Baseball Pitching Strength

Hi Elliot

I have a kid in our high school strength and conditioning program who is a junior. He plays football, basketball, track, and baseball. I’m the strength coach and baseball coach and this kid is one of my pitchers. He has never had any trauma to his right shoulder…no dislocations, no tears, no nothing. The school hired me as the strength coach in January and hired me as the baseball coach in January. So I haven’t been with them long. Every time this kid bench presses with barbell or dumbells whether it be a max rep on bench press or fatigue from high rep on dumbell bench his right arm sags while his left arm has the weight all the way to the top. Follow me on this…today the kid maxed out on bench press and he had 235lbs on. He explodes off his chest and his left arm drives the weight all the way up, but his right arm sags and starts to drop so I have to help him finish the rep. I’m concerned for his safety and have watched this on more than one occassion with him and want to help him. He has absolutely NO PAIN in his right shoulder. Are their some exercises we can do to help him with this problem? Like I said he is a pitcher and all my pitchers have been working twice a week to get ready for the season and he has no complaints when he throws. I don’t get it and would appreciate your help in any way possible.

Thanks

Eric Goettsch

Here is my answer:

Grab a Foam Roller! Click the image below:

Foam Rollers

I’ve been experimenting with several different training and meal plan systems in order to “shape up” a bit and give my body a rest from lifting 320 lb. Stones and 750 lb. Yokes.  Also, this give me first hand information that I can relay to you about the effectiveness of various diets and training programs.

As I mentioned in the video above, I’ve lost over 10 lbs of fat and bloat in the past 2 weeks by using the following new modalities and resources.

#1 - Check out this free report about High Volume Training For Muscle Growth.  This is the kind of stuff that bodybuilders use to gain freaky size without using heavy weights.  But make no mistake… this is not some BS workout! — Be ready with a puke bucket and a diaper if you are going to give this workout a try.

Click the image below to DOWNLOAD this report, its free dude!

Click here to download

#2 -I hate diets!! So I am not going to even call this a freaking diet.  But it is a “meal plan” that works and I am currently using to drop some unnecessary body fat while maintaining my Pro Strongman Strength

Click the image below to check this “diet” out.

Click here To Lose Your Gut

Strength & Conditioning Video

We’ve been doing a ton of great things with baseball and football players over the past few weeks.

Since I am always taking random video shots I’ve got a bunch of clips that typically go unseen.

So instead of leaving them for lost… I just threw together a short compilation video for you to enjoy.

ONE THING!  – Every week I have been sending you at least one video that is a “Tutorial”, basically a video with me sharing some in-depth information about strength and conditioning… not just some surface content or feel-good BS.

I need you to do me a big favor though… please let me know what you would like me to do the next few Tutorials on. 

Just post your questions or topic suggestions below!

Enjoy the video!

Check out: http://www.FootballStrengthProgram.com before the price goes WAAAY up on December 1st.  Don’t miss the boat!

The ONLY way to get stronger and faster for football

Are you confused about REPS and SETS?

Do you wish you knew… when to do what type of training?

Does the sound of the word PERIODIZATION send chills down your spine?

Good… it does the same thing to me, thats why I’ve abandoned traditional Program Design and use this super simple and effective method to help athletes:

**Gain up to 27 pounds of muscle mass.

**Shave miliseconds off their 40 time.

**AND kick butt on the football field.

Learn more about Cojugate Periodization for football:
http://www.FootballStrengthProgram.com

Football Training – Medicine Ball Chest Pass

Getting your bench press up is great!  Being able to transfer that push strength into the face of an opponent… PRICELESS!

Whether you’re a Running Back thrusting a devastating stiff arm at the neck of a would-be tackler or a D-Lineman jamming your powerful grip into the chest of a slothful and lazy O-Lineman…

You gotta have a FAST and EXPLOSIVE push!!!

Build strength with bench presses and unleash your speed with these medicine ball chest passes:

Very common but DEADLY weakness…

Getting stronger often means more than just progressively adding weight to a barbell.

When common muscular imbalances, such as a length-tension discrepancy between the Scapular Adductors (muscles that hold your shoulders back and chest up) and Pec Minor (muscles that round your shoulders forward), are present and unaddressed you or your athletes are at increased risk for:

1. Low back, shoulder and neck pain.

2. Injury to weak and “exposed” ligaments and tendons.

3. Never reaching your full strength and athletic potential.

I am not nearly as anal as I once was about corrective exercise and “proper” form BUT I still believe that practicing “Corrective Dead lifts” to train thoracic extension (chest up posture) is SUPER important prior to adding slabs of iron to a young / weak athletes barbell.

This video shows how I cue athletes to “draw” the shoulder blades together in order to strengthen their back for dead lifts.

Squat Technique Flaw

If you are familiar with my philosophies on strength and conditioning for football player, athletes and general fitness… you know that I LOVE Squats!!

Nothing builds a solid set of legs, back, core, shoulders, neck, ears and eye lids than a healthy set of barbell squats.  In fact, squats are so important for the development of athletic strength and speed that it was the very first exercise that my uncle taught me when I began training at 14 years old.

Unfortunately, most people suck at squatting… and this is a shame since squats not only improve athletic performance but are essential for the maintenance of good health.

You might not know this, but squats are a “Primal Pattern” (ref. Paul Chek) which means that if you couldn’t squat during primordial times… you’d be pretty useless as a hunter/gatherer/builder and would definitely have a tough time pooping!  (can you say Colon Obstruction?)

We’ll I am going to show you a common muscular imbalance that many adults and athletes have that makes squatting nearly impossible.

But, I also show you how to fix it… who loves ya?

I spent an entire chapter on how to squat properly in my Football Strength System.  Make sure you are not wasting your time with ineffective exercises or with improper form.

Why ‘skinny and weak’ is not an option

About a year ago I got a call from a kid who plays baseball for The University Of Tampa. On the phone his voice sounded deep and his conviction was strong. He told me “Elliott, I want to be a starter on my university baseball team next year. To do this I need to gain a little weight.” Since helping skinny kids get jacked is one of my best specialties I told him, “Just show up at my gym tomorrow and we’ll get you on ‘The Road To Jacked’ right away.”

The next afternoon as I was putting away some 45 plates from training a 270 pound defensive end for the Tampa Bay Storm and behind me walks up this 150 pound weakling… with the SAME deep-ass voice that I heard on the phone the day before! Needless to say, I was shocked!

His name was Brett. Brett and I began that day (we had a lot of work to do!) with a discussion about FOOD. Notice that I didn’t say nutrition, I said FOOD. This kid just needed to eat, a lot! We took him from nibbling on Kit Kats and Skim Milk for breakfast to pounding 5 eggs with 3 slices of wheat bread; from drinking Diet Coke to choking down 3 Myoplex Protein Shakes per day.

We started with the basics… SQUATS, DEADLIFTS, BENCH PRESS (yes, bench press for baseball players!), SLED DRAGGING, and his favorite of all FARMERS CARRIES.

Within 3 months, “Brett The Speck” transformed into “Brett The Beast”! He gained over 30 pounds of rock solid muscles, he was running faster, hitting harder and making a HUGE impression on his coaches.

Brett started baseball season with a bang! He was bigger, stronger and faster. And it happened so fast that the UT athletic administrators insisted that he take a “Banned Substance piss test” to assure them that he wasn’t on steroids!!! I told him that that was the best compliment that they could have paid him.

Brett and his UT baseball team have just qualified for the NCAA World Championship in St. Louis. And Brett, the skinny punk that asked me to train him is a starter on that team!

How did he do it?

We followed the exact program that I outlined in my http://www.FootballStrengthProrgam.com

What? A football training program for baseball?

Principles are principles buddy! What gets a footballer jacked with get ANYONE jacked!

I am currently working on a program for you that will be tweaked a little more specifically for:

Baseball, Wrestling, Strongman, Basketball, ‘Tough Guys’, and anyone else who has a need for strength, mass and speed (EVERY man!)

What do you want? What are you willing to do?

Dead Lift Leg Exercises

Primary Muscle: Quads

Secondary Muscle: Glutes, Lower Back, Back, Calves, Hamstrings

Equipment Needed: Barbell

Mechanics Type: Compound

Proper Exercise Technique: Think of a deadlift as a squat, only the bar is in your hands rather than on your back.

The Stance: Approach the loaded barbell and assume a stance about as wide as your own shoulders while gripping the bar such that the inner aspects of your arms are slightly outside of your thighs. Another way to determine your optimal deadlift foot placement is to jump down from a box which is half your own height and “stick” the landing. Now look at your feet…this will approximate your ideal stance width and degree of foot turn-out.

Feet and Shin Position: Feet should point straight forward or turned out to a 25 degree angle at most. The best foot angle is one which provides the least amount of hip and knee restriction when you lower the hips in preparation to lift, so don’t be afraid to experiment a bit. The shins should be two to three inches from the bar and then when you actually bend down and lower your hips in preparation to lift, the shins will touch the bar. Most of the weight will be on the heels of the feet. This facilitates maximal contribution of the glutes and hamstrings. During the ascent, the bar will travel as close to the leg and shins as possible. Ideally, wear cotton sweat pants or track pants with long socks to protect your shins.

Hand Position: A “reverse grip” should be used when deadlifting. This means that one hand will be supinated (palm faces you) and the other pronated (palm facing away). This will help keep the bar in your hand. If grip strength is not one of your training targets, feel free to use wrist straps with a conventional grip. Hold the bar high up on the palm to compensate for any roll of the bar when pulling the weight up. Generally, the grip should start with the index finger and the little finger bordering the knurling in the middle of the bar.

Head Placement and Eye Contact: The entire spine should remain neutral, which means you look neither up nor down, but instead, the head follows the body, almost like you’re wearing a cervical cast on your neck. It’s OK for the head to be SLIGHTLY up (this tends to improve muscular contraction of the low back muscles) but in all cases, the lift must start with the hips down, the entire spine neutral, and the feet flat on the floor.

The Ascent: As you stand up with the weight, imagine pushing the earth away from you with your feet. When viewed from the side, your hips and shoulders should ascend together; if the hips rise before the shoulders, it means you’re using your back rather than your legs. If this happens, reduce the weight until you can perform the lift correctly and add more specific quad-strengthening exercises to your program.

The Lockout: Competitive powerlifters are required to demonstrate control over the weight by standing up and then extending the hips forward in an exaggerated manner. If you’re NOT a competitive lifter, simply stand up with the weight without this exaggerated maneuver.

The Descent: Simply return the bar to the floor, under control, by reversing the technique you used to lift the weight.

Barbell Squats Leg Exercise

Primary Muscle: Quads

Secondary Muscles: Hamstrings, Lower Back, Glutes

Equipment Needed: Squat Rack, Barbell

Mechanics Type: Compound

Proper Exercise Technique:

Step into the squat rack and adjust the pins so that you can easily un-rack the bar. You should also make sure that the safety catches are in place in case you reach failure and can’t lift the weight out of the bottom position. Space your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointing slightly outward and rest the bar on your lower traps and rear shoulders. Grip the bar with your hands spaced evenly apart and clear the bar off of the pins. Keeping your head up and abs tight, take a step back. Make sure that you are in a secure position with the bar balanced and with a solid base. Start the movement by bending at the knees and squatting down toward the floor. As you squat down make sure that your head is up, your abs are tight and your lower back is arched. Continue to descend until your thighs are at least parallel to the ground. Once you reach the bottom, drive the weight back up until you are in a standing position. Continue until you have completed your desired number of reps and then re-rack the bar.


Barbell Squat Leg Exercise Video



Tips: Squats are a big power movement and it is important that you use good form at all times. If you get sloppy by using momentum or twisting and jerking around you will be at high risk for an injury. Make sure that your abs are tight at all times and that your head is up. Your lower back should also be arched throughout the exercise rather than rounded out. When you reach the standing position, don’t lock your knees out as this will stress the joints. I wouldn’t recommend taking this exercise to all-out failure since you could easily hurt yourself. You should simply continue the exercise until you are one rep short of failure and then re-rack the bar. You should start out by using very light weights until you get a good feel for the lift and can execute it with perfect form.

More Power Lifting Exercises