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The
following is a response from Paul Nyman to a post on the internet
about over and underload training:
The
Slav,
Words
can be very difficult medium for communication. Stress for
a marathoner is different than stress for a pitcher.
Stress to me means elevating the level of activity beyond
the point of normal activity.
So
if a person is normally throwing a baseball at 80 mph, we
must find a way to elevate the stress on his body beyond the
80 mph level.
There
is both physical and mental stress.
One
of the least understood training issues is the need to create
explosive "intent".
Without
opening a can of worms, tribe999 asked the question of what
is a difference in philosophy in between "other programs"
and SETPRO's.
One
significant difference is my belief that we need to train
the intent to throw hard as opposed to following a mechanical
sequence.
The
way that pitching mechanics is being taught (in general) is
by "picture association".
In
other words a visual and verbal representation of the pitching
process is used to convey the "external" picture
(information) of the pitching process.
It
is then left for the person doing is picture or reading the
words to "internalize" this information into a sequence
(motor program) of posture and muscular actions.
The
problem with this is that a lot of the important information
cannot be or should I say is not being transmitted by many
of these pitching programs, pitching.com being one of them.
And
it is not because they are intentionally doing this. It's
because they just don't know how to create a richer picture
(more information that can be used to more effectively create
the internal actions necessary).
In
short this is a long-winded way of my saying there's a difference
between a pitcher being mechanical and having good mechanics
(maximizing his potemtial).
I
don't subscribe to the principal that if you work on your
mechanics "that velocity will come".
Your
velocity will not happen unless you make it happen.
If
this occurs because of a specific pitching program, that all
well and good.
But
is not the pitching program that develops your velocity, it
is YOU the player that develops the velocity.
The
pitching program is/was only a means for you to achieve that.
I
guess you might say that I have a more "holistic"
approach to developing pitchers.
As
opposed to the cure by "prescription" approach.
Anyway,
back to the question of stress.
By
definition as long as the effort to throw as hard as possible
is there, throwing a different weight baseball has the possibility
of creating greater stress.
One
of the physiological aspects of the body that I don't think
is really understood as much as it should by those who wish
to improve their ballistic performance i.e. throwing or swinging
a baseball bat, is a fact that muscular response is not linear
to the force applied.
I
see this phenomenon very clearly if you measure the velocity
of a player throwing different weighted baseballs.
Many
players can throw a 6 ounce baseball as hard (same velocity)
as a five ounce baseball. Even though the 6 ounce baseball
is 20 percent heavier than a five ounce baseball. This is
a great illustration (to me anyways) that this particular
player(s) is not trained to their maximum throwing capabilities.
The
reason I say this is because with players that I work with
who I believe are throwing a very high-level in terms of their
potential, there is a noticeable or significant difference
in velocity of their throwing a regulation five ounce baseball
as compared to a 6 ounce baseball.
The
same is true with them throwing a five ounce baseball as compared
to a four ounce baseball.
So
therefore players inability to throw a 6 ounce baseball almost
as hard as a five ounce baseball indicates that there is undeveloped
potential primarily in the form of neuromuscular capabilities.
And
in fact significant gains can be made in short periods of
time due to neuromuscular recruitment as opposed to developing
additional muscle strength.
The
intent to throw hard, the intent to swing hard is every bit
if not more important than the actual building a strength
of the muscle itself.
And
we continue to "bump heads" with the specificity
principal. Especially the higher we attempt to rise in our
athletic capabilities.
I
believe that longer durations or lower level throwing, and
we have to be very careful asked what we mean by lower level,
can be beneficial because my belief that prolong stress, assuming
its above a certain level, will lead to physical adaptations
in the form of increased tissue size (tendons and ligaments
in particular).
And
we have to be very careful in what is meant by duration and
intensity.
But
low level throwing will not in itself develop the neural systems
to be explosive.
For
those people or very involved in trying to understand how
the body develops athletic power, there are different classifications
for this power.
As
example for football the training professional is more concerned
with strength-speed development.
This
is different than what the baseball trainer is concerned with
for a pitcher, that being speed-strength development.
As
far as Coop DeRenne's program, I think is a very good and
very safe program to use.
I
believe the SETPRO program goes beyond what DeRenne's program
started (my sales pitch for today).
As
far as MLB and college coaching and training philosophy, I
agree 100 percent that their primary job is to maintain a
player's ability to perform everyday. As opposed to maximizing
their daily performance.
When
I was in Atlanta at the National Strength and Conditioning
Sport Specific Training Seminar for Baseball, the head training
person for the Cleveland Indians said that if a player injured
himself because he was doing something that the trainer recommended
and was not part of the normal training routine for that athlete
then the next day he would be out looking for a new job.
Dr.
Frank Fultz of the Atlanta Braves related the same story about
Chipper Jones. That Chipper Jones have to come to him and
that Chipper have to take total responsibility for his decisions
before Dr. Fultz would designed a more aggressive training
program for Chipper. This training program resulted in Chipper
Jones increasing his strength significantly and going from
20 plus homeruns to 50 homeruns the next season.
I
have said hundreds of times that if you expect to perform
at the highest level you have to accept the risk of this expectation.
But
the key point is that it is "managed" risk.
You
use sound training principles, something which most baseball
people haven't or won't learn about.
Training
principles that former "high jumpers" knew about
thirty years ago.
Principles
that former major league pitchers or s should I say say someone
who pitched three innings in the Major Leagues has no idea
about.
Slav,
I'm sorry, your post was such a good one, good questions and
no sarcasm, but I couldn't resist.
Paul
Nyman
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