4 Med Ball Exercises For Improved Power

Some exercise equipment is more enjoyable to use than others, with the med ball being one. In my personal training career, I’ve often seen a client drag ass due to stress and whatnot. If I say barbell deadlifts are on the menu, I’d be history if looks could kill.

Instead, they’ll throw the med ball to brighten their mood and release built-up stress. Not only does it release tension and improve their mood, but they train power, which is a use-it-or-lose-it deal. Plus, get to keep my job and my life.

I’ll get into what power, the benefits of training, and four exercises you can do to brighten your state of mind.

What Is Power?

Power equals Force X Acceleration (P = F x A).

Think of force as a push or pull from the object’s interaction (you) with another thing (med ball), such as the pull of gravity or coming up from the ground with a push-up. Acceleration is the rate at which an object changes its speed, like you sprinting to catch a bus or a car moving from a dead stop.

Benefits Of Training Med Ball Power

Besides looking cool, here are four other benefits of throwing a medicine ball around for power and fun.

Better cardio: training power encourages the heart to pump more blood with each pump.

Improved calorie burn:  using the fast twitch muscles increases the number of calories burned during the workout and up to 24-48 hours later.

Increased strength: med ball power exercises involve rapid muscle contractions that build and enhance ‘fast-twitch’ muscle fibers. These muscle fibers had the most significant potential for growth.

Better movement: The med ball’s freedom of movement and the ability to train in multiple planes of motion will prepare your body for realistic motions of everyday living and activities in the gym. This may help prevent injuries.

What Size Should You Use? 

When in doubt, go on the lighter side. The point is to develop power. Because if the med ball is too heavy to throw quickly, you’re wasting your time. A great starting point is between 4-15 pounds (depending on your size and strength), with a sweet spot between 6-10 pounds.

Set And Reps

When training power, being explosive is the main thing. The moment you lose being explosive, you’re not training power anymore; you’re training muscular endurance. For most people, this lies anywhere between 4 to 12 reps.

4 Med Ball Power Exercises

Here are four medicine ball power exercises for your throwing pleasure.

Squat Med Ball Throw

This exercise is also called the granny throw, but it doesn’t sound as cool as the name I gave it, right? The squat med ball throw is deceiving because It looks like you’re using your arms to throw the ball, but the power is really coming from your legs. The arms are just going along for the ride.

How to do it:

Get into your squat stance holding a med ball with both hands at arm’s length.

Squat down until the ball almost touches the ground.

Then explosively squat back up while throwing the ball up.

Keep your eye on the ball until it lands and reset, and repeat for reps.

Overhead Med Ball Throw

Taking a decisive step forward encourages transferring power from your lower to your upper body, making it a total body power exercise. This is a must-do exercise for an athlete whose sport involves throwing a ball explosively because it develops explosive upper-body power in the chest, shoulders, and triceps.

How to do it:

Stand eight to 10 feet in front of a wall, and hold a four-to-eight-pound med ball in both hands.

Then bend your elbows, and bring it behind your head like an overhead triceps extension.  

Take a strong step forward, throw the ball powerfully against the wall, and pick up the ball on the bounce.

Reset and repeat.

Med Ball Slam

This is your go-to exercise when you want to relieve some stress and not punch holes in the walls. All you do is hold a medicine ball, bring it overhead behind your head, and slam it down as hard as possible. Go ahead, make some noise, and have fun with this one.

How to do it:

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a med ball in both hands.

Bring the over and behind your head by bending your elbows, and rise on your tiptoes.

Then throw the ball into the ground as hard as possible, extending your arms and driving your heels through the floor.

Catch the ball on the first bounce and reset and repeat.

Med Ball Shot Put Throw

Med ball shot put throw takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it strengthens the chest, triceps, and shoulders unilaterally and explosively. If you’re throwing a ball for a living or fun, this will help you throw harder and with more pop.

How to do it:

Note: If you have no wall, throw the ball to your training partner.

Stand side on, around four feet from a wall, with feet a little wider than hip-width.

Hold the ball with both hands with your elbows up at shoulder height.

Keep your back elbow at shoulder height, and transfer the weight to the rear hip.

Then transfer the weight to your front hip as you shotput the ball to the wall.

Catch the ball on the bounce and reset and repeat.

Wrapping up

Med ball throws are a nice change of pace and an easy way to express power and bring out your inner athlete. And if you’re lucky, you’ll be powerful enough to leap tall buildings with a single bound like another superhero. 

Contact me here if you want assistance incorporating these exercises into your workout.