Complete: A Look At A Week in the Life of a High Level KPI Arm

At KPI, we get a lot of praise and recognition for our ability to enhance a pitcher’s velocity and keep them healthy at the same time.  A large part of our ability to do that is the weekly routine our high level arms are on.  Most people only focus on the throwing or pitch counts for pitchers, but keeping them healthy is a full time job.  Nothing will eliminate the risk of them getting hurt, but a bulletproof routine will mitigate the risk as much as possible and ensure young arms are developing towards achieving their dreams.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the weekly routine of a high level pitcher at KPI…

Day 1 – High Intent Bullpen or Live Day

We use a basic high/low model to map out a pitcher’s week.  A high intent day is a long/full intent bullpen, a tough workout/practice, or a conditioning day.  A low intent day would be a recovery day, a low intent practice, or a full day off.  We try to keep our pitchers to a weekly template of 5/2 or 4/3 high intent/low intent weekly calendar.  This can be especially challenging during the competitive season, but it is essential in maintaining heath in the pitchers.

Warm-Up – During each session at KPI, the pitchers go through a customized warmup routine based on their assessment.  We might add or subtract, or activate/mobilize based on how the pitcher is feeling on their high intent day to ensure they are prepared for high intent throwing

Arm Care Testing – The pitcher’s go through a full arm care exam on their high intent days so we can monitor their range of motion and strength levels.  If their numbers aren’t in an acceptable range, we will adjust their throwing on this day

Throwing – The pitchers will go through a personal routine with plyo, movement prep, and mechanical drills.  Their catch play volume and intent is determined on the pitcher’s preference… as some pitchers like to activate more while others like to progress at a lower volume or intent

Recovery – The pitchers perform a basic recovery routine after their throwing and then use some of KPI recovery technology to accelerate the recovery process

Strength/Conditioning – We usually like to combine their high intent throwing days with a lifting session so they can combine their high intent sessions into one day, making it easier to find a low intent/recovery day later in the week.

Day 2 -Rest/Low Intent Day

In most cases, we like pitchers to completely take the next day off after a high-intent throwing day.  There are some instances where a pitcher might want to do light throwing the day after pitching, but generally it’s an off/low-intent day.

Warm-Up – The pitchers usually have significant soreness 1-2 days after pitching, so we often prescribe extra mobility work in their warmups on these days.

Arm Care Testing – We do not usually prescribe arm care testing the day after pitching since the pitchers are in recovery.

Throwing – We normally do not prescribe throwing the day after pitching.

Recovery – Generally we leave the pitchers alone the day after they throw.  They are usually inflamed and we want the body to take its course with it’s natural recovery mechanisms

Strength/Conditioning – We normally would not have pitchers lift the day after they throw, as we want them to have a low intent day and usually the soreness needs to subside.  If the schedule for another lift during that week is challenging, we might let a pitcher lift the day after they throw high intent.

Day 3 – Recovery Day

We use the second day after high intent pitching to start to re-introduce movement and accelerate the recovery process.

Warm-Up – If a pitcher is having lingering soreness we might have them do extra mobility work.  Otherwise they can do their normal routine

Arm Care Testing – We will have a pitcher do an arm primer.  They test their internal and external strength, which allows us some insight on their status and also blasts their soft tissue with calcium, priming them to prepare for movement.

Throwing – We prescribe a recovery throwing routine 2 days after high intent throwing.  This consists of low intent and volume, as we want to reintroduce applicable movement patterns

Recovery – This day is usually reserved for cupping.  The pitchers are experiencing soreness and compressed soft tissue, so we use cupping to improve the tissue quality and improve the viscosity of the hyaluronic acid to assist in soft tissue recovery.

Strength/Conditioning – The second day after pitching is a great opportunity to have a high intent lifting session since the soft tissue is usually stable and we can start building towards the next high intent throwing session

Day 4 – Low Intent Bullpen Day

The 4th day of the week is an ideal day to throw a light bullpen.  The soft tissue should be recovered and re-mapping itself properly to allow a higher intent throwing day.

Warm-Up – The warm-up routine should be normalized on this day.

Arm Care Testing – The pitcher’s should go through a full arm care exam since their are preparing for higher intent throwing. We will evaluate their range of motion and strength levels and adjust their throwing if they are falling outside their baseline levels.

Throwing – The pitchers will go through a personal routine with plyo, movement prep, and mechanical drills.  Their catch play volume and intent is determined on the pitcher’s preference… as some pitchers like to activate more while others like to progress at a lower volume or intent

Recovery – The pitchers perform a basic recovery routine after their throwing and then use some of KPI recovery technology to accelerate the recovery process

Strength/Conditioning – We usually like to combine their high intent throwing days with a lifting session so they can combine their high intent sessions into one day, making it easier to find a low intent/recovery day later in the week.

Day 5 – Recovery Day

This is a swing day that is usually pretty contextual.  If the pitcher is in-season and/or not recovering well, we might give him a day full day off.  If he is fine after his bullpen, we might treat this like a light recovery day and allow throwing and/or a lifting day.

Warm-Up -This can be a normal warmup day.  If the pitcher is experiencing lingering soreness, we might prescribe some extra mobility and activation warmups.

Arm Care Testing – The pitcher’s will not usually arm care test the day after their bullpen since they are resting or at a low intent.

Throwing – We might prescribe a low-intent recovery throwing routine or the pitchers might take this day off completely based on how they are feeling

Recovery – This is a good opportunity to do targeted soft tissue work.  Soft tissue work improves tissue quality for 2-4 days, so timing this right helps in not only recovery, but performance.  Depending on how the pitcher is feeling, we might do general soft tissue and/or releases of the infraspinatus, sub scap, or pec minor.

Strength/Conditioning – This can be a great day to do their highest intent lifting session of the week since they are 2 days before their next high intent throwing session and they should have a good recovery from their light bullpen

Day 6 – Recovery/Prep Day

We usually want the pitchers to have a low intent day before their next high intent throwing session

Warm-Up – During each session at KPI, the pitchers go through a customized warmup routine based on their assessment.  We might add or subtract, or activate/mobilize based on how the pitcher is feeling on their high intent day to ensure they are prepared for high intent throwing

Arm Care Testing – We will have a pitcher do an arm primer.  They test their internal and external strength, which allows us some insight on their status and also blasts their soft tissue with calcium, priming them to prepare for movement.

Throwing – The pitchers will perform a low intent day.  They might do some dedicated work on off-speed pitches or throw a flat ground (or even light mound session), but we want them to be fully primed for the following day’s high-intent throwing

Recovery – This would be a day we usually do not focus on recovery unless the pitcher is feeling extra soreness or discomfort

Strength/Conditioning – We don’t normally have a pitcher do a lifting session the day before high intent throwing, but if they are in good shape and like to lift, this can be acceptable.