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The Complete Guide to Finding your Ideal Wall Ball and Wall Ball weight!
You want to start working out with a wall ball, but you don’t know what weight is best for your fitness level?
What if you choose the wrong size and it’s too heavy and you end up hurting yourself? What if it’s too light and you don’t get enough of a challenge?
What if it’s not made of the right material or shape for the exercises you’re doing? What if you spend too much money on an unnecessarily heavy wall ball?
Don’t worry! I’ve got all the answers here.
From understanding different weights and materials to learning which exercises work best with a wall ball. Plus, why some movements just won’t work with this type of weighted medicine ball.
I’ll provide helpful tips on quality and price point so you can make sure your investment lasts a long time!
I have gathered all the information you need to make an informed decision about which wall ball will best suit your needs. I’m sure you are excited and ready to dive in and learn more!
Before I do that I want to be mindful.
For all of you in a hurry, and just want to make sure you are in the right place here is a quick overview
the 5 things you should keep in mind:
- How heavy are wall balls – find out more
- What is a wall ball designed for – find out more
- What not to do with a wall ball – find out more
- What is a wall ball made off – find out more
- What is the best weight for a wall ball – find out more
If you are ready, let’s get started on this journey together and find out how to choose the right weight wall ball for your fitness goals!
In This Blog Post
- How heavy are wall balls?
- What is a wall ball?
- What is a wall ball used for?
- What not to do with your wall ball
- Common issues when not using the wall ball correctly
- What is a wall ball made off?
- What is the difference between wall ball weight and wall ball seize?
- What is the best weight for a wall ball?
- What weight wall ball should I use?
- Conclusion
- A Final and Important Disclaimer
- Continuing your fitness journey
How heavy are wall balls?
Most brands offering the wall ball have weight increments between 4 lbs to 40 lbs or if you are used to the metric system between 2 kg to 18 kg.
If you have spent any time in the gym throwing heavy weights around, these weight increments might sound very average. This might be slightly deceiving.
Before you think you can handle the wall ball let’s start with the obvious,
What is a wall ball?
A wall ball is a type of weighted medicine ball that is typically used in rehabilitation, sports training, and physical fitness. They can be used for a wide range of exercises. But more about that a bit later.
That said, there are different types of medicine balls, with different properties. And although the name medicine ball is used interchangeably for all of them, each of the types is designed for different exercises and even sports disciplines.
Using the wrong med ball type for an exercise or discipline will most definitely damage the equipment.
This type of weighted ball is the bigger one of all types. A standard-size wall ball has a larger diameter of 13-14 inches (33-35.5 cm).
This brings us to the next point,
What is a wall ball used for?
It seems very obvious but It’s essential to get to know what a specific piece of equipment is used for.
It gives you the necessary knowledge and confidence to add it to your workout routines. It will allow you to improve on certain aspects of your overall health adventure. Or give you a chance to change exercises and get some new fitness challenges you can work on.
So what is our wall ball used for?
Well, in a nutshell, a wall ball is a weighted medicine ball specifically designed for explosive power development and coordination training. It can be used for single high-speed, powerful throws such as side throws, overhead throws and crunch throws for power development. And when used with a target, partner, or wall for timed throwing, it is great to up your cardiovascular and coordination training
Although relatively lightweight, wall balls offer greater air resistance due to their larger 14-inch diameter. Thus, throwing faster and more powerfully requires you to put in the extra effort!
That is the reason these weighted medicine balls outgrow their counterparts substantially. The heavier this baby gets, the more effort it will take you to throw it smoothly and elegantly around.
What not to do with your wall ball
Although the wall ball is designed to withstand wall and target throwing it is not designed to do ground slams. Most manufacturers will void the warranty when a wall ball is exposed to this kind of aggressive and high-impact slamming.
The soft and light, bouncy design of the wall ball is not meant to do hard slams. Not only do you risk the ball bouncing back unexpectedly and causing harm or injury when you can not catch it back properly, your material will also break down.
If you want to perform more high-intensity and aggressive slams, grab a slam ball and go to town
With lighter wall balls you also want to be careful to put your full weight on it by sitting or leaning. Although designed to hold shape, always be mindful of how you put the ball to use.
If you are looking to stretch and relax, a Swiss ball will be better suited.
Common issues when not using the wall ball correctly
Not maintaining shape.
Any deformation in the ball will compromise the ability of your wall ball to be thrown in a straight and smooth path and will make your exercise harder.
Unstable or loose weight
The weighted core that makes up your wall ball can come loose and move around in the ball. This will make the ball unevenly balanced and will make it hard to create a smooth motion path.
Breaking of coated shell
The coated shell is a thin veneer layer of your wall ball. It is designed to withstand moisture, and scuffing and provide a solid grip. Breaking down the shell will make it less comfortable to use the ball. The exposed base shell material will no longer be moisture and scuff resistant, which can lead to faster break down too.
Stitching and splitting
As mentioned before using the ball to aggressively slam on the ground or any other surface will cause breaking. Depending on how much stitching was used to manufacture the ball (more about that later) will compromise the integrity of your equipment faster
To understand things even better, let’s explore the anatomy of a wall ball a bit further in the next section
What is a wall ball made off?
If this question has ever crossed your mind, then this next section is not something you want to skip. Knowing what kind of materials are used will give you a better understanding of the quality and durability you expect from your gear.
It will also show you that a certain brand of wall ball has a larger price tag. Materials, quality, and manufacturing all play crucial roles.
Let’s dive in,
Wall ball Outside Shell
The Standard wall ball has a soft outer shell that ensures a comfortable user experience when throwing and catching it.
The wall ball outer coated shell is typically (but not exclusively) made of vinyl, synthetic leather, poly-composite laminate, or polyurethane (PU) leather stitched together patches. There are brands that reinforce patches with other materials like kevlar for extra durability for example.
Although you can find natural leather wall balls, synthetic leather is a fantastic vegan alternative to real leather and boasts numerous advantages. It’s water-resistant, easier to clean, more affordable, and can be created in a variety of colors with much less difficulty than genuine leather.
The shell can have a slight texture to improve grip, but overall, all these materials will likely feel very similar when in use.
Wall ball patch Threading
Nylon threading is used to stitch the individual patches of the ball together and form the outer shell. Cheaper balls will have a single layer of stitches, and higher-quality ones will have double and even additional stitching on top.
If you are using higher weights it’s worth considering double stitching for durability.
Wall ball Inside
The inside of the wall ball is typically made of polypropylene (PP) cotton or fiber lining. This synthetic material is known to be durable, strong, light, and maintain its shape. Depending on the design and quality of construction, these properties are perfect to make sure the wall ball keeps its shape after tough and high-intensity workouts. It also keeps the core tightly packed, balanced, and in place. While maintaining its typical soft and squishy to-the-touch properties.
Wall Ball Weighted core
The weighted core of the ball is achieved with rubber granules (repurposed rubber material, grounded up into a fine texture) or iron sand (a natural type of dark gray or black sand with heavy concentrations of iron).
Depending on the brand and product manufacturer, the materials and design can vary of course.
Before going further let’s clear up another thing
What’s the difference between wall ball weight and wall ball size?
Again this seems somewhat logical, but I did notice that these terms are also used interchangeably. To avoid confusion and get crystal clear, let’s just quickly review what they refer to.
A wall ball uses 2 different variables to make it more challenging to use.
Wall ball size
This points to the diameter of the ball. The larger the diameter, the more air resistance you will have to throw the ball around. Different brands have different diameters available. The more commonly found one is a 14-inch (35.5 cm) diameter, also referred to as a standard-size wall ball.
You can find a 10-inch (25.5 cm) diameter. This smaller size ball can be handy to get the younger fitness enthusiasts among us started.
Wall ball weight
This is the next dial that can be adjusted to create resistance. This is the overall weight of the ball.
Like dumbbells, every wall ball comes with a specific weighted core. Moving up in weight means grabbing or buying a different ball.
Depending on the brand you will see 2 lbs weight increments or 5 lbs weight increments. Be sure to pick a brand that has enough range for you to move up when your strength and power grow over time.
Now that you know more about the wall ball, it’s time to address the elephant in the room.
What is the best weight for a wall ball?
This is going to sound like a total cop-out answer, but unfortunately, without proper context, it’s pretty hard to guess what the best weight is.
Don’t worry, I will get a bit more specific later. For now, let’s start here.
For your standard 14-inch wall ball, going heavier isn’t always the right choice. As explained earlier, the size of the wall ball creates more air resistance and gives you a challenge already.
As mentioned above, this type of weighted ball is mostly used to train explosive and more power movements. Meaning you are moving the weight at a high velocity. To make sure that happens as efficiently, you want to do this in a smooth motion. Going too heavy will compromise your ability to perform the exercise smoothly.
That said, the wall ball can be used for a great deal more than power training. How can you determine what wall ball weight will be best for those situations?
To get a good idea of where to start, keep these 2 main factors in mind.
First, you need to consider what type of exercise or movement you will be using it for. Wall bouncing or throwing will be a different motion and more demanding on your equipment than overhead squats or med ball sit-ups for example.
Second, you need to be honest and aware of where you are in your fitness adventure. Are you starting, or do you have some experience in the gym and with fitness equipment? Have you ever had the pleasure of working with a wall ball, or is this new gear?
I understand this seems plain and obvious, believe me, this is no time to let your ego take over! Err on the lighter side and concentrate on executing your exercise well and smoothly rather than boasting about the weight you’re lifting.
It is always better to build up strength and over time move to higher weights. It will make your workouts way more enjoyable!
I promised I was going to go a bit more specific, so here are my best pointers
What weight wall ball should I use?
After reading this guide you are convinced and you want to dive in and get started training with the wall ball.
You have a good idea of what kind of exercises you are going to use to get stronger and faster with your workouts. And you are ready to build power and strength with this amazing and versatile fitness tool.
Here are a few suggestions when it comes to picking up your wall ball weight.
Wall ball weight for beginners
If you never used a wall ball before, and you are a healthy male, I would suggest you start with 8 lbs or 10 lbs standard wall ball.
For healthy female fitness beginners, start with the 4 lbs or 6 lbs standard wall ball.
For children, the 2lbs and 3 lbs 10-inch wall balls are a great and safe way to start experimenting with weighted equipment
For elderly users and people with muscle restrictions 4 lbs or 6 lbs 14-inch standard wall balls are a great start to get moving.
if you have some weight training experience,
and you are an active healthy male, a 12 lbs standard wall ball is a good starting point to try out some dynamic wall ball exercises
for an active female, an 8 lbs standard wall ball will certainly provide a good challenge in your daily routine.
If you are thinking of building muscle and are a regular gym visitor
A male fitness enthusiast can grab a standard size 14 lbs or 16 lbs ball to break out some sweat. While a female could give a standard size 10 lbs a go and up your game
I mentioned it already, but it’s worth repeating.
Always focus on performing your exercises correctly and efficiently rather than worrying about the amount of weight you’re lifting. It’s wiser to gradually improve strength and eventually advance to heavier weights.
I’m sure this is the best way to make workouts more enjoyable in the process!
Conclusion
I think we can agree that there are a lot of things to take into account when looking for a wall ball. With all of the different materials, sizes, weights, and stitching techniques there is a lot of information to look at before making your final choice
I had so much fun doing a deep dive into all the different elements to know more about this versatile piece of equipment. I truly hope this in-depth post has helped make it easier for you to determine what to look for when you are hunting for a wall ball that will suit your needs.
That’s why I created this post for you. I’ve done all the research so you don’t have to. Whether you’re a beginner looking for an easy-to-use wall ball or a fitness enthusiast who wants to take your workout routine up a notch, there is a wall ball available that suits your needs.
My wish for you is that, with this ultimate wall ball buying guide, you’ll be confident of finding one that not only meets but exceeds all your expectations and requirements.
As always, I appreciate you for taking the time to read this article. The last thing I want for you is to get hurt. To make sure you fully understand,
A Final and important disclaimer
Homegymadventures.com articles are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment — nor should any information shared here be taken as such. Before taking any action related to your health, we strongly recommend consulting with a healthcare practitioner first. Here is our disclaimers page for more information.
Continuing your fitness journey
After reading this post, you can’t help but think that choosing a wall ball just turned into more work. If you want to do a half-decent job this can take hours. With all of the different options and opinions out there – how do you even begin to narrow down your choices? That’s why I created this post for you.
Or if you are excited and want to learn more about the other types of medicine balls available on the market.