How to do Rotational Ball Throws

ROTATIONAL BALL THROWS

I see this exercise done on YouTube videos all the time. It really makes me cringe watching people wasting time by throwing a ball with no speed and energy and doing so with poor mechanics. If you are going do something do it right!

Rotational Ball throws can be used to develop power and explosiveness while training a rotational movement pattern.

USE THE HIPS!

Many times I see people doing all the rotation and movement from the spine while keeping the hips stationary. 1st, rotating the lumbar spine(lower back) under load coupled with speed can be a recipe for disaster for  people with back issues. This is how muscles get strained and discs get herniated. When we rotate we should utilize our hips! They are the source for all of our power generation. Look at any sport that needs rotation! Boxers are always taught to lead with the hips, as does tennis, the baseball swing, and the baseball pitch among others. Each of these movement must have good hip timing coupled with power.

But Danny I am not an athlete why should I care?

Athletes do this movement to develop power and hip rotation which is also very important for regular folks that want to get into shape. Doing this movement correct is crucial for injury prevention which is important for all humans. moving from the right joints at the right time is key.

There are tons of ways to train. If your goal is to do just move and exercise then there are a ton of other movements you can choose from that don’t put your spine at risk. If you are going to do this movement take the time to do it correctly. You will see great results, develop power as well as a little cardio kick!

A Couple Other Important Notes!

You don’t have to go heavy on this exercise. Depending on how strong you are a 10-14lb ball may be all you need. Some of my strongest athletes don’t need anything heavier than a 20lb ball to get an effective training session is. You want to move explosively. If you pick a ball that is too heavy you are going to be slow and your timing will be off and it will turn into something pretty ugly.

This isn’t a cardio exercise 

Sure, you can get your heart rate up with this exercise, but your goal with these is Power development. Doing 20 reps of this will result with poor power development, crappy form, and fatigue. When fatigue kicks in power is not trained at all.  Doing sets of 5-8 reps per side for 3-5 sets with some breaks between sets will give you a great opportunity to get the best results out of this exercise.If you’re looking for help getting stronger, improving your technique, or you’d like to meet with one of our instructors for a free consultation, please give us a call at (520)445-6800 today and we’ll be happy to help.  OR, fill out the information below and we can reach out to you.