Weightlifting exercises to avoid

[HasBeenorNeverWas]

I'd love to see a discussion on which weight lifting exercises should absolutely be avoided for your pitcher. Bench presses? Overhead presses? IYT? Should weights ever be used for shoulder work? What about bicep/tricep/lat stuff?

 

[Northball]

Bicep curls are great for Hello Elbow......so no.

 

[DNeeld]

I'm not sure there are any exercises I'd say flat out avoid as long as technique is solid and weight is appropriate for the athlete.

 

[jdint]

I'm not sure there are any exercises I'd say flat out avoid as long as technique is solid and weight is appropriate for the athlete.

I agree with this. Maybe avoid exercises that tend to put the shoulder in an impinged position, but this can vary between people. Barbell bench presses hurt my shoulders, but clearly many people can do them just fine. You can work around a lot of problems using different bars or dumbbells.

 

[Vertigo]

I agree with this. Maybe avoid exercises that tend to put the shoulder in an impinged position, but this can vary between people. Barbell bench presses hurt my shoulders, but clearly many people can do them just fine. You can work around a lot of problems using different bars or dumbbells.

Yes - agree! My dd has very long, skinny arms so has a very difficult time with the barbell bench press. Trainer at college has her use dumbbells instead which works much better for her.

That’s why when doing weight-training I always recommend seeing a knowledgeable trainer, one who specializes in softball is even better. They need to individualize the workout.

 

[Northball]

I guess one thing to consider is limited time available to lift/maximizing the time spent in the gym. I will emphasize building core, building legs is time better spent than building eggs on your arms.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

There is only one exercise that I am aware of that correlates to (pitching velocity). So exercise/weight lifting is good in general be wary of people that mention certain exercises to include/exclude when it comes to pitchers.

 

[mmeece]

With good technique there really shouldn't be any particular exercises to avoid, especially in the off-season. During the season I'd probably avoid or minimize overhead presses and bench presses.

 

[_MIA_]

There is only one exercise that I am aware of that correlates to (pitching velocity).

You may have read this, but this statement (as you have written it) makes zero sense.

You tell me the exercise and I can find a different one that causes hypertrophy and neural adaptation in similar muscles and while the amount of correlation may not be the same, there will still be SOME.

 

[Gambler Bob]

I personally avoid barbell bench presses/shoulder presses. I do still do dumbell presses. I do not allow my daughter to do barbell presses either. IMO, the risk to reward is not worth it. I have torn my rotator cuff, labrum, and bicep. I tore my rotator cuff and labrum tubing behind a boat, so that had nothing to do with working out. I believe I tore my bicep doing barbell bench press, the bicep attaches in the front of your shoulder. Barbell bench presses would certainly aggravate the top of my bicep.

I have no background in the human anatomy so take this info for what it is worth. It is nothing more than my personal experiences.

Two favorite exercises would be barbell back squat, and a pullup/chin up.