Does velocity come from the arm or the body?
April 16, 2009
The arm throws the ball but does it generate the velocity in a 90+ mph fastball?
This question can stir up a big argument but there is only one answer. The arm does not generate the velocity. It only guides the pitch. Therefore the arm must follow the body and does not come into play until the body has done its job.
I have been in many arguments about this issue. I have listened to coaches tell their pitchers that if they want to throw harder they need to speed up their arms. My question is how will speeding up your arm increase your velocity? This doesn’t make much sense because if you arm leads your body, it must leave the body behind. If you leave the body behind then it is up to the small muscles of the arm to take the entire workload of generating 90+ mph.
I think to prove my answer to the question above we must once again look at the little pitchers in the game. This is because these guys must work a lot harder to generate 90+ mph. I go once again to my favorite little man Tim Lincecum; 5′7 165 lbs. Notice the picture here of him at front foot strike. Now, where is his arm? It is hiding behind his body. YES, all you coaches out there who are coaching your pitchers to speed up there arms, it is behind his body. This means his body is driving the pitch. This means his body is generating the velocity. This means the arm is along for the ride.
The coaches who will argue my point here are the coaches who use giant pitchers like Randy Johnson as their example of pitchers who have a lot of arm action. This is true but these pitchers have more leverage on the ball than the average man. If you are 6′8 like Randy Johnson then congratulations you are in a small percentage of baseball players but if you are 6′2 and under take it easy on your arm and learn to work your body as a single unit in your delivery. When you work on generating velocity, work on pulling it from your legs and core and not your arm.
I recommend using medicine balls as often as you can. I have many throwing drills with these balls that force the pitcher to use every muscle they have to make the throw. This is how we must pitch if we want to throw and withstand 90+ mph.
The Ace Pitcher Handbook has a full medicine ball workout.
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Loading ...Written by Brent Pourciau · Filed Under Pitching Articles
Tagged: arm action, average man, balls, baseball, baseball players, coach, deliveries, doe, Drills, er, fastball, foot strike, game, generations, giants, job, learning, legs, leverage, little man, medicine, muscles, muscles of the arm, percentages, pitch, pitchers, pitches, pitching, randy johnson, s, single unit, speed, throwing, tim Lincecum, Velocity, workload
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5 Responses to “Does velocity come from the arm or the body?”
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Recent Comments:
- Brent Pourciau: I answered this question in comment 38. I said 1-2 mph but it would take a dynamic before... Read more
- mariners: yes.. but i’m asking if an increase in flexibility can add velocity to your ball. Also..... Read more
- Brent Pourciau: You should perform a good Dynamic and Static stretching routine before any event. Practice... Read more
- mariners: are you talking about stretching before a game?? Or gaining flexibility over time a long period... Read more
- Brent Pourciau: No not 8-10mph. 1-2 mph maybe but this is a sensitive issue. Cold static stretching has... Read more
Translation
The fact that a player can achieve 50% of their velocity (in studies) by isolating the throw to the shoulders-fingertips indicates that the arm is capable of producing a very significant amount of force.
Granted, the body obviously contributes a huge amount to velocity as well, but once the shoulder reaches maximum internal rotation (that is, right before the shoulder begins to externally rotate), there is, IN ADDITION to the energy that is flowing up the kinetic chain from the hips and core, an active effort by the thrower to use the arm to assist the throw.
Every piece of the kinetic chain actively contributes to velocity. The arm happens to be the last piece of the chain, but it is not the case (and this is in fact extremely intuitive when you think about it) that the musculature, the internal rotators of the arm are not firing just as hard as every other piece in the kinetic chain. They just happen to have the job of not only independendtly generating force, but also HARNESSING all the energy that has been transferred to it by the hips and core.
I think the mindset that this article evokes may be a good one. Many players dont get enough out of the first part of the kinetic chain and solely rely on the last piece. However, it’s innacurate to say that the arm literally is along for the ride, even if this is a useless cue for many many players out there.
Lanky
what I meant to say was useful* cue
Yes, you are correct but most athletes can not cognitively develop your perspective on throwing/ pitching. Therefore teaching throwing mechanics without bringing a lot of emphasis to the arm is very effective when initialing in learning velocity. Thanks for the comment!
You’ve got an interesting and thought provoking site…I like the info very much for the most part. Consider learning as much as you can about SETPRO which will certainly help you clarify and refine many of your ideas/principles.
A major weakness that I’ve noticed in some of your articles is the HOW. How do you teach a player to get separation, etc. Sure, now they know that this is crucial for velocity, but how do you generate this torque in the core? Setpro offers a motor learning perspective that is very interesting/helpful although sometimes the answer is frustrating: through trial and error.
anyway check it out.
Lanky
Lankylefty thanks for the comments. I will look more into setpro. To answer your question how do you train separation I would suggest you read this article http://topvelocity.net/triple-extension-creates-optimal-separation/