When you walk into any fitness facility these days, you will see a collection of heavy, big, small, hard and soft exercise balls to add to your workout routines. There is no doubt that weighted or Medicine balls are an incredibly versatile piece of equipment that can help you improve your strength, balance, flexibility, coordination and power.
When used properly your daily workouts will become more challenging, fun and satisfying. And you’ll wish you’d known everything about this amazing fitness tool sooner.
But with so many choices, weights and other options (and opinions) I fully understand that it’s not that easy to get started.
In This Blog Post
- What is a medicine ball?
- a little bit of history
- What are the different types of medicine balls
- what is a medicine ball used for
- what is the best medicine ball weight
- conclusion
- continue your fitness adventure
Personally it took me years to get confident in the gym. During my gym adventure I research and test fitness equipment. It took time and effort. Eventually I found what’s helpful and fun for my workout routines and what was not.
To save you time and get you going faster, I’ve put this article together. My wish for you is that it will end confusion, and help you feel confident when stepping into the gym and start throwing those heavy balls around!!
What is a medicine ball?
In very simple terms, a medicine ball is a weighted ball that is typically used in rehabilitation, sports training and physical fitness. They can be used for a wide range of exercises including throws, slams, squats and twists.
Not a bad start, but that is only the beginning! Lets go and dive a bit further into the rabbit hole.
A little bit of History
The Medicine ball is not your typical fitness fad flavour of the day. It’s a proven piece of equipment and has been used for centuries by athletes. Going as far as ancient Rome, Greek and Persia, a weighted ball was used to train, get strong and get back in shape after injuries.
In those times, stuffed and weighted animal skins were top of the line. Although there is a thing to be said about going back to basics, I’m convinced that we have a bigger and less smelly assortment available at our fingertips.
Let’s have a look at our options next.
What are the different types of medicine balls?
I assume you want to incorporate some sort of resistance in your workout. For this kind of exercise I would recommend looking at the weighted fitness ball types. The more popular ones include the slam ball, wall ball, medicine ball and, for aspiring strong-men and strong-women athletes, the fabled atlas stones.
Let’s look at all the different types individually so you understand the specific design, use and material for each type of weighted ball.
The slam ball
This is a smaller to medium size weighted fitness ball. The size sits somewhere between a full size soccer or basketball. It’s typically made of heavy duty artificial rubber or hard plastic. Look for rough textures or bumps on the hard outside shell. These textures are added to improve grip when your hands get sweaty.
A slam ball is specifically designed to not bounce back when dropped or “slammed” onto a surface. Depending on the weight you are using, there might be a tiny bounce. But it shouldn’t be jumping upwards like a basketball would.
This no-bounce behaviour, combined with the sturdy material and filling, softens the impact and makes for a strong piece of equipment that can literally take a pounding over and over again.
The slam ball is ideal for overhead slams, chest passes, lateral throws or squat throws to name a few.
Overall, this durable, heavy duty and no bounce weighted ball is an ideal for explosive and high impact training. These powerful moves can help you build muscular endurance, explosiveness and core stability.
And it can also be used for less explosive and lower impact medicine ball exercises. Accidental drops are no problem for this fitness ball and make it a great choice to start experimenting with weighted fitness ball exercises.
Slam balls come in a wide variety of weight increments. Starting from 5 lbs all the way up to 50 lbs and even more. This is ideal when you want to progressive overload and take your training to the next level.
The wall ball
Or traditional medicine ball, is typically the largest of the weighted medicine ball types. Fitness professionals will sometimes classify the wall ball under medicine ball, but in my opinion it’s specific enough and deserves to be its own type.
Depending on the brand the diameter can vary. To get a rough visual idea, your standard wall ball sits between a 1/4 to 2/3 size compared to your average Swiss ball. They are often made from softer, smoother patched materials like artificial or real leather, vinyl, nylon, rubber or plastic to name a view. The smoother surface can get more slippery and harder to control when your hands or arms get sweaty during an exercises
Although weighted, they are nothing like the hard shelled slam ball. They are softer on the touch and the lighter weight increments might even have a little bounce. A wall ball can take a punch, but will certainly not last when dropped or smashed into a hard surface. They are less sturdy and when used wrong will tear and break faster.
The wall ball is best used to do lateral wall tosses, balance exercises, partner passing training and throws. The softer and smoother outer shell makes for a great tool for partner training. More specifically for partner passing training like sit ups, throws or standing twists. Exercises with this type of weighted ball are especially beneficial for improving balance, flexibility, coordination and overall athletic performance.
Wall balls can be found in a variety of weighted increments. Starting from 4 lbs to 30 lbs. The heavier wall ball types are more durable and could withstand abuse and drops a bit longer. But, as mentioned before, the general design of the wall ball is not suited to endure hard repeated impacts.
The medicine ball
Sometimes also referred to as exercise ball, med ball, MBs, fitness ball or gym ball. The medicine ball truly has a lot of different faces and comes in many designs, shapes and colours. The size is very comparable with that of the slam ball, and hovers between a full size soccer and basketball.
The material of choice for many med balls is leather, rubber, vinyl, polyesters or plastic. The hard shell can be smooth or have texture for easy grip. On the inside the ball is filled with sand, plastic pebbles or other heavy material to get the desired weight increments. Some MB’s are designed with indents or handles for easy grip and handling.
Although the medicine ball feels sturdy, it is not designed to be smashed against a hard surface. It’s strong enough for an accidental drop, but repeated abuse will certainly tear and break your material.
Medicine balls are best used in more static exercises and are a great substitute for traditional weights like dumbbells or kettlebells. Next time try grabbing one when you think of doing Rolling push ups, V-ups or med ball planks.
As the other types, med balls can be found in a wide range of weight increments. The most common weights start from 5 lbs and go all the way up to 30 lbs.
Atlas Stone
Unless you are visiting cross fit or strong man/woman type gym you most likely will not see this type of specific equipment around. But since this is a total overview of all types of medicine ball, I would do you a disservice not mentioning them.
Stone lifting is very much an athletic endeavour and measure of strength. Hauling a heavy Atlas stone requires technique, taxes your back, core and lower body. It is probably not something you should start with as a beginner but if you so desire it can be a great goal to work towards too.
Atlas stones are a type of heavy, round weight that originated in Scotland. They were traditionally used as part of strongman competitions, where competitors had to lift and carry them for distance or height. Weighted Barrels, large filled car tires, large boulders or hunks of concrete have been used in these competitions to test athlete endurance and strength.
If you would venture in this direction, there is no doubt that hoisting heavy weights like atlas stone, with proper technique and training, builds tremendous athletic poser and strength. It will strengthen your core and spine. And, because you have to use all muscle groups in your body improves your overall body strength
You can find heavy 100 lbs, 125 lbs or 150 lbs slam balls, Hard rubber shell atlas stones ranging from 75 lbs, 100 lbs, 150 lbs and 200 lbs. And even solid concrete made ones.
As a beginner, without proper training and follow up this is not the place to start. But it could be an inspiration to work towards.
Swiss ball and Bosu ball
To be absolutely correct we have the Swiss ball and the Bosu ball (actually not really a ball, more of a half ball kinda contraption) They are not weighted and are generally used for stability and engaging more muscles (mostly core).
The Swiss ball
Also known as the pilates ball, yoga ball, gymnastic ball or stability ball is a large inflated ball. Mostly made of Heavy plastic or rubber. To keep stable during your exercise when sitting or laying on the ball you will automatically engage more muscles. This is great if you want to concentrate on working on your core.
The Swiss ball sometimes can be found as a chair replacement in the workplace. And is an excellent tool to promote good posture and engage your core. Before replacing your chair entirely, it’s always a good idea to consult a medical doctor or talk to a physical therapist. They will be more than capable to assess your situation and come up with a plan.
The Bosu ball
Created by Devid Weck, BOSU is currently a brand name and was originally derived from the acronym “Both Sides Up” in the early 2000’s. It’s also referred to in the fitness community as “Both Sides Utilised”. Meaning that both sides (either the dome or the platform) can be used creating a different stability challenge.
The Bosu Ball is very similar to the Swiss ball. The same rubber or durable plastic shell, except cut in half. Partly inflated, the semi circular top might also be filled with a gel-like substance and fit on a flat, hard plastic circular bottom. Outside of the actual BOSU brand you can find all kinds of variations for this popular fitness product.
Different types summary
I’m convinced that you can always find variations, or different brand names and types. But the above should cover about 95% of the fitness balls you are going to encounter in your standard gym and fitness shops.
Now that you understand the different types,
What is a medicine ball used for?
If you do even a little bit of research, you will get an assortment of different medicine ball exercises and exercise movements to choose from. With all the information available, it seems obvious that adding medicine ball exercises in your workout routines is a great and effective way to involve all muscle groups in a compound exercise. Or isolate and train more specific areas.
For example:
You can use twists to improve core strength (abdominal and obliques).
Incorporating seated or standing throws can be very useful to improve upper-body strength (Arms, chest and shoulders).
And the ‘good-old’ overhead balm slam and variations for the lower-body.
And when you are getting used to the weight and looking to up your game, you have the option to increase the size and weight of your medicine ball. This progressive overloading can help you to not only add more resistance, but also create more challenging and fun workouts.
Overall medicine balls are just a great way for improving balance, flexibility, coordination and increasing strength and power. Making this a very well rounded piece of equipment.
Awesome. You know what type of ball to use, and what kind of exercises to use them in.
Next piece of the puzzle is
What is the best medicine ball weight?
Choosing the right size and weight for your workout needs is essential for getting the most out of your medicine ball training sessions. The heavier and larger balls will offer more resistance during exercises and help build strength faster, while lighter balls are better suited for beginners or those who are looking to master techniques without putting too much strain on their muscles or joints.
When selecting a medicine ball, it’s important to consider the type of exercise you plan on using it for, as well as your own personal strength level. For example, if you plan to use the ball for explosive exercises like slams or throws, then you’ll likely want a heavier ball to help create more power and resistance throughout the movement. On the other hand, if you’re looking to do more toning-based workouts, then a lighter ball will be best suited for helping you maintain control over your movements while still offering enough resistance to tone and strengthen the target muscle groups.
It’s also important to note that some exercises are simply not possible with certain sized balls due to their shape or construction. For instance, large weighted balls can make overhead drills like squats difficult due to their size and weight, whereas smaller ones may be able to fit comfortably between your hands without causing any strain. Additionally, some exercises may require a specific sized ball in order to achieve maximum results – such as core twists which involve rotating around a central point – so it helps to know ahead of time what size you should be looking for when shopping for one!
Finally, when choosing a medicine ball size and weight it’s important that you find something that works best for your individual fitness goals and skill level. What might work perfectly fine for someone else may not necessarily translate into success or progress when used by yourself! You need something that challenges but doesn’t overwhelm – so take some time to test out different weights before committing fully!
Conclusion
I hope you are getting excited about the many possibilities. Before you run out and get this fun and versatile fitness equipment, It is essential to recognize the differences between the types of equipment.
As you’ve noticed in this article, weighted fitness balls have similar properties. But depending on your goal and exercise type, you will be using a specific one. The last thing you want to do is mistakenly select one that can get damaged while doing a specific exercise.
The durability of the medicine ball should match the intensity of your workouts. This is not only to protect the equipment from getting damaged, but also to make sure you stay safe. And last but not least, get lots of mileage out of your gear.
Now that you have all this information, I’m convinced that it will help you make the right choice and you never have to worry about damaging your (or someone else) equipment.
Continue your fitness adventure
Let’s look at some great options to start working out with your preferred type of weighted medicine ball.
5 Weighted Exercises to Improve your Cardiovascular Endurance and Muscular Strength together!