A huge part of a pitcher's success is their ability to blow a fastball by opposing hitters. Just simply increasing your velocity by 5 mph or so will dramatically improve the effectiveness of your fastball and your other pitches as well. A large part of throwing hard is genetic -- some have it and some don't. But adding power to the fastball can be done with some hard work and good arm maintenance. Here's add some velocity to you fastball.
Instructions
Increasing the Velocity of Your Fastball
1. Ice down your arm after pitching.Throwing harder starts with proper maintenance of your already existing flame thrower. After you throw a lot, like pitch in a game or do a bullpen in practice, it is a good idea to ice your arm down. Icing your arm makes the inflammation from pitching go down and helps your muscles heal faster. The best way to do it is to fill a nicely-sized plastic bag with crushed ice. Be sure to get all of the air out of the bag and then tie it off. Place the ice over the area of your arm that hurts, whether it's your shoulder or elbow. The best way to attach the ice to your arm is to buy one of those saran wrap spinners that makes it very easy to tightly bind the ice to your arm. It will also allow you to put the ice in awkward areas, like under your arm or right on your elbow.Taking Advil can also help curb arm pain. And a healthy arm that feels good always throws harder.
2. Get outside and do some long toss.Throwing harder is about strengthening the smaller muscles in your arm. We're talking mainly about your rotator cuff here. One of the best ways to make them stronger is to go out and throw... far.Find a partner and start out by warming up your arm extremely well. Get loose however you normally would, throwing soft at first and slowly making your way back to about 70 to 90 feet. After you are totally warmed up, have your partner continue to walk back as you throw, taking a few steps backwards after each toss. Your partner should slowly move all the way back to about 200-250 feet, or wherever is considered a "long toss" for you depending on your arm strength.For most adult males, this should be a little bit shorter than the distance between home plate and where the center fielder would normally stand.Once you're at this distance, spend about 10-15 minutes throwing long toss. To get the most out of your long toss session, you should try to throw the ball at a 45-degree angle to your partner. It will not help your arm as much if you just lob it as high as you can. It is not important if you can get it to your partner on the fly, although it is helpful. But it is more important that you throw it hard and at the correct trajectory. In the least, try to one- or two-hop the ball to your partner.Long toss is not an everyday activity. At most, you should do it no more than three times per week. Although if you are in-season and pitching, be careful not to over do the stress on your arm.
3. Workout with a bungee chord.Chord work is another great way to strengthen your arm and gain some velocity on the fastball. Get a bungee chord and tie one end to a stable object. A fence is good if you're outside or a workout machine is nice if you are in the weight room.There are a handful of exercises you can do to help strengthen your arm. Here are some of the best: 1) face your back to the chord and stretch out the chord in a pitching motion.2) Face the chord holding the end in your hand at your hip. Stretch the chord moving you arm backwards.3) Stand sideways to the chord holding the bungee chord in your pitching arm. Pull your arm toward your body stretching the chord.4) Stand sideways, the other way, holding the chord in your pitching arm. Pull your arm away from you body to feel the stretch.
4. Stretch properly to keep your arm flexible.As much as strength is important, flexibility is equally as vital. Be sure to always stretch your arm well before and after pitching and/or throwing. Don't do any stretches that hurt or make your arm uncomfortable. It's very important to stretch thoroughly every time you go to throw. Stretching increases flexibility which will help keep your arm loose and strong.
5. Keep your arm healthy.Don't throw too much. A lot of baseball players like to play every day, even the day after they pitch. But throwing too much can be very detrimental to your arm's health. And if your arm is hurting, or gets injured as a result of over use, you can rest assure that your velocity will not increase. It will only get worse.
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