Does Distance Running Decrease Lactic Acid in Your Pitching Arm?

This is a question that I've had a few people ask me about recently so I decided to make a quick post on the subject.

If you've played baseball/softball long enough, you've almost certainly had (or heard) a coach/parent say that the pitchers need to go on a long distance run after throwing. Why? The reason (if they have one) is to "flush the lactic acid" from the throwing arm.

Is this correct, or is it a waste of valuable time that could be used to make these pitchers better?



First, let's define lactic acid. Simply put, "lactic acid" is formed in your muscle tissue during and after vigorous bouts of exercise.

That's fine, so why do coaches want us to get rid of this acid? Because it causes muscle soreness, correct?

Nope. The soreness you feel in your arm may be caused from a few different things, but lactic acid is not one of them. There is extremely little (if any at all) lactic acid build-up in your arm. More often than not, the soreness a pitcher feels is the tiny, micro-tears in the muscles of the arm, which is normal. Yes, I said it, it is normal to have several small micro-tears in the muscles of your arm after throwing. This is because the act of pitching is such an unorthodox, violent, explosive movement that our bodies weren't designed to do repeatedly.

However, we should still make our pitchers go on a distance run following an extended outing, right?

Wrong. A long distance run is what we call an aerobic exercise. Aerobic means "with oxygen." Athletes who need to train their aerobic energy systems are marathon runners and swimmers, among others. Not pitchers (or baseball/softball players, in general).

So what exercises should pitchers be doing? A pitcher will receive greater benefit from utilizing their anaerobic systems. Anaerobic means "without oxygen." These are quick, short bursts of exercise.

Why should pitchers perform anaerobic exercises? Because that's what they are doing every time they throw a pitch (as well as swing a bat). We should be training them in a manner that will actually translate onto the playing field.

Conclusion: Distance running for pitchers provides very little, if any, benefits. Your pitchers should be doing sprint work instead. Sprinting will tap into your anaerobic systems which will allow you to transfer these gains onto the field. When training for a specific sport, you should be doing so with the intention of becoming better at your craft.

Distance running for pitchers would be like having your dentist fix the transmission in your car, or having your mechanic fix a cavity. Can they do it? Well, yea, maybe. But it doesn't do anyone involved any good. The dentist/mechanic doesn't get any better at their job while simultaneously putting you a greater risk for injury in the future.