College Pitcher Needs Advice!

[StrikeThree]

What's going on everyone? This is my first post but I have been looking at this board trying to learn as much as I could about lifting, training, and nutrition for a while now. Here's a little about me:

I'm a college pitcher, am 6'0" flat and weigh at any given time 155-160 pounds. I have never been a "lifter" even though I hit the gym regularly now (for the past year). When I say "lifter," I am not just talking about hitting the gym everyday but also eating the right foods and taking the right supplements/vitamins. I think that not lifting is the reason why my fastball sits at 87 (because of a ridiculous focus on mechanics). Adversely though, I think that not lifting is the reason why I can't get over that 90mph bump and break into a heavier fastball (no pun).

My problem is that I feel like I do not have the weight necessary for me to get over the 90mph bump and have maxed out my arm speed for my present body. Everyone around me says that if I were to take some winni-v or test that I would not only get my weight up (quicker than natural lifting) but would also get to my goals quicker too. Sure, probably can, but honestly I think that I can get the same gains from natural lifting because of my poor experience/knowledge in the gym world. I do understand that you can reach a genetic limit, but I also think that I haven't even begun to reach for that limit in the grand scheme of things.

I post here because I need some help from guys that know what they are doing and can put me in the right direction from the diet/lifting/weight perspective. Here are some questions:


How should I go about developing more explosive muscles (like ones needed for throwing a baseball)?
*Note* I do arm bands and stuff like that, but I need explosive power from everywhere (legs, hips, abs, etc.)

I need a solid nutrition plan to stick to that will help me go from 160-190. Don't worry about fat, I could definitely use some...not a lot...but some.

Are there any supplements that will make my life easier? Any weird diet tricks that you have used and gotten great results?

How can I boost my appetite and get through the couple scraps left on the second plate?

I am not interested in taking steroids because of my lack of experience and lift history. But if a pitcher specifically were to take them, what would be the best for explosive power? Also note that it must have a relatively short detection time.


Thanks for sticking with me through this post, and if I get enough help I will definitely start a log and show the board the journey. Think of me as an experiment to see how much weight you can throw on a guy in the shortest amount of time!


Peace Out,


StrikeThree

 

[Benjamin1]

If your trying to build some quick weight try weight training with minimal cardio for the time being. Find your daily macros for daily consumption. And stay focused and up to date on it when you do gain some lbs.
-B

 

[xigotmailx]

Squats, Deadlift, and for that all important explosiveness you want work on Power Cleans. I'm sure you have coaches in the weight room, as it probably should be mandatory for you to workout with the team...I hope. I say this because in High School we were in the gym as a team after school, for both football and baseball. It's awesome to be able to talk to someone that's a pitcher, where I unfortunately had my career ended freshman year thanks to pitching against 40mph winds and tearing my bicep ligaments to where I had second tricep for a while Getting some weight on you will definitely help with power, and if your mechanics are great already I'd expect 1-2mph increase per 10 pounds. I hit 93 at 180. On that windy day however no matter how hard I threw I couldn't break 70, thus over-exerting myself and causing the injury.

Diet wise, eat, eat, eat. You should be getting enough cardio already during practice, if not piss off your coach and get punished to run poles. Good luck with your pitching career my man, stay around the forums, I'd like to see how you progress

 

[Drizzie88]

Squats, Deadlift, and for that all important explosiveness you want work on Power Cleans. I'm sure you have coaches in the weight room, as it probably should be mandatory for you to workout with the team...I hope. I say this because in High School we were in the gym as a team after school, for both football and baseball. It's awesome to be able to talk to someone that's a pitcher, where I unfortunately had my career ended freshman year thanks to pitching against 40mph winds and tearing my bicep ligaments to where I had second tricep for a while Getting some weight on you will definitely help with power, and if your mechanics are great already I'd expect 1-2mph increase per 10 pounds. I hit 93 at 180. On that windy day however no matter how hard I threw I couldn't break 70, thus over-exerting myself and causing the injury.

Diet wise, eat, eat, eat. You should be getting enough cardio already during practice, if not piss off your coach and get punished to run poles. Good luck with your pitching career my man, stay around the forums, I'd like to see how you progress

+1 on power cleans... but stay clear of pressing movements... you don't want to do overhead press if you are a pitcher..for obvious reasons.

 

[bigdavid]

anabeta has been the one supplement that has constantly increased my appetite

 

[StrikeThree]

Thanks for all the help. I definitely know that the power lifts are going to help. It really is all about the legs, core, and mechanics as a pitcher and I just need to get my diet down. It's just hard to eat that much wholesome food in one day! I tried Black Hole (appetite stimulant supp.) and it worked alright, but nothing that really impressed me.

 

[StrikeThree]

180 is my ideal weight. With that I feel like 95 will not be a problem at all. I just feel like I have taken my body as far as it can go without throwing on some extra pounds.

 

[jt339]

180 is my ideal weight. With that I feel like 95 will not be a problem at all. I just feel like I have taken my body as far as it can go without throwing on some extra pounds.

Diet is going to be key here. If you're in a hurry to gain some weight I'd put on a pound a week and hit the weights hard. You can do this by picking a number of calories, we'll say 3000 for you, and stick to that for a month. Weigh in once a week at the same time and if you average 1lb gain a week you're good! If you managed only 2lbs in that month, add 250 cals a day. If you lost weight then you can figure out how to adjust from there from my previous statements. Get 1-1.5g protein per pound of bw with 1.5 being a much better idea. 60-70g fat and the rest carbs.

 

[dbgonzo24]

Thanks for all the help. I definitely know that the power lifts are going to help. It really is all about the legs, core, and mechanics as a pitcher and I just need to get my diet down. It's just hard to eat that much wholesome food in one day! I tried Black Hole (appetite stimulant supp.) and it worked alright, but nothing that really impressed me.

Definitely agree with the posts before with doing squats, deadlifts, power/hang cleans. Those are the most important lifts for core and leg strength. Also, Im sure your school has a good program for explosion and agility training as well. As to eating, try lifting in the morning. This will help jump start your metabolism, which will help keep you hungry. Drink a high calorie protein shake after your workout and before you go to bed. Try eating every 2-3 hours as well. PB and J is always a good snack to eat throughout the day.

I played college football and keeping my weight on was always an issue, but if you just eat as much as you can, your body will eventually get used to it. Starting a heavier lifting program will help with weight gains too.

As for supplements, I started taking Vasotropin a few weeks ago and the pumps are real good. Take it like 30-60 mins before your workout with a lot of carbs (I eat a whole grain bagel with pb and a cliff bar) and you'll feel good for your workouts. And eating before your workout will again get the metabolism going and help get you hungrier throughout the day. I also took the whole pink magic, prime, anabolic pump, and powerfull stack when i was playing ball. They worked together real well. Good luck man.

 

[pyrobatt]

Try some natural test booster. Daa is proven. Active extreme by driven sportd has blood work to prove its effectiveness.

Eat .....I cant believe im suggesting this...but in your case... Eat some fast carbs. Stay away from slow carbs for increased appitite.

For sports specific power do some kettle bell circuts and start doing some rotator cuff exercises. Try to incorperate grip training. Also look into weighted gloves you can practice with. Deadlifts are also great for overall preformance.


EDIT :draz athletics has a great pair of weighted training gloves. Its the ones I used to run with

 

[StrikeThree]

Update: Been lifting hard and have put on 5 solid pounds of fast twitch lean muscle. The more I research, the more I realize that the importance of the TYPE of muscle I am building is much more important than how much. I am pumped because I hit 92 on the gun which has shown some solid progress and I have broken through the 90 barrier finally. This should make growth to 95 much easier now...at least mentally. I focused mainly on explosive exercises. The most important would be low weight manipulation. You would be surprised at how fast I can throw a little 2 pound med ball now. I think my total body strength has exploded and I am pumped about that. Got scouted at one of my games, which means the old guy at least went out of his way to show up. Didn't talk to me but got confirmed he was talking to a couple regulars at the game and was asking about me. That's a plus. Time to head to the field. Peace for now!

 

[xigotmailx]

Awesome bro, happy to see that you are progressing! Pretty soon you'll be hitting those Hundo's!!!!

 

[StrikeThree]

Haha. Triple digits aren't realistic for me. I literally do not have the genetics to generate that kind of force. I am completely happy with 95 and filthy movement though so I'm going to make that my goal. I'm more pumped about the type of weight that I've gained and my strength gains. Negative training really does bring your lifting to the next level. Got any idea's with some cool ways to change up (pun?) how I go about lifting like negatives etc?

 

[Distilled Water]

Throwing program is also going to be a big tool, to throw harder you have to throw harder. Sounds stupid but arm speed is what it's all about, not really rocket science. Heavy Core work, Dead lifts, push press and squats are what you're going to have to live by with a good stretching program. Like others said eat.

All my guys added 2-7mph with this, one freshman added about 12mph.

 

[StrikeThree]

No I completely believe you. I'm sitting at 89-92 now which is great. Its all about the legs and getting your arm action to literally go that fast. What you say is completely true. You wanna throw hard then you better start trying to throw hard. I like to use long toss to get that mentality going and throw hard enough right until my arm tells me to stop and then I bring it in.

 

[Distilled Water]

No I completely believe you. I'm sitting at 89-92 now which is great. Its all about the legs and getting your arm action to literally go that fast. What you say is completely true. You wanna throw hard then you better start trying to throw hard. I like to use long toss to get that mentality going and throw hard enough right until my arm tells me to stop and then I bring it in.

As always, check with your pitching coach b4 doing stuff but a 4oz ball allows you to create more arm speed without it being a drastic difference and hurting yourself. Helps with breaking plateaus, IMO.

I saw check with your coach bc I know I would be pissed if I would have saw one of my guys going off on their own doing stuff. I know guys will go off on their own to some degree, hell I did plenty of times during my years of ball, but sometimes it's helpful to run it by your coach.