Three medicine ball abs exercises that will get you in great shape.

No.1. Sicilian Crunch.
Lay on the floor raise your upper body as high as possible by crunching your rib cage towards your pelvis. Just before top of the move straighten your arms to raise the medicine ball.

No.2. Medicine Ball Taps.
Sit on the floor holding the medicine ball in front with the arms slightly bent. Lean slightly back, lift your feet off the ground. Twist to the right and touch the medicine ball to the floor, twist to the left and touch the medicine ball to the floor, all the time following medicine ball with your eyes.

No. 3. Medicine Ball Curl Ups.
Lay on the floor and use both hands to hold the medicine ball above your head and barely off the floor. Bend your knees 90 degrees, place your feet flat on the floor. Perform a classic sit-up by raising your torso into a sitting position. Go back to the start. Extending your arms creates a long lever for your abs to pull against while the ball provides extra resistance.

Along with a 5 mile run, 75 of each of the above medicine ball exercises in 3 sets of 25 using a 15lb medicine ball was my workout for 25th June.

Originally posted 2009-06-25 20:27:58.

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.

Originally posted 2009-05-22 19:59:57.

This workout is based on the pit workout.

After a quick warm up. 5 minutes shadow boxing, on the 30 seconds, 5 burpees, on the minute, 5 squats.

1 minute water break, then its into “blackjack” 20 press-ups, 1 squat thrust, then 19 press-ups then 2 squat thrusts and so down to 1 press-up and 20 squat thrusts, everything adds up to 21 “blackjack”

1 minute water break, then 50 straight punches left and right.
3 minutes jump rope.

1 minute water break, then 50 medicine ball sit ups, 50 medicine ball leg raises, 50 bicycles, 50 rustys, 50 medicine ball twists.

This was my workout for Mon 15th June.

Originally posted 2009-06-15 19:42:19.

This evenings workout will be a bodyweight and medicine ball workout that I put together on my iPhone using THI Personal Trainer LITE this app takes full advantage of the iPhone and iPods capabilities. The app includes a sample exercise library with complete and clear instructions. The sample workouts are professionally designed (CSCS certified) or you can create your own, use the Workout Editor to add exercises, create new training programs and modify existing routines quickly and conveniently.

Whether you are looking to build muscle, find an effective total body workout you can do anywhere or just improve your overall flexibility THI Personal Trainer’s professionally designed workout programs will be a great addition to your workout arsenal. High quality video combined with professionally designed training routines that are fully customizable makes this app the perfect personal fitness assistant. All information is contained within the app, meaning all videos load quickly and there is no need to connect to your wifi or 3G networks to run it.

FEATURES
- Sample exercise library
- Pre-built Training Programs designed by professional Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialists (CSCS)
- Logging system
- Graphing system
- Fitness reports
- Interval timers
- Capability to build your own customized workouts
- Capability to add your own exercises

PRE-BUILT WORKOUTS INCLUDING:
- Beginner Programs
- Intermediate Programs
- Advanced Programs
- Sample Hypertrophy routine
- Sample Metabloic routine

Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch Requires iPhone OS 2.2.1 or later. Oh and did I mention its free!

Todays workout is a medicine ball workout using a 15lb medicine ball.

25 repetitions of each exercise (unless otherwise stated).

* Circles
* Woodchoppers
* Press ups both hands on the medicine ball
* Standing Russian twists
* Press ups right hand on the medicine ball (30)
* Squat to press
* Press ups left hand on the medicine ball (30)
* Medicine ball sit ups
* Rocky solos
* Lunge and twist
* Toe touches
* 45 Degree twists
* Sicilian crunch
* Diagonal crunches
* Lunge and press
* Leg raises with the medicine ball between the knees (15)