The growing popularity of weight ball exercise validates the theory that old trends eventually become new again. Strength ball exercise, also called medicine ball training, has been around for centuries, but the balls made a dynamic comeback in the late 1980s. Nike, the athletic equipment and apparel manufacturing company, has its own line of weight balls, as well as a specially designed weight ball training program.
History
While weighted ball exercise dates back to ancient Greece, they were first introduced to the United States in the 1930s. President Herbert Hoover, who had discovered the balls while voyaging on a battleship, adapted the training method and conducted weighted ball exercise sessions on the White House lawn. Meanwhile, Eastern bloc athletes were actively using weighted balls in their training programs and excelling at Olympic events. Sports medicine experts, when analyzing the Eastern bloc athletes' athletic leverage, noticed their elastic, explosive muscle contractions, which resulted from a training called plyometrics. When the Cold War ended, Eastern bloc coaches, along with their coaching manuals, made their way into the United States. The words "medicine ball" appeared in many of these manuals. American coaches took notice, and gear manufacturers, including Nike, developed their own weighted ball products and plyometric programs.
Time Frame
Athletic coaches were not the only people who benefited from Eastern bloc training techniques. The mainstream fitness industry was in full swing, and organizations such as International Dance Exercise, Sara's City Workout and the American Academy of Sports Medicine were conducting professional fitness conferences throughout the country. Manufacturers of fitness products could present workshops that showcased their products. In 2004, Nike created a marketing relationship with a company called SPARQ, a company that manufactures training equipment. Then, in March of 2008, Nike, in association with Velocity Sports Performance Centers, created the Nike SPARQ training program. It provided a testing system for overall athleticism, and developed a variety of athletic conditioning programs. The 4 to 16 pound weighted balls, with their 9mm ergonomic finger grooves, play a key role in many of the Nike SPARQ workouts.
Function
SPARQ is an acronym for Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness. Nike weighted ball exercise enhances all of these essential aspects of athleticism. The weighted ball chest pass is an example. Athletes develop upper body and core power by lying supine, and having their coach toss them a weighted ball. As the athlete catches the ball, she performs a sit up and immediately tosses it back to her coach. Since the goal is to minimize the amount of time the ball spends in the athlete's hands, this exercise also enhances reaction time, speed and quickness. The Hockey 101 Medicine Ball Web promotes similar athletic qualities. This series of weighted ball exercises involves reverse and rotational throws.
Effects
Weighted balls come in two varieties; bouncing and non-bouncing balls. The Nike weighted balls bounce, making them suitable for reaction time training exercises. The lateral shuffle is an example. Partners face each other, and perform a side shuffle as they toss the ball back and forth to each other.
Benefits
Nike weight ball exercise programs support three important principles of sport-specific training. Since the balls easily simulate sport activities, they adhere to the specificity of training theory. Athletes can begin with lighter balls, and gradually progress to heavier ones, thereby adhering to the principle of progression. Since the heavier weighted balls are heavier than the balls used in the sport, as athletes gain strength they benefit from the overload principle. By overloading the muscles with heavier balls during training, they will be capable of exerting more force when using the lighter balls during their games.
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