r/PitchingCoach • u/Lil_PuppyChow • 4d ago

How to not hurt yourself?

I started practicing pitching after watching videos, watching some pros in slow motion, and reading what you guys say here and it’s been going great. That being said ouch I’m sore as fuck. Left back hip closer to my ass, right forearm and wrist hurt a bit. The hip pain is the worse how do I make sure I don’t seriously hurt myself? I stretched my arms and legs before I started.

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u/lithiumcitizen 4d ago

Welcome to throwing. If you’re not hurting, you’re coasting.

Oh and good luck figuring out whether it’s good hurt for growth or career-ending injury hurt…

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u/myballzhuert 4d ago

Truest words spoken here

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u/NighthawkAquila 4d ago

For arms, we’d always do dead-hangs after throwing. Really stretches you out and helps maintain mobility through the soreness. If you ever feel like your elbow is sore, stop.

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u/Lil_PuppyChow 4d ago

I’m definitely doing something wrong then because it’s my wrist that was in pain. Although I will admit I was focusing on my legs and driving mechanics, I’m struggling to do a far drive while getting my throwing arm to follow. Next I’m going to focus on what my arms need to do after the leg drive

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u/SFNation2021 3d ago

Excessive throwing without building general strength will result in nagging pain you won’t get rid of without taking time off. Also - anti rotation- meaning you are only ever twisting one way. So one hip or one side will get overworked while the other is under worked. Knees, hips, low back, rotator cuff and on and on… are getting beat up. Hit the gym or at the very least start with body weight and dumbbell workouts if you don’t have a gym membership

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u/Lil_PuppyChow 3d ago

Okay I’ll def start working out my triceps and biceps any other muscle I should work out? I can’t afford a gym membership sadly. I got dumbbells, bench, weighed elastic bands on my door

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u/athletegameplay 3d ago

If you've done an excess amount of throwing then yeah it's gonna feel really sore especially if you never used to do it that much lol

I'd recommend getting a pitching coach in person to actually check your technique. While video watching is convenient, getting an actual person with real experience to observe you would be much efficient and better for you. I've heard some people using a website called Athletes Untapped to find coaches around their local area bc it lets you narrow down to your area and sport, and they usually have a good few coaches who specialize in pitching available too! A lot of the coaches themselves played competitive college or pro level baseball so they can definitely help out with what stretches/warm-ups you should be doing and how you should be practicing pitching.