Medicine ball workouts incorporate your entire body, get your heart rate up and burn calories. Use them to improve your general tone, strength and power; the National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends incorporating them into a weekly exercise routine. Most medicine ball workouts involve a partner, but you can do a medicine ball workout all by yourself in your home or back yard, or in a park or field.
Prone Exercises
Prone exercises involve being on your stomach on the ground or in pushup position. Try pushups with one or both hands on a medicine ball. The medicine ball adds instability and level changes, making your core work harder to stabilize yourself. Keep your glutes tight to support your back. Planks with either your elbows or your feet on the ball are a prone, total-body exercise that specifically targets your core.
Rotations and Chops
Standing wood chops involve swinging the medicine ball across your body in a diagonal swing, from high over your right shoulder to low next to your left knee. Maintain control but be quick, and keep your chest mostly vertical with your abs tight. Also try rotations, which involve holding the ball straight out in front of you and rotating your torso 90 degrees to your right, and then back to center. Repeat each skill 10 times, and then switch sides. Overhead rotations entail swinging the ball from one knee or overhead to your other knee, forming a large arc.
Power Throws
Do power throws in a large area, or find a sturdy wall. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your legs slightly bent. Lift the ball overhead and throw it forward. If you are outdoors, sprint after the ball, pick it up, turn and repeat the throw, going back and forth five to 10 times. If you are throwing against a wall, stand far enough back so the ball will not hit you on the rebound. Throw the ball, run and grab it, return to your original position and throw again. Also try chest pass throws, granny throws or backward over-the-head throws.
Legs and Arms
Medicine balls are versatile in that you can use them in combination with your favorite upper-and lower-body exercise. Try standing squats with a shoulder press. Hold the medicine ball with both hands in front of your chest, squat down and, on the way back up, press the ball directly overhead. Return the ball to yoru chest as your knees bend in the squat. Also try walking lunges. With each step, press the ball straight out in front of you and then return to your chest.
References
- "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning"; National Strength and Conditioning Association; Thomas R. Baechel and Roger W. Earle; 2008
- Perform Better: Ideas for Using Medicine Balls
- American Council on Exercise: Exercise Library
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