Stop Long Distance Running

I will probably catch some heat for this article but oh well here it goes. For overhead throwing athletes long distance running is a part of many traditional training programs. I understand as a thrower you need strong powerful legs and endurance to go with it. But, is running laps around a track or laps around the field helping you achieve those goals? At Throw University we believe it is actually negatively affecting your velocity and ability to maintain your top velocity throughout a game and throughout the whole season.

Running long distances can be good for general health, but it is not ideal for developing explosive powerful athletes. What do throwing a pitch, throwing a pass, stealing second base, or hitting a home run all have in common? They are all a quick burst of power movements that recruit fast twitch muscle fibers to perform the movement. Therefore it is probably not ideal to run laps around a track or a field, because those activities recruit more slow twitch muscle fibers to perform the activity. Performing a high volume of long distance running daily or weekly will also make it very tough to gain or maintain muscle mass and strength. If you don’t believe me, then go look at the cross country team at your school. They probably aren’t the most jacked powerful athletes in the school.

Don’t get me wrong, conditioning is very important for maximizing athletic performance. You don’t want to be the pitcher that was throwing 90 mph in the first inning but by the third inning you are throwing 83 mph. The best way we feel to train these athletes is to do sprint work at 10-20 yard distances. An entire pitching motion is around 1-3 seconds long with roughly 13-20 seconds in between pitches. So when you’re doing your sprint work keep the distance short and take 13-20 seconds of rest in between each sprint. For quarterbacks, infielders, outfielders, and catchers I like that same conditioning for you as well. The effort should be high on each sprint. Run with a teammate or friend so you can time each other with a stopwatch. That way you can make sure you are maintaining your time from the starting line to the finish line on each sprint. An example of a sprint workout for a pitcher would be 4 sets of 10-15 sprints of 10 yards with 5 to 10 minutes in between each set. That would simulate a four inning outing during a game.

Another great way to sport specifically condition your body is through med ball throws. Rotational or other variations of med ball throws are great for throwers conditioning their bodies in a movement that is very similar to the one they will perform come game time.

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