Pitching Velocity Tip – The “Load” Position

Pitching Velocity Quick Tip#7

Alright, this is Brent Pourciau at topvelocity.net and we’re going to do another pitching velocity quick tip today.

On this quick tip we’re going to cover the load position. There’s a great video out there called the “Pitching 101“. If you want to learn the 3X Mechanics without buying the program, it’s out there for you guys. You’ll actually see it in the forums under ‘Mechanics Analysis’. It’ll say “Learn 3X Mechanics”.

So the load position is a component of 3X Mechanics. That’s the point after the leg lift and just before the launch. Now I really believe in the 3X Mechanics. The 3X approach believes that your stride is here to build power. So the more power we can build – and it would then convert that power from the foot stride – then the harder we throw. And it’s really been effective and it really works. So if you believe in it, this is going to help you develop more power from the load position. You’ll hear me talking about it a lot in the mechanics and analysis that I do for pitchers.

Now when you get into that load position – so it’s after leg lift, and you’re starting to build speed down that mound, and you still have flexion on your drive leg – this is going to cover the importance of flexion. Now, this is not – to get to the load, you definitely don’t want to lift and squat, and then reach out. We have to from the beginning, build speed – as much speed, and accelerate that speed through our front zone.

If we are accelerating that speed and we’re not focusing on that, and we’re just squatting and then going forward, that really works against that principle or that understanding that if we’re going to build as much power as we can through our stride, we have to be accelerated. So the lifting, and squatting, and then moving forward, that would not be an acceleration – that would be a start, a slow down, and then accelerate again. So I’m very much against that kind of lift and squat, or that kind of collapsing. That’s very much not a good way to implement the 3X Mechanics. The most effective way is: as your left leg is coming down, your body is starting to accelerate at that point to move forward.

Drive Leg Flexion and the Sweet Spot

Okay, so flexion. This velocity quick tip is going to really cover flexion. Flexion is when those three joints – the ankle, knee, and hip-flexor – drop down, or bend down, or squat down. That’s important because one of the big components on why it’s called 3X Pitching is because 3X is triple extension. So for us to generate power, we can do it most effectively through triple extension which is the extension of ankle, knee, and hip-flexor. So that’s extension. So before extension, we must have flexion.

So flexion is very important in the 3X component. Just like if I’m trying to dunk a basketball and jump as high as I can, I’m not going to do it with my knees straight. Then I’m just pushing – I’m just extending only my ankle, and I’m not going up at all. I have to build flexion, and then move into extension.

But of course, there’s a sweet spot. If we build too much flexion, then our body can’t move ourselves. We put our mobility in a position where it’s not strong. And if we don’t bend enough, then we can’t get enough power into the vertical movement. And this is a linear movement, so it’s the same thing. So flexion is important, and it’s a hard concept to understand.

So same thing, if we build too much flexion into the load, our mobility – we don’t have strength for that range of motion, we’re going to collapse. Now that should also tell you the reason guys out of my program feel harder is because not only do they learn these mechanics that affect them into throwing harder, but the strength of the conditioning program actually builds more power through that mobility – the ability for us to get more flexion so we can create more extension. But to have the strength and power to move through that range of motion is really what amps us off in velocity and explosiveness and then afterward.

So you’re going to have to find your sweet spot. But what I find is: a lot of guys, because they don’t have leg strength, they don’t get a lot of flexion. They just have, maybe just – as their leg’s coming up, that’s about all they put into it. So, as far as triple extension, you’re not going to have much to work off. Just like you don’t have much if that was all the flexion you used to jump off.

You look at those basketball players that can fly. And when they hit the ground before they jump, their butts are down, and they’re going up. I mean, their butts are down low; because those guys are strong and they’re explosive.

You might have more in you, so try it. But if not, you’re going to have to go to the weight room and develop that explosive power. You want to test out where your flexion is most effective. So as you move into the lawn, make sure your hips are moving forward. But try adding a little more flexion, and see if that adds to your velocity. I guarantee it will.

A lot of my guys, when we use the radar gun, (you should watch the quick tip on the radar gun) but when we use the radar gun to tell us where we are just to see if we’re making changes in velocity, I’ll sit there with the gun, and I’ll get them to get more flexion, and I’ve seen up to five miles an hour. Right off the bat. In velocity. Because they got more flexion before triple extension. Now, some guys, I get them to get more flexion, they get it too far, and they can’t recover. So there’s a sweet spot. And you got to find your sweet spot and ultimately, that will immediately enhance your velocity. And also, it’s going to motivate you to get in the weight room and build that sweet spot where you can get more flexion into your extension.

So that’s a great velocity quick tip for you guys and I really think that’s something y’all could implement today, and see more about miles per hour tomorrow. So, that’s alright.