5 Ways to Train with a Medicine Ball

5 Ways to Train with a Medicine Ball

Trammell's Health & Fitness Tips - Health, Fitness, Nutrition & Training Tips to Keep you Healthy and Motivated

1. WEIGHTED ABS - As a personal trainer I often tell clients during in home workouts to, instead of droning through a set of standard crunches, grab a 15-25 pound medicine ball and drop to the mat. Hold the ball above and just behind your head and crunch aggressively upward paying attention to the peak performance at the top. Lower slowly back to the start position, resisting the weight of the ball on the way down. Start your ab routine off with 4 sets of 10 then move then move on to non weighted moves.
   
   
2. DECLINE MED BALL TWIST - So to truly challenge those obliques as well as your rectus abdominis, try the decline med ball twist. Secure your feet and ankles on a decline bench set to 30 to 45 degrees. Hold the medicine ball tight to your chest and then lie back until your torso is perpindicular to the bench and hold. From there, press the ball out to full extension and twist your left and then back to center. Turn to your right and then back to center. Repeat for reps pausing for a count in each position. Start with a lighter ball and perform 6-10 reps on each side for 3-4 sets.
   
   
3. BALL SLAMS - This move provides a good stretch and contraction to the abdominal wall and works to a lesser degree, the lats and forearms. So with this move lift it high in the air and slam it into the floor as hard as you can for this major effect in the ab region and catch it high up to for that stretch! If you can try using a ball 15-25 pounds. Do about 15-20 reps with 15-30 second rest in between sets.
   
   
4. WALL BALL - The wall ball is an explosive medicine ball front squat after which you throw the ball at a spot about 10 feet up the wall in front of you. Catch the ball with soft arms as you settle into the next rep, descend and repeat. You want to be about 2-4 feet from the wall and do 3-4 sets of 10 reps to start. Add sets and reps or increase ball weight as you gain strength.
   
   
5. PUSH UP SHUFFLE - Start in the top of a pushup position with your with your left hand on top of a medicine ball and your right hand on the floor. Descend into a pushup as normal then explode up and over to your left as quickly possible, transferring your right hand to the top of the ball and sending your left hand to the floor. Switch sides as quickly as you can working yourself into a shuffle. Try for 10 reps to start.

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