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Best Home Gyms7 Medicine Balls To Help You Take Your Workout To The Next Level
If you’re looking for a way to take your workout up a notch, advance your cross training, and engage as many muscles as possible when you’re working out, consider getting a medicine ball. A medicine ball is a weighted ball of different sizes, weights, and textures that can be implemented into certain exercises to add another form of stress to help you form strength and resistance adaptations.
Benefits of Using a Medicine Ball
There are many benefits you can reap if you add one of these weighted balls into your workout routine. First, if you use the ball to alter the environment, making exercises unstable, it will require your body to activate more of the neuromuscular system, meaning that more muscles will be working. You can engage the entire body! This results in improved stability, coordination as well as strength in some circumstances.
Using the medicine ball as a tool to add a heavier load to certain moves will allow you to increase strength. And if you do this for an extended period of time, you could also improve your stamina.
Build your strength cardio and explosive power by using the medicine ball in exercises that produce the greatest amount of force in the shortest amount of time. Some examples of this would be jump squats, medicine ball slams, and chest passes.
Dangers of Using a Medicine Ball
Adding a medicine ball into your workout adds another stressor or weight to your moves. This should only be done if you feel comfortable doing exercises without the ball with proper form. By jumping into weighted or unstable exercises before you’re ready, you can open yourself up to possible injury.
How To Know If a Medicine Ball Is Right For You
If you aren’t sure whether you’re ready for a new tool like the medicine ball, talk with your doctor, trainer, or fitness professional first. Then try any of the medicine ball options below. Choose one based on your goals and abilities, and what you’re looking to use it for. Many come in multiple weights, so you can always buy more than one if you want options and variety!
Best Medicine Balls To Up Your Workout Game
Amazon Basics Medicine Ball
Choose from four to 15 pounds depending on how heavy you want your medicine ball to be. The ball has a textured exterior to help you keep your grip on it when using it for sit ups or overhead presses. It’s rubber, too, so you can bounce it on the floor when doing more explosive exercises, too.
SPRI Dual Grip Xerball Medicine Ball
If you’re nervous about accidently dripping the medicine ball when implementing it into your workout routine, this one was made for you. It has handles built in to both sides of it, making it ideal for anyone worried about the ball slipping. It’s perfect for exercises like Russian twists or V ups. Pick a load that feels right for your fitness level.
Soft Wall Medicine Ball
If you’re looking to practice some wall balls (where you throw the medicine ball against a wall), or slams (where you slam the medicine ball onto the ground), you’ll need a ball like this one, that’s softer and won’t damage the wall or floor. The ball comes in nine weights ranging from six to 30 pounds, so you can choose the one that’s best for you.
Cap Barbell Medicine Ball
Pick one or multiple weights—from two to 12 pounds—to add some more resistance and a stability challenge to exercises like sit ups, push ups, planks, and squats. You can use this rubber ball to advance numerous exercises, and it comes in great, bright colors.
j/fit Dead Weight Slam Ball Treads
The outer texture of this medicine ball can withstand a workout with a lot of slams, over and over again. But what really sets this ball apart from others is that it is weighted by a sand filling, which will shift as you move it, and the unbalanced weight will recruit more muscles to help you stabilize. Translation: You’ll be adding another element to advance your workout. There are multiple weight options to choose from.
TRX Training Slam Ball
The durable outer treads on this rubber slam ball make it easier to pick up, grip, and hold onto, no matter which type of exercise you’re using it for. Use it for explosive exercises like a chest pass or to add a heavier load to strength exercises like a deadlift or squat. It comes in nine weight options from six to 50 pounds.
Fila Accessories Weighted Toning Soft Medicine Ball
If you want to try spot training or even just add weight into some of your barre exercises, this little squish ball is a perfect option. It can be used for multiple upper and lower body exercises like weighted leg lifts, squat pulses, or static holds. Choose between four or six pounds, depending on your fitness level and what your body can handle.