Pitching Drills

This is a tube workout. Standing on one end of the tube, you hold the other end and abduct your arm to at least shoulder height. This is a good workout to strengthen your shoulder and rotator cuffs. The rotator cuffs are often the cause of serious injuries to many pitchers. Strengthening them is important to allow the muscles and tendons to undergo such stress during pitching.

Another rotator cuff exercises, working your  posterior deltoids. Bending at waist, arms hanging down freely. Squeeze shoulder blades together and bring weight straight out to shoulder height. Return to start position in a slow, controlled manner. This also works your trapezius muscle, which undergoes stress during pitching and can be easily torn if not stretched and strengthened properly.

Wrist curls. Sit on an physioball ball, or bench so that your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle and your feet are flat on the floor. Secure a circular piece of elastic tubing underneath the ball of your foot and hold the other end in the palm of your hand. With your palm facing the ceiling and your forearm flat against your thigh, curl your wrist up and down. This strengthens the forearm, wrist, and elbow. Each of the parts is important to be strong in the prevention of injuries when throwing and pitching a baseball.

It is also important to have a strong core to help keep balance. These muscles link the lower body to the upper body and throwing arm. A pitcher also gets a great deal of his power from the coiling motion of the core.

Video

Windup 1

Phase 1- Windup 1

From your starting stance, begins when you step back with the front foot, and bring your hands together over your head 180˚

Shoulder Girdle

Upward rotation of both scapulas with middle/lower fibers of the trapezius muscle and serratus anterior muscle.

Shoulder Joint
Flex shoulder joint 180˚ by concentrically contracting your anterior deltoid and upper pectoralis major muscles.

Elbow Joint
Elbow flexes about 45˚ by concentrically contracting both heads of the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles.

Hip Joint
With the leg you take your back step with, your hip extends concentrically by using your semitendinosus, semimembranosus, biceps femoris, and gluteus maximus muscles. This causes a posterior pelvic tilt.

Knee Joint
Remain extended 180˚ by  concentrically contracting your rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis, and vastus medalis.

Windup 2

Phase 2- Windup 2

After your hands are together above your head, raise your lead leg by flexing at the hip and knee. At the same time, bring your hands from above your head, back to your chest. The windup phase ends when the front leg is at its maximum height and the two hands begin to separate.

Shoulder Girdle

Downward rotation of both scapulas using the pectoralis minor and rhomboid muscles.

Shoulder Joint
 Extend shoulder joint by eccentrically contracting your latissimus dorsi, teres major, lower pectoralis, and posterior deltoid muscles.

Elbow Joint
Flexed about 30˚ by concentrically contracting both heads of the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles.

Hip Joint
With your step leg, your hip is flexed by concentrically contracting your iliacus, psoas major and minor, rectus femoris, sartorius, pectineus, and tensor fasciae latae muscles, causing an anterior pelvic tilt. The opposite of your hip externally rotates by eccentrically contracting your piriformis, gemellus superior and inferior, obturator internus and externus, and quadratus femoris muscles. This causes a left transverse rotation.

Knee Joint
Step foot knee is flexed to 90˚ by concetrically contracting your biceps femoris, popliteus, semimembranosus and semitendinosus. The opposite knee externally rotates by isometrically contracting your biceps femoris muscle.

Early Cocking

Phase 3- Early Cocking

Begins after the windup as your hands spread apart to form a T shape with your body. Simultaneously, your lead foot starts its motion towards the target you are throwing to.

Shoulder Girdle
Both scapulas upward rotate using using your serratus anterior muscle and middle/lower fibers of your trapezius muscle.

Shoulder Joint
Abduction of both shoulder joints by concentrically contracting your supraspinatus, deltoid, and upper pectoralis major muscles.

Elbow Joint
Extension of about 170 ˚ by eccentrically contracting all three heads of the triceps brachii, and anconeus muscles.

Hip Joint
Lead leg cause the hip to extend  and abduct. Your hip extends concentrically by using your semitendinosus, semimembranosus, biceps femoris, and gluteus maximus muscles. This causes a posterior pelvic tilt. It also abducts by eccentrically contracting your gluteus medius and minimus, along with your tensor fasciae latae muscle. This causes a left lateral rotation pelvic tilt.

Knee Joint
Lead knee starts to extend by concentrically contracting your rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis, and vastus medalis. The opposite knee remains externally rotated by isometrically contracting your biceps femoris muscle.

Late Cocking

Phase 4- Late Cocking

Begins when your front or lead foot makes contact with the ground. As your foot hits the grounds, your body twists to face home plate, or the target you are throwing to and your glove hand flexes at the elbow and tucks into your shoulder.

Shoulder Girdle
Scapula of your throwing shoulder maintains upward rotation using the middle/lower fibers of the trapezius muscle and serratus anterior muscle. The scapula on your glove hand shoulder downward rotates using your rhomboids and pectoralis minor muscles.

Shoulder Joint
Throwing Hand-Slightly starts to diagonally adduct the shoulder joint by concentrically contracting your pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, and coracobrachialis muscles.
Glove Hand- Adduct shoulder joint by eccentrically contracting your latissimus dorsi, teres major, and lower pectoralis major muscles.

Elbow Joint
Flexion to 30˚ of your glove hand elbow by concentrically contracting both heads of the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles. Your throwing hand forearm is slightly supinated by concentrically contracting both heads of the biceps brachii, brachioradialis, and supinator muscles.

Hip Joint
Your lead foot causes the hip to externally rotate by eccentrically contracting your piriformis, gemellus superior and inferior, obturator internus and externus, and quadratus femoris muscles. This causes a left transverse rotation. The opposite side of your hip internally rotates by concentrically contracting your gracilis, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus muscles causing a right transverse rotation pelvic tilt.

Knee Joint
Lead knee slightly flexes by concetrically contracting your biceps femoris, popliteus, semimembranosus and semitendinosus. The opposite knee internally rotates by isometrically contracting your popliteus, semimembranosus and semitendinosus muscles.

Arm Acceleration

Phase 5- Arm Acceleration

The movement of bringing your arm forward from the late cocking position. This phase ends when the ball is released from your hand.


Shoulder Girdle
With your throwing shoulder, the scapula protracts using the serratus anterior muscle and pectoralis minor muscle. The scapula of your glove hand will maintain retraction using your rhomboid muscles and the middle/lower fibers of the trapezius muscle.

Shoulder Joint
Throwing Hand- Diagonally adducts shoulder joint by concentrically contracting your pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, and coracobrachialis muscles.
Glove Hand- Shoulder joint stays in adduction by eccentrically contracting your latissimus dorsi, teres major, and lower pectoralis major muscles.

Elbow Joint
Stays flexed to 10˚ with your glove hand elbow by concentrically contracting both heads of the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis muscles. Your throwing hand forearm also stays slightly supinated by concentrically contracting both heads of the biceps brachii, brachioradialis, and supinator muscles.

Hip Joint
Your lead foot causes the hip to stay externally rotated by eccentrically contracting your piriformis, gemellus superior and inferior, obturator internus and externus, and quadratus femoris muscles. This causes a left transverse rotation. The opposite side of your hip stays internally rotated by concentrically contracting your gracilis, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus muscles causing a right transverse rotation pelvic tilt.

Knee Joint
Lead knee remains slightly flexed by concetrically contracting your biceps femoris, popliteus, semimembranosus and semitendinosus. The opposite knee remains internally rotated by isometrically contracting your popliteus, semimembranosus and semitendinosus muscles.