1. Pitcher’soff seasonworkouts
An off seasonworkoutforpitcher’sshouldfocusonbuildingstrengthwithasolidaerobicbase
addinginterval,circuit,andanaerobictraining.Pitchingisnotendurance.The pitcherwillwanttowork
the aerobicenergy systeminananaerobiccapacity.Trainingshouldconsistof lightdumbbell andelastic
bandwork to helpstrengthenthe rotatorcuff andthe tendonsandligamentssupportingthe pitching
arm muscles. The trainingisdividedintothree,90minute sessions.
Pre-haband warm-up:
1. Foam rolling.Using a foamroller,roll outthe entire lowerbodymuscle chain20-30 secondsper
muscle.If one areais tendererthanthe other,concentrate alittle longeronthatarea.Also,roll
the upperbody,particularlythe upperbackand biceps.
2. Shouldersticks. Usinga dowel rodor a PVCpipe,holdinfrontwithheadneutral.Keeparms
straightwithone arm overthe other.Slightlyraise the armsstretchingthe shoulders.Hold20
secondsthenswaparms andrepeat.
3. Peanuts.Tape twotennisballstogetherforminga“peanut”.Lie onback and place peanutin
midto upperback alongspine.Raise legstoninetydegreesandholdarmsstraightup.Alternate
loweringandraisingarmsone afterthe other.Repeatforeightreps,move peanutuptwoinches
and repeat.Move uptwo more inchesandrepeatfor a thirdset.
4. Incline L, W,Y, and T’s. Sittingstomachdownon an inclinedbenchraise the arms.Isometrically
performeachletter12 timesusingstrictform witha slow tempo.
5. KneelingABC’s.Kneelingona matgrippinga towel,slowlymove the towelineachletterof the
alphabet.If shouldersare tight,performtwice.
Flexibility:
1. Single leg3 way balance. Raise leg6-8 inchesoff the groundforward,side,andtothe rear of
the body.Holdeach for 20-30 seconds.Repeatonotherleg.
2. Lower body stretch progression.Performaseriesof lowerbodyyogastyle stretchessevento
tensecondseach.Try to smoothlymove fromone stretchtothe other.
a. Instep: Stepforwardina lunge positionandbringthe same elbow of the forwardlegto
the instepof the leg.
b. Spider:Still inthe lunge position,placethe handof the forwardlegoutside of the foot
and slowlylowerbody.
c. Prayer: In a squat stance,place handsina prayer thenplace elbows oninsidesof knees
and pressout.
d. Frog: In a squat stance,pressbothhandsintothe ground keepingthe hipflexorsand
hamstringstight.
3. Forward walking rotational lunges. Performwalkinglungesrotatingthe torsotothe side of the
rear legwitheverystep.Perform8reps.
4. Rear walking lunges.Same as forwardsbutwalkingbackwards.Opentorsotothe rear leg.
Perform8 reps.
5. Over and Under.Beginina crouchesathleticstance.Liftknee of rightlegup as if climbinga
fence.Dragleftlegandlowerthe bodyas if goingundera fence.Work5 repsper side.

2. Core:
For the core,the goal is todevelopcore strengthbutalsorotational powerwhichtranslatesintohaving
to twistbodyto throwout runnersleadingoff base.
1. Swissball plate holds(3x 60 seconds). Restupperback on ball anda heavyplate onthe abs.the
legsshouldbe at 90 degrees.Holdplate onabs,squeezingthementire time.
2. Swissball plate sit-ups(3x12-15). Hold plate straightoverhead.Doasit upkeepingthe arms
straightand lowerwithcontrol.Donotletthe ball move duringthe movement.
3. Sit-upand throws (3x12). Witha partnertossinga 6-10 poundmedicine ball toyou, performa
sit-upandthrowball back to partner.The exercise isasit upAND throw,nota sit-upthen
throw.You wantmove to be a whole bodythrow startingatthe bottomandfinishingatthe top.
4. Torque throws (3x10). Using a bosuball stand withpartnerbehind andat 45 degrees.Using
peripheral vision,watchforpartnershandsignal andthrow ball usingthe torque of the oblique
muscles.Use a 4-6 poundmedicine ball.
5. Plate windshieldwipers(3x12-15). Lie flatwitha plate heldstraightoverheadandlegsstraight
up inthe air. Workingthe legsto the leftandthe arms to the right at the same time.Keepthe
core tightat all times.
Strength Training:
Strengthtrainingisdividedintothreeseparate workoutswithadifferentemphasiseachsession.
SessionI
Goal of thissessionistodeveloprotatorcuff strengthandthe elasticityof the tendonsand
ligamentsalongthe shoulder/armmusclechain.
1. Kneelingball toss (2x15). Kneel withthe legof the opposite armoutfront.Usinga light
ball like amini soccerball or kickball,lightlythrow the ball intoathrowbacknet.Keep
elbowat90 degreesandonlymove the rotatorcuff.Performonboth arms to promote
muscle balance.
2. Single arm dumbbell press(4x4-6). Lyingflaton a bench,holddumbbell overheadand
core tight.Lowerweighttojustbelow 90 degreesandreturnto top.Work at a 2 down,
4 uptempo.
3. Prone Dumbbell shoulderpress (4x4-6). Holdtwodumbbellsoutinfrontat 90 degrees
withthe palmsfacing out.Raise weightrotatingdumbbellstowhere palmsface outat
top.Raise and lowerata 4 up,4 downtempo.
4. Pull-Ups(3x10-12). Performpull-upsusingawide gripanda neutral gripusinga strict 4
up,ten downtempo.If youhave trouble doingpull-ups,use afixedresistance bandora
partnerholdingyourfeet.
5. Medicine ball grounders(3x10). Usinga six poundmedicine ball,one armthrow ball to
partner.Partnerwill roll ball back.Catchas if fieldingagrounderandthrow back to
partner.

3. SessionII
The emphasisof thissessionistodeveloplowerbodyexplosive power.
1. Overhead squats (5x4-5). Begin in a standing position, holding a barbell overhead with your arms
straight and your feet about shoulder-width apart. Initiate the movement with your hips, squatting back
and down until the tops of your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. As you go, think about pulling
the dowel apart with your hands. Push through your hips to return to a standing position.
2. Bulgarian split squats (4x5 per leg).Withdumbbellsineachhandandback footon a platform,
place the frontlegout infront twofeetsoa squatcan be performed.Keepingbackstraight,core
tight,and chestoutloweruntil knee isninetydegrees.
SessionIII
The emphasisfortoday is to emulate game conditionconditioninginacontrolledmanner.
1. Power cleans.Performone repevery30 secondsfor20-30 minutes.Thisemulatesthe
time betweenpitchesandhavingtorecoverbetweenpitches.
2. Rotary sledpulls.Holdingastrap attachedto a weightedsled,dragthe sledoutof a
squatstance rotatingthe hipsand upperbodyandextendingthe armstochestlevel.
Perform3 setsof 8 reps with30 secondsbetweeneachrep.
3. Plate pinches.Holdinga thickplate or plates,pickupandholdwiththe fingersforas
longas possible. Repeatthree times.
Speedand Reaction
Pitchersare runners!Pitchersmayhave tocover groundquicklytogetfrom the moundto a
base to covera teammate tomake a play.Reactionspeedis key!The nexttrainingphase will be divided
intotwo workoutstodevelopreactionspeed.
SessionI
1. Prone tennisball starts (10x). Froma push-uppositionface apartnerfive yardsaway.Partner
will be holdingatennisball ineachhand.Watch partnershands.Whenball isdropped,explode
intoa sprintto directionof handball isdropped.Catchball before ithitsthe ground.
2. Explosive platformknee drives(6x6 per leg). Standwithone footon an 18” platform.Drive
knee of back legstraightupto chest level andreturntofloor.Lowerandrepeat.
3. Lateral rotation step-ups(10x each leg).Inan athleticstance andan 18” platformtothe side,
stepontothe box.The “back” legisraisedand the core istwistedsothe legisraisedfacingthe
opposite side.Lowerandrepeat.

4. SessionII
1. Resistance bands (6x each for 5-10 yards).
a. Forwardstarts
b. Backpedals
c. Backpedalstoforwardstarts
d. Lateral shuffle
2. 40 yard gears (4x 40 yards with 2:00 rest between). Space 5 cones20 yardsapart. Vary speed
intensitydevelopingaccelerationandshiftingspeed,orgearsateach cone.Gear speedsshould
be firstthroughfourth.
3. Lateral bounding(4x40 yards each side with 2:00 rest between). Beginninginaslow start,
boundsideways,almostskipping.Keepupperbodyforwardswivelinghips.
Hand Eye Coordination
The last part of each sessionwill develophandeye coordinationtoassistwithcatchingand
mental focus.Thisisdone priorto cool down. Thispart of the workoutshouldtake about5 minutesand
act as a pre cool down.
1. SPARQ ball toss (20x). Face partnerwhoisten feetaway.Partnerwill bounce ball off ground.
React andcatch ball to directionof bounce.
2. Single legfoam double toss (60-90 seconds).Standingona foampad and holdingtwotennis
balls,alternate tossingballsbackandforthwithpartnerat a five footdistance.
3. Short distance catches (3-5 minutes).Witha partner,playcatch at a tento fifteenfootdistance.
Lightlythrowandcatch ball.Thisshouldnotbe strenuous.
Cool Down
Most of these stretcheshave beendone inthe warm-upphase.Spend10-15 minutescoolingdown.
1. Interior/exteriorrotation (15x each). Usingno weight,perform isometrically ata slow,strict
tempo.
2. Towel ABC’s (1-2x). Same as warm-up.Performtwice.
3. Lower body stretching(20-30 seconds each).Performbasiclowerbodystretchesconcentrating
on the hamstrings,groin,andhipflexors.
Post Workout Recovery
Pitchersneedtotake care of theirentire bodies,notjusttheirarms.Aswell asa properdiet,recovery
and re hab is justas important.
The followingare some recommendedrecoverysuggestions:
1. Ice therapy: thisshouldbe done aftereverysessionand/orpractice,especiallythe shoulders,
elbows,andthe hamstrings.Ice bagsfor15-20 minutesorice bathsfor 3-5 minutes.

5. 2. Ice massage: Take a Styrofoamcup and fill withwaterandputinfreezer.Whenfrozen,rubon
shoulders,elbows,andkneesfor3-5 minutes.
3. Recoveryshakes: consume a shake witha 3:1 carbohydrate toproteinration30-60 minutes
afterworkoutor game.
4. Massage. Wheneverpossible,take advantageof sportsordeeptissue massage.Donotdo the
day before agame as you do needtime formuscle tissue torecoverpostmassage.Many
massage schoolsoffercheapermassage ratesaspart of theirstudenttraining.
5. Whirlpool.Sitina whirlpool for15-20 minutes.Dependingonsize,tryandsitfromthe neck
down.If a whirlpoolisnotavailable,abathtub will work.
Here is a suggestedtrainingsplitforthe training:
Day One
Pre hab and warm-up
Flexibility
Core
StrengthI
SpeedandreactionI
Hand eye training
Colddown
Day Two
Pre hab and warm-up
Flexibility
Core
StrengthI
SpeedandreactionII
Cool down
Day Three
Pre hab and warm-up
Flexibility
Core
StrengthIII
Hand eye training
Cool down
I wantto thank fellowtrainerRobJacobsfor hisassistance withpreparingthisarticle.If Ican answerany
questions,please email me at hogue34@gmail.com.