If your goal is to drive positive mechanical adaptations it& #39;s time to trade your towel in for some plyos and/or a med ball.

In comparison to a normal throw, the towel drill showed:
- https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬇" title="Downwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Downwards arrow"> MER and https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬇" title="Downwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Downwards arrow"> horiz. abduction
- https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬇" title="Downwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Downwards arrow"> lead leg block
- https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬇" title="Downwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Downwards arrow"> kinematic sequencing

Arm Action:

Two of the largest contributors to ball velocity are shoulder external rotation and horiz. abduction. With the towel drill we saw https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬇" title="Downwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Downwards arrow"> 44 deg. MER and https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬇" title="Downwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Downwards arrow"> 8 deg. shoulder horiz. abduction

Lead Leg Block:

The ability to prevent the lead knee from collapsing further into flexion after foot plant & how quickly an athlete extends their lead knee have also been showed to relate to ball velocity. The towel drill saw a https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬇" title="Downwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Downwards arrow"> in both these qualities.

Kinematic Sequencing:

The sequence of the rotation of the pelvis and torso is also largely related to ball velocity. With the towel drill we saw worse sequencing - specifically the torso opening early.

Dry reps and the towel drill may allow athletes to perform more reps without throwing a ball. And doing a handful of dry reps may not be detrimental, but the accumulation of hundreds or thousands of these reps over time is likely more harmful than helpful.