Baseball Players: Pull More than You Push
Elbows and Racecars
“What’s it like to drive a Formula One racecar? Imagine driving 70mph in your neighborhood and pulling into your driveway.” I remember reading that quote as a kid in my Sports Illustrated magazine. My car racing career never had much promise, and reading that description solidified my lifelong disinterest in the sport. It sounds crazy and potentially fun, but no thanks.
You need a lot of trust in a vehicle going that fast, taking incredibly sharp turns, and withstanding intense G-forces without flipping over or crashing. As powerful as those engines are, they also need some incredible brakes to absorb those forces.
A similar phenomenon occurs every time you throw something. The moment the forearm launches forward after the layback or “cocking” phase of a throw is the fastest known human motion ever recorded. And none are faster than a baseball throw. Nothing else comes close to the over 1,200 rpm the arm goes through on a fastball. That’s incredible speed and incredible torque the arm goes through and has to absorb. For more physics nerdiness, that’s the equivalent of the elbow having a 55lb dumbbell slamming and locking out the elbow.
Interestingly, the average elbow will literally break or fracture at 40-50 lbs of torque. That also speaks to the years of conditioning and thousands of reps required to build denser bones to withstand such forces. A high-velocity baseball throw is quite literally beyond natural.
Pump the Brakes
In the baseball world, velocity is sexy. Every player, coach and GM drools over higher and higher velocity. And rightfully so. More speed is better, but of course, it has to be controlled. However, velocity means nothing if it causes injury. High-velocity acceleration requires high-velocity deceleration. Baseball throws place a lot of stress on a forward motion, creating a huge disproportion of forward-moving repetition and not much going backward. This can cause strength and stability asymmetries that often lead to chronic pain and injury. From a logical standpoint, we can see that greater emphasis should be placed on the brakes since baseball is nearly all gas.
How to Build a Robust Braking System
It’s all about arm health. Anything that can preserve shoulder stability and reduce stress should absolutely be utilized.
Weightlifting Strategy
- For every “pushing” rep (i.e., bench press, overhead press, pushups), there
- should be three pull reps (i.e., rows, lat pulldowns, chin-ups)
- For every vertical pulling rep (lat pulldowns, pullup/chin up), there should be two horizontal rows (single arm rows, facepulls)
Long story short, you should pull way more than you push, especially horizontal pulling, for optimal shoulder health. My favorite lifts:
- Single arm cable rows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zBPknRjJGU
- Inverted rows (neutral grip with a TRX, rings, or Swiss bar is ideal) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pphkx7x9KR0
- Single arm half kneeling pulldown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9pRHdfS5J4
Experiment with Reverse Throws
Every pitcher has his preferences and routines that they believe in, which is why I encourage experimenting with reverse throws. I do not encourage trying these after a game. But the day after, two days, or everyday in between starts seems to work well with different guys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP5v9lUso8U
If you don’t have a weighted ball, replicating this with bands will work as well.
Bandwork
There are literally thousands of exercises and variations of band and small dumbbell exercises dedicated towards arm health and strengthening the “brakes” on the backside. Here are a few of my favorites that I think every baseball pitcher shoulder continually work on.
- Facepulls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Po47vvj9g4
- Pull aparts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZwnwWMkEL4
- Sidelying external rotation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=badcVF85agg
- Wall Angels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UU4VvklQ44
Final Thoughts
Every athlete, every body, every throw, and every arm is different. Never do any exercise if it produces pain or discomfort. There is always an alternative. Find what works for you, especially on the smaller exercises. Listen to your body and pay attention to how it recovers. Each athlete will need different doses in different phases of a season.
What is universal though, is that horizontal pulling motions are good for not only preserving arm health, but to allow the arm to produce higher velocities. Get strong and more resilient by pulling more than you push.
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Baseball Players: Pull More than You Push
Elbows and Racecars
“What’s it like to drive a Formula One racecar? Imagine driving 70mph in your neighborhood and pulling into your driveway.” I remember reading that quote as a kid in my Sports Illustrated magazine. My car racing career never had much promise, and reading that description solidified my lifelong disinterest in the sport. It sounds crazy and potentially fun, but no thanks.
You need a lot of trust in a vehicle going that fast, taking incredibly sharp turns, and withstanding intense G-forces without flipping over or crashing. As powerful as those engines are, they also need some incredible brakes to absorb those forces.
A similar phenomenon occurs every time you throw something. The moment the forearm launches forward after the layback or “cocking” phase of a throw is the fastest known human motion ever recorded. And none are faster than a baseball throw. Nothing else comes close to the over 1,200 rpm the arm goes through on a fastball. That’s incredible speed and incredible torque the arm goes through and has to absorb. For more physics nerdiness, that’s the equivalent of the elbow having a 55lb dumbbell slamming and locking out the elbow.
Interestingly, the average elbow will literally break or fracture at 40-50 lbs of torque. That also speaks to the years of conditioning and thousands of reps required to build denser bones to withstand such forces. A high-velocity baseball throw is quite literally beyond natural.
Pump the Brakes
In the baseball world, velocity is sexy. Every player, coach and GM drools over higher and higher velocity. And rightfully so. More speed is better, but of course, it has to be controlled. However, velocity means nothing if it causes injury. High-velocity acceleration requires high-velocity deceleration. Baseball throws place a lot of stress on a forward motion, creating a huge disproportion of forward-moving repetition and not much going backward. This can cause strength and stability asymmetries that often lead to chronic pain and injury. From a logical standpoint, we can see that greater emphasis should be placed on the brakes since baseball is nearly all gas.
How to Build a Robust Braking System
It’s all about arm health. Anything that can preserve shoulder stability and reduce stress should absolutely be utilized.
Weightlifting Strategy
- For every “pushing” rep (i.e., bench press, overhead press, pushups), there
- should be three pull reps (i.e., rows, lat pulldowns, chin-ups)
- For every vertical pulling rep (lat pulldowns, pullup/chin up), there should be two horizontal rows (single arm rows, facepulls)
Long story short, you should pull way more than you push, especially horizontal pulling, for optimal shoulder health. My favorite lifts:
- Single arm cable rows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zBPknRjJGU
- Inverted rows (neutral grip with a TRX, rings, or Swiss bar is ideal) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pphkx7x9KR0
- Single arm half kneeling pulldown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9pRHdfS5J4
Experiment with Reverse Throws
Every pitcher has his preferences and routines that they believe in, which is why I encourage experimenting with reverse throws. I do not encourage trying these after a game. But the day after, two days, or everyday in between starts seems to work well with different guys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP5v9lUso8U
If you don’t have a weighted ball, replicating this with bands will work as well.
Bandwork
There are literally thousands of exercises and variations of band and small dumbbell exercises dedicated towards arm health and strengthening the “brakes” on the backside. Here are a few of my favorites that I think every baseball pitcher shoulder continually work on.
- Facepulls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Po47vvj9g4
- Pull aparts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZwnwWMkEL4
- Sidelying external rotation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=badcVF85agg
- Wall Angels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UU4VvklQ44
Final Thoughts
Every athlete, every body, every throw, and every arm is different. Never do any exercise if it produces pain or discomfort. There is always an alternative. Find what works for you, especially on the smaller exercises. Listen to your body and pay attention to how it recovers. Each athlete will need different doses in different phases of a season.
What is universal though, is that horizontal pulling motions are good for not only preserving arm health, but to allow the arm to produce higher velocities. Get strong and more resilient by pulling more than you push.