Though most of us have seen a medicine ball, many don't know exactly what we are supposed to do with it.
Though they seem simple enough, they are one of the best total-body workout tools in the gym. It's no wonder they have been around for hundreds of years. If you're looking to develop core strength, power, grip strength or just tone up, the medicine ball is just the edge you need.
MEDBALL BENEFITS
Medicine balls, or medballs for short, are weighted and can come in many sizes and varieties. Some are made to bounce, while others are made to stop completely when they hit the floor. Others have handles or ropes to hold. A medball can be the size of a volleyball up to that of a basketball. Some non-bouncing medballs can be even larger, which can improve hand and forearm strength. With many varieties to choose from, medballs can be used a number of ways.
Don't confuse the medball with the Swiss ball, though. The latter is used more to train balance and core stability and is lighter, as well as larger, than medballs. Swiss balls can be used in similar ways to a medball, but they are completely different devices in the gym.
There are plenty of benefits to medballs. When thrown properly, they can increase the power of the motion used. This is why I believe that medball training is a great transition between strength training and the actual sport or activity for which you are preparing. As you may have guessed, strength training primarily works on strength, but with medball training, you can incorporate speed into the equation, making a very essential component of just about all sports: POWER. What's even better is that, many times, there are medball exercises that can mimic the motions used in many different sports, such as a golf or baseball bat swing, basketball pass or shot-put throw.
Medball training has also been known to greatly increase core strength. Many motions that can be done with it involve throwing or swinging the ball. These motions, in turn, require a lot of stability in the midsection to get the most out of each repetition. Not only is it working your core, it's also working many muscles between your feet and your hands.
WHY IT WORKS
Since medballs can be awkward to hang onto, they are very good for developing grip and forearm strength. Lifting with dumbbells and barbells is great but doesn't compare to the strength needed to hold on to a medball. This makes medball training much more functional to everyday life.
Beginning a routine is similar to learning how to use free weights. It's a good idea to get some professional instruction and to start out light. A simple exercise is to hold the medball overhead and, with your abs held tight, throw the ball straight down into the ground in front of you, then allow it to bounce back up. Be careful on the rebound as it can come back up very quickly. If you have a medball that doesn't bounce, just throw it down and pick it back up. This is good because it actually requires more work. Do this for 10 to 20 repetitions and then rest for 1 to 2 minutes.
This type of training is a great way to change up an exercise routine that has become boring. There really is nothing like it. Make sure that you have an open space when training this way, and also make sure the surface you are throwing against is safe and secure. Concrete is best if you have it, but I have also used racquet-ball and basketball courts. If you are at a gym, make sure to ask whether medball training is OK and if there is a designated spot to do it. Once you realize how much effort it really takes to do this type of training, you will understand exactly why it works.
Ted Santaniello, CSCS, AFAA, is a certified personal trainer working at the Wellness Center at PARC, located at 295 New York road (next to ARC) in Plattsburgh. For more information, call him at 324-2024.
