Weight Workout for Pitchers

[FastpitchFan]

Mark, I have heard that unless you work with weights at least three times a week you are wasting your time. If there is extended periods of rest between workouts with weights there are no gains. Is this true?

This is neither false or true. It relates to the principles of regularity. One of the most important variables in training to get results is the consistency. Next are intensity and frequency.

As a general rule of thumb, when you workout a muscle group...

Once a week - you maintain your results (no gain, no loss)
Twice a week - you get decent results
Three times a week - you get good results

So, this is too strong a statement. Only training once a week will not lead to desired results. It is worth doing twice a week. Three times is better.

So twice is a week IS NOT a waste of time.

Cheers,

Marc

 

[FastpitchFan]

Marc,

Do you have any recommendations on particular type of weight lifting a 12U pitcher can use? In other words curls, bench press etc.

Also thanks for the daily email tips. I've got my whole team receiving them. They are very helpful.

Steve

Hi Steve,

For athletes, the further away you stay from machines the better. All elite strength coaches that work with athletes know that.

Exercise choices should be centered around exercises that micmic more real life movements and athletic moves. They would be exercises using more than 1 muscle group and that rely mostly free weights, bodyweight, stability ball, and medicine ball exercises.

You can`t go wrong with push-ups, DB press on the ball (would leave the bench press out of it and do it with DB instead), lots of core work using the stability ball, squats, lunges, step-ups, etc.

All the programs I designed on my site and that elite athlete use are similar to this.

Marc

 

[FastpitchFan]

Marc, I would add that as with anything, consider what goals you want to achieve, and the athlete you are working with. It's a given that the earlier a kid starts training, the further ahead of their peers they will be - to a point. There are many considerations, some of which are:

"Sport-specific" lifting and conditioning. For instance, my DD used a 5 gallon can filled with white rice (I'm sure you know of this) for hand/forearm strenghtening when she was young. This would seem to be a waste of time for a soccer player.

Yes good exercice for forearms.

Age appropriate weight and reps. Should a 12 yr. old be trying to max a squat? I don't think so.

Definitely not. Should only work on form and technique and make sure they feel a little burn (having a bit of resistance).

I'm just a parent, but I have an elementary understanding of the "destroy, rest, rebuild" cycle for muscle building. Hormones play a distinct role, and for boys, when the testosterone kicks in some of the best gains can be made. Before that, light weight, PROPER form, and reasonably high reps. For females? You would have to answer that, Marc. All I know is that my DD didn't lift "in earnest" until she was a sophomore in high school. As a college junior, she now holds the record for leg press on her softball team.

Ya, leg press feels good because you can load a lot of plates on the thing easily because you are isolating the lower body. However, suprisingly, this is also a waste of time for most sport compare to lunge, squat, single-leg squats, step-ups, deadlifts and other similar exercises.

However, great tool to ''measure'' easily lower body strength objectively. A lot of school use it that way. However, as a training exercise... at the bottom of the list right before leg extension and leg curls.

Softball pitchers = legs, legs & more legs. No bulk in the shoulder area. Everything should be strong to some degree for stamina and injury prevention. Time spent on waist down for softball pitchers will pay much higher dividends than upper body lifts. She is an animal now with the weights, but we were VERY conservative when she was 12 - 14. I think the time spent on general conditioning (just being in shape) and pitching technique helped her reach her college goal more than focusing on strength building.

This is also a myth that is being passed by pitching instructors and elite coaches that really don't have that much background in exercise physiology. Theresa Wilson is also one of them.

Guess what? Brandon Marcello (US Team S & C Coach) has his pitchers with the US National Team go heavy with upper body (being careful with some of the joints) but that doesn't mean you can't lift heavy. Same with me and my work the Canadian Olympic Team when I work with the pitchers of the team. As far as I know, Australia does the same thing.

You focus on strength building yes, you change the exercises around and you do overdo the bench press (but it can still be in it for a phase or two). You have to use other variations of DB Press, Push-ups, etc. to work that muscle group.

In pitching, the entire body is needed (legs, core, upper). However, you do have to put the emphasis on the lower body definitely in addition to core and upper.


Marc, if I understand you correctly, I think we agree about the "overuse injury" myth?

Overuse injuries do happen - mostly from pitching repetitions using faulty mechanics or overdoing wrist work and spins or overhead throwing. Very little from lifting but it could be the case if not careful like overdoing one exercise that puts some stress away on the shoulder joint like full range bench press. YOU CAN use the bench press but don't abuse it.

My DD used to pitch 3 (sometimes 4!) games a day in the summer - in 90 degree heat! She NEVER had ANY shoulder or elbow pain. At 16, when she started throwing more movement pitches, she had forearm muscle soreness, nothing more. She pitched a 17 inning game in high school! Softball pitching is NOT baseball pitching. It's all about conditioning, proper mechanics, and of course genetics. Not every kid will be a work-horse. But my DD can't sprint a 2.4 to first either. Each kid is built differently. Therein lies the answer to the "overuse" myth.

Age-appropriate monitoring. I cannot stress this enough. I would not let EITHER of my kids start lifting at their high school (at age 14) before I was comfortable that they themselves knew EXACTLY how to perform the lifts, how much weight they should be using, and the reps. Unless you have a certified trainer, you're taking a huge injury risk. Is it worth it? All we had were volunteer assistant coaches whom I did not trust - in other words, they were clueless.

Yes definitely need quality supervision when you get to traing with more technical lifts and heavier loads. However, there are plenty of bodyweight stuff you can do without much supervision that are pretty safe.


If Marc would have been the staff trainer at the high school where my kids went, things would have been much different. I would have felt very comfortable "turning my kids loose" with him because of his knowledge and qualifications.

Very good post. Lots of great point. Congrats!

 

[FastpitchFan]

Marc,

As you know, this is a hot topic on another site as well. My response on another site and now here is that while lifting isn't a problem its muce more complicated. When you ask a 12 year old to start a program, they should be evaluated first by a trainer and given the clearance by a physician. Do you agree? Also, they need to be given instruction in proper lifting technique. I'm certified in Bigger Faster Stronger. We have incorporated it into both the high school and middle school physical ed programs. The middle school staff spends the first week(s) doing nothing but teaching technique. IMHO, that is necessary to lifting at an early age. Your thoughts?

Sorry I have not seen it on the other site. Being evaluated by a trainer or clear by a physician is the general thing you read everywhere from insurance.

But between you and me... It's a lot more risky for a 40-year-old man that hasn't done much in 10-15 years to start an exercise program that a 12-year-old kid who is perfect health and who is already moving around.

Did you know that weight training is the second safe physical activity out there after walking???

Yes you get more injuries by running, playing soccer, playing softball, etc. Weight training has a very very low incidence of injury because it is done in a controlled environment.

Be safe but don't become fearful or overly worry about it. Common sense means good form and don't go super heavy with kdis that are growing up. Otherwise, lifting weights as early as 8.. is safe.

And guess what... The American Pediatrics Association, The National Strength and Conditioning Association, and the American College of Sports Medicine ALL agree with this. They have a common position statement.

It is safe and effective for kids to lift under the following conditions:

- above 8
- good supervision
- must not become a chore
- focus on form rather than load

Bigger, Stronger, Faster is an interesting concept. Comes from old-school lifting category. Not the best choice of exercises (have you ever seen a stability ball use in that program???). However, the concept for motivating, incentive to work out, etc. is great. The whole system behind it in interesting.

Elite trainers do question exercise selection and there are things lacking in that system but no question the system is well-designed for motivation, group setting, etc.

Cheers,

Marc