Till I Collapse -My Journey to D1 Baseball and Beyond

[lankylefty]

"Till I Collapse" - My Journey to D1 Baseball and Beyond

I finally decided to start my own personal pitching log, as a way of charting my progress. I began to get serious about baseball at the beginning of the summer of '07. It wasn't until August '07 when I really began to piece together all of the knowledge I had been steadily soaking in. These past 4-5 months have been the most intense, and most enjoyable of my life. I'll continue to chart my progress here, and keep that burning intensity alive.

Name: Ben
Year: Sophomore
Starting Height: 6'2"
Starting Weight: 155 lbs
Throws/Bats: Left
Other Positions: CF
Alternate Sports: Cross Country
Fitness Stats/Personal Bests: 14 pull-ups, 20 chin-ups, 11 chin-ups w/ 25 lb weight, 84 sit-ups/ 1 min, 18:54/ 3-mile race, 5:25 mile, 60 pushups, 75 lb curl bar, 145 lb bench press max, 3 min plank...body fat%: 7-9%
Pitch Arsenal: 2-seam, 4-seam, developing change-up, developing curve-ball
Velocity: low-mid 70s

Long-Term Goals: To become a successful Division I pitcher, and beyond...
Short(er) Term Goals:
1. Gain 10 - 15 lbs of muscle by the start of next season
2. Increase my fastball velocity to upper 70s/low 80s by '08 season
3. Become a dominant pitcher in my Varsity league
4. Perfect my mental approach/ learn to perform under pressure
5. Perfect mechanics to maximize velocity/accuracy, and reduce injury risk

How I will accomplish this:
1. Stick to my rigorous workout/throwing program
2. Continue becoming a student of the game, keeping an open mind
3. Playing baseball, and LOTS of it, at a competitive level
4. Practice, practice, practice...

UPDATE:
Weight: 160lbs
Bench Press Max: 155 lbs
Velocity: 77-79 topping around 81
Pitches: 2-seam, 4-seam, Change-up, developing curve-ball

UPDATE #2:
Weight: 165 lbs
Additional pitches: experimenting with a cutter

UPDATE #3:
Weight: 165 lbs
Velocity: 80-82 topping 83
Pitches: Curveball is now full-fledged

UPDATE #4: 8-19-08
Weight: 172 lbs

update 4/2/10
weight 197 lbs
velocity: 84-87 mph

update: fall 2011
weight 210lbs
velocity: up to 87-89 mph

update: spring 2014
weight 215lbs, 10% body fat
velocity: 90-92 up to 93
Draft Prospect

update: spring 2014 vs. Bryant University: 92-94 mph touching 95 mph. Have been contacted by 15 mlb teams since the fall.

Update: Fall 2014: Was drafted in the 15th round by the Chicago White Sox, promoted twice in first short-season of pro ball, ending in high A. Pro totals: 1.46 ERA with 28k's in 24.2 IP.

(Eminem)

[Tanner_Lorenz]

good luck with it...i will follow, if its possible, try to get some video of ur mechanics

[lankylefty]

Here is my custom workout program, which I designed for myself, after long hours of research. It's based on sprintwork/cardio, medicine ball plyometrics, lower body plyometrics, balance/core stability, core strength/ab work, lower body strength, and upper body strength/ arm care. In addition I try to stretch for 10 minutes every night before bed, and about 5 min after each workout.

I’ve been throwing (when it’s not raining) throughout the offseason, a couple times a week, and I will be picking it up gradually to 4 times a week, 3 bullpens and one long toss. I just recovered from a pulled muscle in my back a couple weeks ago, so I haven’t had the opportunity to do too many bullpens, but I will start waking up at 5:45 and doing my two bullpens on Monday and Thursday, and then the other on Saturday. Long Toss gets mixed in there whenever I have a chance, usually on Sunday w/ my dad.

Each workout is begun with my “warm-up” routine, and finished with my “regeneration” routine. I only have 15-30 min on certain days to squeeze in a small workout, so the training is concentrated in 3-4 intense sessions per week. Sprints are cycled between short sprints, medium sprints and accelerations, plus a 45 min run every weekend if I have time.

Tell me what you think...

Monday: Shoulder routine (15 min)
Tuesday: Cardio/abs/hips/legs/upper body/forearms (2:30)
Wednesday: Shoulder/balance routine (30 min)
Thursday: Abs/hips/scapula routine (20 min)
Friday: Cardio/abs/hips/med-ball/legs/upper body/forearms (2:30)
Saturday: Cardio/shoulder/abs/hips/forearms (1:15)
Sunday: Scapula/abs/hips/plyometrics/forearms (1:15)
Bold = throwing day

SHOULDER ROUTINE:
Rotator Cuff + 2 types of pushups: 2 full sets

RC Routine Reps √
Lateral Raise 15
Frontal Raise 15
Full Can 15
Reverse Full Can 15
Scarecrows 30
Reverse Internal 15
Bent Over Raise 15
Dr. Andrews 15
External (tubing) 15
Internal (tubing) 15
Row to Extension 15
Hourglass 20

Pushups Reps √
Regular 20
Close-grip 20
Rotational 20
Spiderman 20
Physioball 20
Walking 20

AB/HIP ROUTINE:
Two abs + Supermans, 5-way hip routine from dusty delso: 2 sets

Ab Exercises Reps √
V-Ups 20
Regulars + Twists 10 @
Med ball twists 100
Bicycles 50
Bridge (2 min) -
Supermans 20
Pulse Ups 10
Figure Eights 10
Leg Lifts 10
Heel touches 20 @
Scissor Kicks 20 @
Pendulums (weight) 20 @

FOREARM ROUTINE:
2 sets all the way through, break in between sets

Forearm Routine Reps √
Reverse Curls 15
Elbow Circuit ABC 15
Flexion 15
Wrist Curl Failure
Wrist Extension Failure
Weighted rope twists Fwd, Bkwd
Arm Hangs Failure

UPPER BODY ROUTINE:
2 sets all the way through, break in between sets

Upper Body Reps √
Pull-ups 10
21s 21
Dumbbell Press 10 @
Barbell Rows 10
Dumbbell Flys 15
Tri Pushdowns 10
Chair Dips Failure

LOWER BODY ROUTINE:
1 set for squats, 2 sets all the way through for the rest, break in between sets
Lower Body Reps √

SQUATS! 20

Dead lift 10
Leg extension/leg curl 10: 60/ 60
8: 80/ 70
6: 90/ 80
4: 100/ 90
2: 120/100

4-way lunges (60lb) 5@
One Leg Squats 6 @
Calf Raises (45lb) 20 @

Optional/Substitutes:
Calf Raises (free) 50 @
Step-up w/ lift (60 lb) 10 @
Leg-up Split Squat 10 @

BALANCE/SCAPULA: 15 MIN

Balance Routine Sets Reps/Time
Med-ball touchdowns 3 10 @
Standing Twists 3 10 @
Release Lunges 3 10 @
Single Leg RDL 3 10 @
Box Hops Stabilize 3 10 @

Scapula Exercise Sets Reps
Wall sit ABC 1 30 sec
Rope Flexion, ABC 1 30 sec

CARDIO/ SPRINTS

Cardio Sets/Reps Distance Rest (walking)
Short sprints 10/1 50 m 50 m
Med. sprints 8/1 100 m 100 m
Long Sprints 4/1 200 m 200 m
Accelerations 3/3 30/20/10 sec 15 sec
Flush Run 1 45–60 min -
Power Hills 5 100 m 3 min

MEDICINE BALL ROUTINE:
2 sets all the way through, 1 set for warm-up
Med Ball Warm Up Reps √
Windmills 5 @
Twisting Lunges 5 @
Squat to Press 10
Good Morning 10
Backward Lunge 5 @
Side, Chop, Drop, Fig 8 10 @

Med Ball Workout Reps √
Chest Press 8
Vertical Chest Press 8
Reverse - rotational 8
Granny Toss 8
Close Chest Pass Failure
Close Soccer Throw Failure

LOWER BODY PLYOMETRICS:
2 sets all the way through
Plyometric Exercise Reps √
Long Jump 6
Vertical Jump 6
Tuck Jump 6
One Leg Lat Hop 10 @
One Leg Long Jump 6 @
Scissor Plyos 12
Trip long w/ vertical 6

Optional/substitutes:
Diagonal Hop 6
Lat Hop over box 10 @
270º turn 6 @

Standard warm up: 5-7 min Pre-Bullpen, add:

3-5 min jog High knees
Arm circles Butt kicks
Trunk twists Backpedals
Bear hugs Carioca
Side bend Tapioca
Quads Side Shuffle
Calves Lunges
Ankles
Hamstrings
Groin
Quads

Regeneration: 3-5 min
Add These Exercises:

Single leg pelvic tilt
Bent knee hamstring (rope)
Straight leg hamstring (rope)
Scorpion
Hip Flexor Stretch
Light bulb stretch
Cuff stretch
Pec stretch (tubing)

[lankylefty]

I fall off a lot from the front view, I'm not quite sure why, maybe I was fatigued.

[lankylefty]

Here is my diet, roughly...

Every day:

Breakfast: Mini Wheats w/ milk or Granola w/ milk. Maybe two slices of toast w/ milk sometimes. 1 Omega 3 pill

Snack 1: Protein/Nutrition Bar - 200-300 calories, 15-20g protein

Lunch: Turkey Sandwich, Peanut Butter Sandwich, yogurt, orange juice

Snack 2: Peanut Butter Sandwich, Protein Shake (35g protein)

Dinner: Pasta, or Meat or something like that. It varies...

Snack 3: 1 -2 glasses milk

Before Bed: 16 oz water

[kc86]

I'm a bit hesitant to offer my opinion here, since it is not very favorable to what you've outlined. Looking at your goals, especially the gaining 10-15 pounds and increasing velocity, I just do not see how your workout is going to achieve that. You are working the small muscle groups into the ground, while neglecting the prime movers. I mean, you listed the deadlift as an optional or substitute exercise when it should be the basis of your lower back/ hamstring strengthening moves. Ditch the bicep curls, leg extensions, leg curls, dumbbell flys, tri pushdowns - and try to simplify everything.

Also, I would steer clear of hitting just your shoulder on mondays. There is little to be gained from super fatiguing one muscle, aside from hypertrophy (size increase) and I dont think you want that.
In fact, you could probably cut down on your workout days and insert at least one rest day in the week (2 would be better since you want to gain weight).

There are a few other things, but I'll leave it at that for now. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to give some advice or offer explanation for why I've recommended certain changes.

[CADad]

Lanky,
Are you a 15yo sophmore or a 16yo sophmore? Also, where was the pain from the pulled muscle in your back and what type of motion would cause it to hurt?

[lankylefty]

Lanky,
Are you a 15yo sophmore or a 16yo sophmore? Also, where was the pain from the pulled muscle in your back and what type of motion would cause it to hurt?

Just turned 16. I have fully recovered, my injury was no big deal at all. Read about it here if you like: http://letstalkpitching.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5241

[lankylefty]

Weight: 157!!
Max Pushups /set this morning: 40

Today would normally be my "rest" day, but because I'm on break, a few things have changed. First, my baseball coach has started doing 2 team workouts a week (if you can call them team workouts, 3 guys showed up the other day). Wednesdays and Saturdays are now devoted to them, which consist of a lot of general ab work, agility/speed work, sprinting (harnesses), and leg strength exercises. I'm not complaining, it's great for overall fitness, and I'm sure it's helping. In fact, my hip flexors were so sore from an exercise where you held a squat position for like two minutes, then did that with weight, and then walked sideways in that position for like 50 yards, that I could not lift my legs on Sunday. Thus, today was mostly making up for my lost time on sunday.

I played long toss with my friend who is a sophomore in college. Arm felt ok, but still has a long way to go. He brought a radar gun that he bought on ebay for 60$ (Quicksilver Kidpower or something) and theres no way that thing was accurate. It registered his fastball at 50 mph, and mine at 60 mph. Upon looking up the brand later, I realized that it was not designed for baseball. LOL.

Went on a slow 30 minute run, good to see my friend getting in shape. It felt nice to let all my muscles relax and just cruise along at easy pace.

Got home, did an Ab/back routine. My hips are still too sore from Saturday, so I skipped Dusty Delso's hip routine and instead substituted 5 more of my ab exercises. Took 15 min, was sweating like crazy! Abs felt great

Went on to shoulder routine, need to work more on pushups, can only do 40 in one set right now.

Forearm routine was satisfying, I think I might incorporate some kind of pinch exercise like holding 3 10 lb plates together.

Couldn't do plyometrics routine b/c hips were still uncharacteristically sore, I will make it up later this week.

On a different note, I will be starting a weighted ball program sometime next week. It will run up until spring training begins sometime in february. I know people like Dick Mills give all these reasons why it "hypothetically" shouldn't work, but when faced with concrete evidence that it boosts velocity, I'm going to give it a try for myself, sorry Dick.

Thanks for reading, I'll post again soon.

[tomg]

i think this log is becoming very readable and a lot like centerfields
keep it up

[lankylefty]

tomg: thanks, man. I find that this forum provides a great deal of motivation for me, I'll do my best to post every day, or at least every couple of days.

Max pushups /set this morning: 40...

My workout for today got a little screwed up, because I didn't (and won't for another 2 weeks) have access to a weight room. I still have a lot of exercise stuff at home, but I won't be doing any heavy lifting on my own (except maybe at my baseball team's workouts). Anyway, I had a great Christmas, mom cooked some amazing food, and I didn't eat too much junk (a piece or two of chocolate, a pumpkin scone, some popcorn, and a piece of pumpkin pie). Convinced my dad to go outside and catch a bullpen with me. I started the weighted ball program today, 36 throws officially, 12 with each of the 4, 5 and 6 oz. balls. Probably threw closer to 50 throws in all. Arm felt really good for the first 20 or so throws, then became a little fatigued. Stopped at the end (would've gone past 50), because I thought I might have felt some minor elbow pain. Feels fine now, but this has happened before. I hypothesize it might have something to do with my low arm slot (that is, no trunk-lean). Here's the video, I think it's about the same as my last set, maybe a little bit more explosive. I know my accuracy was better, at least in the beginning. Change-up is noticeably slower, and more accurate. Still falling off to the side, NPA says it has to do with my glove arm. I'm working on a "tuck" so it doesn't fly open.

After the weighted ball session, I did my cardio on a hill next to my house. Approximately 70 or 80 yards. Short sprints, 8 of em. Maybe about a minute rest. Damn those things are hard. Felt pretty good afterwards, took a break from working out, did some chores, spent some time w. family.

Didn't have weightroom, but improvised for the rest of my workout. Ab/Hip routine was a killer, as always. Moved on to leg routine. It looked like this, b/c I didn't have access to much else:
2 sets
One-Leg squats, 6 reps @
Leg-Up Split-Squats (w/20lb dumbbells), 10 reps @
Single Leg RDLs (30lb), 10 reps @ - should add more weight next time
Calf Raises - 50 reps bodyweight

Upper Body routine was:
2 sets:
Chinups, 10 reps
Tri-pushdowns with ultra-heavy tubing
Tri-extensions with heavy tubing
21's w. curling bar
Hammer Curls w/ 20lb dumbbells, 10 reps @
Pushups, just for the hell of it

Honestly, could not force myself to do the forearm routine, I didn't have the heart to complete the 2:30 of working out on christmas day, + a one hour bullpen. O well, I did forearms yesterday. Ill make sure to nail them tomorrow, and bust my ass at the baseball team workout. Should be fun

Thanks for reading, guys
Merry Christmas

[lankylefty]

max pushups /set: 38 (this was after my workout)

Today was a pretty average day. Woke up around 9:30, went to my school to throw at 2:00 in the gym. Arm felt great, especially after my weighted ball bullpen yesterday, although I didn't really get to "stretch it out" past like 100 ft. Hit my throwing partner in the throat with a 70% throw...I guess he just had bad reflexes, lol. Anyway, we moved on to some basic fielding stuff, ground balls mostly. Coach gave us the classic talk about "fundamentals" and "proper throwing mechanics." A lot of it conflicted with O' Leary's work, but I'll start a new thread for that discussion.

Anyway, we then did our standard team workout. It consisted of Abs, Sprinting, Agility work (harnesses, high knees, etc.), lower body conditioning...I can't remember what else. We did a lot of stairs, sprints while pushing the "block," side shuffle's while in athletic position...almost all of it was lower body stuff, but I felt great afterwards. Some guys looked like they were about to throw up! It's nice being in better condition than everybody else, but sometimes you wish there was somebody you could compete with to help push you more. I know there are guys like that out there, just not on my team, lol. Later today, I finished up my conditioning for the day with my shoulder, balance and forearm routines. All that exercise stuff in my room is really starting to pay off. Forearms were pulsing after the routine, it felt pretty awesome.

Overall, while nothing extraordinary happened today, I'm feeling very optimistic. My coach not only has noticed me, but he's seems to like what he sees. I really want to keep working hard so by the time the season rolls around I can prove to him and to everybody else (but most importantly to myself), that I have what it takes.

While it will be something like 4 straight days of throwing, I'm gonna go for the 36-pitch weighted ball bullpen tomorrow. Arm feels ready for it, and I should really stick to the program if I want to improve.

Just a question for everybody, my coach gave this to me as a homework assignment: the difference between the number of rotations of the baseball in an 85 mph pitch and a 95 mph pitch is one rotation. How many rotations is each pitch going through on its way to the plate?

He said it was between 10 and 20.

[lankylefty]

Max pushups /set: 42!

Today was very encouraging for me. My friend came over and we played long toss for about 15 - 20 minutes, stretching it out to approximately 150 feet. My arm was feeling amazing, so I decided to continue with my plan to do the weighted ball bullpen. Started with about 10 easy throws at 60 - 70%, then dove right in. It was easily the best bullpen I have had in months. My arm felt phenomenal, and I felt like my entire body was throwing the ball, not just my arm. The ball was absolutely flying out of my hand. I didn't have a radar gun, but it felt a good 3-4 mph or more about what I normally throw. Just an estimate. My control is still in need of a lot of improvement. I was throwing about 50 - 60% strikes. What did I do to make this improvement? I fixed my front arm action. Rather than letting it fly open and not really stabilize itself, I adopted a "rollover and tuck" technique, much like many mlb pitchers, and a hell of a lot like the front arm action of Dylan Delso. This gave my back arm time to catch up, and allowed me to achieve far better hip/shoulder separation (I would assume, I didn't actually video tape).

I'll video tape next time. It would be nice to see some proof that these improvements are real and not just perceived.

Later on, I completed my Thursday routine, performing the ab/hip exercises and the scapula stabilization exercises. My body has some lingering soreness from yesterday's workout, but nothing I can't handle. I feel great, especially knowing I am only 2 sessions in to a 36 session weighted ball program. I can only imagine the results if I keep this up!

Thanks for reading, and as always, feel free to share your opinion!

[lankylefty]

Max pushups /set: 40 (after workout)

Today was pretty productive. At 2:00 I went to practice, where we threw for about an hour, and then worked on fielding for about an hour or an hour and a half. My arm felt almost perfect, around 95%, after yesterday's intense throwing session. Usually after a day of hard throwing, my arm will feel around 80 -90%. I was still throwing rockets to the coach, which I think he may have noticed. We were in the gym, so I couldn't throw past about 100 feet, but I still feel like I got some good work in. My arm is getting stronger for sure. Still no soreness. I have plenty of room for improvement when it comes to fielding, especially ground balls. I missed a few back hands today, and bobbled a couple, so I will make sure to try to bring that part of my game up to par.

As far as my workout for today, I got home right around 4:30 before it got dark, and ran my 8 sprints up the hill next to my house. I will work up to 10 or 12 sprints soon. For abs/hips my hips were slightly sore, so I instead focused on exercises that didn't involve those muscles. 3 sets of: 3-way crunches 15 @; Heel touches 15 @; Bridge 2 min. The 2-min bridge was especially tough to hold for three sets.

Skipped Med-Ball routine, it was dark outside. Leg routine looked like this:
3 sets:
One-leg squats, 6 reps
Leg up split-squats w/ 20's, 10 reps@
Single Leg RDLs w/40 lb, 10 reps@
Calf Raises Bodyweight, Failure

Upper Body routine looked like this:
3 sets:
Chinups, 10 reps
Tri-pushdowns (tubing), failure
Tri-extensions (tubing), failure
Hammer Curls 20's, failure
Pushups, 20 reps

Forearm routine was the same as it normally is. I'm eager to destroy my legs on Sunday with my plyometric routine, it's frustrating not having a weight room to work my legs heavy. This upper body routine left my biceps fried, but it felt so good!!

KC told me about a training program from Defranco's Training, so I'm gonna check that out tonight and see if there's anything I need to change in my routine. I'm also going to try to establish a solid pre-bedtime stretching routine. Right now I just have a bunch of stretches with no real routine.

Sorry if I rambled too much, thanks for reading!

[lankylefty]

Max Pushups /set: 40

Today was mainly a recuperation day for my arm, after 4 straight days of throwing. At 10:00 I had a team workout (4 guys showed up!), which lasted until noon. As always, we did a ton of cardio, core, agility and leg work, running especially hard 60 yard hill sprints. I'm getting pretty good at those :). Added my shoulder routine when I got home, arm feels good, but think its better to be on the safe side and not throw 5 days in a row when I'm just starting off. Going to take it easy in terms of working out tomorrow, maybe just my plyometrics and forearms and/or ab/hip routine. Body needs some good rest. I plan on throwing a weighted ball bullpen tomorrow as well, only 36 pitches, nothing too extreme. I'll try to video tape if possible to show you my new and improved mechanics (thanks NPA Pitcher). I think monday will be almost a complete rest day, except for my shoulder routine and possibly some light toss to keep my arm healthy.

As far as my nutrition is going, I've been getting in my 40-50 grams of protein after each workout, probably up over 125 grams a day. I haven't been eating any junk, and I've been taking in a good amount of food, so I hope to see some minor weight gains in the next couple weeks, maybe a pound or so. I have gained about 2 lbs since the beginning of the school year/end of summer, so I'm pretty psyched about that. Trying to get to 165 -170 lbs at least by next season, hopefully I'll be 6'3'' or 6'4" by then too.

Um, I don't know what else to write today. Tomorrow will be a big entry, thanks for reading and happy new year!

[lankylefty]

Max pushups /set: 45

Today not the day I was hoping for. Woke up a little earlier than would have liked, threw at 11:00 AM, it was cold outside. For my first few throws, I think I remembered to do the correct glove action, but then it fell apart as I neglected to consciously focus on that aspect of my mechanics. It's still not part of my muscle memory, and I guess I was out of it or something. Anyway, my mechanics don't look much different on tape than they do from my last video, but here's the video anyway.

I don't anticipate too much of a problem here. I think once I can get the glove action to "feel" natural, it will become a part of my motion and I wont have to think about it anymore. I'm fairly certain I wasn't imagining the improvement the other day when I tried this. My arm felt a little above average, but not as good as it did the last few days. I'll post a new vid when I get this motion down.

After the 36 pitch pen, I did my plyometrics routine, and followed it up with my forearm routine inside. Was not feeling the ab/hip routine or the scapula routine today, will do that tomorrow. I plan to take either tomorrow or tuesday off from throwing, and the other day I will do light toss.

Trying to get these mechanics down, so I can get the most out of my months of hard work in the weightroom. I'll keep you guys posted on my progress, thanks for reading.

[lankylefty]

12-31-07

Max pushups /set: 45

Sorry for not posting yesterday, was at a new years party. I went outside to throw by myself with a bucket of balls, and to work on my mechanics. I concentrated on the front arm action, and on keeping my pitching arm loose throughout the motion. Felt decent, but nothing spectacular like I was hoping for. Video taped, and I was still opening up early. This is becoming a big problem for me, flying open. I was really disgusted with myself, and lost my motivation to workout for a while. Then I convinced myself that sulking about it wasn't going to fix anything. Got fired up and breezed through my hill sprints. Too late at that point to finish my work out, had a new years party to go to. Before falling asleep when I got back, I did a little additional research on how to "stay closed" throughout the pitching motion. One source says that leading with your hip for as long as possible, and getting more momentum will help your upper half stay closed until after foot plant. I watched an interesting video on acepitcher.com which detailed the importance of momentum in the pitching motion. The guy showed a video of Krod throwing, and its incredible the momentum he gets and transfers to the ball. This might be the key to solving my problems.
Now more than ever I need feedback. Am I on the right path to
"staying closed?"

1-01-08

(no max pushup set today b/c I have a ganglion cyst in my right wrist, which hurts to do regular pushups. I think I'm switching to knuckle pushups, which are harder, so expect my max pushups /set to be lower next entry)

Average day, no miracles, decent progress. Threw with my dad for half an hour, long toss, got to air it out a few times. My arm is getting stronger, but without the necessary mechanical adjustments, I am not taking full advantage of it. I started my "room workout" at 8:30, and finished by 10:00 pm. I saw noticeable improvement in my one-legged "pistol" squats today, bumping up my reps/set to 8. I feel like 10 or 12 in one set is possible for me right now, maybe I'll post a video soon of these.

Anyway, abs/hips routine, scapula mobility and shoulder routine went well, followed by:

2 sets:
One-leg squats, 8 reps
Leg up split-squats: w/ extended ROM: 20's, 10 reps@
Single Leg RDLs w/40 lb, 10 reps@ (once I get more weight plates, I think I'll bump this up to 50lb)
Calf Raises Bodyweight, Failure

Upper Body routine looked like this:
2 sets:
Chinups, 10 reps
Tri-pushdowns (tubing), failure
Tri-extensions (tubing), failure
Hammer Curls 20's, failure
Pushups, 20 reps

Protein shake afterwards, body felt pretty good. I started eating 3 boiled eggs a day today, and I think this will help me gain a little weight. I'm exhausted, see you guys later.

Thanks for reading, and again, I welcome any comments (good or bad) you may have for me.

[lankylefty]

switched to dumbbell pushups from knuckle pushups b/c I didn't have soft surface to protect my knuckles. Anyway, max DB pushups /set: 30

Good day today, still on the right track. 2 pm went to baseball practice for two hours, we did 30 min of light toss, I worked on my change-up grip, and it's developed enough at this point that I'm confident in my ability to throw it in a game if the season were to start tomorrow. Arm feels great, will likely do a weighted ball bullpen tomorrow morning w/ my dad. We got to work on our hitting at practice, and my swing looked decent. Hammering the ball in soft toss and tee work, but my weakness is always live, fast pitching. Will work on hitting with the team, but won't obsess over it like I am with my pitching. After the practice we went to go work out. Same general team workout: abs, med ball, sprintwork, agility (stairs, harnesses, cat&mouse), balance. Even got some RC in towards the end (though obviously an abbreviated version). I drank a refreshing protein shake when I got home, and 6 pieces of toast (I was hungry!).

Later on I did some dry mechanics on flat ground to work on staying closed. Looked pretty good, but I'm worried about how it will transfer to the mound. FutureKaz said he fixed his problem w/ flying open and saw a huge jump in velocity. I hope to do the same:)

Oh, and one more thing, I helped RIstar with his science homework today! Thought you all might find that amusing....

Anyway, happy new year to everyone,
Thanks again for reading

[lankylefty]

Max DB pushups /set: 32

Not very productive, it was extremely cold outside today. My dad got home with 20 minutes left before dark, so my bullpen was rushed. My control was horrific, and I could feel myself still flying open. At least there was no arm pain, from throwing in 20 degree weather. Today was supposed to be an off day from working out, but I did my forearm routine anyway. I worked on staying closed a little bit inside. Here's a video of my dry mechanics. Most of the time I still open up about one frame too early, but there are a couple good ones in there. Oh, and sorry but the sound in the video is messed up, so you might want to mute it.

I think I'm beginning to understand how to go about staying closed. It's about timing. I have always thought to open up at foot plant, not after foot plant. I have been watching videos of mlb pitchers and how the timing of the upper body is related to the timing of the lower body. I think it's still going to take a lot of work, but it doesn't seem impossible anymore. I'm seeing a pitching coach on Monday, let's find out what he has to say.

Anyway, I have practice tomorrow, and then a long "room workout." Should be exciting, I think I'll post a video of some of my workout if anyone is interested.

Thanks for reading, see you guys later

[lankylefty]

1-04-07

Had baseball practice today, we threw for about half an hour, then spent about another hour on hitting. My swing is looking ok, but I won't really know until I see some live BP. Arm felt pretty good, I worked on my change-up a lot, but my curveball needs plenty of work. My fastball had plenty of pop today, but then it might have been my partner's mitt I was working on staying closed and not rotating until after foot plant, while trying to prevent my glove arm from flying open and maintaining a loose arm for arm speed. I think I'm making a little progress. Bicep area was slightly sore later, but I don't think it's a big deal.

After the practice, I went over to the weight room which was open for the first time over break. I did my friday long workout, minus the cardio and med-ball. I did the first session of my 20-rep squat program, but I dont think I added enough weight, gotta step it up next time. I also worked on my form for deadlifting, at 150lbs. I later realized my hands were too close together while deadlifting, so I'll make that adjustment and try to find a 5RM next workout. Overall, I got a pretty solid workout. Legs are noticeably stronger than just a month ago.

1-05-07

Team workout today. Plenty of running, including, but not limited to, 10 full intensity hill sprints (I won about 7 of them, out of 20 guys). I was pretty exhausted after the workout, but luckily I brought along some protein water that I mixed myself! AH, refreshing! I'm working on designing a specific nutrition plan where I track each meal, and count my calories. According to one site, I will need about 3950 to 4150+ calories to support weight gain, which is about an extra 750 - 1000 calories more than I'm getting right now. Does anybody have a weight gain nutrition plan they would like to share with me? I need some creative ideas! Here's the primary site I'm using, courtesy of KC: http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/index.htm

P.S. Today was an off day from throwing, I have a pitching lesson on monday where I might be getting gunned, so I want to be fresh

Thanks for reading guys!