Want to increase your pitching velocity? Taking care of your arm and increasing functional strength are a great place to start!
Improving velocity is hard work, and no mistake. However, work ethic isn’t the only thing in your toolkit for velocity training. Functional strength and arm care are the basics that great pitchers rely on. Our pitching lessons help address these basics based on our scientifically-backed pitching program.
You Can’t Max Out Pitching Velocity without Functional Strength
Why focus on functional strength for pitchers? If you think about it, the stronger you are, the faster you can throw. However, not any strength training program will be the most effective for helping improve pitching velocity.
For example, many pitchers forget to implement a functional strength training program during training. Functional strength mimics the type of movements you perform when you pitch to help strengthen those muscles you use.
People are often surprised by all the types of muscles involved in pitching. For instance, your core muscles play an essential part in pitching performance. Therefore, neglecting your core for your upper body may not be the most effective way to help you gain pitching velocity. Functional strength training can help you strengthen all those muscles with pitcher-specific drills.
Functional strength helps address many different areas for pitchers, including:
- Posture
- Muscular balance
- Stability
- Mobility
- Flexibility
- Joint integrity
So, our program teaches athletes drills and training programs that help with functional strength throughout their pitching careers, from little league to the major leagues.
The Role of Arm Health in Increasing Velocity
However, it’s also important to prioritize your arm health while training to increase pitching velocity. The Tom House methodology is a health-first program to help pitchers improve performance and health.
Naturally, no pitcher wants an unhealthy arm. No one wants to get injured. However, we do often see athletes who have unhealthy arms, either because they’re pushing too hard or because they’re using inefficient training protocols.
Why take time to learn and implement arm care for yourself or your young player? Without proper arm care, players may have an increased risk for injury. Now, you already know that injuries don’t feel great. However, there can be other effects of neglecting your arm health. For example, injuries can cause short- and even long-term pitching performance issues.
Also, injuries generally mean taking time for rest and rehabilitation, which means you’re not spending your time on gaining pitching velocity. Therefore, our program involves pitching lessons that put health first.
At National Pitching, our goal is to help good pitchers become great. Based on decades of scientific research and coaching experience, our program is the only of its kind for rotational athletes. Our program is for pitchers of all skill levels, from youth pitching beginners to MLB athletes. Get started with our pitching program today by signing up for exclusive access to our pitching training videos, or you can find a certified pitching coach near you.
