Bench Presses for Pitchers???

CORE WORKOUTS are most important......work out your core. SQUATS, HANG CLEANS, PULL UPS, ABS, FRONT SQUATS, and etc... all your major muscles. You can use a dumbbell press for the bench. i would never suggest maxing out using the a straight bar for pitchers or anyone who cares about thier arm for baseball. jmo

 

Very Glad to see you here Steven!! I think you'll love this site. For those of you who who don't know Steven Ellis, take a look at his website. Also, from what I have read, Eric Cressey one of the best S&C guys for baseball.

 

Overhead press is probably worse than bench pressing. Just think about it for a sec.

Regular dumbbell flys also put stress on the shoulder, I think. Rear delt flyes are good, though.

 

I think it falls back to Knowing Biomechanics and understanding the Player doing the work, research Pro pitchers and see what their regimens look like upper body strength is CRUCIAL for pitchers and bench press, Plyometric Pushups, and flys are Great for strengthing upper body "push" Muscles and with out them pitchers are not going to have the strength gains that are going to make them stronger and more durable for the duration of a season. I cant say it enough if you have to ask questions of this kind find a NSCA certified Strength coach these are extremly well educated people that are going to really understand the Anatomy and biomechanics of sports and exercise

 

Im certainly no expert. Not close.

I just think that the overhead movement helps that "scapular loading" thing some folks talk about.

Exercise pros are really the true experts. They could really help. Would like to here from them.

 

Let's not foget the good'ole fashioned PUSH UP. It really covers it all.

Side note...sort of....and why I mentioned push ups....

Over Christmas break, I was playing basketball. Well, my achilles tendon got tired of it and SNAPPED! So right now, i'm about 1 month post surgery. I have a 3 year old and a 5 month old. Crutches have seemed to have gone by the wayside (which i know could be stupid, Lord help me if the other one breaks) while at home and such. My right quad, and especially calf muscles are extremely tighter and much larger than a month ago. and all i've been doing is hopping on one foot. I am not one to knock modern technology and equpiment, but don't lose sight of the basic exercises that...

1. Really Work
2. Don't cause damage.
3. and are CHEAP

Coaching this spring is going to be a treat by the way.

 

I agree with what's been said here, especially core work.

However, how much do you want to stake in a kid being a pitcher only?

It seems to me that most HS pitchers also pay the field and hit. Therefore all forms of strength building would help them in their overall game. Plus, the percentage of HS pitchers that make it as a pitcher at future levels is very small so why focus so much on one aspect.

I would think a well balanced program of core, muscle, and cardio is in order for all HS athletes. Specialization can come when it's clear where he's going to wind up which may very well be after HS.

Note: There are clearly very special pitchers who do fall outside this generalization.

 

In general,bench presses should be avoided for pitchers However, overall muscle balance is important. Bench presses using light dumbells with the weight never coming down all the way to the chest. Coming all the way down puts strain on the shoulder, come down to where the upper and lower arm are at right angles. Before, during and after the workout the pectorals should be stretched.
Areas of focus should be the core, legs, core, upper back (latisimus dorsi and rhomboids,sp?) and core. The deltoids (front, middle and back) using light weights, 2 to 5 lbs but focus on the core muscles.