5 Medicine Ball Workouts To Try At Home
Are you considering spicing up your home gym? A medicine ball might just become your new favourite piece of gym equipment!
Medicine balls are large, heavy rubber balls that can weigh anywhere from 1 pound to 50 pounds. They can be used to add resistance to workouts, or they can be used as their own piece of exercise equipment. Adding medicine ball workouts to your routine is a sure way to get you working up a sweat and headed on your way to a more toned body!
So here are 5 Medicine Ball Workouts To Try At Home:
Overhead Squats with Medicine Ball
Overhead squats are great at engaging your core, especially your lower back. This exercise challenges your stability more than a regular squat. The medicine ball will also help to work your upper back, shoulders and your arms.
How To:
- Standing with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Hold the medicine ball straight over your head throughout the entire movement.
- Squat down – begin to bend your knees and push your hips back as if you’re going to sit in a chair, stopping when your thighs are parallel to the ground.
- Push through your heels on the rise, giving your glutes a squeeze at the top.
- This is one rep.
Mountain Climbers with Medicine Ball
This is a challenging enough exercise to do already, but if you fancy taking it up a notch you can try incorporating a medicine ball into your mountain climbers. Adding the medicine ball will also help you with your balance and keep you engaged for this tough workout!
How To:
- Get into the plank position with the medicine ball beneath your hands.
- While keeping your back and neck straight, drive your right knee up toward your chest. Extend it and immediately drive your left knee up toward your chest.
- Ensure your core is engaged throughout.
Medicine Ball Slams
If you have a heavier medicine ball, this is the exercise you should be using it for! Medicine ball slams are great for cardio, power and strength. It’s also a great exercise to do if you have some pent-up anger, nothing makes you feel better quite like slamming a heavy ball into the ground.
How To:
- Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart with the medicine ball straight above your head.
- Bend at your hips and, keeping your arms extended, slam the medicine ball into the ground as hard as you can.
- Pick up the medicine ball and return to the starting position.
Russian Twist
Is a workout really a workout if you didn’t include your abs? Well, yes, but ab work is important too! Try the Russian twist for a fun change to your regular ab workouts, this will also help with your balance!
How To:
- Sit with your legs bent at a 45-degree angle out in front of you, feet touching the floor.
- With your outstretched arms, hold the medicine ball out in front of you.
- Brace your core, twisting your torso, and move the medicine ball to your right side until it nearly touches the ground.
- Return to the middle. Repeat on the left side.
Circles with Medicine Ball
Although it might not look like much, circles with a medicine ball can be a real shoulder burner! This workout is challenging and can be made more effective by moving the ball in slow, controlled circles.
How To:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Hold the medicine ball straight overhead.
- Brace your core and begin to move your extended arms in a clockwise movement, “drawing” a circle from start to finish. Twist your core to accommodate the movement, but keep your feet stationary.
