Long Toss Programs are very important in the conditioning of a pitchers arm.  A good program can get any pitcher ready for the season strength wise and can even add a few mph at the same time.  All long toss programs have the same fundamentals. 

1)  Crow hop from the stretch position. 

2)  Keep the baseball on a line. 

3)  No uphill throwing. 

What you are looking for in a long toss program is to have enough quality throws that you can keep track of.  That's where having a program to follow is good.  If there is a set number of throws for you to throw at certain distances, all you have to do is make sure you are making quality throws with consistent mechanics.  The long toss program I promote offers flexible amounts of throwing so that you can listen to your arm and make sure you do it the right way and not hurt anything.  The long toss program I have on this website is the same program that major leaguers use to strenghten their arms.  They have the same objectives as you should have. 

1)  Increase endurance. 

2)  Improve arm strength. 

3)  Improve concentration. 

4)  Improve focus. 

5)  Consistent arm slot. 

6)  Consistent release point. 

7)  Throw to a target. 

It is a very simple idea that works if you follow the program that I provide.  The program includes a full warm up, stretch, throwing program (long toss), and everything you must do afterwards.  For more information on my long toss program click here. 

Pitching Bullpens

You should be nice and warmed up before you get on the mound to throw a bullpen.  You should have already stretched your whole body and thrown on flat ground to get your arm going.  Once you get up on the mound you should start by making a plan with your catcher.  Depending on your role for the team and how recently you have thrown or are going to throw will determine how much to throw.  The average bullpen session for an in season bullpen is around 20 - 30 pitches.  If you have just thrown or are going to throw you can cut that back a little bit.  With these 20 - 30 pitches you want to be focused and try to hit all of your spots.  You will throw all of your pitches a couple of times to get the feel for them.  Torwards the end of the bullpen, after you have worked on all of your pitches, you may throw to a ghost batter.  This will let you work on mixing up some pitches and act like you are throwing in a game.  Your catcher should keep a count here as well as the total number of pitches you have thrown during the bullpen.  Remember that when you are throwing a bullpen you are practicing for the up coming game.  You should take it very seriously and focus on each pitch.  Everytime you are up on the mound you get to work on your release point at where it will be during the game.  That is why bullpens are so important.  Although flat ground work is good to keep your arm in shape and warmed up, nothing can beat a bullpen when it comes to game like practice.

 
Pitching Flat Ground Work

Throwing on the flat ground is a requirement for pitchers.  Everybody learned how to throw on the flat ground and most of our throwing is done on the flat ground.  Flat ground throwing and long toss are good ways to get the arm in shape during the off season.  When you are in season bullpens should take over most of the flat ground work.  The only reason for this is because throwing from the bullpen is more game like than flat ground.  Although this is true, it is not good to always throw off of the mound.  Especially in the off season.  Your arm needs some rest from throwing in game like situations.  A good way to get this work done is by throwing a flat ground.  This is where your partner goes about 50 - 60 feet away and gets down like a catcher.  Of course you have to stretch and warm up first.  From there you are going to throw to your partner just like you were throwing a bullpen.  Work on all your pitches in all locations.  You should throw from 15 - 30 pitches from here.  This is also a good way to work on pitches if there is no mound present.  It is also a good way to get warmed up if you have extra time before your bullpen up on the mound.  The main thing to remember is to cut back on flat ground work during the season and do more bullpen work because it will help with the release point more.