One of the goals of training as a baseball player is to throw the ball harder and farther. This goal is accomplished by strengthening your throwing arm. There are several drills and training tips that you can implement to strengthen your arm and throw the ball harder.
Long Toss
According to high school baseball coach David Ray, long toss is the best way to improve and strengthen the throwing arm. Long toss also is an easy drill that can be performed virtually every day before every practice. The goal of long toss is to gradually spread out and eventually throw the ball as far as you can. The long throws stretch and strengthen your arm and over time you will increase the distance you can throw and in turn increase your arm strength and velocity. You can perform long toss with a partner or by yourself by throwing against a backstop with a bucket of balls. Start by throwing at about 45 feet, like a standard warm-up, and gradually move back every three to five throws until you are throwing the ball as far as you can. Make 10 to 12 throws at the maximum distance and gradually work back in to the starting point.
Throwing Weighted Balls
Weighted-ball training or throwing heavier-than-normal balls can increase your velocity and arm strength. According to trainer Evan Waters, weighted balls strengthen the shoulder and rotator cuff so that you are able to throw a standard-weight ball farther. When you throw weighted balls, you will not be able to throw them as far, but playing long toss with a weighted ball can give you even greater arm-strengthening benefits.
Weightlifting and Stretching
Lifting weights can help you get stronger, which will strengthen your throwing arm. For baseball players, especially pitchers, it is important to incorporate stretching so that the muscles stay loose and flexible for the throwing motion. Waters recommends focusing on compound exercises like presses, squats, rows and deadlifts. These compound moves strengthen multiple body parts and force the muscles to work together to gain strength. Waters notes that wrist and forearm drills like curls and wrist rolls often are forgotten by the public but performed daily by many professional baseball players.
Resistance Tube Drills
Using resistance bands or rubber tubing is a good way to increase strength in the shoulder. These drills often were used for rehabilitation from injury, but incorporating them before an injury can give you strength-building benefits as well. These bands should be attached to a fence or post and used to perform a variety of drills that focus on the shoulder. Bands allow you to simulate the throwing motion with resistance, which helps strengthen all of the arm muscles. In addition, specific shoulder drills like arm crosses work the smaller, often neglected muscles in the shoulder. To perform arm crosses, hold the band on one side of your body and step away from the fence until the band is tight. Then simply pull the band across your body, hold it for a second and return to the starting position to complete one repetition.
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