Frequent gym-goers often ignore the humble medicine ball for other equipment like dumbbells, barbells and machines. The truth is that the medicine ball is a great piece of equipment which can be used for numerous exercises. Unlike barbells or dumbbells, medicine balls allow for more flexibility, allows greater range of motion, increases your core, upper and lower body strength. Shivoham, the founder and owner of India's first CrossFit gym says: 'A medicine ball being a round object can come in handier than bars and dumbbells. It's excellent for core training and also some plyometric body weight training. Also if nothing else, it's just good to vary your training equipment once in a while to give it a twist.'
Manish Ruhail, a personal trainer at Fitness First lists out the various advantages of the medicine ball. He says: 'Unlike dumbbells or barbells which are mainly used for stationary exercises the medicine ball can be used in different planes and hence offers better functionality for movement based trainings. Also they can be used for cardio-based activities which is not feasible with other kinds of weights.'
The medicine ball also helps stabilise your core muscles the abs, lower back, hips and spine giving you a strong foundation. The ball also comes in handy for functional movements similar to those that you do in everyday life. Exercises with the medicine ball instead of isolating muscles allow you train the various muscle groups at once.
On the other hand medicine balls have certain drawbacks. Ruhail says: 'They can't be used for muscle-building exercise or isolated muscle training.'
Here are some common exercises that you can try out with the medicine ball:
Overhead squat
Step 1: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold the medicine ball straight over your head.
Step 2: Try and keep your feet as straight and parallel as possible. It's okay if your feet are turned outwards slightly but it shouldn't be more than 15 degrees.
Step 3: Keeping your arms over your head lower yourself by bending the knees while sticking out your bottom and leaning forward at the waist (imagine you are going to sit on a chair).
Step 4: Squat till your thighs are parallel to the ground and then return to original position
Step 5: Always keep looking ahead and make sure your knees don't drift forward over your toes and always keep aligned to your ankles throughout the movement.
Standing wood chop with medicine ball
Step 1: Stand straight with your legs apart.
Step 2: Using both hands hold the ball above your shoulder on the right hand side
Step 3: Lower the ball towards your left shin and return to the starting position. This will be one rep (your movement will be similar to a man cutting a log with an axe, maintain that arc).
Step 4: Make sure the motion is not jerky. Do three sets of 15 reps each on both sides.
Seated medicine ball trunk rotations
Step 1: Sit on the floor with your knees bent, feet together, and heels on the floor while holding a medicine ball close to your body.
Step 2: Keep your back straight and upright. Rotate your torso to one side, keeping the ball close to you. Pause briefly and turn to the other side. Do 2 sets of 8 to 12 reps.
Medicine ball sit-ups
Step 1: Lie down on the ground with a medicine ball on your chest knees bent 90 degrees.
Step 2: Perform a normal sit-up by raising your upper body into a sitting a position and return to the start.
Back-to-Back medicine ball pass
Step 1: Stand back-to-back with a partner with one person holding a medicine ball. Place feet about shoulder-width apart. This is the starting position.
Step 2: To begin exercise, have one partner with a medicine ball pass the ball to the side while the other partner grabs it. Repeat this for about 10 repetitions, and then switch directions.
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