-13 may be young for some but once they are hitting puberty there are definite benefits for resistance training. Pitchers especially benefit from it. From front to back and left to right they develop some muscles more so than others and their bodies become unbalanced. You will see one shoulder that hangs lower than the other, often chest will become stronger than the back and their shoulders will roll forward.

Nothing wrong with body weight exercise but you can only do so much. Deadlifts, cleans andsnatches are impossible to do and lead to more imbalance in the body. I will guarantee that once in college, if that is the route she decides to go, there will weight training at least 3 times a week. Like previously stated, you have to approach weight training the proper way. Find trainers that have experience in the sport the kids are playing. Stretch, stretch, stretch! Great way to prevent injuries and keep range of movement. And as important, if not more so, is nutrition.

When training, with or without weight, the body needs nourishment but usually it's first thing overlooked by parents of young athletes. And do not rely on the recommendations by our old reliable gov't! They give you minimum numbers for just maintaining existence. For example the 30-40 grams of protein is ridiculous. About .8 to 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight. When there is insufficient protein intake the muscles will pull amino acids from tendons to replenish the muscles. Now you are open to injuries. Tons of info out there, just have to take the time to sort through the crap. Good luck!

Good luck!!

 

[chrispots]

Java's Red Cord workout is the hardest core workout my 15 year old has ever had. In fact, my 17 year old basketball player (son) refuses to do it because it's too hard -- even knowing it would increase his vertical. It's because only one of my three kids is in what Java calls his 10%.

It's worth the investment!

NOTE to OP: red cord response was for 15 and 17 year olds.

I tried red cord for a week last year with my 11 YO pitchers and stopped after the 2nd workout. They were physically exhausted and none of them are out of shape. It took 5-7 days from them to recover.

There is a piece to this that Slingit brings up and that is the nutritional piece of this that is at least as important as the training itself...

Try getting your 12 DD to drink\eat\ingest 120 grams of protein a day...not the easiest thing to do...

My 2 cents: hire a personal trainer or better yet, talk to your HC about group training...that's what I do as a HC...and nutrition advice is part of the program as well...CP

 

[javasource]

Chris... your girls could do that redcord... I know what they are capable of... and I know how strong they are.

The hardest part is to plant that seed - and get the training bug growing. Redcord is NOT just for 15-17 year olds... but it does require taking the time to acclimate the difficulty of each exercise for each kid... as well as the patience to let them learn the equipment for a solid week or two. It's hard for M (Kaley1's DD)...because she's starting at level 2&3. I've met that kid, too... she WANTS success more than 99% of us. Her goal should not only be to complete that training... but use every bit of the strength it is giving her to pitch at a higher level. She will have better muscle recruitment... and better sequencing... now it's up to her to apply it to pitching. Doing this... is the real secret. Turn those Type I pitching fibers into type 2 performance pitching fibers. You don't just go out there and throw faster... you go out there afterwards and try to throw harder.

I have 10 year olds doing that program under my supervision. Redcord was originally for PT... it has many, many uses. It's 2x a week for six weeks... for a total of 12 workouts. The real question... is how bad do you want to be better? Can you dedicate 12 hours of your life to busting your butt? Is it easy? No. But neither is playing ball on TV. I'd recommend the redcord earlier than later (12yo). The effects that it will have on a growing body will be significantly greater than a grown body.

Does it need to be redcord? No. However, I do find that this program translates better into PITCHING PERFORMANCE.... than any other I've seen/used.

No knock on you Chris... you know I love you man.

 

[slingnit]

NOTE to OP: red cord response was for 15 and 17 year olds.

I tried red cord for a week last year with my 11 YO pitchers and stopped after the 2nd workout. They were physically exhausted and none of them are out of shape. It took 5-7 days from them to recover.

There is a piece to this that Slingit brings up and that is the nutritional piece of this that is at least as important as the training itself...

Try getting your 12 DD to drink\eat\ingest 120 grams of protein a day...not the easiest thing to do...

My 2 cents: hire a personal trainer or better yet, talk to your HC about group training...that's what I do as a HC...and nutrition advice is part of the program as well...CP

I agree it may not be the easiest but you will find kids everyday chowing on fries, chips, cookies, etc.... Some getting 3000+ calories from junk. But any improvement that can be made is a step in the right direction. There are some good recipes for muffins made with ground oatmeal, protein powder, egg whites, milk and baby food. They taste awesome and are great before practice. We would make a concoction of ground turkey or lean beef, rice, black bean. Then could add bbq, soy sauce, salsa or whatever to change the taste. But we kept a tub of that and could grab a scoop for quick meal before or after practice. It's gets easier if you get creative in meals and snacks.

 

[chrispots]

Chris... your girls could do that redcord... I know what they are capable of... and I know how strong they are.

The hardest part is to plant that seed - and get the training bug growing. Redcord is NOT just for 15-17 year olds... but it does require taking the time to acclimate the difficulty of each exercise for each kid... as well as the patience to let them learn the equipment for a solid week or two. It's hard for M (Kaley1's DD)...because she's starting at level 2&3. I've met that kid, too... she WANTS success more than 99% of us. Her goal should not only be to complete that training... but use every bit of the strength it is giving her to pitch at a higher level. She will have better muscle recruitment... and better sequencing... now it's up to her to apply it to pitching. Doing this... is the real secret. Turn those Type I pitching fibers into type 2 performance pitching fibers. You don't just go out there and throw faster... you go out there afterwards and try to throw harder.

I have 10 year olds doing that program under my supervision. Redcord was originally for PT... it has many, many uses. It's 2x a week for six weeks... for a total of 12 workouts. The real question... is how bad do you want to be better? Can you dedicate 12 hours of your life to busting your butt? Is it easy? No. But neither is playing ball on TV. I'd recommend the redcord earlier than later (12yo). The effects that it will have on a growing body will be significantly greater than a grown body.

Does it need to be redcord? No. However, I do find that this program translates better into PITCHING PERFORMANCE.... than any other I've seen/used.

No knock on you Chris... you know I love you man.

We are going to try Redcord again this August...before volleyball, basketball and swimming start. The nutritional piece will be much more closely monitored this time. Upping protein intake and adding in Shakeology (because they all like it and it's super healthy) is going to be a must.

There is another piece of this that is a factor (and could have been a factor last Fall when we tried RC) is all 3 of my pitchers were starting "the change" and their hormones may have been out of wack...

I'll try and remember to shoot some video of the 3 of them next week...all are 50+mph and all have experienced 10%+ speed increases since last year Now if the damn RevFire 2 would ever come out, I could get their spin rates!

CP