The medicine ball is a tool straight out of the devil’s arsenal. Although they seem innocent enough, medicine ball exercises have a great way of whipping your butt in to shape while making you question how you ever thought you were in shape to begin with.
Medicine balls are also a relatively cheap piece of equipment that you can use…well, anywhere. If you’re looking to better equip your garage gym or invest in something you can easily take on the road, a medicine ball is a great item to consider.
We’ve got ten easy-to-do medicine ball exercises you can do anywhere from the gym to your driveway.
10 Medicine Ball Exercises You Can Do At Home
1. Wall Balls
Wall balls are a CrossFit classic that inspire immediate twinges of regret in my butt cheeks.
A thruster with the weight redistributed, a few sets of wall balls is a great way to work almost every muscle in your body.
2. Russian Twists
Russian twists are not quite as fun as Kendall makes them look in the photo. The key to maximizing their effectiveness is keeping a tight core and keeping your feet lifted off the ground. Throw them in a tabata with some sit ups and hollow holds (see #4) and your abs will feel it for days.
3. Slam Balls
These can be done with a full-size medicine ball or a smaller medicine ball. Either way, get your bottom below parallel as quickly as possible to catch the ball after the first bounce. Try doing ten of these and then ten wall balls for several rounds for a WOD that will roast your booty in a good way.
4. Superman and Hollow Holds
The medicine ball adds another element of difficulty to these two exercises. Keep those abs tight and hold on for dear life! Hollow holds and supermans are great movements to add into a tabata mixture or to practice to increase your kipping strength.
5. Balancing Burpee
What do you get when you add a medicine ball to a burpee? An extra-nasty medicine ball exercise that adds balance to this lung-burning exercises.
Try doing ten of these to warm up before your next WOD or add them into a metcon and prepare to feel the burn.
6. Pass Under Lunges
Warning: these are slightly difficult to do with a full-size medicine ball if you have shorter legs. However, they’re a great medicine ball exercise that will force you to keep that core tight and balanced as you transition the ball beneath your leg.
7. Overhead Press
Simple, but effective. Use this medicine ball exercise to warm up your shoulders before a long set of wall balls or to practice building strength for strict presses.
8. V-Ups
V-ups are another ab-burning movement that would be great to add to a tabata. Adding a wall ball in just adds another level of misery for your tummy, and by misery, we mean greatness.
9. Medicine Ball Push Up
These push ups are an intense way to work your back, chest and shoulders if you’re looking for a little extra definition. Try multiple sets of ten on each arm for a workout that is sure to fry your upper body.
10. Glute Bridges
This medicine ball exercises is one of those where it doesn’t look like you’re doing much…but you’re dying inside. Glute bridges are a great way to work on core strength and a less active way to get some glute work in. Try these as a warm up or a cool down exercise.