Did you know there are 41 different medicine ball exercises for all fitness levels? Whether you’re just starting or training for power, the medicine ball is a great tool. It helps you reach your fitness goals.
Medicine ball workouts are great because they focus on specific muscles. Each exercise works on different muscle groups. This means you can strengthen and tone areas like shoulders, core, glutes, and quads.
But, be careful with these workouts. Heavy medicine balls can make you sore, especially if you’re new to them. Start with lighter weights and slowly add more as you get stronger.
Here are some great medicine ball exercises to try:
Medicine Ball Squat and Press
This exercise targets your whole body. It strengthens your glutes, quads, and hamstrings. Plus, it works your shoulders, chest, and arms. It’s great for building strength and power.
Medicine Ball Slams for Cardiovascular Conditioning
Want a great cardio workout? Try medicine ball slams. This exercise boosts your heart rate and works your upper body and core. It’s perfect for improving your heart health and building strength.
Medicine Ball Burpee Squat Thrust
The medicine ball burpee squat thrust is a full-body challenge. It combines a burpee, squat, and slam. This exercise raises your heart rate and works many muscle groups at once.
Kneeling Medicine Ball Slams
Kneeling medicine ball slams improve core strength and work many muscles. They target your abs, obliques, shoulders, back, and hips. This dynamic move strengthens your core and boosts your athleticism.
Bent-Over Medicine Ball Row for Upper Body Strength
The bent-over medicine ball row targets your upper back, chest, arms, legs, and glutes. It strengthens your upper body and helps improve your posture.
Russian Twist With Medicine Ball for Core Activation
The Russian twist helps fight a sedentary lifestyle. It focuses on your hips and lower back, strengthening your core and improving stability. Adding a medicine ball makes your core work harder.
Key Takeaways:
- Medicine ball workouts offer a variety of exercises to target different muscle groups.
- Start with lighter medicine balls and gradually progress to heavier weights to avoid excessive muscle soreness.
- Exercises like medicine ball squats and presses, slams, burpee squat thrusts, kneeling slams, bent-over rows, and Russian twists provide full-body strength and conditioning benefits.
- Incorporating medicine ball exercises into your training program can improve power, strength, and conditioning.
- Always consult with a healthcare professional or fitness expert before starting any new exercise program.
Medicine Ball Squat and Press
The medicine ball squat and press is a full-body exercise that combines squats and overhead pressing. It works on the shoulders, core, glutes, quads, hamstrings, and hips. This exercise is great for strength, power, and burning fat.
This exercise is a compound movement that engages many muscles at once. It helps burn calories and improve body composition. It’s a key exercise for those looking to get fit.
Before starting, make sure you know the basics of squatting. The medicine ball squat and press need proper form and technique for safety and effectiveness.
To do the medicine ball squat and press:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a medicine ball at chest height.
- Lower into a squat by bending your knees and sitting back with your hips, keeping your chest up.
- As you stand up, press the medicine ball overhead, fully extending your arms.
- Bring the medicine ball back down to start and repeat for the desired number of reps.
Do 3 sets of 12 reps for best results. Start with a light medicine ball and increase the weight as you get stronger.
Adding the medicine ball squat and press to your routine can greatly improve your dynamic strength. Athletes see an average strength increase of 25% with this exercise.
It also boosts explosive power by up to 80% in six weeks. This exercise is a game-changer for athletes.
It activates the core 15% more than traditional squats. This makes it a top choice for building core strength and stability.
| Exercise | Reps |
|---|---|
| Hip Switch | 10 reps |
| Clean to Press | 8 reps |
| Cross-Body Mountain Climber (per side) | 6 reps |
| Rainbow Ball Slam | 4 reps |
When doing the medicine ball squat and press, rotate your hips and shift your feet. Keep proper form for safe and effective movements.
The medicine ball type affects the exercise’s safety and effectiveness. Use a non-bouncing ball to avoid sudden rebounds when slamming it down.
Medicine Ball Slams for Cardiovascular Conditioning
Medicine ball slams boost your heart health and work out your whole body. These moves make your heart race and work many muscles at once. This makes it a full-body exercise.
These exercises focus on your upper body, like your shoulders, triceps, and core. They also need coordination between your upper and lower muscles. This makes them great for building strength, stability, and explosive power.
Medicine ball slams are great for your heart health. They involve throwing the ball hard and can be part of a high-intensity workout. This raises your heart rate and improves your fitness.
Beginners should start with lighter medicine balls to focus on doing each slam well. As you get stronger, you can use heavier balls. Using a “slam ball” designed for slamming is safer and more effective.
It’s key to do medicine ball slams correctly. Stand with your feet apart, hold the ball overhead, and slam it down hard. When it bounces back, squat to pick it up with your back straight.
People with weak cores or shoulder pain should be careful with these exercises. If you’re unsure, talk to a doctor or a fitness expert.
Recommended Workout Routine
Want to try medicine ball slams? Here’s a routine from Josephine Skriver and Jasmine Tookes (@JoJa):
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Weight (lbs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine Ball Slams | 3 | 20 | 8 |
Do each slam with all your might, focusing on your core and keeping good form.
Medicine ball slams are great for your heart, power, and muscle strength. With regular practice, you’ll see better strength, balance, and fitness.
Medicine Ball Burpee Squat Thrust
The medicine ball burpee squat thrust is a great exercise for many muscles. It works on the glutes, quads, core, and upper body. This move combines burpees and squat thrusts with a medicine ball for extra challenge.
To start, stand with your feet apart and hold the medicine ball at chest level. Then, squat down and put the ball on the ground in front of you.
Jump back into a high plank position, keeping your hands on the ball.
Jump your feet back towards your hands, landing in a squat. Grab the medicine ball as you land.
Stand up quickly, thrusting your hips forward and bringing the ball to your chest. That’s one rep.
This exercise is intense. It strengthens muscles and boosts your heart rate for calorie burning.
Using a medicine ball makes burpees harder. It improves grip strength and stability. It also works your core and upper body, making it a great full-body workout.
Keep your core tight and spine straight when doing this exercise. This helps you get the most out of it and stay safe.
Start with a light medicine ball if you’re new. Increase the weight as you get stronger.
Recommended Medicine Balls:
| Brand | Weight Range |
|---|---|
| Bulldog Gear | 3kg – 15kg |
| JLL Slam Ball | 5kg, 10kg, 12kg, 15kg |
| PhysioRoom | 4kg, 6kg, 8kg, 10kg, 15kg, 20kg |
| RAM ONLINE Rugby Medicine Ball | Priced at £30 on Amazon |
| Pro Fitness 8kg Medicine Ball | Priced at £24 at Argos |
| MAR INTERNATIONAL MAR Synthetic Leather Medicine Ball | 3kg – 10kg |
| Jordan Medicine Ball | 1kg – 10kg |
| Everlast Medicine Ball | 5kg |
Choose any medicine ball brand or weight, but adding the medicine ball burpee squat thrust to your routine is a smart move. It’s a tough exercise that targets your glutes, quads, core, and upper body.
Kneeling Medicine Ball Slams
Kneeling medicine ball slams are great for building rotational core strength. They work the glutes, quads, hamstrings, lats, and more. You kneel in a lunge with one leg in front, holding a medicine ball near your hip. Then, circle the ball up and slam it towards the outside of the opposite leg.
This exercise boosts rotational core strength and stability. It also improves power and explosiveness for swimmers. It works the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and lats for a full-body workout.
Swimmers gain many benefits from kneeling medicine ball slams. It boosts cardiovascular endurance and muscle conditioning. This exercise also enhances coordination and balance, helping athletes move better in different directions.
Medicine ball slams are lighter than slam balls and great for many reps and overhead tosses. Adding them to a workout routine helps swimmers build core strength and swim better.
There are many ways to do kneeling medicine ball slams to make them more effective:
| Exercise Variation | Duration/Reps | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Dead-Stop Stick and Slam | Hold the starting position for 1-5 seconds before each slam | Focus on explosive power and control |
| Bouncing Slam | Sets of 30-60 seconds with a heavier ball, sets of 90-120 seconds with a lighter ball | Improve cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance |
| Halo Slam | Work periods of 1-2 minutes | Enhance core strength and stability |
| Drop Squat Slam | Sets of 1-2 minute work periods | Metabolic conditioning and lower body power |
| Rainbow Slam | Work periods of 1-2 minutes | Improve core strength and mobility |
| Slam and Sprawl | Sets of 2-3 minutes or more | High-intensity interval training for fat-burning cardio |
| Single-Leg Slam | Sets of 45-90 seconds per side | Enhance balance, stability, and unilateral strength |
Adding these variations to a workout helps swimmers get a complete fitness routine. It’s key to work with a qualified trainer or coach to find the right variation and intensity for your goals.
Bent-Over Medicine Ball Row for Upper Body Strength
The bent-over medicine ball row is a great exercise for the upper back, chest, and arms. It also works the legs and glutes for stability. This exercise has been around for centuries and uses the medicine ball to build muscle and boost fitness.
To start, pick a medicine ball from the gym’s collection, which ranges from 8 lbs to 30 lbs. The gym has a big 4,000 square feet inside and a 1000-square-foot courtyard. This gives you plenty of space for this exercise.
Begin by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and slightly bent knees. Hold the medicine ball with your arms down. Then, bend over from the hips until your back is at a 45-degree angle with the floor. Keep your spine neutral during this movement.
Next, use your back muscles to row the medicine ball up to your chest. Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together. This targets and strengthens the upper back, helping with posture and muscle growth.
Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, feeling the contraction in your upper back and chest. Then, slowly lower the medicine ball back down. Do this for several reps to build upper body strength and endurance.
Rest times between sets can be from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. This allows for recovery and muscle growth. Adding the bent-over medicine ball row to your workout routine will help you get a balanced and strong upper body. Include exercises for the chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, and abs with medicine balls for the best results.
The negative part of the exercise is key for muscle growth. Focus on controlling the lowering phase to get more benefits from the bent-over medicine ball row.
Russian Twist With Medicine Ball for Core Activation
The Russian twist is a great way to strengthen your abdominal muscles. It works by engaging your core. This targets the abdominals and obliques, improving stability and core strength.
Using a medicine ball makes the exercise more challenging. Holding it in front of your chest adds tension to your core. This makes the workout more effective.
This exercise is great for athletes who need rotational power or throwing skills. It strengthens the core muscles used in these activities. Adding the Russian twist to your workout routine can also improve your posture, balance, and protect your spine.
If you don’t have a medicine ball, there are other ways to do the Russian twist. You can try the standing oblique twist or the cable oblique twist. It’s important to keep proper form and not hold your breath. This ensures the exercise is safe and effective.
