Pitching Conditioning

By Conditioning Coach Ryan Smith for PitchingTips.com

Not all baseball pitching conditioning programs are created equal.

In order to condition the pitcher for more strength and power while reducing the risk of injury, your workout and throwing program needs to be functional, it needs to target the core and it must allow you to maintain and even improve your flexibility while adding that strength.

A quality baseball pitcher conditioning program will blast the legs. The stronger your legs are, the harder you can throw.

At the professional level, baseball pitchers condition themselves by doing a lot of running and weight training. You won't lose flexibility if you stretch before and after your conditioning. Running, however, is the most common exercise. Another good one is jumping rope!

Here's a sample baseball conditioning program for pitching that can be used for conditioning during the off-season:

Pitcher's upper body conditioning

Warm up

• 5 minute run
• 5 minutes of stretching

Shoulders

• Dumbbell lateral raises - 10 reps, 3sets
• Dumbbell front raises - 10 reps, 3sets
• Dumbbell rear delt raises - 10 reps, 3sets
• Dumbbell military press - 10 reps, 3sets

Back

• Seated row - 10 reps 3sets
• Lat pulldown - 10 reps 3sets

Tricep

• Tricep pushdown - 10 reps, 3sets

Bicep

• Alternating dumbbell curls - 10 reps, 3sets

Wrist and forearms

• T-bar supination - 10 reps, 3sets
• T-bar pronation - 10 reps, 3sets
• T-bar chop - 10 reps, 3sets
• Wrist roller - 10 reps, 3sets

Core

• Crunches - 10 reps, 3sets
• Medicine ball sit up & toss - 10 reps, 3sets
• Medicine ball russian twist - 10 reps, 3sets
• Seated kick tuck - 10 reps, 3sets
• Horizontal swing - 10 reps, 3sets

Pitcher's lower body conditioning

Warm up

• 5 minute run
• 5 minutes of stretching

Legs

• Squat - 10 reps, 3sets
• Leg extension - 10 reps, 3sets
• Leg curl - 10 reps, 3sets
• Calf raises - 10 reps, 3sets

Core

• Crunches - 10 reps, 3sets
• Medicine ball sit up & toss - 10 reps, 3sets
• Medicine ball russian twist - 10 reps, 3sets
• Seated kick tuck - 10 reps, 3sets
• Horizontal swing - 10 reps, 3sets

Medicine ball

• Wood chop jump - 10reps, 3sets
• Leg separation with lunge - 10reps, 3sets
• Lunge with twist - 10reps, 3sets

Plyometrics

• rapid box jumps- 10 reps, 3sets

Running and sprinting

• 20 minute run
• Sprint work

If you'd like to receive more of my best tips and techniques to throw harder with better control while reducing the risk of injury, I invite you to subscribe to my free baseball pitching tips here: www.pitchingtips.com/free

Subscribe to my free baseball pitching tips Are you a pitcher? Need more velocity? If you throw 86 MPH or less, you better read this... Simply enter your first name and a valid email address below to unlock the secrets of a 90 MPH fastball. You'll discover how high school and college pitchers can quickly add another 5-7 MPH to their fastball in 60 days or less... Plus simple exercises, explosive strength training and velocity boosting techniques to get stronger, throw harder and pitch deeper into games. Don't miss out, sign up now for FREE... Your Name: Your Email: We take your privacy very seriously and WILL NEVER share your contact details. Don't miss out on these pitching tips!