Not Your Father’s Medicine Ball

By Bruce Cohn
Boston Globe, November 13, 2003
 
When you hear people mention medicine balls it’s hard not to picture those old brown leather balls from a “Rocky” movie. The first time I saw one, it was being dropped by an old boxer--complete with unlit stogie in mouth--onto the stomach of an aspiring young fighter. Happily, training with medicine balls has come a long way since then.

Today’s athletes use medicine balls to develop strength for their torso muscles as well as their upper and lower body. More gyms are stocking medicine balls for their fitness clientele to use. Best of all, these balls can be used easily and effectively at home.

Medicine balls seem to have gotten their name from their use on transatlantic ships during World War I. Navy medics would stuff rags and other materials into a leather basketball for the crew to toss around as an antidote to seasickness and boredom. President Hoover observed medicine ball “keep away” games being played aboard a battleship in 1928 and made it part of his fitness routine while in the White House.

Modern medicine balls weigh from two to thirty pounds and can be found in sizes ranging from a grapefruit to a basketball. Some come with handles--doubling their use as dumbbells-- while others can be bounced off a floor or thrown off a wall. They can be purchased at your local sporting goods store or ordered online by searching under “medicine ball” or “plyoball”. (Two of the better sites are www.performbetter.com and www.jumpusa.com.)

For most people exercising at home, a medicine ball weighing between four and eight pounds will provide a sufficient workout. Many are sold in metric weights: just remember that 1 kilogram equals 2.2 pounds. You can always hold a medicine ball to add some resistance to your sit-ups and back extensions but try doing the following exercises one after the other for a complete body training circuit.

Seated Three Way Bounce:
Sit on the floor with your legs spread apart so as to form the letter “V”. Hold the medicine ball at face height and bounce it off the floor to the outside of your left leg. Catch it, rotate from the hips and bounce it between your legs. Then rotate again so that you can bounce the ball outside the right leg. Each time you bounce the ball think of crunching your bottom rib into your hip. Repeat this pattern as the ball moves from your right to the center and back to your left. Try going back and forth ten times on each side. (Hint: As you get more coordinated with this exercise you will be able to move faster from side to side but don’t sacrifice form for speed.)

Medicine Ball Planking:
Get into a pushup position with the medicine ball under your chest. Place both hands on the medicine ball, draw your belly button in towards your spine and balance for up to sixty seconds. To increase the difficulty try balancing on one hand with the other arm extended out to the side.

Medicine Ball Pushups:
Position the ball under one shoulder while you are in a pushup position. With one hand on the medicine ball and the other on the floor, perform ten pushups. Re-position the ball under the other shoulder and repeat ten times. You can make this more challenging by rolling the ball across to the opposite hand between repetitions.

Wood Chops:
Hold the ball overhead with your arms extended straight but do not lock your elbows. Get into the “athletic stance” with your feet hip-width apart and toes pointing straight ahead. Have a slight bend in your knees with your stomach drawn in and your chest aligned over your thighs. Push your hips back, bend your knees and lower the ball between your feet while maintaining a flat back. Extend the ball back to the starting position by straightening your legs and pressing your hips forward. Remember to keep the belly button drawn in to protect your back. (Hint: Think of the movement occurring as a result of the action of your hips and knees rather than your arms.) Do fifteen to twenty repetitions.

Figure Eights:
Stay in your athletic stance and extend your arms so that the ball is at the level of your right ear. Lower the ball in front of your body to the outside of your left knee by twisting at your hip and rotating on the ball of your right foot. Now raise the ball to your left ear and complete the figure “8” by twisting and lowering the ball to the outside of your right knee. This time you are rotating on the ball of the left foot. Raise the ball back to your right and continue this pattern for fifteen to twenty repetitions. (Hint: Think of a steel rod running through the base of your skull and down your spine to help maintain good back position and core stability.

Medicine Ball Lunges:
Begin in your athletic stance and hold the medicine ball at your belly button. Step forward with your right leg and lower your left knee towards the floor. As you lunge forward, raise the ball overhead. Return the right leg to its starting position and bring the ball back to your belly button. Repeat this movement stepping forward with your left leg. Do ten repetitions per side. You can perform a variation of this exercise by rotating the ball to the outside of the lunging leg. (Hint: Make sure you step wide enough so that your hips face straight ahead. This will help with balance.)

Medicine Ball Twists:
Hold the medicine ball at belly button height and arms length from your body while in an athletic stance. Keep your core tight and rotate on the ball of your right foot as you move the ball behind your left hip. Rotate the left foot as the ball moves behind the right hip. Continue for fifteen repetitions on each side. This is an excellent way to end your workout as it works on both flexibility and core strength.

This is but a sampling of the many uses for medicine balls. Add in an open field or a cinder block wall and your options multiply even more. The circuit described above trains your whole body and adds in the real life element of rotation. And while it may not make you ready to climb into the ring, it will leave you feeling like a champ.

Bruce Cohn is the Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Middlesex School in Concord. He runs FIT-TO-GO Total Sports Conditioning and is a nationally certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Bruce can be reached at 781-316-0061 or brucegym@rcn.com.