Myth:
Pitchers should completely shut down after heavy outings.
Reality:
Recovery is more complicated than that.
Throwing creates stress on:
* muscles
* tendons
* ligaments
* connective tissue
That’s normal.
The goal of recovery isn’t to avoid stress entirely.
The goal is to restore tissue quality and prepare the body for future stress.
Complete inactivity can become a problem because tissue adaptation responds to:
* blood flow
* movement
* progressive loading
* mechanical signaling
Not just passive rest.
This is why many pitchers actually feel:
* stiffer
* slower
* tighter
* more restricted
after doing absolutely nothing for multiple days.
Now to be clear:
Pain and soreness are NOT the same thing.
If symptoms increase during warmups or throwing:
stop throwing!
That’s different.
But soreness alone does not automatically mean complete shutdown is the answer.
Good recovery should help restore:
✅ range of motion
✅ coordination
✅ tissue capacity
✅ movement quality
Not just reduce fatigue.
Most recovery conversations in baseball are still oversimplified.
The answer usually depends on:
* workload
* tissue quality
* recovery capacity
* movement variability
* injury history
* current symptoms
Context matters.
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Jesse Howell - Pitching Performance Coach
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05/25/2026
One of the biggest mistakes I see with pitchers:
Treating arm soreness like an “arm problem.”
This athlete had already been doing arm care consistently and had worked with a PT.
But his body still wasn’t moving well enough to transfer force efficiently.
So instead of adding more random drills…
we cleaned up:
• positioning
• movement quality
• force transfer
Over time:
✅ arm felt better
✅ velo improved
✅ strike throwing improved
That’s the difference between:
doing exercises to “get in shape”
and actually developing the athlete.
If you feel stuck, there’s usually a reason.
DM “Plan” if you want help figuring out what’s actually limiting your performance.
3 of the biggest post-throwing recovery mistakes I see pitchers make:
1️⃣ Trying to “flush lactic acid”
The soreness after throwing you feel isn’t from “lactic acid.”
A lot of recovery comes down to:
✔ restoring movement options
✔ improving blood flow/circulation
✔ managing stress
✔ recovering tissue quality
2️⃣ Taking complete rest
If you’re in actual pain, stop throwing.
But normal soreness usually responds BETTER to:
light movement
blood flow
mobility work
and active recovery.
Doing absolutely nothing often leaves athletes feeling worse.
3️⃣ Throwing again before restoring:
• range of motion
• strength
• movement quality
Just because the arm “feels okay” doesn’t mean the body is ready for another high intensity outing.
Recovery isn’t:
icing the arm and hoping for the best.
It’s restoring the body’s functions so you can actually perform again.
A lot of pitchers don’t need more random arm care or conditioning.
They need a better recovery system.
DM me “recovery” if you’re looking for some help recovering from arm pain.
05/20/2026
Over the years, there are a few exercises I’ve gradually stopped using with baseball players.
Not because they’re “bad” exercises…
but because I found there were better options that transferred more effectively to:
✔ movement quality
✔ force transfer
✔ recovery
✔ rotational performance
A lot of baseball training becomes:
random fatigue
random soreness
and random “arm care”
without actually improving performance.
The goal isn’t just to make pitchers tired. Anyone can achieve that.
It’s to help them:
move better
recover better
and throw harder.
That’s a completely different mindset.
DM “assess” if you’re looking for someone to help put your entire training system together without having to guess and piece together everything on your own.
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