Proper Upper Body Lifting For Pitchers

The most important thing to know is that lifting for baseball is not the same as lifting for bodybuilding or aesthetics. Lifting for baseball should focus on the ultimate goal of improving aspects of the game, not having the biggest muscles out of your friend group. That being said, upper body lifting should be separated into two components: Power and Speed. 

I've turned my Power days into typical gym lifting. Heavy bench press, an emphasis on strengthening my shoulders and back, as well as my forearm grip strength. My Speed days are focused around moving lighter weight as fast as possible with a bar sensor. Bar sensors give immediate feedback as to how fast a rep was performed (i.e. I benched 135 lbs at a speed of 0.97m/s). I will also use these days to do a lot of medball workouts. 

A typical Power day for me would be something along the lines of this, as provided by Bill Miller (@billmillertraining on IG):

Plyometric Pushups 4x5

BB Bench Warmup, 5x4 @ 225lbs

BB SA Landmine Press 5x3/arm @ 90lbs

Lat Pulldowns 3x6 @ 225lbs

DB SA Rows 3x6/arm @ 125lbs

Grip Strength Circuits


Notice how this isn't the longest and most cruel workout ever written. It's emphasis is heavy weight, with high intensity with a low amount of reps. Build up the power to have it translate to baseball activity.

 

ALWAYS DO BASEBALL WORK BEFORE LIFTING.


A typical Speed day for me would be something along the lines of this, as provided by Bill Miller:

Med Ball OH Throws ~15 total throws (12lb, 6lb, 4lb, and 2lb)

Med Ball Shotput Throws ~15 total throws (12lb, 6lb, 4lb, and 2lb)

Med Ball Supine Throws ~15 total throws (12lb, 6lb, 4lb, and 2lb)

ALWAYS RADAR YOUR THROWS FOR INSTANT FEEDBACK

Plyometric Pushups 4x5

Speed BB Bench Press Warmup, 5x3 @ 135lbs - measured w/ a bar sensor

Speed BB SA Landmine Press 4x3/arm @ 65lbs - measured w/ a bar sensor

Isometric Lat Pulldowns 4x8sec

Bicep/Tricep Workouts


Notice how these are similar lifts, just with a change in weight and reps. The goal here is to move the weight with a high intensity as fast as possible, moving it faster after each rep.


If this is a valid template for your workouts, feel free to experiment with what works best for you. Each pitcher is different. Find what works best and what translates the easiest for you when you step on that mound. Train with intensity to pitch with intensity. PRACTICE LIKE YOU PLAY!

-Sam Corbett

#W2W - NCC Cardinal Baseball

Stead Up! - Homestead Ranchers

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