What exercises can I do to be able to throw a baseball faster?

Question

Should I curl more, or do dips, or just keep my arm loose with some long toss?

Answer 1

Doing curls or dips won't necessarily improve the speed of your ball. Concentrate on the mechanics of pitching. Good mechanics will help with the velocity of the pitch. Lifting weights is very important for pitchers but having big arms won't make you throw harder. Lift light when doing arms but concentrate on your legs and your mid-section. Long toss is also a big help. One more thing, make sure you stretch after you lift to make sure you don't lose flexibility

Answer 2

If you are going to lift, focus more on your legs. The strength you use in this game is generated from the rib cage down. You can lift upper body but don't get so big that you have zero Range of Motion, that is an important part to throwing harder.

You need to be very flexible especially in your torso and arms.
The more explosive you get with your legs and hips the farther and harder you are going to throw.

Yes long toss will help tremendously, if done right. You need to keep the ball down, meaning, below 20 feet at its highest point. When you long toss you are teaching your arm to throw hard for a long distance at a normal angle. When in this game are going to throw the ball towards the sky? Never. You need to keep it as low as possible and still able to get it there, it is alright for it to bounce a couple of times before it reaches your throwing target. The more you teach your arm to throw hard and far the more it will remember it.

The single most important thing to throwing hard (fast) is a great leg drive.

Answer 3

If you want to throw a ball faster you need to lift legs and your core. If you look at most pitchers they do not have big arms, they do have big strong legs. All the power from pitching comes from drive and push from your legs. It is also important to have a good core because that also helps raise velocity. The stronger you get all over the better you will become but dont get too bulky are your pitching motion will change and it will be difficult to throw stikes. Really work hard on your legs and core and keep the rest of your body in good physical condition.

Answer 4

Pay attention to the guys that are saying core and leg strength. A good way to understand that point is to do a simple toss game. First stand flat footed in a pitching stance and throw the ball as hard as you can...next take a normal pitching stride when you throw ...notice the difference in speed, your arm didnt get stronger your legs generated the power. Obviously you should stretch your arm out, low trejectory tosses as far as you can is probably best. But a strong base ...legs,back and stomach along with proper technique(dont discount that part of pitching, if your body isnt moving in a fluid forward motion it will cost you MPH) are the keys to a better fastball. But one last thing to remember, it is better to throw your best fastball 4 or 5 MPH slower than max if max means a flattened out pitch, movement is more important than speed. Good hitters will adjust to speed, it is much more difficult to adjust to movement.

Answer 5

I use to pitch for my baseball team. My coach was very good but was never a pitcher himself. I threw well enough in my freshman year that I had an automatic ticket to the varsity team in my sophomore year. During pre-season our principal saw me pitching during one of these practice sessions and gave me advice that increased my speed by 30%.

He used to play college ball and was a tall lanky pitcher himself (which is to say, not alot of musculature). I'll try my best to explain now...

He suggested that I throw my shoulder out during my delivery. Go through your regular motion and as soon as you are in position to throw the ball, whip your shoulder out first - the arm automatically follows this whipping action. Practice the motion a few times...

Shoulder goes forcefully out toward the plate as hard as you can while your arm is as far back as it has reached. Whipping you shoulder out automatically starts to propel the arm forward - much faster then it was moving using the older (catcher's throw) technique.

He warned me that while my speed would increase, I might be all over the plate... He was right. He also said that by practicing, I would find the strike zone again. He was right about that also.

Now a word of advice... Start slow. Always warm up your arm. Throw slow and work up your speed. Never, ever... start throwing at full strength because the danger of a rotator cuff injury and/or damage to your shoulder is very real.

When your arm is totally loose - you cut loose. A 15 minute throwing session at full strength will leave your arm feeling almost completely lifeless.

Talk to your coach further about this.

And yes, legwork is important as it will effect your performance in later innings. The best pitchers run and stretch and make sure they still have strong legs after a few innings of work. You lose your legs, you lose your strength.

Answer 6

i would do a lot arm motion stretching isometrics - resistance weight training while in your arm motion.
i agree with the other guy - legs are key - mid section too.
long toss without question.
depends on your age too.

if ur under 16 - you should not be using wieghts - stick with isometrics.

Answer 7

attempting to pitch swifter in baseball could heavily tear up your arm. It takes prepare prepare prepare. So the only factor i could propose is to take it slow and well-known bypass exterior and prepare your pitching for a jiffy. attempt to take it to rapid and you're able to finally end up in no way pitching back. :-( desire this helped! :-)

Answer 8

legs and forearms. that's where your strength needs to be.

don't overemphasize your velocity, though. if you want to be an effective power pitcher, focus on throwing hard, not necessarily fast.