There have been a number of articles lately by old-school instructors who don't put much faith in overload training or the use of added resistance. We hope this page takes a balanced approach in answering some of your concerns.

 WHAT IS OVERLOAD?

In a nutshell, overload training is any exercise which applies a resistance beyond that normally experienced in actual game situations.

For instance, a pitcher working with balls that weigh more than 5 oz (the regulation weight), or using tubing or cable weights to pull on during the throwing motion. Or a batter adding end weights or a donut ring or fins to his bat, or working with a bat that is attached to tubing.

It also includes running overload training such as a small unfurled parachute (wind resistance) or two training partners working in tandem attached by cable.

Other devices include weight vests and wrist or ankle weights to increase the effort expended during any ballistic action associated with athletic movement. Also the use of medicine balls, body blades, and other tools for added resistance during body movement (torque) or shoulder work outs.

A comparable but separate overload technique is through plyometrics. In these programs, rather than added resistance, the athletic movement is exaggerated - step exercises, the use of shoe attachments, etc. Likewise, programs like long toss are about changing one of the standard parameters (i.e. distance) rather than resistance.

Notice that in all overload training, specificity of the skill is maintained. This is in sharp contrast to typical weight room work in which the push is against an exceptionally high force at a slower pace and over only a short part of the range of motion required for baseball.

Overload training - particularly as it applies to the Pyramid Training approach - is based on letting the ballplayer work his muscles as he would in game situations, but with added resistance.

The idea is really simple. It's kind of like the joke about the guy banging his head against the wall - it feels so much better when he stops. (In truth, the arguments pro and con overload, especially weighted balls, will be so much better when THEY stop. Hmmm. Back to the topic...)

Throwing the ball or swinging the bat with added resistance on the object, or added resistance on your body, is hard. Any inefficiencies in your mechanics are amplified. Developing velocity is a challenge. And it truly feels much better when you stop!

In other words, going back to a 5 oz ball after throwing with a heavier ball allows you to whip through the pitching motion with ease. Likewise the moment a parachute is unclipped lets the runner surge forward with the sudden drop in resistance.

It really isn't any more complicated than that, but there is a catch...

Actually there are several catches...

Overload training amplifies inefficiency. This was mentioned above. It's important because if your teaching instruction is flawed, then the improper mechanics when amplified could do you serious harm. So you need to be working with a coach or instructor that knows how to provide proper guidance.

Age matters. Because of the risk of amplification, only players at a certain developmental stage should even try overload. Normally we say post-pubescent. But to that you should add - when growth plates at the joints in the arm are sufficiently mature. We should point out that even a 5 oz baseball is an added weight on the end of the arm which is why some instructors recommend little or no throwing at all until age 13.

Some overload ideas are silly. A while back, we're told, tennis experimented with weighted balls - an idea they quickly rejected. Imagine if weighted balls were used against bats... that's not overload training that's impact training and you would have to hope the bat breaks otherwise the arm might. So remember that not all overload suggestions are of equal value, or for the same purpose.

A little can mean a lot. Another argument against weighted balls we have seen is that an extra ounce or 2 can't possibly make much difference. In fact, 1 oz represents a 20% increase in static weight. Repeat: static weight. The momentum resistance of accelerating that extra weight is much greater. Those that argue the added weight does nothing are wrong - it could do too much. Again, given the risks, this could be a caution against overload training, but it may also point out the value of it. However...

It's not magic. Another cited test involved batters using bat weights. In the test, those who used weights on deck showed no increase in bat speed, some even slowed down. Not surprising, the test was not really complete. The point of any program is not to find the magic bullet, but to incorporate sound principles into a systematic approach to improvement. If batspeed, say, does not improve, then look at whether the weight was properly applied, and properly incorporated into a pyramid training program - not just casually on deck. Testing needs to be done over time. And bat speed needs to be charted in training. We discuss this under optiosn and variation on the Htting Chart page.

There is static load and dynamic load. In the case of the on-deck experience above, the worst example is the hitter slowly waving around 2 or 3 bats on deck - because there is no specificty in his actions (he isn't swinging) it has no value. But also there is a difference in how and where weights are added. Of the common choices - donuts, end caps, sleeves, fins - donuts most throw off the bat's balance; end caps actually add counter-weight (not necessarily overload resistance); and sleeves distribute the weight load better. However a sleeve weight or donut is a static load - and the added load is immediate when the swing starts. Fins, however offer a dynamic load - the faster the bat, the more wind resistance. This is comparable to the difference between a pitcher's training tool that uses cable weights (constant resistance) and one that uses tubing or stretch cords (increasing resistance).

You need to understand which overload (if any) is appropriate to your needs.

We firmly believe so. Instructors who have incorporated overload into their programs have documented improvements in their ball players that are worthy of note.

Not everyone agrees, of course. But the arguments against are a double-edge sword. The two most frequent arguments against use of weighted balls are that a) it doesn't add enough extra weight to make a difference and, b) the extra weight can cause injury.

Think about that for a minute... does the extra resistance make a difference or not? It can't be both, so which is it? We suggest neither. It may be the instructor's logic that needs to be questioned. A program which knocks weighted balls for both these contradictory reasons has to have something wrong with its thinking. If there is an injury risk (which there can be in younger throwers or those with poor mechanics) then clearly the added weights are significant - and proper instruction is needed. If however someone states that the added weight does nothing, then where does the increased risk of injury come from?

We are also aware of the argument that overall pitching velocities have not increased due to the proliferation of performance-enhancement programs that rely on weighted balls, long toss, or other newer techniques. Perhaps not. The 100 mph ceiling seems to be in place.

Then again, it is never about the average or about the maximum - it's about whether any individual player has reached his own personal maximum.

To date, while we have received anecdotal information from instructors who don't use pyramid training, and don't believe in it, we don't have any documented evidence that their programs can achieve significant gains in batspeed or pitching velocity without overload.

We have, on the other hand, strong evidence that programs which incorporate a combination of new techniques are showing measurable individual performance improvements.

There are additional considerations in favor of overload such as feedback: the amplification of inefficiencies highlights flaws and the need for corrections in mechanics. That, alone, is an invaluable aspect of added weight/resistance - flaws may be spotted sooner, corrected better.

But the bottom line remains this: if you encounter an instructor who is against something he has never tried, question his motives. If you encounter an instructor who has tried something and seen positive results, verify his methodology and, if it makes sense, then consider how best to work it into your own training program.