Insights Into the Workout Programs of Major League Players, Part 2: Nolan Ryan

NOTE: New readers, please refer to my disclaimer regarding these articles from Part 1 regarding Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.

Rather than simply reviewing Nolan Ryan's well-known book, Nolan Ryan's Pitcher's Bible (part of my reference library) I thought I'd refer to this short but instructive interview Dr. Maro Di Pasquale did with Ryan, “Nolan Ryan On Conditioning,” as published on www.bodybuilding.com in September 2002.

Nolan Ryan talks about how a weight training program was critical to his success.

“Although I came into pro ball with a lot of talent, it took me almost four years to approach my potential as a power pitcher. In my first season with the Angels, I was 19-16 with 39 starts, 20 complete games, an ERA of 2.28, 9 shutouts and 329 strikeouts in 284 innings. I had 17 games in which I struck out 10 or more batters. But something more important happened that year that would affect my performance for the next 23 years - I discovered the weight room in Anaheim. It hadn't been installed for the Angels, because back then it was believed that weight training made you muscle bound. I started slipping in there and working out, being careful not to overdo it and letting my body tell me how it was responding.”

BF - Ryan's idea of "letting my body tell me how it was responding” is very important. While there are a number of general training principles ballplayers should follow, they must also be willing to experiment to find out what works best for them as an individual.

“I learned how to work different areas of my body for balance and flexibility, taking a day off now and then to recover. I also discovered that even if I was somewhat stiff from lifting, it really had no effect on my ability to pitch. And after I began using the weights consistently, my arm would bounce back more quickly from one start to the next.”

BF – Ryan was a pretty smart guy. With little or no outside assistance, and, doubtless, some trial and error, he developed his program for “balance and flexibility.” These are two key components of a properly designed resistance program for ball players.

He also states, “my arm would bounce back more quickly from one start to the next.” So, he attributes his quicker recovery between starts to his weight training. Strong, flexible muscles, such as those used during the act of pitching, will recover more quickly than untrained ones.

“A key to my success with the Angels was that my velocity increased in the later innings. Now, this could be attributed to establishing a rhythm, finding a good groove and improving my mechanics as the game went on. But the conditioning program made this possible by increasing my stamina.”

BF – Ryan credits his increased velocity late in games, as well as his ability to maintain his mechanics, to his conditioning regimen. This is another important reason for pitchers to lift weights – strong and flexible muscles enable the body to more effectively make the repetitive movements required in the act of pitching.

Note as well what he does not say: that his weight lifting program was responsible for his legendary velocity.ased velocity late ingamesd during the act of pitching, will recover more quickly than untrained ones.

“Once you fatigue, it affects your mechanics and you can't pitch with the precise timing required for a smooth, compact motion. I was so pleased with my results that I bought a Universal Gym for my home, and it paid dividends. During my first 3 years in the AL, I pitched more than 900 innings. There's no way I could have recovered quickly, or been as durable, without a firm base of strength from lifting. Lifting helped me be more consistent."

BF – If a manager now were to impose such a workload on a young pitcher, he'd be accused of abuse. Then again, how many managers are advising their young pitchers to train like Ryan? Ryan logged a lot of innings throughout his career, lifting weights all the way. In the process, he performed at a level few pitchers will ever attain, setting 52 MLB records. Most of these will never be broken:

• Elected to the MLB Hall of Fame with the second highest percentage of the vote ever, 98.8%, behind only Tom Seaver, and ahead of every other man to play the game
• 324 Wins
  
• 5,714 Strikeouts in 5,387 innings pitched
• 7 No-Hitters
• Setting a Guiness World Record by throwing the fastest pitch ever recorded at 100.9 mph
• And perhaps the most amazing record of all - 27 MLB seasons played, more than any player at any position
  

this ight lifting. be So, pitchers, appropriate weight lifting helped one of the greatest pitchers ever to a long, prosperous and record-setting career. Bottom line: This type of training can help you as well.

*Dr. Di Pasquale is a licensed physician in Ontario, Canada. He is also a world-class athlete and a prolific author, having written a number of diet, nutritional supplement, and sports medicine books, including the Anabolic Diet, Beyond Anabolic Steroids, and Anabolic Steroid Side Effects, Fact, Fiction and Treatment. His web site can be found at www.coachsos.com

The Physiological Basis for Conditioning Baseball and Softball Players, Part 1: Training the Body

Baseball and softball players come in all shapes and sizes. From 5' 5" Freddie Patek (a 3-time All Star) to 6'11" Randy Johnson, Babe Ruth to Albert Pujols, or Crystl Bustos to Cat Osterman, you get all body types. As I've stressed repeatedly, the metabolic demands of these games are minimal. High level players do not have to be in top physical condition to perform well.

Yet this "distinction" is pretty unique in the world of sports. Most basketball players are tall and fast. Most football players are big and muscular. Most gymnasts are small and muscular. Some pretty specific body types are required for participation in these sports. In baseball and softball, however, most players are of pretty normal size. The average MLB player (all positions) is 6' tall and weighs about 190 lbs. Larger than the average human being, but not very big in the world of professional sports.

For the most part, at any level of play, there is not a great deal of difference between the skill level of the teams and individual players involved. There are a few superstars, a LOT of "average" players, and a few below average players. The typical Bell Curve distribution.

What can help separate the performance of individual players and teams is appropriate strength and conditioning. How? Take two players of approximately the same skill-level, with one of them doing appropriate in-season training and the other not. Which one will most likely perform better on-field? Obviously the player (or team) that has maintained his/her strength and stamina levels.

Being better conditioned allows a player to more consistently, and for a longer timeframe, properly repeat the physical mechanics required for their position

Pitching is the most active position in both baseball and softball, with catching closely behind. While the act of pitching does not require a high level of conditioning for high level performance (see Bartolo Colon and David Wells, amongst others), sport-specific conditioning does enhance performance and prevent injury. No one with any knowledge of physical training principles would debate that a strong and flexible muscle/tendon is more injury-resistant than an untrained one, and will usually out-perform an untrained one.

Interestingly, pitchers who are heavy and apparently not well conditioned are fairly commonplace, but you rarely see players at other positions similarly out of shape. And while pitchers work much harder during the course of a game than any infielder or outfielder, it is not uncommon for one or more players in the IF or OF to go through an entire game without having a single ball hit to them. Their greatest exertion occurs when they jog in and out to their position on the field! Regardless of these anomalies, there's no reason for any ball player to be less conditioned than a pitcher! And you'll find that most ball players are in good physical condition.

IN-SEASON STRENGTH & CONDITIONING: WHY BOTHER?

Numerous games and practices leave little time in the average player's in-season schedule for conditioning, and conditioning work is usually not much fun. Yet its importance cannot be dismissed. When is the most important time of the competitive season to be at your best?

At the END of the season, when you and your team are fighting for a playoff spot, and when you actually make the playoffs!

This is where the payoff is, be it money, prestige or other awards!

Given the time constraints of the regular season schedule, the first thing many players and teams drop is any conditioning work they may have been doing. So any strength and conditioning gains that were made in the off-season slowly diminish over the course of the competitive season, leaving all such players and teams similarly worn out. We can assume their relative skill levels remain unchanged.

MLB PLAYERS AND DRUGS

Baseball seasons can be lengthy. Regardless of age or ability level, the grind of a long season takes its toll, physically and mentally. This is among the reasons some MLB players have resorted to pharmaceutical assistance via steroids and, to a far greater extent, amphetamines. Known as "greenies" or "beans" to ball players and "speed" to the general public, they're illegal for use without a doctor's prescription by the Controlled Substance Act of 1970. Some estimates of amphetamine use by MLB players run as high as 80%. Curiously, this widely acknowledged use of greenies isn't talked about much.

In 1970, Jim Bouton in his classic book, "Ball Four," first exposed greenie use, much as Jose Canseco's "Juiced" has done with steroids. Back then, Bouton's account of greenie use was taken seriously enough to merit a trip to the commissioner's office. Amphetamine use is now so widespread that there is even a term for those players who choose not to "bean up" - it's called "playing naked." Peer pressure is reportedly so great to take greenies that some players who choose not to partake are accused of "letting the team down."

Players take these "ergogenic aids" in the hope of maintaining energy and boosting performance all season long. One MLB manager has suggested that if greenies are banned (as recently proposed by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig) the season would have to shortened. It is much easier, of course, to "bean up" than it is to put in the hard work of daily conditioning. But even with steroids, you still have to spend some time in the weight room.

The future of professional baseball?

Often, with the increased muscle mass and statistics comes injury and time on the disabled list. Players wrongly assume that all they have to do is lift and get big, and thereby their numbers will improve. Unfortunately, they often find that their improperly structured, steroid based workouts produce muscles that quickly grow and become stronger than their tendons, and problems result. This can, of course, happen without the use of steroids. And most players can get appropriately stronger without resorting to illegal substance use. So why take the risk to health and reputation? There are a number of reasons, most of which I don't want to get into here. Here are two that I will mention:

1) While everyone is familiar with steroids' anabolic (muscle building) effect, they generate another lesser known but highly significant benefit: anti-catabolism. Catabolism is the breakdown of muscle tissue in the body. During physical activity, muscle fibers are damaged at a micro level, putting them in a position to either be re-built both bigger and stronger (with proper rest and nutrition), or subject to the effects of catabolism. Steroids allow one to work out longer and harder while mitigating this anti-catabolic effect. In other words, steroids can help keep a player's body from breaking down over the course of a long season. Users stay stronger, longer, than non-users - a significant competitive advantage during the playoffs. Non-users are therefore more subject to the ravages of catabolism which is the natural consequence of any type of physical exertion.

Greenies similarly aid ball players by delaying the onset of fatigue by stimulating the central nervous system. Similar to caffeine, but far more powerful. Oddly, MLB banned another stimulant, ephedra, after the 2003 death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler. who was using it during spring training to help with weight loss. Comparatively, ephedra is a much safer compound than amphetamines, yet MLB "looks the other way" rather than ban them and test for them.

2) MLB produces a LOT of money for a lot of people, communities, and industries. For this reason the season will never be shortened. This simple fact, coupled with the lame drug testing system currently in place, means the temptation to cheat will remain high, regardless of who gets caught.

Among the lessons we learn from all of this is that

Players resort to drugs to enhance performance because a long season of games and practice wears the body down, or de-conditions them!

De-conditioned players do not perform well, which costs them money come contract-renewal time. As opposed to appropriate strength and conditioning work, however, amphetamine and steroid use are a significant detriment to health. Until recently, the incentives to cheat have been greater than the penalties for getting caught. For that matter, it wasn't even possible to get caught! Perhaps the steroid-related suspension of Rafael Palmeiro will change things, but I doubt it. Despite his numbers, his Hall of Fame candidacy is now seriously in question. He will likely become better known for his steroid use than for his on-field accomplishments. And, given what we know of the the side-effects of steroid use, we may now have a bit more insight into why Palmerieo endorsed the drug Viagra...

WHAT HAPPENS IN A GAME: ANECDOTAL OBSERVATION

Let's examine what the most active player, the pitcher, does during a game. First, s/he winds up and delivers a pitch, which takes about 2 seconds. The ball is thrown back, and then the pitcher does various things to get ready to throw his/her next pitch. This can involve checking the scoreboard, checking any runners, checking the position of fielders, looking at coaches, getting the sign from the catcher, etc. Let's say all of this takes about 20 seconds. If a pitcher throws an average of 15 pitches/inning, an inning can last 5 minutes or so. This is obviously oversimplified, as there are a number of things that can take place to change this time frame. But for our discussion here, these numbers will suffice.

So, the pitcher performs an explosive activity for a very short period of time, then rests for a time frame that is about 10 times longer. S/he is, in effect, performing a type of activity known as interval training, with a work:rest ratio of 1:10. Then, this pitcher sits down between innings for the same 5 minutes (or more) while the other pitcher performs. Pitchers will, of course, expend some additional energy fielding their position, and may, depending on the level of play, also hit and run the bases. Ultimately, though, not much work and a lot of rest. Clearly, baseball and softball are games of intermittent, not continuous, activity. This is why aerobic training is of little value to a pitcher, or any ball player, for that matter.

Let's face it - while it may be true that hitting a baseball is the single hardest thing to do in all of sports, you don't have to be in very good physical condition to do it. The reason is that the metabolic demands of baseball and softball are fairly minimal.

WHAT HAPPENS IN A GAME: CLINICAL RESEARCH

An interesting study was performed by Potteiger, et al [1] in which they measured several physiological and bio-chemical responses experienced by pitchers during the course of pitching a game. Six college-age men with varsity pitching experience at the collegiate level participated in the study. They pitched a simulated game of seven innings, with 14 pitches per inning. The subjects were given a six minute rest period before beginning their next inning, and were encouraged to exert their normal level of effort with each pitch. The following indices were measured, pre and post performance:

1) Heart rate.
2) Blood lactate (a by-product of lactic acid).*
3) Serum glucose.
4) Free fatty acids.
5) Oxygen consumption (VO2).*

In addition, 24 hours later, serum creatine kinase (CK)* and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)* were analyzed as an indicator of skeletal muscle damage. For our purposes in this report, the items marked with the (*) are the ones I want to discuss further.

1) Lactic acid levels were unchanged between pre-exercise values and post game measurements.

2) VO2 was equal to 45% of maximum.

3) A significant difference for both CK and LDH existed between the pre-exercise and 24 hours-post-exercise values.

Discussion:

1) Lactic acid levels did not change through the course of the game from their pre-game values. This makes sense, because pitching is not the type of activity that generates lactic acid. The burning feeling one gets in the muscles during intense weight lifting or sprinting is never felt by a pitcher.

In fact, Vern Gambetta, Director of Athletic Development for the New York Mets and former Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox refers to baseball as an "alactic-anaerbobic" activity, meaning that no lactic acid is produced. At a minimum, any lactic acid that may be produced during the act of pitching is easily cleared by the body, so its production is not a limiting factor in pitching performance.

The phosphagen energy system provides energy for sports activities that last several seconds and is involved in all forms of exercise regardless of intensity [2]. This includes baseball and softball pitching. Phosphagen replenishment occurs within 20 to 30 seconds. This means that after 20 seconds of rest following a pitch, the main energy system used for pitching is re-charged and ready to go again. This allows for the many and repeated pitches thrown by baseball and softball pitchers.

2) VO2, expressed as a percentage of maximum uptake, means that the pitchers were working at a level equal to 45% of their capacity - not very high. According to the authors, it is believed that this level of oxygen uptake during the work period (pitching) is for the purpose of resynthesizing ATP and PC (phosphagen) stores.

What this means in a practical sense is that oxidative (aerobic) activities contribute little to conditioning for the act of pitching. Excessive aerobic training, such as long, slow distance (LSD) running or lots of time on an exercise bike will allow a pitcher to perform at an even lower percentage of VO2 max. This will help the pitcher who decides to enter a 10K or marathon, but will do nothing for their pitching performance. Aerobic capacity is certainly not a limiting factor in pitching performance.

Aerobic training can be useful as the foundation of a ballplayer's conditioning regimen, but spending more than 10-15 minutes, 2-3 days/week for this purpose is a waste of valuable training time. One exception to this rule would be after an extended pitching appearance. An easy run of about 15 minutes duration can help in recovery, getting the blood flowing to deliver needed nutrients to the damaged muscles and tendons that have been strenuously exerted, as well as helping to "wash out" any waste metabolites generated during this physical activity.

Long slow distance running is also a very poor way of developing leg strength, something that is valuable for a pitcher to have. The act of pitching occurs in a very short timeframe, not continuous and long lasting as occurs with LSD running. Pitching is more analogous to a single rep of a plyometric exercise using the legs. Consider the muscular development and strength of the legs of marathon runners versus 100 meter sprinters. Baseball & softball players are aiming for something in between these two extremes. Finally, LSD training can detract from strength and power development, so keep this activity to a minimum as discussed above.

3) CK and LDH values were significantly elevated 24 hours after exercise. According to other investigators, this may be an indicator of skeletal muscle damage. In fact, LDH levels in the blood are used to make a diagnosis of heart attack, which is damaged heart muscle. Eccentric muscle contractions (muscle contraction while the muscle is lengthening) that commonly occur during pitching cause greater mechanical stress leading to an increased release of CK and LDH enzymes into the blood.

Eccentric contractions occur during pitching in two main muscle groups: A) The muscles of the legs contract eccentrically after pushing off the pitching rubber and completing the stride. B) The muscles of the arm contract eccentrically (particularly the shoulder - external rotators) during the deceleration (after ball release) phase of the pitch.

The pitchers in this study each threw 98 pitches, a not excessive number. Yet this workload was rigorous enough to elicit elevated readings of indicators of muscle damage. Clearly some rest is warranted between extended pitching appearances. Continuing to work at maximum or near-maximum intensity not only puts the body into a catabolic state, it also does not allow time for rest and proper nutrition to make their contributions to the recovery process. The body actually develops and adapts to the stimulus of a hard workout (like pitching) during the REST period between bouts of strenuous activity.

IN-SEASON STRENGTH & CONDITIONING: WHAT KIND AND HOW MUCH?

Some points to keep in mind in designing your conditioning program:

1) Any kind of conditioning will diminish over time if it is discontinued.

2) Skill work (drills, mechanics, etc.) is the priority during the season, in practices and games.

3) To improve performance in a particular sport, the training must be specific for that sport.

According to Baker [3] there are three types of resistance training:

General - exercises that increase the overall maximal strength of the muscles.

Special - exercises used to train for power development, also known as explosive isotonic exercises. Examples of these lifts include power cleans, snatches, pulls, and push presses. The training effect of these exercises is to convert general muscular strength to the special quality of power that is relevant to throwing.

Specific - exercises designed to follow the concept of specificity by providing a training stimulus that is very similar to actual motion in competition. Examples of these exercises for baseball-throwing motion are weighted baseballs, surgical tube exercises, and the Exer-genie cord. These exercises attempt to mimic the high-velocity ballistic throwing motion.

And I'll add one other:

Cross Training - defined as two or more different types of exercise performed in one workout or used alternately in successive workouts to achieve a specific training goal. One example would be training for the development of leg strength by running sprint intervals in one workout, and lower body weight lifting in another. Or, as in the case of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, throwing a 5 oz. lacrosse ball instead of a football as part of a specialized footwork drill.

I list all of these seemingly obvious ways to condition (and there are others) to make a simple point: there are a number of legitimate ways for ball players to train so as to achieve a particular outcome, be it injury prevention or performance enhancement.

Why perform strength training? Because adequate levels of strength should be developed before performing more rigorous training such as power (plyometrics) work. Strength is the foundation of power - but these two attributes, while related, are not the same thing. Power development is trained for differently than strength development.

POWER = STRENGTH X SPEED

More specifically, Potteiger suggests that pitchers train primarily for power development:

"Activities such as sprint and interval training, resistance training and plyometrics
should dominate the majority of time spent in conditioning sessions."

Finally, Gambetta makes a key distinction regarding the activities that can be used in training (emphasis mine):

"Another important rule to understand is the difference between similar movements and same movements. For example, it is common to see pitchers and quarterbacks throwing from their knees with the stated goal of improving arm strength. But from a biomechanical perspective this may be counterproductive. Throwing involves the whole kinetic chain, and taking large segments out of the action will interfere with timing and could affect coordination during the complete throwing motion. Throwing from the knees is similar, but not the same, as throwing with the legs in the equation.

"How about the use of underweight and overweight balls for a pitcher? In this case, we found through biomechanical analysis that there was virtually no difference in biomechanics between throwing an underweight or an overweight ball, as long as they were not too heavy or too light. Therefore, this is a viable training activity that is bio-mechanically the same for the pitcher." [4]

As for how much in-season conditioning, players will have to determine this individually. Doing so will require some experimentation and guidance from coaches and strength professionals. Appropriate workouts will include:

• Strength training, upper and lower body

• Power training (plyometrics), upper and lower body. Referred to above as "Special Exercises."

• Energy system conditioning, consisting primarily of sprint intervals

• Flexibility work, upper and lower body

• Specific training, such as for the scapula and rotator cuff

Factor in the number of games and practices in a week, a player's conditioning needs, energy level, position played, nutritional status, school, work, etc. More information on appropriate training for ball players can be found here.

Separate yourself from the crowd - develop and diligently follow a baseball or softball specific strength and conditioning program. You'll reduce your chance of injury and improve your on-field performance!

[1] Potteiger, J.A., D. L. Blessing, and G. D. Wilson. The Physiological Responses to a Single Game of Baseball Pitching. Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Department of Health and Human Performance, Auburn University, Auburn University, Auburn, AL. Journal of Applied Sport Science Research Vol 6, Number 1, pp. 11-18. 1992

[2] Brooks, G. A., K. J. Hittleman, J. A. Faulkner, and R. E. Beyer. Temperature, skeletal muscle mitochondrial functions and oxygen debt. American Journal of Physiology, 220: 1053-1068. 1971.

[3] Baker, D. Improving vertical jump performance through general, special, and specific strength training: A brief review. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 10:131-136. 1996

[4] Gambetta, V. Connecting the Dots. Training & Conditioning p. 26. July/August 2005

Insights Into the Workout Programs of Major League Players, Part 1: Roger Clemens & Andy Pettitte

To no one's surprise, controversy abounds as to what ball players should be doing in their strength and conditioning workouts. But what are big league players actually doing, particularly the more successful ones?

In this series of reports, I'll examine what some players and teams do as part of their conditioning training and give you my opinion of their programs. A note of caution - big leaguers do many things that are not worthy of emulation. This can include their workout regimens. One might think that we should do whatever the players at the highest level are doing - after all, it it's good for them, it must be good for any player who aspires to be like them, right?

In short, NO! Among the differences between big leaguers and younger players are the physiques involved. Grown men are capable of doing things younger players are not. As one example, mature pitchers need not be concerned with growth plate issues - players less than 16 years of age do.

Another difference is the financial aspect. A pitcher making $5 million a year, throwing 90+ mph and getting batters out will, by and large, be left alone. No one will be tinkering much with his mechanics - after all, he's getting the job done. So the thinking is, why mess with with what's working? This is a big reason to not copy what you see big leaguers do, unless you're experienced enough to know the good from the bad in pitching or hitting mechanics. You're asking for trouble in blithely copying what you see on TV.

So with all of that in mind, can we learn anything helpful from what the big boys do? Of course. I might even go so far as to say that much of what big leaguers do is worthy of emulation. So here is my take on selected excerpts of two articles written about Roger Clemens, along with his good buddy and workout partner, Andy Pettitte.

I have taken quotes from each of these articles, with my comments following. All emphasis is mine.

Excerpted from:

"Rocket: Perfectly Engineered to Pitch"
By Bob Klapisch
May 25 2003
ESPN.com

"It's All About the Power"
By Tom Verducci
June 2, 2003
Sports Illustrated Magazine

"The Rocket is in the weight room, consumed by a four-day ritual that he's convinced has kept his elite-caliber fastball in the mid to upper 90s, and has actually prolonged his career... Clemens doesn't just work out, he's obsessed with exercise, and proudly says, 'My only day off is the day I pitch.' "

BF - Contrary to what some "experts" recommend, Clemens attributes his velocity and longevity to his conditioning regimen, which includes weight lifting. While I do not support the use of weights simply for velocity enhancement, there's no question that a baseball-specific strength regimen can augment pitching performance.

"But unlike most major league pitchers, who run (a little) or lift weights (even less), Clemens has devised a system that keeps him both strong and quick, combining power-lifting for the lower body, light-dumbbell work for his rotator cuff and agility drills that would probably make more sense for an NFL linebacker... Clemens admits his philosophy may be unorthodox, but he believes in the development of side-to-side strength, as well as balancing skills that a pitcher requires to keep his fastball intact."

BF - So Clemens performs lower body power lifts, and says that this helps maintain his fastball.

"Clemens mechanics are the by-product of that intense regimen - so successful for the Rocket, Pettitte copied it two years ago. 'Roger's the one who taught me that the better shape you're in, the better you'll throw the ball.' "

BF - Here, Clemens credits his good mechanics to his conditioning program. This makes perfect sense, as pitchers need a certain level of strength to properly perform the act of pitching. This is one of the key connections between mechanics and conditioning: once mechanics are developed and fine-tuned, appropriate conditioning allows any player to consistently perform those mechanics. The better the conditioning, the longer those mechanics can reliably be repeated.

The same can be said of mechanics - The better your mechanics, the better you'll throw the ball.

Andy Pettitte thinks enough of Clemens' methods as to adopt them himself.

"While Clemens refuses to discuss too many details of his regimen, he does reveal that the bones of the workout consist of two days of lower-body lifting, one day for the upper body work and four cardio sessions. All four workouts are framed by abdominal drills, he says, the equivalent of 750 sit-ups.

"Clemens and Pettitte concentrate their heavy lifting on the lower body, including multiple sets of squats and leg presses. The combination of strength and conditioning in the same agility drill reproduces the challenges a pitcher faces in later innings - the need to still throw hard without getting winded."

BF - So both Clemens and Pettitte are heavy leg-work advocates! This makes good training sense. Squats in particular are very effective in training key lower body/core muscles that contribute to both injury prevention and performance enhancement. Since the body core contributes nearly 50% of the force applied during an overhand throw, this area needs to be appropriately conditioned in order to help augment throwing velocity.

"The Rocket's regimen includes shorter, more intense bursts of anaerobic exercises, convinced that it better trains him for actually pitching."

BF - Clemens is right on the mark with this approach. This is a much better regimen than running lots of long, slow distance miles, something Clemens did in his early years. Baseball is not an aerobic sport, the energy system trained by long slow distance work. It is an alactic-anaerobic activity. Therefore, short burst anaerobic exercises, such as sprinting, will help build the leg strength a pitcher needs. Potteiger et al., in a 1989 study published in the NSCA Journal using college pitchers, found a high correlation between pitching velocity and anaerobic power. In other words, the greater the anaerobic power, the greater the throwing velocity.

"The Rocket will throw a normal session two days after his start, as is baseball's custom, usually 35-40 pitches at 75-80 percent velocity. But Clemens will follow up the next day with a "short" session - throwing from 55 feet instead of 60' six inches... Clemens feels this helps him to concentrate on keeping the ball down. 'I just want to concentrate on staying on top of the ball, keeping my hand behind it. It helps you repeat your delivery.' "

BF - Practices worthy of emulation. Throwing at 75-80% velocity and at 55 feet are good ways to practice throwing without overly stressing the arm between starts. That Clemens doesn't throw at 75-80% effort, or at 55 feet in a game is irrelevant - you can't go 100 per cent, 100% of the time! In the meantime, he's continuing with his hard-core conditioning between starts.

"The Yankees were so impressed with Clemens idea, they instituted it throughout the minor league system. Today, virtually every Triple-A pitcher now uses a 'short' day as a between-start drill."

BF - Teams are not going to encourage their prospects to do anything that would be harmful. The benefits of this "drill" are likely noticeable and substantial.

"By the time Clemens throws his first pitch, the Rocket has burned thousands of calories, churned out thousands of sit-ups and pushed all the heavy metal his legs could withstand."

BF - What an awesome philosophy! He works so hard between starts, the actual work of pitching a major league baseball game seems easy in comparison. Tens of millions of dollars and a Hall of Fame career later, The Rocket has developed an "unorthodox" yet effective system that we can all learn from.

A final point: nothing in conditioning or the teaching of skills and drills works across the board for every player. If this were the case, we could turn out power hitters and pitchers in a cookie-cutter fashion with great consistency. However, the fields of exercise science and sports medicine do have reliable information on training methods that are safe and effective for most players the vast majority of the time.

That a particular method does not work for one player does not invalidate that method for others!

Next issue we'll take a look at some things all-time great Nolan Ryan reveals about his conditioning approach during his playing days.

OVERLOAD/UNDERLOAD TRAINING: How it Works and Why Ball Players Should Use This Training Method

This report is written with the intent of providing useful and accurate information for those interested in learning more about this valuable training method. Our discussion here will deal with Overload/Underload (OU) training in general, and its application to baseball and softball in particular.

1. OU Training Defined
2. A Brief History of OU Research and Training
3. Other Sports That Use OU Training
4. The Benefits of OU Training
5. Baseball Experts Who Are Proponents of OU Training
6. OU Training and MLB players

OU TRAINING DEFINED

Using weight-modified implements that are otherwise identical
to those used during competition

The weights of these modified tools weigh both more and less than the standard competitive weight.

Such tools allow athletes to train more precisely for their sport. Sport-specific strength and power are developed by movements with resistance or assistance that imitate the joint action of the skill - SPECIFIC RESISTANCE TRAINING.

OU Training is one type of Specific Resistance Training employed to increase an athlete's POWER. Power is defined as the rate at which one can perform work, or the ability to exert muscle force quickly. This ability is related to, but distinct from strength, which is defined as the ability to exert muscle force.

As an example, strength is demonstrated as the ability to pick up a 30 oz. bat. Power is demonstrated by the ability to drive a baseball 400+ feet while swinging that 30 oz. bat.

POWER = Strength X Speed

As long as the tools used are not too heavy, mechanics are not affected, making OU Training what I call "skill-neutral." According to published data (see below) the ideal weight range for conditioning and performance enhancement is 20% +/- the weight of the competitive implement. I do NOT recommend using baseballs weighing more than 6 oz., or softballs heavier than 8 oz. for skills or mechanics training. There is some data that indicates using much heavier balls can negatively affect throwing mechanics, possibly leading to arm problems. Extra motor-units are recruited while throwing these heavy balls that are then not used when the regular competitive ball is used.

However, implements heavier than the 20% guideline can be used safely and effectively for strength and conditioning purposes. As relates to our discussion here, the modified implements ball players can use are weighted baseballs and softballs, and various weights of baseball/softball bats, and/or devices attached to these bats.

Conversely, this type of training would not be useful for training other athletic skill areas, for example, shooting or throwing accuracy. OU training could help a golfer drive their tee shots further, but it wouldn't help eliminate their slice if they have one, or otherwise help them to hit straighter drives. OU training could help a young basketball player who is having trouble hoisting a basketball high enough to make a shot in a 10 foot hoop, but the shot still has to be accurate enough to go in. Accuracy training needed for a specific skill would therefore be performed apart from power work.

If I was working with a pitcher who had control problems, I would not break out the weighted baseballs and expect training of this type to help him throw strikes. I would look at his mechanics and make any needed adjustments, and possibly suggest some drill work to help reinforce the new concepts being taught. Such a player might also be working with weighted baseballs/softballs as part of their overall training regimen, but this would occur at a different time, and for the purposes of developing more power and speed behind his/her throws as well as conditioning the throwing structures of the arm.

A potential side-benefit of OU training is that a player could improve their accuracy by virtue of the increased number of reps or throws they are performing. This would be an artifact of the main goal of improving power, however, and not the main purpose of OU training.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF OU RESEARCH AND TRAINING

Research involving Overload Training has been going on for decades. Underload Training techniques became more widely known in the 1970s due to the success of the Soviet Union and East-European track and field teams. A great deal of this research has been published in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals around the world. Shot-putters, javelin, discus and hammer throwers, and sprinters were the early adopters of this training method.

Research with baseball players dates back to the 1960s. This is just a sampling of studies involving OU Training and baseball. There are dozens more relating to OU Training generally:

1) Coop DeRenne, Kwok W. Ho and James C. Murphy. 2001: Effects of General, Special, and Specific Resistance Training on Throwing Velocity in Baseball: A Brief Review. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 148–156.

2) Escamilla et al. 2000: Sports Med Apr; 29 (4): 259-272

3) David J. Szymanski, MEd, CSCS, June 1998: The Effects of Various Weighted Bats on Bat Velocity - A Literature Review. Strength and Conditioning, pp. 8 - 11

4) Coop DeRenne, Barton P. Buxton, Ronald K. Hetzler and Kwok W. Ho. 1995: Effects of Weighted Bat Implement Training on Bat Swing Velocity. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 247–250.

5) Coop DeRenne, Barton P. Buxton, Ronald K. Hetzler and Kwok W. Ho. 1994: Effects of Under- and Overweighted Implement Training on Pitching Velocity. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 247–250.

6) Coop DeRenne, Kwok Ho and Alan Blitzblau. 1990: Effects of Weighted Implement Training on Throwing Velocity. The Journal of Applied Sport Science Research, 4, 16-19.

7) DeRenne, C., Tracy, R., and Dunn-Rankin, P. 1985: Increasing Throwing velocity. Athletic Journal, April, 36 - 39.

8) Bagonzi, J. A. 1978: The Effects of Graded Weighted Baseballs, Free Weight Training, and Simulative Isometric Exercise on the Velocity of a Thrown Baseball. Master's thesis, Indiana University.

9) Litwhiler, D., and Hamm, L. 1973: Overload: Effect on Throwing Velocity and Accuracy. Athletic Journal, 53, 64-65.

10) Brose, D.E., and D.L. Hanson 1967: Effects of Overload Training on Velocity and Accuracy of Throwing. Research Quarterly. 38:528-533.

11) Egstrom, G.H., Logan, G.A., and E. L. Wallis 1960: Acquisition of Throwing skill Involving Projectiles of varying Weight. Research Quarterly 31:420-425.

In brief, all of the study subjects were either high school or college players. All of the studies showed an increase in throwing velocity using weighted baseballs. There were no reports of harmful effects such as joint soreness or problems with mechanics and control.

For those who are interested, the following are the guidelines for submitting articles to several of the the journals cited above:

"The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (JSCR) is the official research journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Membership in the NSCA is not a requirement for publication in the journal. It publishes original investigations, reviews, symposia, research notes, and technical and methodological reports contributing to the knowledge about strength and conditioning in sport and exercise. All manuscripts must be original works and present applications to the strength and conditioning professional or provide the basis for further applied research in the area. Manuscripts are subjected to a “double blind” peer review by at least two reviewers who are experts in the field." [The JSCR was formerly known as the Journal of Applied Sport Science Research.]

The American Journal of Sports Medicine is the official publication of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. Instructions to authors who are submitting articles includes the following: "Manuscripts must not be under simultaneous consideration by any other publication, before or during the peer-review process."

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport publishes research in the art and science of human movement that contributes to the knowledge and development of theory either as new information, reviews, substantiation or contradiction of previous findings, or as application of new or improved techniques. Instructions to authors who are submitting articles includes the following: "Because reviews are blind, include a second title page with only the title, running head, and page header."

OTHER SPORTS THAT USE OU TRAINING

Over and underloaded implements and techniques are used very effectively by athletes in many big-time sports to augment performance:

Olympic Track & Field: heavier and lighter discuses, javelins, shot balls (shot putters) and hammers; sprinting with resistance, such as pulling weighted sleds, wearing weighted vests, and downhill running on a slight downward slope, being towed while running, and running on a high speed treadmill (overSPEED training).

Olympic Swimming: wearing swimming gloves that allow for more water to be pulled during an arm stroke; swimming while dragging an implement or otherwise artificially producing drag on a swimmer.

The NFL & NBA use many of the same track and field training techniques to improve the speed and power of their players. Heavier footballs (over the standard 15 oz) are thrown by quarterbacks for arm conditioning; the receivers catching these heavy footballs develop increased strength in their hands and forearms. Heavy basketballs are used by basketball players in various shooting and passing drills, as well as weighted vests for running and jumping drills.

The NHL employs resisted and assisted sprint training with its skaters.

Boxers train with different weights of gloves and bags.

Note that ALL of these training implements are used to improve POWER and/or SPEED through the joint range-of-motion (ROM) in the activity being trained, which can lead to enhanced performance.
These major sports with their highly paid athletes have employed OU conditioning techniques safely and effectively for years.

THE BENEFITS OF OU TRAINING

Benefit #1

Increased strength/endurance in the arm structures used to throw a baseball or softball

Appropriate strength and conditioning regimens, such as OU Training, can reduce and even prevent arm injuries related to throwing by increasing STRENGTH/ENDURANCE. Increased Strength - helps prevent injury. Increased Endurance - helps maintain throwing velocity, allows for more pitches to be thrown before tiring.

The muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones (even nerves) of the shoulder and arm in general will positively adapt to an appropriate increase in training load, resulting in a greater ability to apply force. These changes take place as follows:

Minimal Essential Strain (MES) is the amount of stimulus required to produce anatomical changes in the body that enable it to positively adapt to the increased workload imposed on it. MES produces adaptations in all of the aforementioned structures. Some of the means by which these adaptations occur are similar for these structures, some are different. Increased bone deposition, for example, depends on (amongst other factors) the age and condition of the bones involved in training. Anything from walking to heavy resistance training can be a sufficient strain to stimulate new bone growth. For increased muscle fiber deposition (hypertrophy/hyperplasia), walking is not a sufficient stimulus while heavy resistance training is.

Force application is important in muscular endurance (Jones 1974) and speed of movement (McCloy 1936, Nelson and Fahrney 1965; Nelson and Jorden 1969). Force is particularly important in developing power (Berger and Henderson 1966). Ultimately, power is what ballplayers are after.

The following list is an overview of the upper body muscles used and their actions during an overhand throw:

• Triceps - extends the elbow during the acceleration phase of an overhand throw

• Pectoralis major (internal rotator muscle) - horizontally flexes, inwardly rotates, and adducts the humerus (upper arm) bone (amongst other actions)

• Pectoralis minor - forwardly tilts, depresses, and downwardly rotates the scapula. This helps stabilize the scapula during an overhand throw

• Latissimus dorsi (internal rotator) - during the acceleration phase, extends, horizontally extends, and inwardly rotates and adducts the humerus. During the deceleration phase, extends and horizontally extends the humerus

• Deltoids (anterior [internal rotator], middle, and posterior heads [external rotator]) - abducts, flexes, extends, horizontally flexes and extends, and outwardly rotates the humerus. The anterior head assists the pectoralis major during shoulder transverse flexion, moving the upper arm toward and across the chest and midline of the body

• Teres major (internal rotator) - extends, horizontally extends, inwardly rotates, and adducts the humerus

• Rotator Cuff, internal rotators - Subscapularis muscle horizontally flexes, adducts, inwardly rotates and extends the humerus. Supraspinatus muscle inwardly and outwardly rotates the humerus during arm acceleration and deceleration

• Rotator Cuff, external rotators/decelerators - teres minor flexes, extends, horizontally extends, outwardly rotates and adducts the humerus. Infraspinatus - flexes, extends, horizontally extends, outwardly rotates and adducts the humerus.

Muscles in red are overhand throwing ACCELERATORS; muscles in blue are throwing DECELERATORS. Accelerators contract concentrically to help speed up and move the arm forward during a throw to the release point, and the decelerators help slow down the arm after ball release by contracting eccentrically. The accelerators are larger, more numerous (six), and more powerful than the decelerators (three). These differences in activity and anatomy around the shoulder complex have important training and conditioning implications.

Assuming proper pitching mechanics, all of these muscles are well conditioned by OU training. This is very important because these upper body muscles are a major factor in velocity production during an overhand throw. Toyoshima et al., in a study published in the journal Biomechanics IV, demonstrated that 46.9% of the velocity of the overhand throw could be attributed to the stride and body rotation, with 53.1% due to arm action. So it's basically a 50-50 contribution between the trunk and the arm. Appropriate training of both body "areas" should be part of a well-designed strength and conditioning program for baseball pitchers and any overhand thrower. You can learn more about how to do this here.

Such training must conform to the following two guidelines:

1) The training load is sufficient to produce the desired training effect, yet not so great as to negatively impact throwing (or hitting) mechanics.

2) The thrower's program introduces OU training gradually and systematically, employing a training principle known as Progressive Overload (Clarkson & Watson, 1990). This principle states that "strength and endurance cannot be increased unless the muscles are stressed beyond their normal workload. To increase the workload, increase the frequency, duration and intensity of your exercise program."

There are three variables to manipulate to induce a training effect in any type of exercise or conditioning: The intensity (workload) of the workout, the duration (or length) of the training session, and the frequency of workout sessions. To effectively and safely increase throwing velocity, intensity is increased by using 20% +/- OU balls, duration is increased by gradually increasing the number of OU throws performed with each workout, and frequency is increased by the number of days of throwing workouts. Arm/shoulder structures trained in this manner are more capable of handling the regular competitive game stress, which is less than that imposed by OU conditioning. An arm conditioned for making numerous throws with a 6 oz ball will more than likely out-perform an arm trained only to work under a 5 oz. load (ability, mechanics and over-use considerations aside).

This is best summed up by way of the well-known conditioning principle S.A.I.D. - Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (Wallis and Logan, 1964). This principle states that the body will adapt to stress imposed on it (as long as it is not excessive, in which case the body breaks down) and will not adapt beyond the scope of that stimulus. This principle forms the basis for any type of workout performed in all of sports and physical activity. One safe and effective way of doing this is with OU Training, employing the aforementioned guidelines.

Benefit #2

Improved on-field performance - increased throwing velocity (or bat speed).

This conditioning method, known as overSPEED (or assisted speed) training, uses techniques that increase movement speed through the joint Range Of Motion (ROM). As discussed above, Olympic track and field athletes and other sports have long employed this type of training very effectively and safely.

In the case of baseball and softball throwing, this attribute is developed by throwing a ball weighing 20% less than the competitive ball. Because the ball weighs less, the arm traverses more quickly through its ROM, producing greater arm-speed movement. The greater the arm speed, the greater the ability to apply force to a ball during a throw. Force application is one of the keys to greater throwing velocity (the other being the length of time of force application). Throwing lighter balls has been shown, both clinically and on the ball field, to be one of the best means of increasing throwing velocity. Similarly, swinging appropriately lighter bats helps develop increased bat speed, producing greater hitting power.

A note on "light" ball training, high school and older players: This can be an excellent way for pitchers in particular to get a good amount of throwing in between starts with less stress on the arm. For youth ball players - why do we make lighter bats for younger ball players, yet make them use the same 5 oz ball that guys like Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson throw? That Little League fields are smaller makes little difference when it comes to the length of some of the throws that young players have to make. These little arms still have to generate a great deal of force to propel the ball. In many youth leagues around the country, 13 year olds have to pitch at 60' 6" and play on major league sized fields. Underweight balls (4 oz.) are a GREAT tool for players of all ages.

Keep in mind that while an ounce may not seem like much of a difference, it actually represents a 20% change in the training load, which is very significant. It is analogous to asking a weight lifter training with 300 lbs. to now use both 360 lbs. and 240 lbs. during workouts, either of which can make quite a difference in the training results.

Benefit #3

Enhanced neuromuscular conditioning.

According to Vern Gambetta, Director of Athletic Development for the New York Mets, the primary source of fatigue in baseball pitching is not metabolic, but neural. The metabolic demands - conditioning - are just not that great in baseball or softball. Don't misunderstand - I'm speaking here of the skills required to be a good hitter or pitcher. Being well conditioned is still important, as this will at a minimum help prevent injury, but no doubt you've seen players like John Kruk, David Wells, Tony Gwynn, and others. High level performers who are not particularly well conditioned.

Neural fatigue occurs at the motor-unit level. In the act of pitching, for example, the Central Nervous System sends a nerve impulse to a motor unit (MU) in the shoulder involved in this process. The ability of these MUs to transmit these signals, with optimal frequency and speed, diminishes over time, leading to slower and weaker muscle contractions.

In baseball pitching, throwing muscles and tendons in the shoulder are stretching and contracting repeatedly while accelerating and decelerating the arm during an overhand throw - constant biochemical activity at the neuromuscular junction. As neural fatigue sets in, it becomes manifest in mechanical problems. For example, a pitcher dropping their shoulder later in the game, leading to a loss of control or velocity. The tough thing is, this "fatigue" is usually not felt by the pitcher, but it occurs nevertheless.

This is where proper conditioning (OU Training) comes in. Research has shown that neurons adapt to stress much like muscles do. Motor neurons exposed to high-frequency impulses end up with more developed neuromuscular junctions which appear more capable of handling high-intensity impulses better than those not exposed to similar stress. The S.A.I.D. principle in effect again.

Does this mean OU Training is fool proof, and has never harmed a player? Of course not. Most any type of conditioning, performed incorrectly, can cause problems or injury. Throwing itself, be it footballs, baseballs, rocks or whatever, has harmed many a throwing arm. Running is the cause of many knee and ankle injuries. Shoulder problems amongst swimmers are common. Ice skaters often suffer from some very painful leg ailments. I could go on, but you get the point. All of these injuries and problems occur as a part of the athlete's regular practice and competitive activities. Performing them properly minimizes the risk, of course. So does a variety of strength and conditioning methods, including OU Training.

BASEBALL EXPERTS WHO ARE PROPONENTS OF OU TRAINING

Dr. John Bagonzi. Former pitcher with the Red Sox. Known as the "Pitching Professor" and author of the book, "The Act of Pitching."

Dr. Tom House. Former pitcher with the Rangers. Author/co-author of several books, including "The Winning Pitcher" and "Power Baseball." Personal pitching coach to Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Mark Prior, and others. Co-founder of the National Pitching Association.

Dr. Coop DeRenne. Former professional player, instructor and consultant to the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers. Probably this country's leading baseball researcher, supervising 16 hitting and pitching warm-up, biomechanical, and visual research projects using over 600 amateur and professional hitters and pitchers as his subjects. Co-author (with Tom House) of the book, "Power Baseball" and other baseball training books.

Steven Ellis. Former pitcher with the Chicago Cubs, author of the book, The Complete Pitcher and a top baseball pitching instructor in the Chicago area.

ASMI - The American Sports Medicine Institute.

Vern Gambetta, President of Gambetta Sports Training Systems. Currently the Director of Athletic Development for the New York Mets and former Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox. Performed biomechanics research jointly with ASMI involving top White Sox pitchers which led to the development of throwing programs using footballs and overweight and underweight baseballs.

All of these experts possess impeccable credentials and favor some type of weighted ball training. Please note that my referencing the aforementioned individuals/organizations does not constitute an endorsement on their part of my training methods.

OU TRAINING AND MLB PLAYERS

While OU Training is not widely used by big league pitchers, primarily because of unfounded fears and misinformation regarding this conditioning method, it has been and is currently used by some. In 1987, University of Hawaii/Manoa pitcher Derek Tatsuno dominated college baseball, setting what was then an NCAA record with 541 strikeouts in 402.3 innings for his three year career. His conditioning regimen included regularly training with weighted baseballs. Named to the All-Time All-Star Team of Collegiate Baseball America, Tatsuno was the first college 20 game winner and had a career record of 40-6 and a 2.04 ERA. A second round pick of the San Diego Padres, he reached the major leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1982.

The aforementioned author, Tom House, trained with weighted baseballs during his collegiate career at USC and as a major league pitcher.

Steven Ellis, a former pitcher with the Chicago Cubs, used 4, 5, and 6 oz baseballs to add 6 mph to his fastball, going from 90 mph to 96 mph.

And at least one current major league pitcher trains with weighted baseballs. Six-time All Star Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees was shown on national TV in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS warming up with a weighted ball. It's a part of his regular throwing and warm-up routine. If a guy like Rivera uses weighted baseballs, it's likely that other players are using them as well.

As for hitters, Dave Hudgens, hitting instructor for the Oakland A's, teaches overload training principles. Among his students and endorsers are All-Stars Eric Chavez of the A's, 2005 All-Star Game MVP Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles, and Luis Gonzalez of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Bob Alejo, former strength and conditioning coach of the Oakland A's and now the Personal Conditioning Coach of NY Yankee's Jason Giambi, suggests the following regimen to increase bat speed: "Use a bat that is only a few ounces heavier than your regular bat. Try to use the same length as well. This way the swing will be the same, but because of the added weight, you will be increasing power with your normal swing."

Clearly, OU training is effective not only for younger, growing players, but physically mature players at the highest levels of the game.

Straight Answers to Tough Questions about Training With Weighted Baseballs

Q: I’m confused; there are so many different views on what is proper training and how to increase throwing velocity… what’s right?

A: The confusion stems from the fact that some “gurus” stress either strength development at the expense of good body mechanics or good body mechanics at the expense of a well designed strength and conditioning regimen. From there, these same “gurus” attempt to expose the faults of other trainers or instructors, resulting in a climate of fear and misinformation.

There is no reason that athletes involved in refined “power” skills like throwing should disregard strength and power training, muscular endurance, and flexibility while working on developing their throwing mechanics.

That’s why it’s important to engage in workout programs that include skill work combined with resistance training. This type of training provides the opportunity to adjust your skills gradually to changes occurring in your body as a result of your training regimen.

The fact is, in order to develop your potential as a powerful ball player with a high level of neuromuscular skill, you have to know what you’re trying to accomplish and what specific demands to impose in order to properly design a strength and conditioning program that will help you achieve your objective(s).

Q: I hear that weighted baseball training is not only harmful but a waste of time and money and could eventually lead to injury. What are the facts?

A: I’ve not seen any clinical or empirical data to support this claim of harm. Because weighted implement training is relatively new to baseball, it’s easy for the uninformed to discount it. When I see claims like these from self-proclaimed “experts,” I NEVER see them supply any objective data to support their arguments. If you take a closer look at these arguments, you’ll find many contradictions.

For example, I saw one “expert” claim that weighted ball training is not used by professional ballplayers because it can cause injuries and then pointed to several pro-ball players who were injured to support his claim that weighted ball training was harmful. Interestingly, the injured players he mentioned never used weighted balls.

On the other hand, I’ve read at least a dozen well-designed clinical studies that support the use of moderately weighted baseballs for both velocity increase as well as arm-conditioning. Add to this that I’ve had hundreds of players over the years perform this type of training with NO reported problems or injuries. The body of evidence to support the safety and efficacy of this type of training is extensive and well-regarded.

So, can you get hurt training with weighted baseballs?

Yes, if done improperly – like many activities. Can you injure yourself while weight training? Can you hurt yourself by merely throwing a baseball? Of course you can, IF you do either of these activities incorrectly.

Lifting properly and throwing correctly are keys to injury prevention, to say nothing of performance improvement. Interestingly, when players get hurt because of bad throwing mechanics no one condemns the act of throwing. Yet, when a player who is throwing and doing some type of strength training sustains an injury, the strength training (general or specific, like weighted baseballs) instantly becomes the culprit.

Here’s the point: Far more players are hurt from poor throwing mechanics than from training with weighted baseballs. Used properly, moderately weighted baseballs will not only improve throwing velocity, they can properly condition the arm for the rigors of throwing. Proper training with weighted baseballs (and softballs) actually becomes an INJURY PREVENTIVE MEASURE.

Here are two unsolicited testimonials from real ball players (one a professional pitcher) who have trained with weighted baseballs:

#1 “I am coming off a shoulder injury and in the past 2 months have followed your [throwing] program and have yet to feel the slightest discomfort so far this season... After my first start I went 6 innings with no discomfort to my shoulder what-so-ever and that is twice the amount of time I would have went anytime last year, healthy or not.” P. P., Winston Salem, NC

#2 " After my last year in the Anaheim Angels Organization I had back surgery. As a result of trying to come back too early I blew out my throwing shoulder and had an arthro cleanup and reconstructive surgery (Bankaert repair). After 3 years of rehab/physical therapy - throwing program and trying to come back over hand my velocity consistently wasn't there and the pain was still there.

"I then decided to convert to a sub-marine delivery at the same time stumbling onto Steve. I use Steve's workouts as a part of my Daily Training Program and I have never had better results. His workouts/programs work and have helped my arm drastically. Within the last three months my velocity has gone from 84mph up to 88mph" Jason Anderson, Former Anaheim Angels Organization pitcher

For those of you who would like further clinical data supporting the use of weighted baseballs, click here to see several references as well as additional info on how and why this training method works.

Q: Doesn’t training with weighted balls mess up your timing?

A: Not when training with balls weighing within 20% (above and below) of the regulation weight of your game ball (5 oz for baseball, 6.5 oz for softball). There is some data that indicates that training with what I call “heavy” weighted balls (over 6 oz for baseball, 8 oz for softball) can cause problems with mechanics which can lead to control problems or injury. Follow the 20% guideline and you’ll avoid this problem.

Q: Is lack of arm strength the primary issue for a lack of velocity in high school pitchers? Shouldn’t pitchers who throw a 5 oz ball from the mound only throw a 5 oz ball whenever they throw?

A: It’s important to avoid generalizations. Some pitchers with very poor mechanics and naturally strong arms can make significant improvement in throwing velocity just by correcting their mechanics. Likewise, pitchers with good mechanics can make vast improvements in their throwing velocity when they use appropriate strength and conditioning methods combined with a proper weighted ball throwing program.

As for only throwing a 5 oz ball, the fundamental and well-accepted principle for developing any type of fitness is the SAID principle: Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (Wallis and Logan, 1964). The principle simply states that to develop an optimum level of strength or conditioning you must safely and progressively increase the demands you impose on your body.

Throwing balls weighing slightly more, or less, than the standard 5 oz baseball (or 6.5 oz softball) is a type of training that conforms to this principle. It has NEVER been shown to be detrimental to throwing or pitching performance. In fact, there is a great deal of information to support the use of moderately weighted baseballs.

Q: Don’t pitchers simply need more functional strength and mechanical adjustments to help transfer this strength to the baseball?

A: Again, it depends on the pitcher’s situation. If a pitcher has poor mechanics, I recommend that these deficiencies be corrected first. A lack of strength and power is a different matter and is approached differently.

Improving core strength, power and even flexibility can improve throwing velocity. A regimen of throwing weighted baseballs is simply another appropriate means to accomplish this objective.

Q: Can’t pitchers simply fix a mechanical fault such as weight transfer or stride length along with getting more rotational power from the pelvis and trunk and therefore throw harder?

A: Of course, and I heartily recommend that pitchers do so! Once this is accomplished, what does a player do next? Simply do more long-toss drills? Ball players have been doing long-toss all their lives. If increasing velocity was so easy to accomplish, we’d have a lot more 90+ mph throwers.

Q: Don’t those that are selling weighted baseballs actually justify velocity increases by making mechanical adjustments?

A: Obviously, I can’t speak for everyone selling weighted balls. Some may make this claim, but I don’t know why they would. I certainly do not. I have always recommended that throwing mechanics be in order before moving on to more “advanced” training such as my throwing velocity program.

In fact, my regimen doesn’t in any way address mechanics – purposefully so – because there are many good books and videos already on the market about developing proper throwing technique. In no way do I attribute the improvements made on my program to improved mechanics. Players using my program are getting results because of the combination of the throwing program itself (with PROPERLY weighted baseballs or softballs) and the strength and flexibility program for the rotator cuff.

Q: If all pitchers had to do to gain an added 10 mph on their velocity was to just purchase a set of $30 weighted baseballs, wouldn’t that be one of the most popular baseball products out there?

A: Don’t confuse the “popularity” of a product or idea with its soundness. It was once “popular” to consider the earth to be flat.

There are many reasons good ideas aren’t popular, not the least of which is a lack of knowledge of the concept in the first place. Another reason is the misinformation that is passed around as “knowledge” that ends up unnecessarily confusing and scaring people.

As correct information and success stories continue to spread about training with weighted baseballs and softballs, their “popularity” will increase. I think that move has already begun.

Q: Haven’t weighted baseballs been around for over 30 years now and yet are hardly ever seen or used by top performing pitchers, top college or pro teams?

A: Yes, heavy weighted baseballs have been around for a while, and the science behind weighted implement training has been around even longer. Pioneered by research in the former Soviet Union, track and field athletes (hammer, javelin, and discus throwers, along with shot putters) have been safely and successfully training this way for decades. Even sprinters and swimmers are using overload and underload training. Compared to other sports, baseball has just been slow to adopt these safe and effective training methods.

As for the number of college or pro teams using specific-resistance and weighted implement training, don’t let their lack of understanding and acceptance of these proven training techniques guide your decision. Pro baseball in particular is NOTORIOUSLY slow to adopt new ideas while holding onto outmoded ones. Just read the best-selling baseball book, "Money Ball" for ample proof of this.

At the same time, a lot of big leaguers do things I would never recommend to ball players. Many major league pitchers throw pitches that are not appropriate for younger pitchers. Their mechanics are often not worthy of emulation. Some chew tobacco, etc, etc. I think you get the point.

Q: Isn’t it true that the majority of youths and high school pitchers do not get very good use of their lower body and trunk? Wouldn’t this increase stress on the arm and therefore the stress placed on the arm when using weighted balls?

A: While this is a common problem, using moderately weighted balls has not been shown to be problematic for even these players. In such cases, however, I always recommend that mechanical deficiencies be corrected before engaging in weighted ball training.

Q: I saw an article that appeared in July 28 2003 USA TODAY on Tommy John’s arm surgery. Did he ever use weighted baseballs?

A: No, Tommy John never used weighted baseballs and this article never mentions weighted baseballs. It does address John’s surgery and comeback, as well as that of other players.

Finally, here are two clinical studies on the use of weighted training baseballs:

1) Training Pitchers with Overweight and Underweight Baseballs by the American Sports Medicine Institute

A review was conducted to determine how throwing overweight and underweight baseballs affects baseball throwing velocity and accuracy. Two studies were found that examined how warming up with overweight baseballs affected throwing velocity and accuracy of 5 oz regulation baseballs. One of these studies showed significant increases in throwing velocity and accuracy, while the other study found no significant differences.

Three training studies (6-12 weeks in duration) using overweight baseballs were conducted to determine how they affected ball accuracy while throwing regulation baseballs. No significant differences were found in any study. From these data it is concluded that warming up or training with overweight baseballs does not improve ball accuracy.

Seven overweight and four underweight training studies (6 – 12 weeks in duration) were conducted to determine how throwing velocity of regulation baseballs was affected due to training with these overweight and underweight baseballs. The overweight baseballs ranged in weight between 5.25 - 17 oz, while the underweight baseballs were between 4 - 4.75 oz.

Data from these training studies strongly support the practice of training with overweight and underweight baseballs to increase throwing velocity of regulation baseballs. [emphasis mine]

Future research is needed to determine what effect, if any, training with overweight and underweight baseballs has on risk of injury. In addition, research should be initiated to determine whether throwing kinematics and kinetics are different between throwing regulation baseballs and throwing overweight and underweight baseballs.

2) Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2001, 15(1), 148–156 (c) 2001 National Strength & Conditioning Association Brief

Effects of General, Special, and Specific Resistance Training on Throwing Velocity in Baseball: A Brief Review

COOP DERENNE, 1 KWOK W. HO, 1 AND JAMES C. MURPHY2

1 Department of Kinesiology and Leisure Science, College of Education, University of Hawaii-Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822; 2 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6K2B2.

A brief quote from this study, page 5: "Previous throwing studies have indicated that the throwing velocity of a standard 5-oz baseball can be increased significantly by overload training, or throwing a heavier baseball. In contrast, throwing velocity can also be increased using weighted implements that were slightly lighter than the standard competitive weights."

Questions or comments about this report? Feel free to contact me at steve@baseballfit.com