Could this hurt my arm

[drew_14]

my dad likes for me to take 3 months off a year from baseball and not throw anything becuase an article from ostrander who is a huge orthapedic sugeron the specilizes in pitching states that the rotator cuff and other ligament cannot mantain stress day afer day for years,

but heres the thing, my high school does baseball year around with travel teams, fall ball, summerball, and regular season.
i really wanted to increase my strength seeing how my bench is only 115 and lower body is average, i sit truthly around 72-73 and 75-76 on a good day as a oncoming sophmore, and i feel the strength training is goin to help my velocity ALOT.

could throwing continuesly and working out and the same time be harmful?

theres a video of me just cuase from about 5 months ago

[fingersfan1020]

ptching a little bit every day probably wont be harmful unless u misexacute or if your always trying to reach top speed. if u just pitch an average fastball not trying to burn them in then that will keep your arm loose wich can effect your pitching speed.

[wwRHP]

i really wanted to increase my strength seeing how my bench is only 115

bench press is virtually useless for developing velocity and can only lead to rotator cuff injuries.

[Roger]

It's not just your dad that's recommending the shut down. I believe there are a couple publications/presentations on the ASMI website that recommend shutting down for 2-3 months each year.

Look at this link and note the comments about "periodization":
http://www.asmi.org/asmiweb/usabaseball.htm

Watch this presentation by Dr. James Andrews - the world's foremost Tommy John surgeon:
http://www.littleleague.org/pitchcount/pitchpresentation.htm

Seriously, you can probably find a period of a couple months between summer ball and fall ball to shut down.

[MrLee]

like fingers said, the only problem you might have is if you are trying to throw 100% everyday. Going out and loosening the arm up everyday or every other day shouldnt be harmful.

[drew_14]

but will throwing and weightlifting at the same time hurt?

[Hoysauce]

You arent a Legino are you? That looks like the Legino's backyard.

[wwRHP]

You arent a Legino are you? That looks like the Legino's backyard.

i wish i was a legino . cause that is one nice backyard.

[drew_14]

GOOD LORD! sometimes i cant stand this website!. i never get my question answered!

if im weightlifting and throwing on the same days, could that harm my arm?

[laflippin]

Hey Drew,

I don't blame you for feeling frustrated, but here's my advice:

Buy a book written by a former pitcher, former MLB pitching coach, and current D1 college pitching coach that details his advice on conditioning and weight training for pitchers, and what cycles of training vs game pitching they should use.

It was written by Tom House. It's called "Fastball Fitness". It will cost you about $20. You can buy it directly from the National Pitching Association website or you can probably get it from Amazon.com.

But, if that's not an option for you for some reason....well, you sometimes get exactly what you pay for at internet forums.

[jdfromfla]

if im weightlifting and throwing on the same days, could that harm my arm?

It is the question you are asking..it is not so black and white and it is vague.
...yes, it could...if you do things wrong, don't listen to your body, over do it.
La and Roger both steered you towards an answer. You can condition and throw, you can throw as part of your conditioning, you can throw some days, condition others...you can hurt yourself in all that for the above stated reasons.
If you are reasonable, listen to your body, work methodically and with your eyes open, have a good diet and get proper rest, you can acheive your goals with a low likelyhood of injury.

I'd steer clear of the bench and militaries...go to the Workout and Nutrition Forum, there are many examples and suggestions of better lifting techniques..heck just reading through that forum would have answered the question and you wouldn't have gotten frustrated...If you can't find a thread that does those things..PM KC86 or some of the regulars in there they'll be happy to help.

[drew_14]

yeah, i do dumbell bench and i dont do heavy on bench, 10-12 reps, bout 35 lb dumbells, i try to go heavy on forearms and curls and tricep extension instead and then finish up with throwers ten to work my shoulder and rotator cuff

[Roger]

Drew,
Based on what you just said, it sounds like you do a lot of straight ahead, isolation types of exercises. So I'll second laflippin's recommendation to get a copy of Fastball Fitness. The pitching delivery involves a lot of rotational movement using different parts of the body working together in a non-isolated manner. Fastball Fitness offers a lot of rotational kinds of exercises.