A Different Approach to Warm-Up

By Isaiah Trevino –

 

One thing that is often overlooked is a proper wake up/warmup before even picking up a baseball. It is super important, but it isn’t always very popular to have an extensive warmup. In fact, a lot of players will throw to warmup instead of warming up to throw, and that is the wrong thing to do.

 

Making sure that, not only your arm but your entire body, is “hot” before picking up a baseball can help you with your performance, as well as keep your arm as healthy as it can be. This can be done in different ways. Here at the Ranch, during the Summer Program, we go through 8 different wake up/warmups, as we believe it’s important to have different variations so that it does not become bland because you’re doing the same ones every day.

 

With that being said, there will be different situations where time will play a major factor, so it is important to have 3 different types of warmups for your different situations.

 

The first warmup is where you have as much time as you want, the “perfect scenario” as I like to call it. These are usually for starters and guys who know days in advance that they’re getting to start for that particular day. Whether you’re a guy that likes to start moving around two hours before first pitch or 45 minutes before first pitch, the choice is yours in this scenario. Getting as warmed up as possible is the goal, either with sprints, hurdles and ladders, hip mobility, etc.

 

The next scenario is when you need to be on the mound in 20-30 minutes. This is still a decent amount of time but not an unlimited amount. Some things may have to be cut short, as you will probably want to be throwing the baseball 10-15 minutes into this warmup. (This is for bullpen guys that get called on in relatively short notice.)

 

The last scenario is the one nobody wants to go through, but you’re destined to at least once, especially if you’re a bullpen guy. The “get hot as quick as you can” scenario – this is a scenario where your team needs you on the mound in 5-10 minutes because the starter struggled right off the bat, something happened to him in the first inning unexpectedly, or a certain hitter is coming up and your coach likes the match up. Hopefully this doesn’t happen to you much, but we want to be as prepared as possible if (and when) it does.

 

Having a plan of action for all 3 of these scenarios is key to your success, as well as your overall arm health and durability. If you have time, use that time wisely and make sure your body is really hot before even picking up a baseball. Always remember, we should warmup to throw and not throw to warmup.

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Important TBR Updates

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