Just another day in paradise. When you pitch, what is your game day routine?  When you throw with your friends in the backyard, do you have a routine?

How do you know what you’re doing is any good for you?

Today I would like to tell you about throwing with a purpose.

Every time you pick up a ball to throw, you should have a routine that not only helps you prepare mentally, but helps maintain the health of your arm.

You’ve heard me talk about this before.  But you need to warm up to throw, not throw to warm up.

Do some light jogging, high knees forward and backward, lunges forward and backward, lunges with twists forward and backward.  Warm up your core with some normal planks, side planks, supermans etc.  Arm circles forward and backward, front and back arm claps etc.

Then head over to the fence with your j-bands and go through the series of 10 exercises that focus on your rotator cuff.

Finally, when you’re done (after 15-25 minutes on game days) then pick up a baseball and start playing catch, warming up your throwing arm.

If you’re just playing catch with some friends in the backyard, I would still go through about 5 minutes of warm ups and then do some elastic band work before throwing.  Even if you don’t plan on throwing hard.  I always do some type of band work before I throw anything no matter what!

When you show up to practice make sure you take your time warming up properly.  Don’t fall into the trap many baseball players do and joke around when you throw.  Work on your mechanics.

Every time that ball is in your hands work on your throwing motion.

Here’s what I mean.  After your warm-up routine:

You might take the first 10-20 throws and work on keeping your head over center of gravity (belly button) to foot strike.  You then may take the next 10-20 and work on leading with your hips; then 10-20 working on hip rotation and so on.

The point is this!  If you take every chance you can to improve, you will be so much further ahead of your competition.  Pretty soon the most difficult mechanics become second nature to you.  Remember correct repetition is the mother of all skill!

If you haven’t already, make sure you pick up your own copies of our pitching instruction products.  We are confident you will learn to throw faster, improve accuracy, throw nastier pitches, improve your mental game and pitch to win!