Notes Regarding Timeline of Throwing Schedule
Week 1: As mentioned earlier, you’ll notice that our Throwing Schedule is based on “days”, rather than a traditional “weekly” schedule. So keep in mind that you will be throwing “every other day” from the onset until you get to Week 5, where the format changes to 2 Days on, and 1 Day off.
You’ll also notice that the start of your Throwing Schedule each day will begin at 30-45 feet (rather than, e.g., 30 feet). The reason for starting you out in this “range” is because you may feel like 30 feet is too close of a distance to start at – especially if you are in High School, College, or Professional Baseball. In addition, today’s athletes will also tend to first go through a very thorough Arm Care Program prior to throwing (e.g., Bands, Plyo Balls, etc). And finally, because we are placing such a strong emphasis on arc throwing from the onset, you will probably notice that the ball will actually carry much further than throwing it on a line. For all of these reasons, you may feel like starting at a distance closer to 40 or 45 feet.
However, you may find that 30 feet may actually be the right distance to start with, especially if you are a younger athlete. The bottom line is that we are giving you the flexibility with the beginning of your throwing session to start where it feels comfortable, knowing you can disburse the allotted amount of throws within this range (30-45 feet) in any manner. As always, listen to your arm and instincts.
Week 5: Starting at the beginning of Week 5 (Day 29), we will be going from “every other day” of throwing, to a “2 Days On, 1 Day Off” format. We feel strongly that by Week 5, the arm and body simply want to move more often, especially considering that throws are being made with such Low Intent and Perceived Intensity. We feel that it is vital and necessary at this point for the body to get more blood flow and oxygen with more frequency and continuity. We believe strongly in the principle of Davis’s Law: “soft tissue heals according to the demands that’s being placed on it”.
Week 9: Starting at the beginning of Week 9 (Day 57), we will begin going from a “2 Days On, 1 Day Off” format to a “3 Days On, 1 Day Off” format. For the same reasons that we added an additional day in Week 5, we feel that after more than 2 Months of optimal, incremental build-up and conditioning, the arm is positioned to throw more. Because of the increase in frequency of throwing, you’ll note that the “middle” of the 3 days is scheduled to be a “light day”. But keep in mind that you can always go lighter on any particular day, or even take a day off. The bottom line is that we want your arm to start moving the arm and body 3 out of 4 days at this point because the workload and intent is still relatively low even into Week 9. As always, listen to your arm.
Note: In Week 9, you have the option after any throwing session to begin “Cooling Down” on the Mound at 45 feet in order to get acclimated to the slope. Please keep in mind that the tendency may be to throw with more effort “because” you are now on the mound. Therefore, be sure to err on the side of using less, rather than more effort.
Week 19: Starting at the beginning of Week 19 (Day 127), we strongly encourage you to begin to Self-Regulate if you haven’t begun this process. This also marks the beginning of The Pull-Down Progression Phase.
Week 22: Starting at the beginning of Week 22 (Day 148), we will introduce a traditional “7 Day Format”. Though you will be encouraged to continue to Self-Regulate, we have built in a Light, Medium, and Heavy Day format into your Throwing Schedule that is designed to help you transition into your Mound Ramp-Up, and eventually, Live Pitching. This is also where we begin the process of Building-Up of Higher Intent Pull-Downs.
Week 28: Starting at the beginning of Week 28 (Day 190), you will begin transitioning into your “Pitch Count Build-Up”. Once you have established 20 pitches in an “In-Game” outing (Week 27, Day 187), you are now ready to begin to Build-Up your “live”, in game pitch count. Traditionally, this is done by adding 15 Pitches per week. Thus, for Week 28, we would recommend following the same schedule as Week 27, and simply add 15 Pitches on Day 194, or a week later. If this progression feels right, you can continue to add 15 Pitches every 7 Days. You will also notice that once you Build-Up your pitch count to your desired workload, you will see “sample schedules” to help you transition into a 5, 6, or 7 Day Throwing Cycle for Starting Pitchers, along with some throwing protocols for Relief Pitchers (you will also see two corresponding links to articles for more information regarding these areas). Naturally, as with everything else in our Throwing Schedule, listen to your arm and add “live inning” pitches at your discretion.
Note: For Relief Pitchers, you may find that once you Build-Up to, e.g., 30 pitches, you will want to follow the “Relief Pitcher Protocols” that we have also set up for you in the last section.