Free 6-Week Strength & Conditioning Program for Pitchers

Who this template is for

Adults without current injury or exercise restrictions. Youth athletes should use the supervised youth guides. Seek individual guidance for pain, surgery history, or medical restrictions. Lift after throwing on the same day rather than before it.

Exercise names matter less than choosing a variation the athlete can perform and recover from. Start with light loads and leave repetitions in reserve. Three loading weeks, one lighter week, and two more loading weeks is a standard beginner wave. The exact sets and weeks below are practical examples, not a clinically tested Pitch AI intervention.

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 · Squat and push

B · Lunge and hinge

Practice focus

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.

Throwing program

Ages 19 and up (college and adult) · Offseason build · 4 throwing days per week. Build throwing volume and long toss distance first. Intent rises late in the block, after the base is there.

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 260 planned throws

Week 2 · about 280 planned throws

Week 3 · about 290 planned throws

Week 4 (lighter week) · about 210 planned throws

Week 5 · about 290 planned throws

Week 6 · about 315 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

Move to a loaded barbell or heavier dumbbell program under coaching when ten of twelve sessions are complete, each main exercise has progressed by the two-for-two rule at least once, and no session left you sore past 48 hours. Otherwise repeat weeks 5–6 with the current loads.

Common questions

Must pitchers avoid all pressing?

This template uses a tolerable push-up variation, not a universal ban or prescription for every shoulder. Pain or a restriction calls for an individualized alternative.

Can I add more exercises?

First establish consistency and recovery. More work is not automatically a better plan; the pattern coverage here (jump, squat, hinge, single-leg, push, pull, trunk) is already complete.

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. 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).

3. Ben Brewster, Building the 95 MPH Body

   Supplied coaching manual: throw before lifting, place neurally demanding work before accessory work, progress linearly until a stall, and wave three loading weeks with one deload week (pp. 108–116). Its nutrition tables were not used.

4. 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.