Add 2-4 MPH to Your Fastball in 10 Minutes

How do you warm up? Do you jog out to the fence and back? Follow that up with toe touches and shoulder circles? If that’s the case you are under-preparing your body, and seriously undermining your performance. Warming up might be the last thing you want to spend time on (that goes for you too, coaches), but I’m here to demonstrate how you can literally turbo-charge your athletes in just ten minutes.

This recent study examined the influence of different types of warm up strategies on subsequent lower body power (measured by vertical jump performance)in baseball players. On separate days, the athletes had to perform a static (traditional, stretch and hold) routine or dynamic stretching routine prior to testing their vertical jump. On average, the athletes jumped nearly 8% higher following the dynamic stretching routine compared to the static stretching routine. What’s 8% on the softball field? It’s home to first in 2.76 seconds instead of 3. It’s throwing 54mph instead of 50.

Can you really throw 4 miles per hour harder by just warming up correctly? Yes, if you warm up incorrectly in the first place. Too much static stretching will negatively impact performance, making you throw slower. Let me clarify: In the study mentioned above, there was an 8% difference between the static and dynamic warm up conditions. There was a control condition which meant the athletes did not perform a warm up prior to jump testing. The athletes jumped higher during the control condition than they did following the static stretching warm up. Something is not always better than nothing.

A warm up should feel like a 10-15 minute workout. It should include strength-activation exercises for commonly weak muscles such as the glutes, joint-mobility exercises for commonly tight areas such as the ankles and upper back, and dynamic flexibility exercises which require harmony of strength and flexibility throughout the entire body. The warm up should finish with some general, safe agility or explosive exercises to prep the body to move quickly. These exercises tune up the nervous system, essentially turning up the electricity to the muscles.

Here is a dynamic warm up routine specifically created for pitchers. Honestly, it can be used for team practices, and even for athletes of all sports. Below I describe the benefits of each exercise in pitching terms.

1 Leg Hip Bridge – 10 reps per leg, with 2 second pause at top. This exercise builds single leg, glute strength which is essential for an explosive push away from the rubber and management of posture throughout the entire delivery.

Bent Leg Side Plank – :30 per side. Single leg strength is largely determined by core stability, but not by the six pack muscles. Side planks target the lateral abdominal and hip muscles which control single leg stability.

These muscles work together when you stand on one leg

…so do these. All of which are trained during the Bent Leg Side Plank.

All-4s Upper Back Rotation – 10 each side. This exercise helps reduce the common rounded-shoulders posture that is created by sitting and back packs.

Yoga Push Up with Calf Stretch – 10 each leg

Reverse Lunge with Overhead Reach – 10 each leg. Dig the back toes into the ground. You should feel your back glute tighten up and stretch in front of the thigh. Adding the reach will contribute to the stretch and release of the hips.

Lateral Line Hops – 10 each leg

Vertical Jumps – x5.