Who would have imagined that medicine balls would have come back into fashion? Surprisingly, this old staple of school gym sessions may be a valuable training aid after all.
It's funny how the old favorites can come back around. Medicine balls, for years relegated to sweaty boxing gyms and old storage cupboards, have made a dramatic comeback.
So who is now using medicine balls? Just about everyone, from bodybuilders to golfers, pro athletes to weekend warriors. Sports including baseball, basketball, football, tennis, and hockey have turned to medicine ball training to improve their athletes' performance.
The benefits:
Medicine ball training has several benefits, including:
- Building core muscles: the abs, obliques, and lower back, which together make up your core, are vital for all sports. Because all arm and leg movements originate from here, a strong core is essential whether you throw a ball, swing a bat, kick or jump.
- Preparing your body for realistic motions: Medicine ball training allows you to perform explosive and ballistic movements through a variety of planes of movement. Medicine ball training includes a variety of throwing, swinging, and rotational movements, each of which is a realistic simulation of the movements athletes perform during competition.
- Medicine ball training is one of the most effective ways to strengthen the supporting musculature around your joints: The weak point for most athletes is their joints - ankles, knees, shoulder, elbow. By strengthening musculature around these joints, medicine ball training helps to build the joint integrity crucial for all athletes.
