A medicine ball (also known as an exercise ball, a med ball, or a fitness ball) is a weighted ball often used for rehabilitation and strength training, and as such the medicine ball serves an important role in the field of sports medicine. Medicine balls have been around for years. Historians have traced the use of weighted balls to the ancient times of Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. The English term Medicine ball for a “stuffed leather ball used for exercise” was first added to the dictionary in 1895. Medicine balls as we know them gained popularity in the 1920s when doctors prescribed their use as a form of healthy exercise for patients looking to improve their level of overall fitness.
Medicine ball training, alongside a program of weight training and circuit training, can be used to develop strength and power. I say alongside a program of weight training and circuit training because while “underground” gladiator-style strength programs using kettlebells, medicine balls or sandbags are all the rage at the moment, a study compared the effectiveness medicine ball workouts to traditional weight lifting to determine which one is the most effective at increasing throwing velocity.
Researchers studied which one of traditional weight training (typical strength training in a weight room) or medicine ball training (explosive medicine ball exercises) was the most effective and they determined than traditional weight training was more effective than using medicine ball exercises to increase arm strength and throwing power.
Rather than following a medicine ball ‘routine’ as such, a more appropriate approach is to select a few exercises and incorporate them into a circuit or session designed to increase power and/or strength endurance. Medicine balls are adaptable you can easily match exercises to the movement patterns found in many sports. Basketball, volleyball, baseball… the medicine ball can approximate the athletic moves involved in each. Focus on speed of movement but not at the sacrifice of technique and don’t choose a ball that is so heavy it slows the movement of the exercise down.
Newton, Robert U.; McEvoy, Kerry I. Baseball Throwing Velocity: A Comparison of Medicine Ball Training and Weight Training. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 8(3):198-203, August 1994.
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