Empower Athletic Development Education

Why Softball Pitchers MUST Squat Part I

September 15th, 2011

In young, developing windmill pitchers, no drill, exercise, or implement will lead to greater overall gains more than improving leg strength. Balance and bodyweight exercises should progress to near maximal, compound lower body lifts as athletes mature. However, attracting high school and even college females to the squat rack or platform is not always easy. Want to get your softball athletes to ferociously attack legs in the weightroom? Use my analogy. I call it "Carcrashpitch".

In my masterpiece below, the car represents the body, while the driver represents the arm and ball. I apologize if the crash-analogy is offensive or violent, but it works. This event occurs much like the windmill delivery. If you're unfamiliar with the sequence, here is my review. Essentially, we're trying to maximize the resultant velocity of the driver (arm and ball) as she flies threw the windshield, while controlling her direction.

To do so, we can adjust a few variables:

1) Speed up the car. This equates to improving the pitcher's explosive drive off of the rubber.

2) Reinforce the wall. The car must come to a halt QUICKLY in order for the driver (arm and ball) to continue at a high velocity. If the system (car and driver) takes time to slow down, the resultant velocity of the ball will be less. This equates to improving deceleration capacity of the lead leg and trunk.

3) Make sure the collision is head on. If the wall is angled, or the car turns at the last second, both the velocity and direction of the driver (arm and ball) will be negatively affected. This requires development of strength and body control that supports technical mastery.

4) Remove the windshield. This equates to releasing restrictions in the upper body that would interrupt the kinetic sequencing of the delivery.

5) Install an "eject button" to be triggered at impact. Contribution from the upper body and torso muscles gives the ball one last boost before it's released. This requires upper body strength (also beneficial for shoulder preservation) and elastic core development.

The car crash analogy can be applied to other movements including batting, overhand throwing, golf, and striking.

In Part II, I'm going to cover the specific lower body kinetics of windmill pitching and explain specifically why many young girls have difficulty mastering pitching mechanics.

Windmill Pitching Upper Body Injuries

September 8th, 2011

Softball pitchers can deliver hundreds of pitches, over multiple games, during the course of a weekend or tournament because the windmill action is a "natural" motion, right? Take a look at one of the most successful pitchers of the past decade, and decide whether you still think so.

To be fair, these are action shots of Taryne likely during different pitches, during different games, at different times in her career. Competitively, she got it done; however, it doesn't take a pitching instructor or physical therapist to realize how she had to compromise her body to succeed.

This post is not about mechanics; it's about stress and injury risk. Here's a brief description of the implications of each position throughout a delivery similar to Taryne's.

Picture 1 – Shoulder hyper-extension. Normal extension approaches 50-60 degrees. Improperly loaded shoulder extension (destabilized range of motion during pressing, dumbbell flies, pec stretching, etc) has been contraindicated for anyone trying to preserve the anterior shoulder.

Picture 2 – Horizontal adduction/flexion with the humerus rotated medially. This is similar to the provocative test position for acromioclavicular joint pain; however, this position can also elicit symptoms caused by rotator cuff and labral injuries (1).

Picture 3 – Near maximal shoulder flexion. Pain with forceful, near maximal shoulder flexion is a classic sign of impingement (1).

Picture 4 – Delivery at 9-o'clock position. At this point in the delivery, the highest biceps activity is reported, as it assists in both shoulder flexion and stabilization of the elbow (2).

Picture 5 – Release. Here, the shoulder endures the highest distraction force throughout the delivery (3).

Picture 6 – Shoulder flexion with the humerus medially rotated and scapula elevated. The "empty can" position approximates the greater tuberosity against the supraspinatus (rotator cuff muscle) and coracoacromial ligament. Elevating the scapula can increase the stress to the superior structures. As the scapula elevates, it will tilt forward, narrowing the space between the acromion and humerus, through which the supraspinatus is located (4).

Seen enough? Four of the six positions above are provocative positions for shoulder pathology. This should suggest that approaching them repetitively with high loads and velocities is likely to result in injury, unless countered with proper technical and performance training. Here is more data on the reality of stress and injury to windmill pitchers.

Inside the Numbers

Softball pitchers commonly pitch between 3-6 games over the course of a weekend or tournament
A youth softball pitcher may deliver 7x more pitches over the course of one year than a youth baseball pitcher (5)
Of 180 college pitchers surveyed, 131 reported being injured over the last 12 months, 80 of those injured directly related to pitching (44%) (6)
Of 25 pitchers surveyed, 64% percent reported a previous arm injury resulting in time loss, and 60% reported arm pain at rest during the competitive season. (7)

The risk of pitching related injury in softball is remarkable, with that risk only increasing with level of competition (6). Up next, I will review the forces produced and endured by the lower body during windmill pitching, specific lower body injury-risk, and more importantly, the effect of lower body biomechanics on pitching efficiency. Proceeding these reviews, I will cover pre-training assessment, restoration strategies and performance training modifications specifically for windmill pitchers.

References

1) Wilk, Reinold, Andrews (2009). The Athlete's Shoulder.

2) Rojas et al. (2009). Biceps Activity During Windmill Softball Pitching. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 37, 3.

3) Werner et al. (2005). Biomechanics of Youth Windmill Softball Pitching. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 33, 4.

4) Sahrmann (2002). Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes.

5) Doyle (2004). Review of the Windmill Pitch: Biomechanics and Injuries

6) Hill et al. (2004) Female Collegiate Windmill Pitchers: Influence to Injury Incidence. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 18, 3.

7) Sauers et al. (2011) Upper Extremity Injury History, Current Pain Rating, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Female Softball Pitchers. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, 20.

Empower on TV!

August 31st, 2011

Well, kind of. My good friend and colleague Anthony Renna stopped by our facility to ask me a few questions about Empower's business and training model for his broadcast, StrengthCoachTV. Anthony's show is relatively new, so it is certainly an honor to be one of his first stops, as he travels around the country unveiling unique and progressive training businesses.

Four Phase Program for First Step Speed

August 22nd, 2011

Recently, I was asked by two different coaches what suggestions I had to improve "lateral" range of baseball or softball middle infielders. Both coaches were asking specifically on behalf of high level athletes so it's important to program in that context for the remainder of my response.

Lateral range can be partially determined by sport-specific mechanics and instinct, so I'm only going to cover the drills I would use during strength and conditioning sessions to improve the athletes' capacity. Lateral range is a product of a powerful rotational pivot combined with a crossover step and followed by linear acceleration. That's it. So my first suggestion to coaches is to keep it simple. Baseball and softball do not require complex sequences of change of direction drills, which only lead to fatigue and poor mechanics. Total-body rotational power, an effective crossover and linear propulsion are the primary training considerations for developing first step speed.

Here are, what I consider, the exercises that have the highest transfer to the three components of first step speed/lateral range:

Initial Push/Rotational Pivot: Bilateral Squats, Lateral and Rotational Bounds, Lateral Wall Drives, Cable Rotational Rows

Crossover: Lateral Wall Posture Holds and Drives, Crossover drills

Linear Acceleration: Jumps, Linear bounds, Linear Wall Posture and Drives

Here is a 4 Phase/4 Day template created specifically for improving first step quickness/lateral range: The exercises that I've provided above are programmed into Day 1 and 3 of this program. Each phase of exercises is demonstrated in the video below.

Windmill Pitching Performance Training Part II

July 27th, 2011

Following Part I, let's look at the different phases of windmill pitching with special attention to a few instances where strength and conditioning coaches can really benefit a softball pitcher's capacity and technique.

If you are unfamiliar with the windmill sequence, please review Part I, so this information doesn't come out of left field.

Wind up –

-Variable

-Load/prep of the back leg to drive off rubber

Stride to Lead Foot Contact –

-Drive off rubber with back leg, propelling the body in a straight line toward home plate

This movement is very explosive and results in pitchers reaching stride lengths between 80 and 100 percent of the body height. Full hip extension on the back leg is required for maximal power and lumbar stability.

-Pitching arm will travel from 6 o’clock to 12 o’clock (between 160-180 degrees of flexion/abduction)

In this position, thoracic mobility are scapular stability are critical, as well as multi-segmental extensibility across the anterior functional fascial lines (see: Anatomy Trains).

-Body turns toward third base

-Lead leg lands with knee slightly flexed (around 30 degrees)

Here, single leg strength and joint stability are required for efficient energy transfer from the stride leg into the upper body.

One way I explain the consequence of joint instability to young athletes is using a "sand pit" analogy. Movement with joint instability is like testing vertical jump in a sand pit. Performance is inhibited (can't jump as high) because the sand gives out underneath the feet. Jump performance improves on solid ground because the interaction between the feet and ground is stable. If any joint "gives out" during the push of the rubber or during landing of the stride leg, maximal velocity will never be obtained and an overuse injury is likely to appear.

-Lead foot lands internally rotated (around 30 degrees) toward the third base side

-At lead foot contact, pitching arm will be at 12 o’clock

-Lead arm points toward home plate

Delivery to release –

-Pitching arm travels from 12 o’clock to release very close to the plane of the body

Core stability, thoracic mobility and proper scapular loading will allow the arm to "track" correctly toward the target (catcher). From 12 o'clock to release, the shoulder and elbow endure the largest distraction forces throughout the delivery. Biceps activity peaks during this phase as it contributes to the stability to both joints.

-Elbow may be slightly flexed and elbow/wrist position will vary at release depending on the pitch thrown

-Lower trunk will rotate (20-45 degrees) toward home plate up to point of release

During the delivery, the upper and lower torso separate. This dissociation leads to a stretch and subsequent stretch-reflex contributing to pitch velocity. The pec major is the primary engine which flexes the arm in this movement; however, its power is determined by the muscular teamwork behind and below.

-Back leg slides (must maintain ground contract) in straight line toward lead leg

Follow through –

-Pitching arm (elbow/wrist) action is variable

-Back leg completes its slide, with the back foot contacting the lead foot

-Lower trunk completes its rotation toward home plate

Similar to other rotational movements, the trunk rotates into a stiff front leg. Once again, the pelvis and torso do not move as one unit. As you can see in the photo above, the pitcher's shoulders have rotated beyond her pelvis after releasing the ball which may help reduce stress to the pitching arm.

-Pitcher should finish “tall” into lead leg

-Pitcher will adjust back leg in order to prepare to field a batted ball

Coming up, I will review the most common pitching-related injuries, proposed mechanisms, assessments, restoration and preservation strategies. These future posts will include specific tests, corrective exercises, coaching-eye exercise corrections (notice the difference) and training strategies for youth, adolescent and elite level pitchers.

Windmill Pitching Performance Training Part I

July 26th, 2011

Windmill Pitching Mechanics for Strength Coaches

With travel teams off to national tournaments this week and strength coaches looking forward to off-season programs, I’m going to purge my ideas on performance training for softball. The first installments of this series will cover the most complex athlete on the field: the pitcher.

I’m incredibly fortunate to have partnered with a family (literally) of softball pitching experts who’ve referred a number of their athletes to me. They have been instrumental not only promoting the benefits of strength training for females, but also helping me communicate the seemingly indefinable components of our training techniques to young softball players and their families.

The first post in this series is a basic introduction to windmill pitching mechanics, narrated so strength coaches can follow along. I find it’s easiest to dissect windmill mechanics into four phases (for now); however, researchers have further divided the sequence to examine forces on the pitching arm at different points.

Wind up –

Variable
Load/prep of the back leg to drive off rubber

Stride to Lead Foot Contact –

Drive off rubber with back leg, propelling the body in a straight line toward home plate
Pitching arm will travel (counter clockwise) from 6 o’clock to 12 o’clock (between 160-180 degreesof flexion/abduction)
Body turns toward third base
Lead leg lands with knee slightly flexed (around 30 degrees)
Lead foot land internally rotated (around 30 degrees) toward the third base side
At lead foot contact, pitching arm will be at 12 o’clock
Lead arm points toward home plate

Delivery to release –

Pitching arm travels (counter clockwise) from 12 o’clock to release very close to the plane of the body
Elbow may be slightly flexed and elbow/wrist position will vary at release depending on the pitch thrown
Lower trunk will rotate (20-45 degrees) toward home plate up to point of release
Back leg slides (must maintain ground contract) in straight line toward lead leg

Follow through –

Pitching arm (elbow/wrist) action is variable
Back leg completes its slide, with the back foot contacting the lead foot
Lower trunk completes its rotation, squaring off to home plate
Pitcher should finish “tall” into lead leg
Pitcher will adjust back leg in order to prepare to field a batted ball

To preface what I will be covering in future posts, I’ve bolded the components that I feel strength coaches should be most concerned with. Right now, you don’t need to know how many degrees per second the arm is traveling toward home plate, or the compressive forces exerted on the elbow. Take a look at the positions your pitcher must have the capacity (mobility, stability, strength, endurance) to get to, before you get caught up in the numbers.

JB

The Only Ab Exercises I Use

June 20th, 2011

After two years of being in business, I've learned that better results, both business and training-related, come more often from subtracting rather than adding. In no area of training is this more visible than exercise selection.

I used to think that part of being a great coach was creating an Excel catalog of progressions with every three dimensional tweak and equipment alternative you could imagine. It's absolutely NOT that important. You need TWO categories of exercises: your gamers (exercises you use with everyone) and alternatives for injured athletes. The additional progressions and regressions will allow you to make program adjustments on the fly when neccessary, but other than that, save the fun stuff for deload weeks.

Here are my game day ab categories and the few exercises I use for each:

An Exercise that Challenges Torso Extension Top-Down – Physioball variations, Ab-wheel rollouts, barbell rollouts, TRX fallouts.

An Exercise that Challenges Torso Extension Bottom-Up – Facilitated leg lowering (Cook-band), un-facilitated leg lowering, leg lowering with plate hold.

In the video: I lay a blue Theraband underneath each scapula. Pulling the Theraband provides a challenge to retain upper body posture. If the legs pull the torso out of stability, the bands will slip out from underneath the shoulders. If you're training alone, you can attach the bands to something like the squat rack. If you're training an athlete, hold the bands for them. This may look like some functional rehab exercise I cooked up (pun intended); trust me, adding the bands is worth it. It will be the difference between patterning authentic or synthetic movement.

An Exercise that Challenges Torso Lateral Flexion – Side planks, side plank with weight. I'll spend more time in this area for females. I don't use many farmer's walks or carries. Single leg strength and power exercises also challenge frontal plane stability, and we do a lot of those.

An Exercise that Challenges Torso Rotation – Half/Tall kneeling/Standing cable core press, cable tight rotation, rope tight rotation.

An Exercise that Challenges Torso/Hip Diagonal Linkage – Half/Tall kneeling Chop/Lift iso-hold, straight arm tight-chop, straight arm tight-lift, Tall kneeling/Standing barbell landmine.

Explosive Change of Direction and ACL Injury Prevention

June 13th, 2011

There's one exercise that will decrease ACL injury-risk, immediately and dramatically improve agility scores and also improve an athlete's endurance. It's not strength dependant, and can give athletes with the weakest engines a head start on their opponents. It's easy to coach and it's even easy for athletes to retain. It's the Cut Stop.

Ok, we can all laugh now at my best attempt at traffic-driving copy writing, but everything I said is true. The Cut Stop, which looks like a simple agility tactic, is a very potent skill. The Cut Stop is really a centerpiece of Multidirectional Ground Preparation, a category of exercises designed to teach athletes to anticipate and prepare for ground contact.

The Cut Stop is the optimal amortization between lateral movements such as shuffling and crossover running. It is the ideal position to accept ground reaction forces upon deceleration. It is also the position from which the athlete is most likely to reaccelerate when having to change direction.

Now, return to my marketing intro. Utilizing the Cut Stop, athletes receive the ground in a better biomechanical stance (safer), which decreases compensation for poor landing mechanics and overall energy expenditure (better endurance), and allows them to stop and start more quickly when having to change direction (faster). From coaching experience, athletes pick up on it very well, and once they get it, they got it (easily gained and maintained).

Here are two sequences (left to right) that compare shuffling into a base athletic position (top) and into the Cut Stop position (bottom). This is not a correct/incorrect comparison. Athletes should jump, shuffle, and crossover into and out of a base athletic position before learning directional footwork.

Here is a video that shows you how the Cut Stop is introduced and progressed into lateral movement drills.

Before You Deadlift

April 28th, 2011

Bringing up the rear of my "Before You" series is the deadlift. (crickets)

I’m not a powerlifting coach but deadlifting has a place in every one of my athletes’ programs. From highschoolers to housewives, here are some preparation exercises and alternatives that will direct nearly any client towards the real deal in just a few sessions.

Bench T-spine Extension Mob – Freeing up your t-spine will not only spare your lower back, but it might improve your overall strength. Gaining some extension will allow your scapulae to depress and retract, preventing both you and the bar from shifting forward during the lift.

Cat-Camel – Before I get assaulted, this is a teaching tool. It’s not being used as a mobilization or a core exercise. Ideally, you’ll only need to use this once. It’s a way to find spine-zero and cuing, such as "cat" or "arch", can be used to correct spinal flexion during the setup of the actual lift.

Shoulder Elevated Hip Bridge – Don’t underestimate this exercise and follow along closely. As your athlete begins to bridge, grab a hold of their rib cage (with a hand on either side) as their torso approaches parallel with the ground. Stop their ribcage and tell them to finish the bridge with just their hips. For beginners to your program, there is a good chance they’ve never felt their glutes kick in like this. This is exactly how active their hips must be finishing the lift.

RDL (Wall) – KBs, DBs, one or two, it’s all good, but to clean up hinging technique, stand your athlete in front of a wall so they’ll be able to aim their butt back instead of down.

2KB DL introducing the "Kettlebelt" – Kettlebell variations can be used as progressions for deadlifting or alternatives to squatting. We don’t have the heaviest kettlebells yet, so forging two together with a couple thick mini-bands created a new, heavier tool with a comfortable grip. And no, you don’t have to use the bands, but when you’re teaching a newbie, you want a stable surface AND implement so they can focus on the important stuff.

JB

Squatting Made Simple

March 22nd, 2011

In Before You Squat, I included the Sumo Squat stretch, directly out of Rippetoe and Kilgore’s bible, Starting Strength . I also forewarned that I use a variation, the Box Squat Stretch, that I feel is superior for restoring squat mobility for athletes who have difficulty with the traditional Sumo and Cook Squat progressions.

The Cook Squat:

Box Squat Stretch:

The only difference between the traditional SSS and BSS is the addition of a 12 inch box for stability. The goal is to use the box as little as needed. Drive the knees out. Drive the heels into the ground. Arch your back. Shift your weight forward. A weight shift forward is not a common squat coaching cue; however, in this case, you are trying to make the squat as active as possible while using the box as little as possible. The athlete should focus first on driving their heels into the ground, then shifting "off" of the box.

I never want to become a "new exercise" guy, but I really believe that if you want to improve your squat, deadlift, clean, or snatch technique, the BSS and it’s progressions are an answer. Here’s a video demonstrating the BSS and beyond:

JB