Ball Exercise

Medicine ball training has been around since the ancient Greeks discovered health benefits from exercising with weighted balls. It is one of the oldest forms of strength and conditioning used to improve health, explosive power, and speed. Medicine balls are versatile, portable and a fad that lasted the test of time. Several styles and sizes exist - some are made of rubber or leather, some absorb load, and others bounce really high. But how can a weighted sphere be so simple, yet have the potential to be so functional?
Medicine ball exercises are an important tool for developing sport-specific power. They can be used as part of a circuit training format or plyometrics program. In fact, upper body plyometric exercises are limited without their use.

Strength training for sport, for the most part, is very different from bodybuilding. While a phase of the strength training program should focus on maximal strength development and occasionally hypertrophy, it is explosive power and/or strength endurance that should be the end-goal for most athletes. While there are various methods to increase power, a common element is speed of contraction. Medicine balls are relatively light allowing exercises to be performed explosively.

Medicine ball exercises allow the athlete and coach to devise drills that closely match the movements within a particular sport. Take tennis training for example. Mirroring the movement patterns of a forehand or backhand stroke with traditional free weights is difficult. Torso twists, where the ball is released to a partner incorporate many of the same muscle groups in the same firing pattern as a tennis forehand or backhand stroke. And of course medicine ball exercises are not limited to tennis.

Just what the doctor ordered: a circuit of total-body exercises that takes mere minutes and uses one simple tool - a medicine ball. (Hey, you’re busy!) Adding this weighted rubber ball to your routine is an effective prescription for toning your core, arms, shoulders, chest, and legs. Plus, it helps strengthen your grip, too.

Choose the heaviest weight you can handle for eight reps, and move from one exercise to the next with minimal down time. Rest for a minute at the end of the circuit, then repeat up to two more times for efficient muscle toning. Now, play ball!
Medicine ball workouts are easy to do at home and for such a simple piece of equipment, bring a great deal of challenge and versatility to a routine.
The medicine ball is a very versatile tool that can be found in many gyms these days. They come in various weights and sizes and some even come with handles that can be used for a better grip and an even greater variety of exercises.

Ball Exercise is guideline to exercise with ball following
-FULL BODY
-LEGS & GLUTES
-CHEST AND BACK
-SHOULDERS AND ARMS
-CORE