How To Make Medicine Ball Training A Great Workout Program

Medicine ball exercises have their place in an overall workout program. The medicine ball is an easy way to incorporate resistance training into your abdominal workouts. Medicine balls are a creative (and cheap) way to add resistance to your home workout routines when no other weights are available.

However, rather than following a medicine ball routine, a better approach is to pick a few exercises with the medicine ball and incorporate them into a circuit or session that is designed to increase power and/or strength endurance. Many of these exercises are full body, explosive exercises that raise the heart rate and allow you to enter the fat burn target zone.

Following are a few guidelines to consider before you start a medicine ball routine:

• Warm up thoroughly before starting a medicine ball routine.
• If you don’t own a medicine ball, consider starting with a basketball or soccer ball.
• Ensure you have plenty of space and a competent training partner when performing these drills.
• Medicine ball exercises, as with other forms of power training, should be completed when you are fresh before heavy aerobic or anaerobic training if completed in the same day.

The following group of medicine balls workout are a great abdominal workouts. Complete each of the following abdominal exercises one after the other, with no more than 10 seconds of rest between each. Do at least 5 of the following exercises for the specified amount of time or repetitions (or as long as you can safely do so) and then move to the next exercise. Complete all exercises and you will have one circuit. Try to do at least 2 circuits. Ensure you warm up with 5-10 minutes of light cardio and cool down with 10 minutes of stretching.

Medicine Ball Exercises:

Medicine Ball Obliques
1. Starting Position: Lie on your back and raise your legs with your knees bent.
2. Holding a medicine ball between your knees rotate your legs to the side and then return to the starting position. Repeat to the other side.

Slams
1. Stand with feet parallel and knees slightly bent.
2. Pull medicine ball back behind head and forcefully throw ball down on the ground as hard as possible.
3. Catch the ball on the bounce from the ground and repeat according to prescribed repetitions.

Lunges
1. Begin by standing with the medicine ball held at your waist (approximately at belly button height).
2. Take a step forward with one leg, lowering yourself until the top of your leg is parallel to the floor. Make sure that your knee does not extend past your toes to avoid injury.
3. Either return to the starting position and repeat the movement with the opposite leg, or perform a “walking” lunge by continuing forward by alternating legs and “walking” across the floor.

Crunches
1. Begin by lying with you back on the floor with your knees bent.
2. Hold the medicine ball against your chest with both hands.
3. Perform a standard crunch.
4. Hold the crunch position for a count of one, squeezing the abdominals tight.
5. Lower yourself to the starting position, keeping your shoulder blades approximately 1 inch from the floor.

Standing/Seated Triceps Extension
1. Begin by standing (or sitting) in an upright position.
2. Using both hands, hold the ball behind your head.
3. In a controlled motion, extend your arms upward, keeping your upper arms stationary.
4. Flex your triceps for a count of one before lowering the medicine ball back to the starting position.

Finish your medicine ball workout by stretching for 10 minutes. Ensure you stretch your hamstrings & quads.

Check out more workout program at Workouts that Burn Fat and Tone Muscle