Rocket Science Alert: Strength Training for Pitchers STILL Improves Throwing Velocity

Written on May 7, 2012 at 8:54 am, by Eric Cressey

With an old post, Strength Training for Pitchers, I *thought* I had put to rest the silly idea that strength training doesn’t help with improving throwing velocity.  Unfortunately, some pitching gurus are still insisting that weight training is the devil when it comes to pitching velocity.

To that end, I thought I’d use today’s brief post to highlight some newly published research from (among others) the bright folks at the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI).  This research showed that strength training doesn’t just improve throwing velocity, but also that ANY type of strength training does!

Researchers looked at the effects of three different six-week strength training programs on velocity in 14-17 year-old baseball players, and found that all three programs led to significant improvements (1.2-2.0%) in throwing velocity over controls.  

And, as is usually the case in the research, the programs were less than comprehensive.  Just imagine if you borrowed the best bits and pieces from several programs and put them together in a comprehensive program that lasted an entire career, rather than just six weeks! 

So, the next time you hear a pitching coach say that strength training for pitchers doesn’t work, please rock a “face palm” and then inform him that even crappy strength training works in most scenarios (especially high school athletes). 

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4 Responses to “Rocket Science Alert: Strength Training for Pitchers STILL Improves Throwing Velocity”

1. Julio Romón Baillo Says:
   May 7th, 2012 at 9:54 am

   Ha!!

   You just made my day.

   On a more insightful note imagine how the human being could improve in every sport and aspect of their daily life if they all implemented and followed half of the mobility/strength-training stuff science and coaches are preaching about.

   Is like an utopia: human beings moving and feeling good, being as healthy as they can, and setting new world records.

   I am a dreamer!

2. Rob Jackson Says:
   May 7th, 2012 at 1:46 pm

   Eric,

   Thank you so much for putting this out there! I preach and preach to my organization about how important “proper” strength training is to young athletes. Even as a pitching instructor myself, I feel that strength training is more important than taking lesson after lesson without any strength component to go with it. I was hoping that I could have your permission to add this to my organization’s website, http://www.macnseitz.com, so that it can give some credibility to what I am trying to accomplish with my training programs, “Making players understand that they have to be well rounded athletes and mechanics alone will not get them where they want to be”.

   Thanks again for the great info!

3. Mark Says:
   May 8th, 2012 at 8:08 am

   Look no further than some of MLB’s top pitchers. Roger Clemens (dope or not) was a slave to the weight room. Others as well.

4. Chris Mangano Says:
   May 8th, 2012 at 11:28 am

   Thanks for posting this, Eric. It’s always great to find new research that proves the benefits of strength training.