The New Prescription for Arm Care

 

“Over the last dozen years, I have not had a single surgery by any of my athletes and our velocity increases are consistent and even dramatic. The single most important tool I use is the Crossover Symmetry System. My guys use it as a warm up, as a scap/shoulder-conditioning program and as a post throwing/recovery protocol. …

… Our pitchers love the advanced activation program and are able to maintain their velocity (most improve their velocity) throughout the course of the season. Equally as important, there is a significant improvement in our pitcher’s recovery time when doing the crossover workout after their outings. … I consider the AZ Baseball Ranch the most sought after thrower’s training curriculum in all of baseball and Crossover Symmetry is the foundation of our arm care education.”

-Ken Knutson

The new Gen3 Crossover Symmetry System steps away from the limited view of arm health to create a complete system that allows players to push their level of performance while reducing common shoulder and elbow injuries. Take a look at our 5 science backed programs to understand how and why players and coaches rave about the difference Crossover Symmetry makes.

 

Activation

The Crossover Symmetry Activation program uses a specific sequence and precise resistance to create a coordinated system of movement throughout the entire kinetic chain (from the hips to the hand). While the notion of muscle activation seems to fit on the shelf next to herbal medicine, it undoubtedly works based on how a player feels afterward. Their shoulders are suddenly out of internal rotation, the scapula is moving freely and in coordination with the arm, and the shoulder is unrestricted for better lay back. This difference is felt immediately.

 

Activation+

The standard Activation program is perfect prep for the fundamental shoulder mechanics needed to accomplish more complex movement tasks, such as throwing for velocity or distance. But once those are mastered how do you take it to the next level? Instinctively most think it’s time for heavier resistance, but Activation+ delivers something even better — Plyometrics.

By incorporating Activation+ you can supercharge your warm-up by:

• Developing proprioception and motor control
• Training fast twitch muscle fibers
• Improving the body’s ability to use the stretch shortening cycle (plyometrics)

 

Strength

Far too often, strength is automatically associated with the biggest guy on the field. However, in regards to throwing velocity, strength is less about muscle size and more about effectively using the body as a whip to transfer power from the legs to the arm. This requires each piece of the kinetic chain to be strong, active, and balanced.

With this principle in mind, the Strength program is less about building the body of Arnold circa Terminator days, and more about getting the brain to correctly use the important link between the body and arm, which is the scapula. This explains why the Crossover Symmetry Strength program is also known as IRON SCAP.

By improving how the body controls and stabilizes the scapula, it is better equipped to transfer the force generated through a powerful hip drive resulting in acceleration throughout the chain. To put it bluntly, if an arm care program isn’t training the scap stabilizers, it isn’t improving the shoulder foundation, and therefore missing the whole point of arm care.

 

Recovery

The cumulative effect of high velocity throwing over the course of a season can cause shoulder and elbow issues if proactive steps are not taken towards supporting the recovery process. Ultimately, active recovery is about assisting the process of inflammation; which is important step in how the body heals itself and becomes stronger. Therefore, inflammation is not necessarily a bad thing, but we do want it to resolve quickly in order to ramp up intensity again.

This is accomplished by increased blood flow, which supplies the necessary items for tissue repair, removal of waste from the injured site, and flush the immune cells once their job is complete to naturally resolve the soreness and inflammation. The Crossover Symmetry Recovery program uses a slow controlled return to the start of each repetition, called an eccentric muscle contraction. A 6 second negative for 10 repetitions significantly increases the time under tension. To support the extended muscle contractions blood flow increases to the shoulder, which conveniently expedites the healing process.

 

Mobility

For a long time, stretching was considered the sole component for improving flexibility. This stemmed from a basic view of tight muscles as short rubber bands that needed to be elongated to maintain or improve their length. This science has evolved extensively to now address the many other limiters of movement, including soft tissue and joint capsule restrictions, poor motor control, and neuromuscular issues.

Therefore, the principle of stretching is now a single component under a broader heading known as mobility. This multidimensional approach to improving flexibility, addresses the many movement limiters, and is growing ever popular as a means to prevent injury and enhance performance.

The Crossover Mobility program utilizes active release techniques similar to soft tissue massage to release tight tissues and promote better range of motion. Ultimately the goal is to reduce adhesions, better known as “knots”, which occur within the muscle tissue due to injury, over activity, or inflammation. An adhesion consists of either contracted segments of muscle fiber, or tight bands of constricted muscle fascia. If left untreated adhesions can restrict blood and oxygen supply to the muscle, decrease strength, reduce endurance, and inhibit muscle activation. By releasing adhesions that bind up movement, the Crossover Mobility program addresses the limitations in mobility for better layback along with the loss in internal rotation that occurs from the season long abuse.

 

Conclusion

The Crossover Symmetry System is an effective solution to properly warm-up, strengthen the weak links, rejuvenate after a heavy workload, and maintain the arm over the course of a career. Not only does this allow a player to push their capacity with decreased risk of injury, but it has proven to raise the ceiling on performance as well. While it is a staple for countless pro and college players, it has proven successful at all levels of competition as an essential tool for any player’s bag.