Building velocity is a key part of a pitcher's development. The ability to throw the ball hard will make any pitcher more formidable. Not all pitchers will be able to develop into dominant strikeout pitchers, and the fastball will not always be the most important pitch for all pitchers; However, increasing velocity will make all of a pitcher's subsequent deliveries much more difficult to hit.
Step 1
Throw with a teammate in the outfield every day at the start of practice. Begin by throwing at a distance of about 50 feet. As you warm up, stretch out the distance you are throwing. Eventually, you should be about 125 feet from your partner to play long toss. This builds strength in the rotator cuff muscles, helping you to throw with more velocity while keeping your shoulder strong.
Step 2
Build strength in your forearms to add velocity to your pitching. During the acceleration stage of pitching, your forearm will turn providing your pitches with more velocity. Building up strength in your forearm will allow you to put more force behind your throws. You can build strength in your forearms by doing forearm curls, reverse forearm curls and hammer curls. You can use dumbbells and a weightlifting bar with light weights to start off, gradually increasing the weight over time.
Step 3
Run regularly in the outfield to build strength in your legs and glutes which will help your velocity and stamina. Alternate distance runs with sprints to build explosiveness. Pitchers have been running on their off-days for decades and the strength developed in the legs and glutes adds power to the pitcher's core which translates into increased velocity on the fastball.
Step 4
Build wrist strength to increase the force exerted on the ball upon release. Proper wrist movement will also help you with your accuracy as well as velocity. Increase wrist strength by squeezing a tennis ball for two minutes at a time, or exercising with a 4-lb. shot put. The flipping motion used to propel the shot put will build strength in your wrist that will translate to pitching.
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