The medicine ball is an amazingly effective training tool and if you play just about any sport- very much including boxing- and provides more functional training than any other single piece of equipment (save for bags in boxing) including weights, bands, cables, machines, and even the kettlebell I talked about last week. The reason is because most sports require explosive, full-body power. Whether it's throwing, jumping, hitting, kicking, tackling, punching or sprinting, you are generating lots of force in a short period of time.
So how does the medicine ball factor into this? Mainly, because it can be thrown. Even using a ball with relatively light weight, like 6 pounds, is a game-changer when you start throwing it. Like for instance, imagine if you were to do a classic barbell chest press. You hang onto the bar and slowly push it up. This will build hypertrophy and strength in the primary muscle movers - your pecs and triceps - but it is all slow twitch muscle fibers which don't directly translate to any move you do in sports. Compare that to doing a chest pass with a light medicine ball. No matter what the weight, you have to produce enough force to launch the ball forward, away from your body and instead of weight being the factor, it is the speed of the pass that increases with no real limit or cap. Now you are building fast twitch muscle fibers that we use in every sport. Then imagine that instead of lying on a bench passing the ball up and down, you are passing it against a wall and not just using your chest to throw it but pushing your feet into the ground engaging your legs and hips. Now we are working multiple muscle groups in totally different spots. But wait, there's more. Because you may want to catch that ball after you throw it off the wall. That means you have to brace your core and absorb the momentum of the ball with your whole body. The faster that ball is traveling, the more of a force multiplier it is and thus, the more work you have to do to catch it. So it's a very efficient, double-whammy. Oh, and you are getting cardio work here too! Try 15 reps of what I just described and you will see what I mean.
So why aren't more people at gyms using medicine balls in their training? Because they're idiots! Only kidding of course. But I would say many people don't understand the value of medicine ball training and one big reason why is that they don't feel the same burn or pumps from it that they get from other free weights. That naturally leads some to believe that their bodies aren't getting the same level of work. It makes total sense but it is not actually true. You cannot judge a workout on how sore you feel the next day. Another reason that people may not use them is that you need a little more space, including a wall. You can toss the med ball with a partner but you are going to get a lot more bang for your buck using a wall because it's just faster and more sudden for the majority of ballistic exercises. Then finally, there is the hypertrophy thing that I mentioned earlier. Some people just want larger mirror muscles, even if they're not particularly functional.
But for athletes (which includes you if you are boxing), the ball has it all! Here are my Top 10 favorite medicine ball exercises for boxing specifically
1.) Jabs & Crosses Off the Wall
While you aren't really throwing a punch, you can mimic the same body mechanics of a jab and cross to throw the ball off a wall. Doing so explosively with even just a little weight will develop more power in the exact muscles you will use to generate power and speed on your punches. If you go fast and hard, it is good cardio too and don't forget that once again, catching the ball (particularly when thrown hard) builds your core as well.
2.) Rotational Pass Off Wall
Kind of like the chest pass, this one really works the core but 360 degrees of the core, including your hips, glutes, obliques and even some front abdominals. Plus you are mimicking the motion of punches in boxing, particularly hooks, as you are generating power from rotation.
3.) Hay Baler Overhead Pass Off Wall
4.) Scoop Pass
All about the lower body posterior chain. Like taking a granny shot in basketball but the key is to use your arms as little as possible. You'll get a little work there for sure, particularly in the biceps but the idea is to really drive the hips forward, like a kettlebell swing but with even more explosion.
5.) High Wall Tap
While this one isn't necessarily a killer like some of the exercises, it is great for building shoulder endurance, like you would get from working with a speed bag but with a totally different motion. At first, it won't feel like much of anything but after at least a 100 taps, it will start to get you.
6.) Uppercut Drill
So many of us really struggle with getting that power from our legs into uppercuts. Here is a great way to develop those body mechanics as well as build strength in your legs and core. One uppercut with the ball, set it down by bending at the knees, then throwing a regular uppercut from that position.
7.) Med Ball Burpee (with Jump)
Everyone loves a good burpee but doing it with a medicine ball adds 2 additional benefits. First, being on top of the ball in the down position requires you to really brace your core, while keeping your hands close together hits the triceps more than a standard burpee. Then for the up position, you've got that little bit of extra weight to thrust upward and over the head.
8.) Russian Twist
A core classic and for good reason. You're getting rotational work and by being in a sat up position, also strengthens your lower back and requires you to maintain stability while moving. To make this part even better, try doing it with bringing the ball all the way over your head and slamming it down hard (as opposed to just dropping).
9.) 3-Point Jacks
Sure it looks a little silly, like an 80s aerobic video but I would bet you my Jane Fonda record that you won't be laughing after just a couple of reps. It will surprise you and absolutely kill your arms and anterior deltoids. That burn can translate into power in your straight punches. The 90-degree rotational jack just adds some cardio, glute work, and coordination to the mix.
10.) Running Heave/Shot Put
If you've got a lot of room, this one is a real killer, in a good way. Holding the ball, actually run a few steps forward and release the ball like a shot put, going for as much distance as you can. You're working every muscle and this teaches the summation of force, from the ground through the legs through the core through the arms. The transfer from ground to ball, with the core as the vital link. If you want to add more cardio to it, run after the ball as soon as you let it go, pick it up and throw it back in the other direction.
These are just 10 but there are plenty more, especially when it comes to core work. I can pretty much guarantee you that all of it will help your boxing too. You just need a good program and the right weight of ball. Sometimes people tend to go heavier than they need to because they want to get the most out of it, but heavier isn't necessarily better. Another note is that there are certainly good exercises that involve slamming the ball down super hard in some fashion but I don't totally recommend using a standard med ball for this. Main reason being that the harder ones tend to break easily after a lot of slamming. They can take a hard wall shot a lot better than a ground slam. There are also balls specifically made for slamming that don't bounce. I would probably recommend these instead but if you don't mind replacing your regular med ball more regularly, slam away!
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