How to Build a Better Arm Care Program

There are many exercise programs out there billed as arm care programs. Most of these rely heavily on bands or light dumbbell exercises, like the Thrower’s 10. These programs can be great for the early stages of rehab after an injury or surgery, but if you really want to strengthen your throwing arm, arm care needs to involve more than just bands and external rotations. Here are some things I think you should consider as part of your arm care routine.

Full Body Strength Matters for Throwing

Throwing and pitching are full body movements. Power starts with the legs and is transferred through the core, shoulder girdle, and ends at the wrist. Think of cracking a whip: the momentum starts at the handle, but the snap comes at the very end- that’s ball release. If you’re already doing some shoulder exercises but not incorporating your core and trunk, you’re missing out on some major development.

Compound Exercises Build a Stronger Throwing Arm

We typically think of arm care as isolation exercises for the rotator cuff, but any exercise involving movement of the shoulder is going to get the rotator cuff firing. Compound, multi-joint exercises allow you to train multiple muscles at once and allow for heavier loading. Think various types of rows, chest pressing, overhead pressing, and pull-ups. These exercises can help you build a lot of strength.

Rotator Cuff Training for Baseball Players

When most people think of rotator cuff training, they think of bands and light dumbbells. But the rotator cuff muscles are still muscles, and they can usually tolerate more load than people think. I also like training them in positions that better reflect throwing - around shoulder height and with a straighter arm to mimic ball release. Lateral raises and various T’s are some of my favourites, but I also like face-pulls for external rotation.

Train the Speed and Forces of Throwing

No exercise can fully recreate and prepare you for the forces generated during throwing, except for throwing itself. But power-based movements and eccentrics can still prepare the arm well because they emphasize speed and high force generation. Medicine balls are a favourite tool of mine, but you can also do traditional resistance exercises with lighter weight and higher speed. For eccentric exercises, you’re focusing on a slow, controlled lowering of the weight- these can create high levels of tension and are especially useful for building strength and force tolerance, but can also be very fatiguing.

Don’t Ignore the Biceps, Triceps and Forearm

The rotator cuff gets all of the attention, but don’t forget the other muscles. The biceps and triceps both attach into the shoulder socket, and therefore play a role in throwing. The biceps are especially important, as it acts as a 5th rotator cuff muscle providing extra stability, but also controls the elbow as we extend to ball release. The forearm muscles, especially the flexor muscles, are garnering more attention recently as a way to help mitigate elbow injuries like UCL tears.

Shoulder Mobility Still Matters

Throwing requires you to have excellent shoulder mobility, and this can decrease following a throwing session. Working on overhead mobility and external rotation through the pectoral and latissimus muscles can help restore range of motion loss over the course of a game and season.

Progressive Throwing is Part of Arm Care

We typically think of arm care as shoulder strengthening exercises, but we would be remiss if we didn’t consider the overall load and stress on the arm, with throwing being one of the biggest contributors. Here we want to make sure we avoid spikes in throwing volume and intensity by programming a progressive increase, and then allowing enough time between sessions.

Recovery is Part of Arm Care Too

It can feel like you always need to be doing something, but doing nothing can be just as important (link to blog). A workout is only as good as your ability to recover from it. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep, nutrition, hydration and relaxation (link to other blog) to support all of the work you’re putting in. A fatigued, overworked muscle is more prone to injury.

When Strength Testing Can Help

If you’re playing at a higher level and looking to up your game, or are currently dealing with an injury or pain with throwing, it would be valuable to get your shoulder strength tested to see if there are any deficits. In my experience, baseball players are often lacking strength in external rotation (relative to body weight and internal rotation), scaption (lateral raise) and grip. Testing can help identify where an athlete may need more attention instead of just guessing.

How to Build an Arm Care Routine

This may seem like a lot to consider, but arm care doesn’t need to be its own separate workout. It can be spread throughout your week depending on your schedule and training goals. Power exercises can be added early in sessions, compound lifts already train many important muscle groups, and a few targeted shoulder and forearm exercises can fill in the gaps. For example, grip strength can be added by trying to squeeze barbells or dumbbells as hard as you can or by emphasizing finger grip during certain exercises. The goal isn’t to cram everything into one day - it’s to consistently expose your arm to the demands of throwing over time.

This also isn’t to say I don’t like resistance bands or light weights. These tools can have their place, especially as part of your warm-up, or if you’re looking to get some time under tension with slow, controlled exercises as part of a lighter training day. The problem is when these tools ARE your arm care, and not just one part of it.

Final Thoughts on Arm Care for Baseball Players

Don’t think of arm care as just exercises for your shoulder; think of it as trying to build the strongest, most resilient arm you can. This includes full body strength, compound upper body exercises, shoulder and arm exercises specific to throwers, adequate mobility, progressive throwing and proper recovery. As much as I listed some go-to favourite exercises of mine, there really is no single right way- find exercises that target what you need and fit the demands of throwing. Stick to a routine, perform it consistently, and you should see your arm health improve. Arm care doesn’t need to be complicated.