Medicine balls are made of leather, rubber or vinyl, and can weigh from 2 to 50 pounds. Various exercises use medicine balls, utilizing multiple muscle groups to offer full-body workouts.
Medicine Ball Burpees
Medicine ball burpees use virtually every muscle in your body to provide an effective full-body workout. Place a medicine ball on the floor between your feet. Bend your knees and squat so that your hands are on either side of the medicine ball. Jump your feet backward so that you are in a push-up position. Bend your arms and lower your chest to the ball, then push back to full arm extension. Jump your feet back under your body. Grasp the ball and stand up while simultaneously raising the ball above your head. Return the ball to the floor and repeat.
Make this exercise more demanding by completing the push-up with your hands balancing on the ball and by performing a vertical jump instead of just standing up.
Medicine Ball Wood Chops
This exercise uses your arms, shoulders, legs and core and requires a nonbounce medicine ball; balls filled with gel can split and are not suitable for this exercise. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a medicine ball in both hands. Raise your arms above your head and stand up on your tiptoes. Hurl the medicine ball down at the floor at a spot around 12 inches in front of your feet. Drop your heels to the floor, squat, pick up the ball and repeat. Exhale as you hurl the medicine ball downward and inhale as you lift it. Imagine your body as a bow and the ball as an arrow, and use all of your muscles simultaneously to throw the ball into the ground as hard as possible.
Medicine Ball Thrusters
Medicine ball thrusters work your legs, arms, shoulders and core by combining two exercises into one. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a medicine ball in both hands. Bend your arms and hold the medicine ball at chest height. Push your butt back, bend your knees and squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Dynamically extend your legs while simultaneously pushing the ball over head to arms' length. Lower the ball to your chest, bend your knees and perform another repetition. Make this exercise more demanding by jumping into the air.
Medicine Ball Overhead Throws
This exercise will strengthen your legs, back, shoulders and arms. Hold your medicine ball in both hands and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Push your butt back, bend your knees slightly and lower the ball between your knees. Keep your arms straight and dynamically extend your knees and hips to throw the ball up and over your head -- the ball should travel behind you. Turn and retrieve the ball and perform another rep. You can throw the ball for distance or height depending on the space you have available. This exercise is best performed outdoors or in a large gymnasium hall.
References
- "Strength Ball Training-2nd Edition"; Lorne Goldenberg and Peter Twist; 2006
- "Medicine Ball Training: A Complete Book of Medicine Ball Exercises for Coaches of All Sports"; Z. Tenke and A. Higgins; 1994
- "Plyometric Exercises with the Medicine Ball, 2nd Edition"; Donald A. Chu; 2004
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