Free 4-Week In-Season Strength Program for Pitchers

Who this template is for

Adults only; not a way to start lifting for the first time during a competitive season. Staff should approve exercise selection and timing. Team programming supersedes this download. No new exercises, no unfamiliar heavy eccentric work, and no maximum testing in season.

The coaching goal is to retain a useful strength stimulus without making the next appearance harder to prepare for. Textbook in-season maintenance is one to three short sessions per week; the supplied in-season guide keeps frequency, cuts load and volume, and places lifting after an outing as far as possible from the next one. If the week becomes crowded, reducing supplementary work is preferable to treating missed lifts as debt.

Your weekly framework

The days below are movable placeholders. A qualified coach should fit them around current throwing, other teams, and recovery. Throwing volume comes from the throwing program below; it prescribes no maximum-intent throwing and does not stack on top of team practice or games.

Session details

Before each session, 8–12 minutes: easy walking or jogging, leg swings, hip and upper-back rotations, then a light band arm-care series (external and internal rotation, a row, and a scapular raise; one set of 10–15 each), then an unloaded rehearsal of the first exercise. Use a clear surface, a secure band anchor, and equipment sized to the athlete.

Order each session so the work that depends on freshness comes first: jumps or sprints, then the main strength exercise, then accessory and trunk work, with any conditioning last. Main strength sets stop with 2–3 clean repetitions still possible; accessory, youth, and beginner sets keep 3 or more in reserve. Rest 2–3 minutes after jumps, sprints, and main strength sets and 60–90 seconds after accessory sets. Progress by the two-for-two rule: when the final set reaches two repetitions above target in two consecutive sessions, add the smallest available load (about 2.5–5 lb for upper-body and 5–10 lb for lower-body exercises, or 5–10% for youth). End a set when speed, balance, or technique changes. No lifting to failure or maximum-effort testing is required.

A · Short full-body session (about 30 minutes)

B · Optional complementary session

Practice focus

A short note on sleep, energy, soreness, and recent appearances helps staff choose the next session. This is not a medical screening score. Localized arm pain should be evaluated, not solved by changing the spreadsheet.

Throwing program

Ages 19 and up (college and adult) · In-season maintenance · 4 throwing days per week. Games are the high-intent days. Throwing between outings keeps the arm moving and maintains capacity without stacking extra hard days.

Place the throwing days on your week so the longest or hardest day is not the day before a game, and throw before lifting when they share a day. If a team already runs throwing practice, that practice is the session: use the numbers below as a ceiling and log what was actually done. Games replace a throwing day; they never stack on top. Repeat a week instead of moving on if the arm feels heavy or soreness lasts into the next morning.

Week 1 · about 170 planned throws

Week 2 · about 170 planned throws

Week 3 (lighter week) · about 155 planned throws

Week 4 · about 170 planned throws

Throw counts include warm-up throws. Distances are ceilings, never targets. Pitch Smart for this age group: Ages 19 to 22: daily max of 120 pitches and at least 3 months off from competitive pitching each year, including at least 4 continuous weeks off from all overhead throwing. Need a different phase or number of days? Use the free throwing program generator.

Week-by-week progression

The weeks are decision points, not deadlines. Repeat or reduce a week when recovery is poor. Exact doses here are original coaching examples, not a research-proven route to a certain velocity.

When to move on

Continue this format for the length of the season. After the last game, take one to two weeks away from lifting and hard throwing, then return to the six-week off-season template starting from week 1 loads.

Common questions

Can I lift the day after pitching?

Often, yes: the supplied in-season guide places the main lift after an outing so the stress is consolidated and the days before the next appearance stay fresh. The staff confirms the day for each role.

Should I chase personal records in season?

They are not part of this template. Keep the emphasis on useful training that fits competition; loads and volume are deliberately lower than off-season.

Evidence & source notes

These sources inform the principles, not a guarantee that this exact template produces an outcome. Coaching manuals are labeled separately from research. No proprietary program tables or illustrations have been reproduced.

1. Haff & Triplett, Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed. (2016)

   Chapters 7, 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22: youth guidelines (1–3 sets of 6–15 repetitions, 2–3 nonconsecutive days per week, load increases of about 5–10%), exercise order and rest intervals, the two-for-two progression rule, plyometric prerequisites and 48–72 hour recovery with depth jumps contraindicated while growth plates are open, aerobic progression of no more than 10% per week, in-season maintenance with unloading weeks, and criterion-based return to play. Consulted from the supplied book; no program tables reproduced.

2. Ben Brewster, In-Season Training Blueprint

   Supplied coaching guide: keep lifting frequency, reduce load to about 85–90% of baseline and volume by roughly 40–50%, lift after an outing as far as possible from the next appearance, and avoid unfamiliar heavy eccentric work (pp. 7–11, 15). Its cover says 16+ but its disclaimer says 18+; not used to prescribe youth loads.

3. Tsatsouline & John, Easy Strength (2011)

   Rules of thumb (p. 86): two or three sessions per week, low repetitions with one or two always in reserve, stop a set when bar speed drops, and cut in-season volume by half to two-thirds. Overload implements are cautioned against for athletes who rely on the fastest movements, pitchers included (p. 203).