Baseball is a beloved game for many people. Playing it is also a favorite pastime. If you like taking your baseball playing seriously, you need to focus on several skills. One of these is pitching. Having an impressive throwing arm is essential if you want to be a good pitcher. If you’re going to throw fastballs out like a machine, here are some tips that should help you out.
Be Aware of What You Can Do
One of the things you have to establish is how fast you can currently throw. Doing this should be easy enough with the right equipment. For example, Stalker radar guns are available at several places. They should be able to determine how fast your throw is with a few tries. Besides learning your initial speed, you can then use it to keep track of your development.
Have an Aim
Before you start training your arm, you need to be aware of what your aim is. Two things are essential in the pitch: accuracy and power. You need to train one of these to get better results in your throw. Accuracy can help ensure that you can throw some tricky shots for the batter to try and hit. High power throws focus on overwhelming the batter. The problem is you can’t train both at the same time if you want quick results. Determine where you need to improve first.
Start from the Ground
When you are throwing, the power comes from having a stable base. That means you need to have strong legs. It is a good idea to work on lunges and squats three times a week so that your legs can generate the force that you will transfer through your arm. Be consistent with the exercise so that you won’t lose your base.
Build Your Arm Muscles
Besides the legs, you need to have some decent arm strength, too. Building it should be a matter of using weights. Don’t overdo it, though. You want lean muscle, not bulky ones. Fifteen reps on three main upper body exercises like the shoulder press, forearm curls, and others ensure that your arms have the muscles to do the job.
Work on Your Flexibility
To get the maximum velocity on your throw, you need to be able to transfer the energy from one part of your body to another. To make this happen, you need to have flexibility, or you will injure yourself. The main parts of the body that need increased flexibility in throwing are your shoulders and hips. Rotate your shoulders and work them out regularly. Hip strength and flexibility can get a boost from the likes of yoga or pilates.
Make the Mechanics Work for You
To make your body into a throwing machine, you also need to work on the mechanics. Learning how to raise your lead knee properly and how to time it so that your entire body is behind the throw can be difficult. It is possible, though. Watch some recordings of pitches and record your performance to see how you can improve your game.
Getting a Golden Arm
There is nothing like the feeling of striking out your opposing team’s batter. Though a part of it is smart tactics, sheer power also helps much. The tips above should ensure that you can throw like a machine, with the ball practically cracking into the catcher’s mitt.
