Category — medicine ball

This week, we are going to look at a basic but effective exercise – the standing rotational medicine ball throw. As you take a look at the pictures I encourage you to think about some of the more common sport moves you see – swinging a bat, shooting a puck, throwing a football; they all involve similar mechanics.

One thing I see time and again are training programs that lack any form of rotary training. Particularly when we examine strength routines, most programs involve only flexion and extension exercises. Common examples of these exercises include squats, deadlifts, bench presses, barbell/dumbbell curls, tricep extensions, pullups, lat pulldowns, etc. These are all great things to do, but the problem is that they do not challenge your body the same way as swinging a bat or throwing a baseball does.

Many times people say, “I need to build up my core.” Well, what are you doing to accomplish that other than situps, crunches, and back extensions? It makes more sense to include exercises that involve rotation about the spine and other joints of the body, along with side flexion (as in, imagine the motion at the hip of a jumping jack). Most back injuries are due to an imbalance of strength between the legs and back. By using rotational type activities we help to reduce the risk of such accidents.

So onto this week’s exercise – the ROTATIONAL MEDICINE BALL THROW. This exercise can be done with any medicine ball of choice. I recommend beginning with a weight between 4-8lbs. Be careful not to turn this strictly into a strength routine. We are trying to develop the trunk in a rotary fashion without impeding the normal function of the body. If you choose a weight much greater than 8lbs, you may start to compensate for the extra resistance (the medicine ball) by changing your mechanics. This would be counter-productive to training a basic sport move. Follow these guidelines:

1. Begin in a shoulder width stance with the feet in a heel to toe alignment, holding the medicine ball approximately at navel level (right and top left).

2. Rotate the trunk, shoulders, arms and head to one side as far as possible and immediately twist back in the opposite direction to throw the ball. Focus on rotating the feet, hips, and shoulders first, and finishing with the upper body (remaining sequence).

Click to enlarge

The important part of this equation is to use the entire body. The common mistake is to throw strictly with the arms. Remember a summation of forces involves using the large, slower muscles of the body first (i.e the legs, trunk, and chest) and follow with the smaller muscles of the appendages (the lower legs, feet, arms, and wrists). Emphasize a high velocity for this movement. Also aim at throwing against a wall so that the ball rebounds back to you – otherwise you’ll be chasing the implement down after every throw and the workout will take forever.

Integrating rotational movements into your everyday program is extremely valuable. I recommend doing some form of rotary movement at least twice a week, and if you only have time for one exercise, make it a rotation. Remember that balanced training of the body provides optimum results. By analyzing what you are doing for training, you will decrease the likelihood of injury and shorten your time to improvement. Ultimately, it is the person who improves the fastest who usually ends up winning.