Long Toss

This week, I have decided to post a question and my response from a recent forum post discussion that I was involved in. Feel free to comment and keep the discussion going.

Proposed question / topic: "What is a good way to throw long toss? I've heard many different things. I'm specifically asking whether or not to throw rainbows or line drives once you get to long distances but if anyone has anything to add on the subject, feel free to add in."


My response: "In a nut shell, my philosophy is line drives. Biomechanical research indicates that the rainbow delivery does not mimic the normal delivery and place undue stress on the shoulder and elbow joints. Long toss needs to be viewed as high intensity exercise. When an athlete is in the weight room and working out for power and strength, he will typically perform high weight / low repetition training (i.e. 3-6 reps). I believe that a long toss program should follow this same model. Once the player gets loose, he should gradually progress back performing 3-6 throws at each distance until he can no longer maintain the ball on a line or at the very least 1-hop the ball to his partner. Also, since this is a high intensity activity, care should be taken to monitor the number of times per week this is done. During the off-season a maximum of 3-times per week is appropriate. However, during the pre-season (once bullpen sessions become more frequent) and in-season, a maximum of 2-times per week may be more appropriate depending on the pitcher's outing frequency and workload."

Below is a link to an article at www.BaseballStrengthCoaching.com that addresses throwing programs:



The Throwing Conditioning Program



David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com

What's Your Max?

This blog has two purposes, one is asking the question do we really know what our athletes maxes are? And second if we don’t know, are we doing our athletes a disservice by not testing them?

I ask the question do we really know what our athletes maxes are because I have been noticing a trend that more and more schools are using estimated maxes. In the past, this technique was used mostly in high school at the freshman and sophomore level but it has been slowly moving to the older athletes and I have been hearing it is being used to a greater extent in the college ranks. I am not saying the technique should not be used. It has many uses and is a great tool. But, when it is the only technique used, I believe we are not giving the athletes a true look at what their maximal strength is. I have been getting more and more athletes through my program both in person and athletes that I plan programs for that give me these estimated maxes but cannot really lift that weight. Many times I have found the athlete to be 20-30 and even 40 pounds off the estimated weight. This can be very significant considering that if the athletes max was say 250lbs and they could really only do 220lbs. This is more then a 10% mistake, and if these maxes are used for calculating workouts through out the week, in most cases the athlete would not be getting the proper stimulus.

This leads into the next question. Is this a disservice to the athlete? In my opinion the answer is yes. If they do not perform true maximal’s at least a few times a year, the athlete may never know where they really stand and when they move onto the next level have to move backwards in order to move forward. This can be very frustrating. In many instances, if we are able to get the athlete on track and work from their true maxes, the athlete sees greater gains in shorter periods of time, as well as, giving the athlete a greater confidence in their lifting ability.

I just want to leave you with one more thought. As coaches, would we be ok if we used estimates of speed or velocity????????

Brian Niswender, MA, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com