3 Exercises Every Quarterback Should Be Doing to Increase Throwing Velocity

There are three exercises I believe every quarterback should be doing to increase throwing velocity:

1. Medicine Ball Lateral Rotational Throws
2. Single-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press
3. Split-Stance Pin Iso Holds

Medicine Ball Lateral Rotational Throws

Purpose: Develop lower body rotational power and hip-shoulder separation

Throwing a football is a rotational movement. You load your back hip, separate your hips and shoulders, and then uncoil that stored energy through your trunk and arm. The med-ball lateral rotational throw directly trains this pattern.

How to do it:

• Stand perpendicular to a wall (about 3–4 feet away).
• Hold a medicine ball.
• Load into your back hip and rotate explosively toward the wall.
• Keep your lower body mechanics the same as when you throw and try to throw as hard as you can into the wall.
• Reset after each rep. 

Why it works:

Rotational velocity is a leading contributor to throwing speed in QBs. These throws teach your body to create that rotational force explosively and in the same movement pattern you use on the field.

Single-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

Purpose: Build unilateral strength and stability through the chest, shoulder, and trunk

A single-arm dumbbell bench press does far more for quarterbacks than the traditional barbell version. With one arm pressing, the rest of your body has to stabilize, resist rotation, and coordinate force across your upper body.

How to do it:

• Lie on a flat bench with one dumbbell.
• Engage your core and keep both feet firmly on the ground.
• Press the dumbbell up under control, without letting your body rotate.
• Lower slowly, keeping the shoulder blade retracted and stable.
  

Why it works:

This lift builds upper body strength, shoulder stability, scapular mechanics, and trunk control without the restrictions of a barbell. It’s also safer on the shoulder joint because the arm can move more naturally through its range of motion, allowing better scapular activation.

Can be done with heavy weight and lower reps or lighter weight with explosive intent.

Split-Stance Pin Iso Holds

Purpose: Train lower-body force and stability through a split stance position. 

If you’ve never done these, they’re a game-changer. Split-stance pin iso holds are an isometric strength exercise that teaches you to generate maximum force with your lower body. 

How to do it:

• Get into a split stance position with barbell between your legs. Have safety pins set so when the bar moves up and touches the pins your front leg is at 90 degrees.
• Drive the bar upward into the pins as hard as possible. 
• Hold for 20-30 seconds. 

Why it works:

These isometric holds develop lower body force production. This is the foundational base for power when throwing. The more force you can generate, the more energy gets transferred up the chain into your trunk and arm.

How SpinLab Measures Power Development

At SpinLabAi, we track how these exercises and movement patterns translate to real throwing performance. Using motion analysis, we measure:

• Hip-Shoulder Separation (HSS) — how much and how fast your hips and shoulders separate to create torque.
• Hip & Torso Rotational Velocity — how fast your upper and lower body rotate.
• Sequencing & Efficiency Metrics — showing how well you are utilizing your kinetic chain.

By combining data from our platform with targeted training, we can quantify improvements in velocity and show athletes how to improve much faster than ever before.