This is the practical follow-up to understanding arm anatomy. While knowing the "what" matters, this guide focuses entirely on the "how": how to create a post-throw routine, how to improve sleep, how to structure your throwing program, and how to manage your workload.
Principles of Recovery
Recovery is part of the stress-adaptation cycle, which begins at baseline and then a stimulus is invoked. This stimulus can range from anything between sprints, a max effort deadlift, pitching, or anything in between.
After the stimulus, there is both neurological and physiological fatigue that is created.
Physical fatigue is mostly characterized by DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), or micro-tears, and occurs after recruiting the muscle to exert under load. This causes tiny rips within the fibers of the muscle, which are then repaired through rest and grow back stronger. This is the common phenomenon that leaves you sore after an intense workout or pitching performance. It's due to imposed stresses being greater than what you are prepared for.
Neurological fatigue works similarly. The motor units used to pattern a movement become fatigued and require different pathways to take over to send the same signals. When competing in a game or maximizing performance, you will typically never be in a state where the primary motor units have become fatigued due to low volumes and larger rest times.
This is why waiting 3 to 5 minutes in between sets of a deadlift or 1 to 2 minutes in a velocity-focused bullpen will often be significantly more effective than continuing attempts. A break will refresh these motor patterns slightly, but they will often not become fully recovered until much longer.
When Recovery Actually Happens
The process of recovery does not just happen during sleep. It happens at any time when the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) is not engaged.
While sleep is going to be an extended period where this is the case, it occurs throughout the day. When you wake up and get ready for the day, your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) is not blocked and is aiding in the recovery process. This will continue to a varying degree with anything such as eating, brushing your teeth, going for a slow walk, sitting in the sun, reading, meditation, etc.
The switch between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system is filled with gray area. The parasympathetic NS is never off, the pathways are just blocked by a varying degree from the sympathetic nervous system.
This is why when you are busy for an entire day with a tournament, double header game, or other activity that you are engaged in, you can sometimes go an entire day forgetting to eat or go to the bathroom since digestion has been halted in favor of maximizing performance.
On the contrary, if you are sitting around bored for an extended period, you might notice the urge to eat or go to the bathroom repeatedly as digestion has been prioritized and blood flow to the muscles has been halted.
Sleep is king. Although sleep is not the only time when you are in the process of recovery, it will be the most prominent. That is why anything you do that compromises sleep will have profound downstream effects.
Workload Management
Managing your workload is a game of constantly balancing three variables: intensity, frequency, and volume.
These are the three main variables that go into any program (throwing, lifting, sprinting, mobility, etc.) to prevent overtraining and maximize the stimulus you can elicit and recover from.
- If you max out each of these variables and are not prepared for it, you will overfatigue the systems of the body if you are lucky, but most likely get hurt.
- If you do not sufficiently push these variables, you detrain and get worse.
There needs to be a permanent balance between finding the happy medium and staying in a goldilocks zone at all times.
A Practical Example
You are starting a return to throw program after a major injury, and you begin with throwing 3 days per week, at 35% of peak mound velocity, for 25 throws. Fairly common.
But going from throwing zero to three days per week doesn't make much sense. No wonder why you got surgery, did PT for 3 months, began your throwing and 5 weeks in your elbow is killing you.
An alternative approach:
- Start with 1 day per week and make 10 throws at low intensity
- The following week increase to 15 throws
- Week 3: increase to 20 throws
- At this time the arm should still feel great from minimal stress imposed
- Week 4: begin to add another day, but for the second session, keep volume low (10 throws) since you're increasing frequency
- The following week: 25 throws one day and 25 on the other
- Now decide to increase either volume (maybe 1 day is 35 throws) or frequency (add a third day at 15 throws)
Once volume is sufficient (maybe 2 or 3 months) and you're working up to 5 days per week and 50 throws per session, it is then time to increase the intensity using radar gun feedback.
Continuing this slow process of slightly tweaking each variable and observing the results, ensuring there are no lasting symptoms or significant discomfort, is the best route when working on year-long time frames.
Readiness Should Be Measured, Not Assumed
The timeline is entirely independent of variables that should allow someone to begin a return-to-throw program.
If someone is 6 months out of surgery but has a grip strength of 54 lbs, internal rotation of 14 lbs, and external rotation of 8 lbs, why is this athlete qualified to throw a baseball? Just because they are further from the time of surgery does not mean they are adequately prepared to throw.
But someone else who is 10 weeks out of surgery and has grip strength of 149 lbs, shoulder internal rotation of 62 lbs and shoulder external rotation of 55 lbs could be ready to throw.
If the program begins with throwing one day each week and starting at 10 throws, this is a minimal stress that will help the tendon be laid down more efficiently and help the healing process.
Traditional Arm Care: A Better Approach
Traditional arm care is done at low efforts and moderate to high rep ranges, directly after throwing. Many programs using bands or less than 5lb dumbbells for arm care are doing simple external rotations, wrist curls, etc for 12 to 20 reps each.
This programming style doesn't align with any other type of successful training method.
When you make a throw that requires you to absorb 150% of your body weight in shoulder distraction forces, a 3 lb dumbbell is simply incapable of preparing you to handle that amount of stress.
Additionally:
- The biceps are tasked with preventing the elbow from slamming into end-range extension. If you never train them to hypertrophy and get strong, they will be incapable of handling that stress
- At the forearms, the finger flexors need to be trained to rapidly absorb the force through ball release
Shoulder Training
At the shoulder joint, there needs to be sufficient mobility in end range of motion in shoulder abduction and external rotation to go along with strength throughout the entire range. During the throw, the arm will absorb stress at different arcs of motion. If you are only strong in a neutral position, there will be limited carryover to reduce injury risk in the throw.
Key exercises:
- Dead hangs (both 1 and 2 arms)
- Dumbbell shoulder rotations (seated with one knee up, resting the elbow on the knee, controlling the dumbbell from internal to external rotation, done both full reps and eccentric only)
- Landmine decelerations (stand parallel to a landmine and hold it overhead in a split stance roughly mimicking the point of ball release, then lower the barbell as slowly as possible from overhead to down by the opposite hip)
- Top of dip ISO
- Heavy bear crawl (pulling sled)
- Tall plank ISO
- Handstand ISO (start wall assisted)
- Rock climbing
Important: Use these exercises sparingly in accordance with your throwing schedule. If you are going to throw in a game or have a 40-pitch bullpen the next day, rock climbing is a bad choice. However, maybe a top of dip ISO and tall plank ISO will help the shoulder. Save rock climbing or overload eccentrics for times when you have a week in between.
Scapular Training
The shoulder is primarily influenced by the scapula. If there is a lack of scapular involvement when bringing the arms overhead, this will be the lowest-hanging fruit. Strengthening the low traps and anterior serratus could lead to big gains quickly.
For low traps:
- Incline Cuban press: Grab a pair of dumbbells, lay stomach down against an incline bench in an overhead press position, and go from 90 degrees to overhead and back. The low traps will be forced to keep the arms up.
- Field goals: Stand 1-2 feet away from a wall and lean back into it with your arms in a 90/90 position. Squeeze your elbows back behind you and into the wall. A rep is pushing your body as far away from the wall as possible.
Elbow Training
The biceps need to be trained to eccentrically absorb the force of elbow extension and protect the joint.
Most important exercise: Single arm incline DB overload eccentrics. Stand behind an incline bench, hold a heavy DB with the bottom of your triceps supported at the top of the bench, slowly lower the weight down, then use the other arm to bring it back up.
Other exercises:
- Hammer curls
- Seated alternating DB curls
- High cable curls (set the cable at/slightly above shoulder height while perpendicular to the cable and curl in with the arm starting at fully extended to the side)
Forearm Training
The flexor muscles are important to support the UCL where they cross over. The finger flexors are what will have a significantly greater impact on throwing. These won't come from wrist curls.
Key exercises:
- Rock climbing
- Finger-tip only dead hangs
- Finger-tip planks
- Rice bucket finger work
- Targeted isometrics
The Most Important Point About Arm Care
Post-throw arm care plays a small part of how your arm feels the next day or two. The biggest factor will be your throwing workload.
If you have thrown 5 inning starts all season, then in a week without a game throw a 40-pitch max effort bullpen, this will be a reduction in workload for you and your arm will probably feel great the next day.
However, someone who has shut down over the winter for 6 weeks and has thrown a baseball at 60 feet twice since starting back up, could throw the same 40-pitch max effort bullpen and would be putting themselves at serious risk of injury.
Think of preparation as a callus on your arm for these throws. If you go out and throw way more than your body is prepared for, it will "blister" and lead to arm pain, injury, and extended soreness. Slowly increasing your workload to handle the specific demands of the throw is the best form of arm care you can do.
Nutrition
Nutrition is likely the most overcomplicated and undercomplicated category of health and sports performance. There are set principles that must be followed, and the rest can be delegated to individual preferences.
Macronutrients
Calories are made up of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins (and alcohol):
- Carbohydrates: 4 calories per gram. Primary role is to provide short-term energy.
- Fats: 9 calories per gram. Primary role is hormone regulation, while also storing the majority of energy within the body.
- Protein: 4 calories per gram. Primary role is building. It will create muscle, bone, skin, etc.
- Alcohol: 7 calories per gram. Provides no nutritional value.
Calorie Balance
How many calories you consume minus how many you burn is your net calories. If this number is negative you lose weight; if positive, you gain weight.
For weight gain: Stick to an excess of around 500 calories per day to gain 1 lb (3,500 calories) per week. This maximizes body composition.
For weight loss: Around a 300-calorie deficit each day to avoid losing muscle and ensure sustainability, but this is case-specific.
Micronutrients
Vitamins (A, B1-3, 5-7, 9, 12, C, D, E, and K1-2) and around 2 dozen minerals each play important roles and need to be hit through your diet.
Gut Health
Getting a wide array of fruits and vegetables, eating more than 20 each week, is associated with the biggest diversity in gut microbiome. A diverse gut microbiome will provide better immunity against bacteria and pathogens and will better digest each nutrient that is consumed.
The 80/20 Rule Problem
As an athlete, there is no reason to consume horrible foods (ultra-processed with loads of additives and no significant nutritional value).
If a food is going to cause adverse effects at a certain dose, and you take 15% of that dose, it might not cause cancer or lead to serious risks. But maybe it impairs recovery, leaves you sore and at a higher risk of injury, or leads to brain fog and feeling off one day and you just "don't have your best stuff."
Additives that you can consume at small doses (refined seed oils, carrageenan, gums, etc) are best to avoid as much as you can.
Seed oils are significantly worse in a restaurant setting where the oil is reheated repeatedly. The oil molecule has open bonds which can oxidize and create free radicals, which are toxic and can lead to DNA damage.
The basics: Eat sufficient calories to support your goals and meet RDI (recommended dietary intake) for vitamins and minerals, ideally through as many whole, real, nutrient dense foods as possible.
Hydration
Hydration is a massive influence on performance and recovery.
Water Intake Varies
Recommendations range from 6 cups per day (48 oz) to 0.5 ounces per 1lb of body weight (120 oz for a 240lb man). Many factors go into hydration needs, so it's not feasible to give a single blanket recommendation.
Plain tap water on a hot and humid day where you are outside and active, you would need to be on the higher end. On a cool and dry day, inside and inactive while drinking orange juice and milk, you will need much less.
Better Hydration Sources
Orange juice and milk hydrate you better than water. The carbohydrates that break down into sugars help the digestive enzymes make sure that the actual liquids are absorbed at a faster rate than pure water.
These beverages both naturally contain electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride, and magnesium). Electrolytes plus carbohydrates are the most effective source for hydrating.
Water Quality
Tap water: Usually not filtered to the highest degree, allowing small particles and even some toxins to remain. Contains added fluoride. You can publicly look up your local tap water quality.
Bottled water: The true issue is the significant amount of microplastics that seep into the water from the bottle. This is exasperated through heat. Plastics break down in the back of semi trucks while being transported, sitting outside in the sun, then in direct contact from lights inside the store.
Spring water: The best choice. Contains natural electrolytes with many having significant amounts of magnesium. If packaged in glass, you eliminate exposure to microplastics.
Solution: Invest in a quality reverse osmosis water filter. Do not purchase a water bottle with a filter or a pitcher from a convenience store for $10. It's going to do little to nothing.
Electrolytes
Magnesium, sodium, chloride, and potassium. These four electrolytes are needed to maintain cellular function, muscle contraction, and more.
Sodium has been partially demonized, but this is misguided. The association with bad health outcomes comes from sedentary people eating a majority of processed foods. Don't be afraid to consume up to a few grams of salt each day with quality sea salts like Celtic or Himalayan salts.
Sleep
Sleep is one of the fundamental necessities for recovery and optimal performance.
The Ideal Sleep Environment
Cold (64-68°F): The optimal range.
Dark: Both windows blocked off, but also lights from a TV, alarm clock, charger, fire alarm, etc will have greater impacts than you would imagine.
Quiet: No birds outside, pets in the room, electronics humming, or loud music. A consistent white or green noise can be great for some.
Practical Solutions
For darkness: A '3D' contoured eye mask (around $10) that sits comfortably and blocks all light. Or block curtains with pillows, blankets, or sheets.
For noise: Small noise blocking ear buds designed for sleeping.
For temperature: Getting a fan if you cannot change the room temperature.
Falling Asleep
You need to drop your core body temperature by 2 degrees or more, and natural melatonin production is important.
Light exposure matters:
- See light outside when you wake up to set your circadian rhythm
- Watch the sunset at night
- Limit blue light exposure after sunset
- Blue light glasses help (you get what you pay for)
- Replace overhead lighting with warm (or ideally red) lamps
- Use night mode or color filters to turn screens a red hue
Screen hierarchy (worst to least impactful): Phones → Computer → Video games → Television
Temperature tricks:
- A hot shower, sauna, or hot tub before bed helps drop core body temperature (counterintuitively, heating your body triggers a cooling response)
- Cold exposure (ice bath, cold shower) is best first thing in the morning. Cold triggers a heating response
Supplementation
Sleep Supplements
Magnesium (threonate or glycinate): An essential electrolyte that can play a massive role in calming the body at night, relaxation, and regulation of thousands of cellular functions, primarily ATP production.
L-theanine: Has a calming effect on the body, good for slowing down and getting in a more tired state.
Ashwagandha: Best in people who struggle with anxiety. Has to be cycled to prevent negative emotional side effects.
GABA: Reduces anxiety and promotes a parasympathetic state.
Melatonin: While many demonize its use in the 2-10mg range, a macrodose of 50 to even 150mg can have incredible effects in ATP production and cellular health.
DHT-Supporting Supplements (for overnight recovery)
Di-hydro-testosterone (DHT) is what free testosterone can be turned into to present with "high testosterone" signs: confidence, broad shoulders/jaw, deep voice, muscle mass, body hair, etc.
Warning: High DHT has been linked to hair loss through male pattern baldness. Hair loss prevention is MUCH easier than hair restoration.
Supplements:
- Pine pollen (taken as a tincture, not powder)
- Shilajit
- L-Carnitine tartrate
- Cistanche Tubulosa, Rhodiola, and Tribulus (often taken together)
Daytime Supplements
Creatine: The most tried and true supplement with definite effects with consistent use.
Vitamin D3: Ideally from sunlight, but supplementing is best when not feasible. (Made with olive oil, not seed oils.)
Vitamin K2 and Vitamin E: Useful and harder to get through dietary intake.
High quality probiotic: Useful for maximizing gut health and ensuring nutrient absorption.
B vitamin complex: Great for improving energy, but much easier to get through food.
Boron, Zinc, and Copper: Beneficial for energy and testosterone production.
Recommended Products
In rough order from most to least impactful:
Red light ($220): Cheap ones will flicker, which prevents the light from affecting underlying tissue. Reputable brand matters. Cheap ones do nothing.
Voodoo floss ($8): Easy way to get blood flow trapped in the arm, then rush out for new blood flow to enter.
Microplastic-free water bottle ($15): A 64oz bottle makes it convenient to have water with you at all times, avoiding negative effects to testosterone and the brain.
Red light glasses ($50): Any orange tinted ones would be great, larger surface area helps more.
Fascia stick ($10): A form of soft tissue work.
Marc Pro (<$600): Look for a used unit on Facebook marketplace. Do NOT get a TENS unit. They are very different. A Marc Pro contracts the muscle and sends blood flow into the area, while a TENS unit blocks pain signaling similar to Advil or Tylenol.
Lacrosse ball ($0): Find these at your local fields. Easy option for soft tissue work.
Cupping/Graston ($20): Can help bring blood with waste products to the surface to clear old blood and bring new blood and nutrients into the area.
Water filter ($200): Quality matters. Invest in a high quality filter.
Barefoot shoes ($80): Wide toe box and no support. Could be a slight nudge in performance from improved posture and movement.
At Magna, we don't just hand you exercises. We teach you the complete system. Arm care, recovery, nutrition, sleep, and workload management all work together. Athletes who understand and optimize these systems recover faster, stay healthier, and have longer careers.
