Are you getting a bit bored of dumbbell workouts? Medicine or slam balls are an excellent training tool, particularly for anyone looking to increase balance, core strength and stability.
I’m halfway through a 30-day wall ball challenge and I’ve been looking for different exercises to try with my medicine balls so this workout by trainer Raymil Samuel, which he did with a friend, was a great discovery.
Samuel recommends doing each exercise four times for a 20-minute workout, but this is quite challenging, especially for beginners, so you could aim to do each move for 30 seconds, building up to one minute, for four rounds.
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My experience doing this workout
I didn’t have a gym buddy to hand so I did the moves on my own, using a wall to do the crab walk throw. Here’s what happened.
My core strength and stability increased
The workout may have been titled leg day but it was also very challenging for my core! The iso hold duck walk in particular felt like my abs were braced within an inch of their lives because you have to hold the medicine ball out in front of you while walking forward in a low squat. It was difficult, but it felt really good and I could tell it targeted multiple muscle groups, which is always a time-effective way to train.
My balance was challenged and my co-ordination improved
Because medicine balls are round they are harder to hold onto than dumbbells, which adds an extra challenge to your balance and coordination.
I really had to focus hard during the walking pulse lunge and twist to not wobble and topple over, which put my core muscles to work and forced me to be better coordinated.
It’s a great full-body workout
We all know squats are a great lower-body workout but throw a heavy medicine ball in and a pulse, and your quads and glutes will be screaming (in a good way!).
Not only was the squat pulse and step forward a great exercise, it challenged the whole body because you have the added load of holding the ball out in front of you.
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