Medicine balls provide an effective addition to your strength training workout which can add variety and challenge to your exercise plan. Strength training is an essential form of exercise, recommended by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion as part of a healthy lifestyle. The versatility of using a medicine ball allows you to interject a cardio element to your workouts, providing additional health benefits.
Using a Medicine Ball
Medicine balls come in a wide range of weights and styles. You can find them in weight from 3 to 15 lbs. or more. Some medicine balls may include straps or handles. They come with leather, synthetic leather or rubber surfaces. The weight you use will depend upon the style and the type of exercise. For example, you may find that using a larger-sized medicine ball with a larger surface area may be easier for doing medicine ball push-ups than using a smaller one.
Types of Exercise
A medicine ball can add challenge to exercises which you have already mastered. Using a medicine ball while doing crunches will make the exercise harder for a more intense abdominal workout. You can also combine exercises with a medicine ball. For example, doing a shoulder press while doing lunges, increases the intensity of your workout. You should use a lighter medicine ball when first doing these exercises until you become more accustomed to the movement. Once you feel comfortable, you can move on to a heavier sized medicine ball.
Benefits
You can target most parts of the body, making medicine ball workouts an effective way to get in a total body workout. Many exercises target multiple muscle groups with a single exercise. The overhead medicine ball throw will engage your shoulder and chest muscles while also working your abs and triceps. The weight of the medicine ball you use will depend upon the type of exercise you are doing. The weight should be heavy enough to challenge you, but not too heavy that you sacrifice good form and technique.
Exercise Goals
Your goal when using a medicine ball for strength training is to work your muscle to the point of muscle fatigue. The weight of your medicine ball will directly influence how many reps you can do, with heavier weights fatiguing your muscles more quickly than doing the same exercise with a smaller medicine ball. You can also use medicine balls to do cardio workouts as part of a circuit training workout. The point with these exercises is rapid repetition in order to raise your heart rate. With these exercises, a smaller-sized medicine ball would be more appropriate in order to do reps quickly and to avoid injury from sudden movements. The medicine ball should feel light in your hands when doing aerobic exercise.
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