Exercise Tip – Medicine Ball Part One

April 6, 2016 5:40 pm / Posted in ,

A medicine can be used for doing a wide range of exercises to improve fitness, strength and coordination as well as help people recover from injuries. This type of ball can be made of leather, nylon, vinyl, rubber, polyurethane and other materials, and it comes in many different weights, ranging from 2 lb to 25 lb. The standard medicine ball has a diameter of 14 inches, but other sizes are also available. I use them with almost every client and in this blog I am going to teach a couple exercises. You can pretty much buy them anywhere but I would encourage you to support your local fitness store.

Lift and Reach

 This is a great exercise for building over all strength while maximizing some cardiovascular gains. You can start off with about 8 reps but then you could work your way up to about 30. It can help strengthen your core and it feels great stretching back.

Position

  • Stand with knees shoulder width apart
  • Place your arms in front of your thighs
  • Squat down and place your hands on the ball
  • Look above the horizon

Movement

  • Extend you hips forward while keeping your neutral spine as much as possible
  • Slowly lifting the ball of the ground with a strait arm and then over your head
  • Lower yourself to the floor while bending at the hips and knees
  • Touch the ball to the ground then repeat

 

Wood Chop & Side Lunge

Position

  • Stand with your feet at 45 degrees & wider then shoulder width
  • Raise your arms up to the right and at head level
  • Twist your torso so that the side of your shoulder is facing forward
  • Place 70 percent of your weight on the right side of your feet
  • The knee should not be over the toes
  • Keep your chest high and to the right

Movement

  • Transfer the weight from the right hip to the left hip
  • The ball should flow at a 45 degree angle across to your left thigh
  • Finnish the cross over with 70 percent of your weight on your left leg and your left shoulder facing forward
  • Inhale, transfer the weight over with the same way you did before to the starting position

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