Medicine balls are a great utility fitness tool. They can help you improve so many fitness aspects, and can be used just about anywhere. They come in the traditional leather bound form which are ideal for ballistic exercises, and water filled with rubber surfaces which are easy to grip, even with one hand. They also come in weights ranging from .5 kg to 10 kg so you can vary resistance to suit your needs. Because the water filled balls bounce and can be tossed around, they are great for random movement exercises instead of the fixed ones that come with barbell, dumbbell and machine workouts. There is virtually no other equipment in the home gym that can provide the versatility of the medicine ball.
You can add variety to your routine because of the limitless kinds of exercises you can do with them. You can toss them, bounce them, roll them, and do many traditional free weight exercises with them. With all the variety they provide, it is hard to get bored with their use and people of all fitness levels from beginner to athlete can use them.
Some good reasons for making the medicine ball part of your workout routine are:
Firstly, they enable simple exercises that improve your core strength – the muscles around your abdomen and lower back – which in turn give you more power, coordination and control in virtually any other activity, from running to golf.
Secondly, you can use them to approximate the movements of many of those activities, improving strength and endurance; examples might be golf, basketball, and even painting the ceiling. Frankly, most everyday physical activity can be better performed, the medicine ball’s usefulness is so great – even climbing stairs and carrying luggage – because training with them is dynamic, involving many parts of the body and the blending of the skills of balance, accuracy, strength, flexibility and coordination.
Medicine balls also improve natural balance and movement, improving the coordination of the whole body, and with the right exercises, improve flexibility. Finally, the flowing, integrated movements not only build strength and integration, but they help prevent injury and improve recovery after injury.
Using the medicine ball is a great way to add a little something different to your usual exercise routine and at the same time have some fun. You can do things with it that you most likely could not do with the traditional equipment you've been using.
