MMV #019: Everything you need to know about hip-shoulder separation

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Read time: 1.5 minutes

There are many elements to the pitching delivery.

With all of the terms and opinions on mechanics, it can be confusing.

Our hope is to provide clear and digestible information on pitching mechanics.

Today we are going to talk about hip-shoulder separation.

What is hip-shoulder separation?

It is the degree difference between how much the hips are open compared to how closed the shoulders are.

If you were to stand and face perfectly straight with your body, there would be 0 degrees of separation.

As you start counter rotating your shoulders (hips staying in place) you are increasing the amount of separation.

Generally speaking, you want to have between 40-50 degrees of separation when your front foot is fully in the ground.

After foot plant, you will often see a slight increase in separation as the hips continue rotating and the torso delays.

This separation is building a “slingshot” effect that allows your upper body to accelerate after the hips stop rotating.

Separation and the timing of it is an important piece to an efficient delivery.

As we have talked about in the past, we want the body to work from the ground up.

That means the hips fire first followed by the torso and then the arm.

This increase in separation after foot plant allows for the torso to accelerate much faster versus having little to no separation.

Looking for drills to improve hip-shoulder separation?

Click here for drill ideas from Tread Athletics.

RECAP

• Hip-shoulder separation is the degree difference between the two
• Aim for 40-50 degrees of separation at foot plant
• Separation should increase after foot plant
• Separation creates a “slingshot”
• It’s a result of efficiency 

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