Intro

As explained in the first part of this blog (https://www.prpbaseball.com/blog/managing-your-shutdown), the goal of the off-season is to develop and set yourself up in a position to be prepared for the expected workload when the season starts. Several questions and factors come into play when trying to set your off-season throwing plans as everyone enters

The challenges are knowing when to be ready, what is “ready”, and how much time it will take to be ready. There are several strategies that can work to get your arm and body prepared, but ensuring that every program has the flexibility of adjusting throw volumes, intensities, and frequencies.

Part two of this blog is to provide updated on-ramp throwing programming, plyo recommendations, and self-checks to see if you are ready.

As mentioned in part 1, managing your shutdown length and on ramp program needs to be evaluated with the following factors:

Factors to weigh:

Age
Workload
Length of “in-season”
Other sports
Injuries, injury history

When deciding on the length and type of program, you need to solve for the following:

When do I shut down?
How long do I shut down?
How long do I need to build back up (on ramp, bullpen volume, Live ABs)?
How many innings is projected for upcoming year

In short, it all depends. If a player ages 13-18 threw more innings in 2023 than years past, we recommend deloading for 2-3 weeks then taking no more than a month off. For 18+ athletes, this process shortens due to the length of off-season, importance for development and build up in volume to season, and to best prepare for higher intensity throwing leading up to season. We explain this process below.

PRP supports continued arm and shoulder activity. We always understand the 1-2 week break for both physical and mental purposes. For most cases, a 2-4 week shutdown is most we would prescribe. We typically deload from fall season for 2-3 weeks, short shutdown, then begin on ramp by mid-late November.

One of the most difficult components is the timeline. We want to be moving the arm 16 weeks or more before the season. The first 5 weeks are built for the on-ramp program.. The next 3-5 are for intensity and velocity development. The next 4-6 weeks are for mound development, pitch design, and volume build up in bullpens and Live BPs. Every player will get different programs and mound skill work throughout, but the timeline of the prep for the season is often built with this structure.

The key questions to answer early off-season time frame for an amateur baseball player are:

What are my goals for next year?
Where is my body weight and do I need to set weight goal by spring?
How are my strength and speed numbers compared to other top players?
What current body soreness, minor injuries, or fatigue levels in season can we get ahead of for next season. Examples – Extended soreness in forearm flexors, hamstring tightness, low back pain, rotator cuff soreness.
Do I throw hard enough? If not, what are my biggest areas to focus on to improve velocity
Do I have a high-level putaway pitch? If not, how can I improve my pitch arsenal?

The following provides some context and answers for the most frequently asked questions:

How many weeks do I take off?

A: 0-4 weeks. Some prefer light catch for 2-4 weeks instead of complete shutdown which can allow you do flow into on ramp program easier. For some, taking 2 weeks off for both mental and physical break is great. 4 weeks is the longest of no-throw or “3x a week light catch” phase before building up. If an athlete needs more time, we would recommend shutting down earlier (early fall) so you have ample time to build back up.

Why no 4-12 week shut down as what used to be recommended?

A: Shutting down for 4+ week creates physical adaptations for the shoulder, arm that require more time to build back into throwing to build arm fitness, endurance. For athletes 13u, sure this makes sense to take 4-12 weeks. For those trying to improve their baseball skills, especially arm strength and throwing mechanics, we need to throw to make changes.

What is an active shutdown?

A: An active shutdown is simply throwing at very low intensities, volumes, and frequencies. Three times a week at 60-75ft at low intensity is a good “base” of an active shutdown. Plyos, football catch, and increased volume in drill work is in our recommendations during this time.

How long should my on ramp program be?

A: We recommend a 5 week on ramp that concludes with baseline velocity assessments in shuffle step and mount throws. This build up includes plyos, drill work, and a steady build up of volume, intensity, and frequency.

Is the on ramp program adjustable?

A: Of course. It should have adjustments throughout. These adjustments can be within a day’s work depending how you feel, or adjusting the amount of off days depending on your recovery from the previous throwing day. We recommend either repeating previous day before increasing, adding a “light or off day” in between if still sore, and even repeating a week if throwing didn’t feel good throughout previous week. This comes down to listening to your body, emphasizing your arm care, and avoiding the “power through it” phase when trying to build adaptations with your shoulder and body stresses throughout the program.

Shut Down Phase

Our shutdown or deload phase shifts the focus and time spent to drill work, prep work, and the weight room. A complete break away for a week is completely acceptable. However, this phase should prioritize spending time on mobility, prep work, and getting stronger.

In reality, we spend very little time in shutdown phase as we believe in keeping the arm moving lightly. We recommend all players get 1-2 weeks of at least mental/physical break. Some have reasons for longer shutdown such as injury and increased soreness.

On Ramp Phase

Our On Program totals 5 weeks and 18 total days of throwing. It begins at 3 days a week then progresses to 4 days of throwing each week with varying distances and intensities. The program includes a build up into long toss, pulldowns, and assessments at the end of program to check where each athlete is at to determine the next phase.

The build up is a steady progression of overall workload that provides the body and arm increased workload throughout the program. By the end, every thrower will be prepared for the next phase of higher intensity and mound work.

PRP’s On Ramp Program on-site includes pre-throw prep work, water bag drills, med balls, individualized plyo drills, then scripted throwing volume and distance for each day. Our online version includes all of the throwing prescriptions, arm care, and plyo drills.

The goal of this program is to prepare the body and arm for high intensity throwing and bullpens. In this 5 week program, each pitcher will be prepared for an 80-90% shuffle step velocity assessment and 15 pitch 80-90% bullpen.

Based on how these assessments go and the player’s recovery, the next phase will be created. Some pitchers will split more into a pitch design and mound volume phase while most will go into an intensity phase for velocity development..

For position players, the program stays very close to the same with adjustments in plyo programs and baseline assessments at the end of the throwing program.

We have had success with on ramp programs for ages 10 to big league pitchers over the last 4 years. Professional athletes, top HS players in the country, and college programs trust our programs to prepare them for spring training, spring season, and more. Over the past 4 years, several MiLB and College players have had breakout campaigns after following our off-season build ups. Many players miss out on key developmental opportunities and being fully prepared for season due to lack of a proper throwing program.

The reason for our on ramp program’s success is creating the proper foundation of throwing fitness and proper movement patterns to prepare for a long and healthy season. The proof is right in front us as the Toronto Blue Jays and several professional players are using very similar on-ramp programs.

To purchase this document in PDF version, email us at prpbaseball101@gmail.com. The full 5 week program costs $49.

Following the On Ramp Phase

Once you’ve completed the PRP On Ramp Program, the next step is building for the intensity phase. Our intensity phase includes assessments on plyo ball velocities, shuffle step throws, and mound velocity. First, a shuffle step and mound velocity assessment at 80-90% to get a gauge on where the athlete is. What was the former velocity, 80-90% velocity, and how did we recover? What were the expectations and goals for velocity?

These answers can prepare your program for the upcoming weeks. If a player needs more velocity, then the intensity phase becomes a key part of the programming where we are assessing different velocities twice a week. Our intensity phase lasts 3-5 weeks depending on the age, skill, and time until season. This phase includes plyo velocity testing, pulldowns and shuffle step pulldowns, mound velocity testing, and at times weighted ball mound velocity testing.

For those looking to improve command, add a new pitch, and/or get ready for a starting pitcher workload in early spring, then we go to more of a mound phase where there are bullpen focuses along with velocity assessments on the mound.

For more information about our programming, remote PRP options, or more about the on ramp program email us at prpbaseball101@gmail.com!

Managing your Off-Season: Deload, Shutdown, On Ramp Part 2