The exact weekly routine I used to throw 96mph

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.

I’m going back to doing highly in depth, educational emails to help pitchers. I’ll be sending these 2-3x week… Hope you get value!

The exact weekly routine I used to go from throwing 78mph to 96mph (in 16 months):

I used this exact weekly plan to go from throwing 78 mph to 96 mph in just 16 months.

That jump got me an offer from my dream school, Stanford, and a seven-figure deal with the Phillies.

This is something I’ve landed upon after tens of thousands of dollars learning from the best coaches and hundreds of hours studying what actually works.

This is the plan I followed to throw 96mph, and it’s also what one of our Pitcher Lab athletes used to add 10 mph in just a few months.

The Big Picture: The “W” Week

Your week should look like the letter W

• High CNS (hard work),

• Low CNS (recovery),

• Med CNS (medium work),

• Low CNS (recovery),

• High CNS (hard work again),

• Low CNS (recovery)

This gives your body over 72 hours of rest between the hardest days.

Work as hard as you can, then rest as hard as you can.

Monday — High CNS (90%+)

• Throwing: Start the week with a high-intent throwing day. For me when I threw under 85mph - this was plyo velo on flat ground. I used drills like roll-ins, rocker throws, drop-steps, and delivery throws. I tracked every throw with a radar gun and tried to beat last week’s best. As I became more advanced this day became a mound day.

• Lifting: Right after throwing, I lifted heavy. Early on when I was weak, I needed to build a strength base. I ran a simple 5×5 program to build strength. Later, I added more speed and power work.

Rule: If you throw hard, lift hard—on the same day. We want to stack all the high stress on one day.

Tuesday — Recovery (<50%)

• Throwing: Very light—30–40% effort, just for blood flow. Or a simple daily plyo circuit.

• Other work: Foam roll, soft tissue work, mobility.

• Active recovery: Walk, swim, or play a light sport that doesn’t tax the arm.

Mistake to avoid: Don’t move your heavy lift to Tuesday. This is a very common mistake I see, but it doesn’t give your body any time to recover when you do this.

Wednesday — Medium CNS (60–70%)

• Throwing: Long toss or a lighter mound/mechanics day. Focus on moving smooth, not max intent.

• Lifting: Medium to high, depending on recovery. If you’re still building strength, go moderate. If you’re doing speed/power work, you can push it harder because recovery is faster.

Thursday — Recovery

Same as Tuesday: soft tissue, mobility, active recovery. Throwing is optional and should stay very light (<50%).

Friday — High CNS (100–110%)

This is the big day of the week.

• CNS Prep: One thing I like to do before High CNS days is to firte up your system before going all out, using stuff like overcoming isometrics, plyometrics, med-ball throws, high-intent plyos.

• Throwing: Max intent. Early on, this was pull-downs (give it everything). Later, it became either a bullpen or live ABs. Always track your velo - we need to know if we’re making progress or not.

• Lifting: Heavy progressive overload if you’re in a strength phase, or your hardest sprint/jump work if you’re in a power / RFD phase.

Weekend — Recovery

Mobility, soft tissue, and optional sub-50% throws.

Why This Works

• 72+ hours between high days lets your body bounce back and adapt.

• Stacking throwing + lifting on the same day clears the rest of the week for recovery.

• Twice a week at high intent is the sweet spot. More than that fries you and kills progress.

Cycles: 3-4 Weeks on, 1 Week Deload

Run this “W week” 3-4 times in a row, then take a deload week. On deload weeks, keep everything at sub-50%. PRs are stressful—your body needs that week to recharge before you push again.

Case Study: Bennett (+10 mph in 3 Months)

When Bennett started with us, he threw 82 mph. In three months, he touched 90.

Here’s how his week looked:

• Monday: Drills for his mechanics (drop-step, hover drill, KBO kick, walking windup) → pull-downs at 85–95% → high-CNS power lift.

• Tuesday: Recovery + daily plyo circuit at 50%.

• Wednesday: Long toss at 70% + power lift.

• Thursday: Recovery and mobility.

• Friday: Max-intent mound VO, full bullpen at 100% intensity + hardest lift of the week.

• Weekend: Recovery.

His biggest wins came from cleaning up mechanics and unlocking explosiveness his body had lost after past injuries. With the W structure, he stayed healthy while stacking gains.

TL;DR: The Template

• Mon: High-intent throw + high-CNS lift

• Tue: Recovery (<50%)

• Wed: 60–70% throw + medium/high lift

• Thu: Recovery

• Fri: Max-intent throw + high-CNS lift

• Weekend: Recovery

• Cycle: 3 weeks on → 1 week deload → repeat

If you want help from us to advance your baseball career:
Book a free call with us— our guys gain an average of 3-5mph (at least).