![]() ![]() Westcott, Ph.D., is instructor of exercise science at Quincy (Mass.) College and author of 24 fitness books.Marketing for Economic Development (Onondaga County)Ĭity of Syracuse Arts & Culture Recovery Fundįondo de Recuperación de Arte y Cultura de Siracusa Just be sure to progressively increase the resistance by using a slightly heavier medicine ball when you can complete 15 forceful repetitions in good form. These four medicine ball power exercises have proven effective for enhancing muscle strength, power and performance, which is important for a variety of physical activities. The same major muscles are addressed, with emphasis on the other side of the body. This exercise is similar to the right-side mid-throw, except that you hold the ball on your right hip, stand with your left side toward the wall and step with your left foot while slinging the ball. This exercise involves the muscles of the thighs, hips, chest, shoulders and arms, with even greater emphasis on the midsection muscles. Stand with your right side toward the wall, step toward the wall with your right foot, and sling the ball toward the middle of the wall. Hold the medicine ball with both hands by your left hip. Be sure to alternate the forward stepping foot on each repetition. It is performed in the same manner as the low throw except that the medicine ball is pushed towards the top of the basement wall. Although similar to the first exercise, the high throw action addresses the shoulder muscles as well as the thighs, hips, midsection, chest and arms. Alternate the forward stepping foot on each repetition. This exercise works the muscles of the thighs, hips, midsection, chest and arms.It is performed by holding the medicine ball against your chest with both hands, lunging forward with the left leg, and pushing the ball powerfully toward the bottom of the basement wall. The first few throws should be less forceful (warm-ups), followed by progressively more powerful throwing actions. I recommend doing the following four medicine ball throws for 10 to 15 repetitions each. Research indicates that these more forceful exercise actions against reasonable resistance are more effective than standard strength training for improving muscle power. You release (throw) the medicine ball towards the wall, where it typically drops to the floor and rolls back to you. ![]() This is where the basement concrete wall comes in. Unlike free-weights, you can also release the medicine ball at the end of an explosive exercise movement, thereby preventing high levels of joint stress. Like free weights, you can use medicine balls for a variety of exercises, such as squats, lunges, step-ups, arm curls, arm extensions, and shoulder presses. Medicine balls are available in progressively heavier resistances, from 2 to 20 pounds, which makes them well-suited for strength training programs. While this is not advisable when using barbells or dumbbells, it works extremely well with medicine balls. One means for avoiding these end-range impacts is to release the resistance. Performing fast repetitions with relatively heavy resistance is problematic because this places high stress on your joint structures at the end of the movements. However, the carefully controlled movements recommended for machines and free-weight training do not have as much impact on power improvement. Muscle strength is best increased by doing standard strength training exercises using machines or free weights. Why medicine balls? As we age, we lose both muscle strength and muscle power, and we lose the latter at a faster rate than the former. If your basement is like mine, the concrete walls provide a perfect backstop for performing some powerful medicine ball exercises. ![]()
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