The Kettlebell Snatch – Improving the Baseball Pitcher’s Throwing Power With a Single Exercise!

Strength training and conditioning for all athletes is the most important ingredient for success. Today’s baseball player is no different. As a pitcher you must have a sound strength and conditioning program in place to endure the length of the season and reduce the risk of injury. I have included a single lift below that all baseball pitchers should master and incorporate into their personal program in order to compete with the best!

As a strength and conditioning specialist if I had to name one single lift that would be the best strength training exercise for baseball pitchers it would be the overhead kettlebell snatch. This particular exercise is so effective that you would have immediate improvement from one season to the next. Mastering this exercise provides the baseball pitcher with tremendous core strength, extraordinary shoulder stability, and the development of throwing power that will shock you more than your competitors! This lift can be done with one kettlebell or two bells. For the purpose of this article I am referring to the single bell lift. To perform this lift you must have an understanding of two prior kettlebell lifts.

You must first know how to do the single arm kettlebell swing. After you master the single arm swing then you can incorporate the kettlebell high pull. Finally, after you master the high pull you can follow through the lift by executing the overhead snatch. To perform the overhead kettlebell snatch you must pull the kettlebell from a vertical swinging motion from between your legs. In one single powerful movement you must explosively extend your hips and knees and mimic the pulling back of a bow (like a bow and arrow) with the kettlebell. The bell should maintain straight alignment with your fist and forearm (no wobbling). As you get the bell up to the peak height and lateral to your head then you will simply want to punch your palm the sky. As you punch your palm to the sky make sure that you lock your shoulder and elbow into place with the bell smoothly transitioning over the back of your forearm.

As a pitcher you must condition your body for the purpose of both strength and muscular endurance. Just like pitching you must be conditioned to perform the same task over and over again. This is why the kettlebell snatch is so effective! Train hard and finish the drill my friend.