Posted by: rql () on Wed Feb 11 20:00:52 2004

Do you believe the torso rotation used in throwing is essentially the same as the torso rotation used in batting?
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> > My son is beginning to do torso rotation exercises with a band as resistance. I believe it is good for him in a few different ways. For hitting it just puts it in his mind to pivot instinctively and it also increases his explosiveness.
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> > But he is also a pitcher and I think the same exercise should help him be more explosive with his hips in pitching. What do you think, should he be doing a slightly different torso rotation exercise for pitching?
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> > I kind of think these exercises will really help him because he is not all that athletic or strong so I hope they help him. But on the other hand I don't see a lot of baseball exercises involving torso rotation. Maybe I am just missing them or not looking in the right places.
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> > Thanks in advance for your help.
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> > RMB
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> This is a very complicated question.I would put the nmost credibility in an answer from Nyman.
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> While there are similarities in both skills,the timing and sequence are different enough that it is hard to predict how much crossover or specificity can be expected.
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> Hitting is bow-arch.
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> Throwing is bow-arch-bow,one armed,extra lever,arm circling in different direction.
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> Back arm loading action/sequence is similar as is the creation of stretch by hips opening and torso resisting opening.Timing of wieght shift is different however,
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> In pitching you need to rotate the back foot/leg to assist in creating body torion/boost hips open,but the push off of the back foot is timed more so that when the front foot comes down and bears weight/blocks,it triggers the final BOW of the body rather than accentuating coiling.
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> How foundational activities/abilities for both skills can be improved and reliably produce better results in both requires more expertise and range of domains to be mastered than I can muster.

>.I wrote about these exercises somewhere a month or two ago.I did these type of exercises then graduated to cables and weights on machines,along with stretching.What I found was I began hitting balls this year out of a ball park off of a tee that I have not hit out in over 5 years.Last year I lifted very heavy and hit no balls out with a better bat.I would say they will help your son.