3 Ways to Improve Your Pitching Velocity
For a pitcher, throwing speed is key to a good baseball play. However, you can’t gain speed overnight. It takes practice and careful changes to habits on and off the pitcher’s mound. Here’s a helpful guide to ways you can practice your pitching velocity.
How to Train for Pitching Speed
1. Focus on External Rotation
External rotation is about the shoulders’ ability to safely rotate away from the body and the arm’s ability to safely lean back as far as possible. When pitching a baseball, the throwing arm has to release a lot of energy, which also means that the shoulders need to be able to turn quickly without getting hurt.
To gain flexibility, practice exercises that focus on the torso and shoulders. This includes standing rows with resistance bands, or an elbow flexion with weights. And always stretch before a workout so nothing is sore later.
2. Raise a Knee
In baseball, players raise their knees when pitching. This helps drive their momentum and lets them launch the ball using power from their hips and legs. Raising a knee can give you the extra muscle needed to increase throwing speed, but it’s important to practice and find a good balance.
The knee should be at about 60% to 70% of your body’s height. If it’s raised higher than that, the leg will naturally come back down before moving forward, which loses a lot of momentum. If it’s raised lower than that, you may not gain any momentum to begin with.
3. Eat More
Your body needs energy, which comes from eating a good meal. Take the time to chow on bigger breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Even gaining 10 pounds can give you the extra strength needed for harder and faster pitches. Consider carrying healthy snacks like granola or fruit for a quick bite. Gaining weight is a slow process, but try making it fun by dipping into some favorite foods more often.
Avoid skipping meals. Schedules can get tight, but it’s unsafe to train on an empty stomach. This will only teach the body to conserve whatever strength is left in the tank, which brings down speed.
When you’re ready to train for a new baseball season, contact Line Drive Indoor Batting in Jupiter, FL. This training center offers kids, teens, and parents 8,000 square feet of space with Major League-level instructors and modern training equipment. They use the HitTrax® and Rapsodo® Pitching Unit systems to train players on real-time analysis for strike zone, spin rates, launch angles, and more. For more information, visit their website and call (561) 283-6614.