Frame-by-Frame:JD Martinez

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November/December 2018

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EdBlankmeyerBeast of the Big East

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McLennan Community College’sMitch Thompson

theHotCornerWeighted Ball Training:7 Considerations

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Let me start by saying this: this article isn’t aboutthe pros and cons of weighted ball programs. It’sabout the importance and reasons why youshould consider (a) including and implementing a

thorough assessment, (b) monitoring the dosage and (c)participating in an individualized strength and conditioningprogram in conjunction with the weighted ball program.

With the lack of evidence-based information out thereon how to safely implement weighted baseballs, mostcoaches and facilities are basically flying blind, due in mostpart to a lack of knowledge in functional anatomy. Here’show we have gathered information and implemented itover the past few years at Rockland Peak Performance,and with a good amount of success.

First and foremost, I am a believer in weighted balls. Ithink they work, and we use them with many of our guys.However, weighted balls are just one of the tools used inour throwing programs to help our athletes achieve ahigher velocity ceiling. As with any protocol, the “dosage”(volume and intensity) and time of year is paramount tomaximize their effectiveness safely.

The main prerequisites we utilize to decide if a pitcheris eligible to enter into our weighted ball throwing pro-grams are as follows:

1. You must be at least 16 years old and anatomicallymature (growth plates). Throwing a weighted ballstretches the shoulder into added external rotation. Evenat 16, there is no magic age as to growth plates beingclosed, and young athletes will naturally get more externalrotation (retrotorsion) from simply playing ball while theplates are still open. For young athletes with low humeralretrotorsion, it may be better to throw more with just aregulation baseball. This will develop more “lay back” toreach higher velocities, rather than using a weighted ballto expedite retrotorsion at the risk of injury later on.

2. You must be at an adequate weight to be able todisperse the stress of throwing weighted balls. The bodymass chart displayed is a guide we use for eligibility basedon height and weight. Please note that these numbers arethe Minimum weight requirements to be eligible to partici-pate in one of our throwing programs. See graph.

3. You must be pain-free. You would think that this oneis a no brainer, but I can’t tell you how many kids come into get screened for our weighted ball program experienc-ing current anterior shoulder pain! You need to performapprehension testing; many young kids will lie about pain!

4. You must have acceptable movement quality (as-sessment). One of the benefits of including a strength andconditioning program alongside a weighted ball program isthat first and foremost it forces you (or at least it should)to perform a thorough initial assessment on the athlete’sbaseline movement quality. At our facility, all athletes aretaken through a comprehensive movement screening toidentify movement deficiencies. This helps answer a fewimportant questions that address the athlete’s durabilityto take part in a weighted ball throwing program. Thescreen includes but is not limited to the following topics:

by Nunzio Signore Rockland Peak Performance

22 Inside Pitch / November/December 2018

November/December 2018 / Inside Pitch 23

• Do they have sufficient external rotation?• Are they lacking scapular upward rotation?• Can they get their hands overhead (flexion) without com-

pensating in the lower lumbar?• Do they have sufficient cervical rotation?Assessing range of motion, while it is not the final word by any

means as to physical preparedness, is the best we have to go onwithout any “imaging” and is a must for us to deem a young ath-lete eligible for the program.

5. You must have a decent foundation of strength (trainingage). Absolute strength is the foundation for all other faster typesof strength, it is paramount in any athletic endeavor. But in thisspecific situation, the analogy is that it helps increase the size ofthe cup that you can fill with other faster types of strength, as inwith weighted balls. It is ideal for athletes to have one year ofprior experience in the weight room and be able to have a one repmax deadlift of 1.5-2 times their body weight.

In addition to building muscle, strength training prepares the liga-ments and tissue for further training as well, for the “faster types ofstrength” ahead. In addition, increases in lean muscle mass fromstrength training also help absorb much of the force that comes withthrowing hard and in this case, with throwing weighted balls. Lighter,less muscular athletes can get into a “crash and burn situation,” as theirbodies aren’t prepared to handle the force in their throwing deliveries.

Learning to perform movements like squats, hinges (deadlift),and lunges helps longer, looser athletes learn stability, while theshorter/tighter types increase their mobility. We have found thatsquats and hinge patterns have great transfer over to the mound.

6. You must get a daily serving of mobility and arm care. All ofour strength and conditioning programs include a 15-20 minutewarm-up which focuses on soft tissue work and mobility. This willhelp ensure that all movement and mobility issues found in the ini-tial assessment are being addressed daily, as well as helping totrain the scapular stabilizers.

7. Individualized volume and intensity (dosage). Severalyears before we met, my business partner paid $500 to a rep-utable nationwide outfit for a 12-week weighted ball program forhis son. No questions were asked regarding his son’s age, weight,previous injuries, and/or strength profile. The “dosage” in the pro-gram was simply based on how hard his son threw differentweighted balls prior to starting the program. Think about that!

As you increase the weight of the ball, you slow down the armaction. The more a ball weighs, the less you can accelerate it. Lessacceleration means less force on the ligaments and tendons. Inother words, there is actually less force on the ligaments and ten-dons with a heavier ball. We do not however, go above 9 oz. forany drill that has a considerable layback component done at highvelocity. The stress on the elbow is already high from being in sucha provocative position, so no need to add weight to dysfunction.

Also, more is not always better. I believe many athletes, oncethey see velocity gains from say a 7 or 9 oz. ball, have a tendencyto think, “if my velo went up 2 mph with a 9 oz. ball, it’ll probablygo up more working with a 12 oz. ball. Unfortunately, this can be arecipe for disaster. Many metrics gathered from the assessmentsuch as weight, age, strength and glenohumeral internal and ex-ternal rotation MUST be taken into consideration when designingthe throwing program. Sometimes we may reduce the weight ofthe ball (intensity) and add another day (volume). Alternatively,sometimes we may only go as high as a 7 oz. ball. All in all, we gen-erally never go fully overhead with anyone over 9 oz.

Putting it all together. Any effective throwing programshould incorporate throwing, strength training and arm care asone program and not view them as separate entities. Whilestrength and conditioning should never be out of the equationfor pitchers in general, it should share the spotlight with thethrowing side of the program such as correcting mechanical is-sues and high intent weighted throws.

This will allow us to focus more on (a) improving strength byutilizing heavier weights and focusing on mobility early in theramp-up stage, (b) gradually increasing force production throughlighter lifts, and (c) plyometric training as the higher intent throw-ing gets added. It will also allow the athlete to focus more energyon the ramped-up intensity and volume of the throwing portion.Remember, when something gets added (throwing), somethingneeds to be taken away (heavy lifting).

As a side note, we don’t wait for pain. Not only do we assessprior to starting, we do a brief re-assessment every four weeks asthe program progresses. This is to stay on top of things, such as toomuch of a change in passive and active range, signaling that theremight be a negative change in tissue resiliency, t-spine and cervicalrotation, hip internal rotation, etc. The re-assessment also helps uskeep tabs on changes in metrics as throwing continues to ramp-up.We can then adjust weighted ball dosage as needed, if necessary.

A throwing program utilizing weighted balls can and will helpimprove coordination of muscle contraction and the developmentof a more efficient kinetic chain in the throwing motion helpingthe pitcher stay connected. This combined with (a) increasingphysical size and strength through weight training, (b) a thorougharm care program including soft tissue work, and (c) an adequatepost-throwing routine is the best way to create optimal resultswhile reducing the risk of injury. IP

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