Quarterback Vs. Pitcher Vs. Bench Press

We had a great question come in regarding our Blog last week; why we exclude bench press in our Baseball players’ strength programs (if you missed it, check out that Blog here)

The question was: Was having a similar conversation today about QBs and bench press. What do you think?

Here is my response:

While quarterbacks have similar stresses on their shoulders as pitchers, those stresses are a lot less than that of a pitcher. The record velocity for a quarterback throw is ~60mph whereas the highest recorded MLB pitch is ~105mph; they are in completely different ballparks (pardon the pun!). Because of this, throwing injuries are also a lot less common in quarterbacks. If we look at a study by Dodson, C.C; ET. Al  there are only 10 reported cases of UCL tears in NFL quarterbacks between 1994-2008 vs. 36 UCL tears in MLB pitchers in the 2015 & 2016 seasons alone! The majority of injuries NFL quarterbacks sustain occur through direct contact, ~82.3% (according to a study by Kelly, B.T.; ET. Al.) while overuse injuries account for less than 15% of injuries.

Another thing we have to consider is that most quarterbacks take long breaks from throwing in the off-season while pitchers (especially younger ones) have a tendency to jump the gun on their throwing programs and (in my opinion) on average do not let their shoulders recover long enough in the off-season.

What this tells me is that the durability of a quarterback’s shoulder is much higher than that of a pitcher’s and can more than likely sustain higher stresses off the field in the gym. While it may be a good idea to avoid bench press for similar reasons as our baseball players do (exacerbates negative adaptations from throwing, too far away from throwing motion on force-velocity curve, and failure on a heavy rep puts the shoulder in a vulnerable position), having bench press in a quarterback’s program is probably less likely to causes negative performance outcomes on the field. Which is, arguably, the most important thing to look for when choosing exercises for your athletes.

Keep an eye out for Part 2 of our Bench Press vs. Baseball Blog where we will show you pressing exercises much more suited to overhead throwing athletes, quarterbacks included!

If you have any questions or comments about this or any of our other blogs let us know in our comments section or send our author an email directly (cplewes@sstcanada.com)!

 

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SST Canada Monday Morning Athlete Review

SST Monday Morning Athlete review

I know this is a few days late but every Monday thru the fall and winter season SST Canada will highlight some of our athlete’s action over the weekend!

Qb Alums from Qb Canada highlight a great weekend

Eric Morelli starting his first ever CIS game debuts in a big way! Eric had an impressive start to his CIS career by throwing for 258yds and 3 tds! In addition he added another 39 yards on the ground and another td!

To See Eric’s Highlights:

Click here

Will Finch touted as one of the best qbs in the country got his Western team off to a good start by going 20-27 –226 yds and 3 total tds

Nate Hobbs making his CIS debut after being the back up to another QB Canada Alum Billy McPhee beats up on Carleton- this game may have huge playoff implications by the end of the year

Nate threw for 338 yards and 2 tds!

#1 ranked Canadian QB Nathan Rourke who is at Edgewood Academy in Alabama led his team to its 2nd straight win by going 11-13 for 223 yards and 6 total tds

To see Nathan’s highlights

Click here

Some of our defensive stars from SST include

Luke Korol who lead his Guelph defence in tackles!

Cole Munden who is a workout monster led his Mac D with 8 tackles

Michael Moore who had a great off season of working out at SST Oakville had a total of 6 tackles in helping Queens upset Carleton

Josh Palmer one of Canada’s most highly recruited players will make his debut this weekend for the # 2 ranked St Thomas Aquinas high school in Florida

For highlights of last weeks game

Click Here