When we talk about physical exercise and using the tools we have at hand, we always opt for bars, dumbbells, machines, kettlebells, etc. But there is another tool that is rarely used and that can give us many benefits thanks to its versatility, and this tool is the medicine ball.
The medicine ball, despite being a little used tool, It’s a great helpabove all, if you want to transfer to specific sports that require immediate force production through our core and in various planes of movement.
If we had to summarize the benefits of medicine balls in training, it would be that they allow us to perform explosive throwing and receiving exercises, which allows us to develop, generate, direct and absorb force from different planes of movement.
Next, we are going to explain seven exercises so that you train with the medicine ball in your gym or wherever.
Slam Ball Burpee
This exercise consists of two phases. The first phase is that of hit the medicine ball to the ground keeping the core strong; and that of performing a burpee by placing your hands on the ball.
With this exercise we work the explosiveness and the core when we throw the ball against the ground, in addition to the pectoral, triceps, shoulder and also the core when we perform the burpee.
russian twist
It is important to maintain the contraction of the abdomen at all times and not to round the spine. In our hands we hold a medicine ball and we must rotate the torso while we carry the weight to one side and the other of the body until the medicine ball touches the ground on one side and then we move to the other side.
Remember that the abdomen must be contracted to stabilize the body while we rotate the trunk to carry the weight we hold in our hands from one side to the other and also to maintain good posture throughout the movement.
wall-ball
To perform the exercise correctly, we will stand facing the wall and perform two movements in one: squat and shoulder press to launch the ball as high as possible and hit the wall.
At the time of receiving the ball, we will have to perform a squat and repeat the pushing pattern with a shoulder press with the inertia of the squat.
With this exercise we will be working both the legs and the muscles involved in the push.
core throws
This is a somewhat more complicated exercise to execute at a technical level, especially at the core level. To do it correctly, you have to shoot the ball at the wall and try to retrieve the medicine ball without moving the trunk to activate the core on reception. This is an anti-rotation exercise like a pallof press.
slam-ball
We could say that this is one of the most basic exercises that can be performed with the medicine ball. To perform the exercise correctly, place your feet at a width a little broader than the biacromial.
We catch the ball, raise it above our head while maintaining an extension of the arms and hips, and we slammed it into the ground and intercepted it.
Alternate Medicine Ball Pushups
A great exercise to work all the muscles that are responsible for performing a push such as the pectoral, anterior deltoid and triceps. To perform the exercise, We place one hand on the medicine ball and perform a push-up.
When we go up, we move the ball to the other hand and we execute the push-up movement again. This exercise also engages the core to keep us stable on the ball.
Medicine Ball Lumberjack
This exercise can be done in two ways, although one of them is as we have previously mentioned with the Slam Ball, so we are going to explain the second way, which is how it appears in the video, doing it from the side.
Unlike the slam ball, we don’t throw it on the ground, but we accompany the medicine ball throughout the movement. To do it correctly, we start the movement with the ball above our right shoulder and finish on our left leg. After making the move, We repeat but in the opposite direction.
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