The Six Most Common Workout Mistakes Of Baseball Pitchers
By Steven Ellis, former pro pitcher & founder of thecompletepitcher.com
1. Not performing a baseball-specific workout
Most high school lifting programs are created by the football coach. There is nothing wrong with the program but football is certainly different than baseball and the workout should be adjusted accordingly. In football the majority of the movements require the
The Baseball Observer - March/ April 2017
athlete to use their chest and “push”. In baseball the athlete needs more balance because they are using their arms to throw. This requires more upper back strength,
an area that is often under worked in most workout routines.
2. Improper ratio of “push” vs “pull”
exercises
A “push” exercise is normally an exercise used to strengthen the front of the upper body (i.e. the chest). A “pull” exercise is normally used to strengthen the back of the upper body (i.e. a seated row). Most people choose to do more chest or “push” exercises because they are easier, more common, and work the muscles that you can see in the mirror each morning. Think about it for one minute. When you look in the mirror you look at your chest, biceps, abs, and quadriceps (thigh muscles). We don’t look at our upper backs in the mirror. In addition we sit a tremendous amount during the day. We sit at our computers, sit in our classroom, sit in the car to and from school, sit to eat, etc. Because of this large amount of sitting, certain muscle imbalances are going to occur. Sitting over time causes the muscles in the front of the shoulder to get tighter and the muscles in the back of the shoulder to become longer. Any muscle group that is longer has a tendency to be weak and for a pitcher a weak upper back spells trouble.
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