- Josh Gessner
- Posts
- How to Throw Harder than 99% of Pitchers
How to Throw Harder than 99% of Pitchers
josh gessner
June 11, 2025
written by JOSH GESSNER |
Good morning to all new and old readers! Here is today’s newsletter, exploring stories, ideas, and frameworks to be the best Baseball Player you can be.
How to Throw Harder than 99% of Pitchers
(if you’d rather watch than read, you can do so here):
Most pitchers lift heavy.
Most pitchers get stronger.
But only a few ever throw way harder.
You’ve probably seen guys like this:
One gained 3 mph in a month. He’s now touching 95.
Another jumped from the low 80s to the low 90s.
Another broke into the 96+ mph range.
So what are they doing that most guys aren’t?
Let’s break it down.
Most athletes focus on how much force they can produce.
But in pitching, the real question is:
How fast can you produce that force?
That’s rate of force development, or RFD.
Why Strength Alone Isn’t Enough
Strength is your total potential for force.
RFD is how much of that potential you can access in milliseconds.
Think of it like this:
Your squat, deadlift, and bench = your available horsepower.
But in the pitching delivery, you only have milliseconds to tap into that horsepower.
Even elite sprinters and throwers can only access ~80% of their strength during fast movements.
Most pitchers? They’re stuck using 50–60%.
Where RFD Shows Up in the Delivery
1. Back Leg: Impulse is King
Impulse = Force × Time
Your back leg’s job is to apply vertical and horizontal force into the ground fast during the load phase.
What matters most here?
Not peak force. But how much total force you apply in a short window.
If your force takes too long to build, you're losing out—no matter how strong you are.
Train your back leg to deliver force quickly, not just maximally.
2. Lead Leg: Knee Extension Velocity
This one’s simple:
The faster you can brace and extend your lead leg, the better energy transfers up the chain.
Elite throwers either:
Lock out the knee explosively, or
Brace firmly with a bent knee (as long as it stops movement).
Either way, it needs to happen fast.
3. Upper Body: Rotation & Elastic Snap
Upper body RFD is less muscle-driven and more tendon-driven.
Here’s what matters:
Rotation power
Pec activation
Scapular and posterior chain activation
You don’t need massive arms.
You need fast-reacting, elastic, coordinated movement.
🛠️ How to Train RFD: 4 Simple & Proven Methods
1. Velocity-Based Training (VBT)
Light loads (50–60% 1RM) lifted as fast as possible.
Measure bar speed, not weight.
But here’s the key:
Go max effort on every rep.
If you’re not pushing to the edge, you’re wasting your time.
2. Ballistic Training
This solves the “am I going fast enough?” problem.
You either jump or you don’t.
Try:
Belt squat jumps
Trap bar jumps
Med ball slams
It’s objective. If your feet don’t leave the ground, you didn’t produce enough force.
3. Overcoming Isometrics
Push as hard as you can against an immovable object (3–7 seconds).
Favorite drill:
Split stance ISO against a fixed bar—mimicking your lead-leg block.
Why it works:
Forces max motor unit recruitment
Improves neural drive
Trains your brain to fire faster
4. Plyometrics
Everyone uses them. Few use them right.
They should be:
Max effort
Intentional
Progressed
Example lower body circuit:
Overcoming ISO
Assisted split jump
Banded resisted jump
Belt squat ballistic jump
You’re attacking the entire spectrum: neural activation, elasticity, and RFD.
Final Thoughts: The 1% Train With Intention
Most guys dabble with this stuff.
But they don’t go all in with max intent and precision.
That’s why they plateau.
If you take one thing from this:
Every RFD rep must be done with MAX INTENT.
And you’ll start throwing a lot harder.
Want Help With This?
I co-founded ThePitcherLab to help guys like you hit the next level.
Book a call (limited spots per day):
https://thepitcherlab.com/
I’ll see you there.