17 Workout Tips Every Youth Pitcher Should Know

Learn strength and conditioning concepts for baseball pitchers

ATTENTION PARENTS: While there aren’t many pitching programs that are age-appropriate and safe for kids 7-14, there is one that provides youth pitchers with effective guidelines for strength training, pitching mechanics, and how to pitch faster in baseball. Click here to learn more about my youth pitching program.

Let’s talk about pitching workouts for pitchers.

Parents ask me this question all the time:

"Should my son lift weights?"

If lifting weights means strength training and your son is a baseball pitcher around 10 or older, research from the Mayo Clinic says, Yes.

Youth pitching workouts not only can improve baseball performance but they can help prevent injuries as well.

Now this doesn’t mean youth pitchers should go out and start lifting heavy weights.

Of course, they shouldn’t.

But some light resistance training that includes body weight exercises, jump rope, resistance bands, medicine balls and lightweight dumbbells with a special emphasis on proper technique and safety—that’s the type of youth pitching workout that can help build functional strength and increase velocity.

So how do you start a strength training program for young pitchers?

Workout strategies for youth pitchers

Here are 17 tips to build pitcher-specific strength to point you and your son in the direction of success:

Seek proper instruction. Start with a coach or personal trainer who has experience with youth strength training. The coach or trainer can create a safe, effective strength training program based on your child’s age, size and skills.

If you don’t have a coach, I recommend the TUFFCUFF Jr pitching guide; parents or coaches should be responsible for implementing this program.

Youth pitchers perform a warm-up followed by agility drills as outlined in the TUFFCUFF pitching program by Steven Ellis. ( Angie Diedrick)

Youth pitchers perform tubing exercises as outlined in the TUFFCUFF pitching program by Steven Ellis. (Photos by Angie Diedrick)

Youth pitchers perform push-ups as outlined in the TUFFCUFF pitching program by Steven Ellis. ( Angie Diedrick)

The TRANSITION cycle immediately follows the conclusion of the season. Sometimes people will call this time period active rest. The goal of this cycle is for your mind and body to recover from the long season. This is a great time to play some other recreational sports to stay active while taking your mind off of baseball and an organized program. The volume of activity will be pretty low but it is important to stay active.

HYPERTROPHY is the second cycle of the off-season. This cycle uses high volume, low to moderate intensity, low to moderate rest periods, and low sport specific skill practice. The goal of this cycle is to gain lean muscle mass that will later be used to gain strength and power. Baseball players aren’t trying to be bodybuilders but this gain in muscle mass will lead to gains in strength and power as the off-season progresses.

STRENGTH is the third cycle of the off-season. Strength refers to how much force you can produce. This cycle uses moderate volume, moderate to high intensity, moderate to high rest periods, and moderate skill practice. It is important to get enough rest to be able to give a full effort for each set. With the lower volume, some basic sport specific skill work can begin during the end of this cycle.

POWER is the fourth cycle of the off-season. Power refers to producing maximal force in a short period of time. The goal of this cycle is to take that muscle and strength from the previous two cycles and translate that into explosive power. This cycle will have very high intensity, low volume, long rest periods, and moderate to high sport specific skill practice. This is a great time to increase plyometric, speed, and agility type exercises. It is crucial to get enough rest between sets, no less than 2-3 minutes. As you are getting closer to the season, the sport specific skill work will increase.

PRESEASON is the fifth and last cycle of the off-season. This cycle is very similar to the POWER cycle but with less volume. The sport specific skill work will be at its highest during this cycle as you prepare for your season. Throwing, swinging, and sprinting are a high priority during this cycle. Plyometrics are still ok for this cycle but they can be very hard on your joints so be careful that you don’t overdo the stress on the joints with the increase in skill work.

INSEASON is as important as any of the other cycles. It is NOT the time to quit lifting. It is important to keep that strength and power you developed during the off-season. If you quit lifting when the season starts, you will be at your weakest point when it matters the most. The inseason program should use moderate to high intensity, low to moderate volume, and moderate to high rest periods. Single joint exercises like biceps and triceps exercises can be taken out of the program to reduce volume.

11 FAQs about youth pitching workouts

I’ve gotten a lot of questions recently from parents and coaches regarding working out for pitching that I thought I’d share with you here.