A great way to workout and potentially get some of that built up anger out.
Many of us tend to find working out relaxing. Even if we’re lifting huge weight and working on our physique with a strict routine, there’s something comforting about the progress, knowing that we are putting everything we have into our workouts to really maximize what we’re trying to do. But sometimes we need that exercise that will allow us to go nuts, giving us an excuse to get some of that pent up anger out from a grueling day. Enter slam balls. The benefit of slam balls is that you can really work to get the most out of a workout while also unleashing whatever is boiling inside.
Slam balls can be a serious addition to your home gym equipment needs and can be used as supplemental lifting tool for other exercises as well. For the most part, it can add some weight or another step to a workout to make it a bit more challenging, but what you’ll find is it will really work to develop more coordination and potential mind-muscle connection. For something like the med ball slams, slam balls simply offer you a tool to take whatever frustration may be inside out on that ball.
Let’s take a look at slam balls and see what these are all about. We’ll talk what they are, muscles worked for multiple exercises, and the benefits of what these can do. The med ball slam exercise is a great one to try so we’ll explain how to do that and share some other great slam ball exercises as well so you can really work to boost your workouts with some power and intensity.
What Are Slam Balls?
Slam balls are a certain type of medicine ball that are more weighted than most as a way to provide increased resistance to assist your workouts. With slam balls, you can work to enhance your explosive power, boost intensity, improve strength, and get a great workout in using one piece of equipment. These balls are built to withstand all sorts of training and conditions since they repeatedly take a beating throughout all workouts. Great for explosivity and intensity, those looking to get a fierce workout should look no further (1).
Muscles Worked
Since slam balls can be used for a variety of exercises, many muscle groups get good work done. Since we are focusing on the med ball slams as our featured exercise in the How-To section, let’s take a look at what muscles are worked during this exercise.
A full body workout, you will see your upper and lower body get some action with med ball slams. Your hamstrings, glutes, and quads will be of great use as you look to stay grounded and balanced during this exercise. For upper body muscles, everything from your low back, biceps, triceps, shoulders, and lats will feel a burn. And of course, your core will also get some good work done.
Benefits Of Slam Balls
Slam balls can benefit you in terms of strength and cardio and will really give you that desired boost when it comes to explosivity and power that we want and need.
- Increase strength: Work many muscles with a variety of exercises to really give you a boost in terms of strength (2).
- More explosivity: Look to be a more powerful athlete by giving yourself a chance at being more explosive. This will help with sport specific movements or just to give you a better workout (3).
- Many different exercises: Slam balls can be used for many different exercises to offer variety into your routine to change up how you work your muscles but to also keep your routine fun.
- Simple to use: Slam balls are simple to use and the exercises are easy to learn.
How To Perform A Med Ball Slam Exercise
We wanted to share a great slam ball exercise in the med ball slam to give you a solid option to boost power and explosivity in your workouts.
Begin with your feet around shoulder width apart and hold the slam ball at about chest level. With a slight bend in your knee, raise the ball overhead. As you work to slam the ball down, keep your core engaged and feet firmly planted as you work to really give that ball some momentum on the way down. Watch out for the ball after it hits the ground and repeat for your desired number of reps.
Other Slam Ball Exercises
It would be silly of us to not include some other great slam ball exercises to really give you a chance to round out a stellar slam ball workout.
Side Toss
This exercise will work to test balance, as well as power, for you will be facing the wall from the side. As you slam the ball against the wall, the rotation of your abs is vital and this will work to give you that ab workout to really test your obliques.
Slam Ball Burpee
This is a great combination of the med ball slam and a burpee, two exercises that really test your explosive power. Start by performing the med ball slam and jump right into the burpee exercise, using the ball as a point of contact for your hands instead of the floor.
Russian Twist
While this one may not be as explosive, we wanted to share a good ab exercise to help get that shredded aesthetic. A Russian twist is a great oblique exercise and adding the slam ball as a supplemental tool gives you the added challenge of weight as you seek to build that desired muscle growth.
Wrap Up
Slam balls are great tools to use when looking to capitalize on all areas of power and explosivity. With the ability to use multiple muscles at once and something that can be used with a variety of exercises, it is wise to look into investing in a slam ball, especially for your home gym. For those looking to get more power out of their workouts, don’t be afraid to really lay into a slam ball. That’s what they’re designed for after all.
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*Images courtesy of Envato
References
- Earp, Jacob M.; Kraemer, William J. (2010). “Medicine Ball Training Implications for Rotational Power Sports”. (source)
- Ignjatovic, Aleksandar M.; Markovic, Zivorad M.; Radovanovic, Dragan S. (2012). “Effects of 12-Week Medicine Ball Training on Muscle Strength and Power in Young Female Handball Players”. (source)
- Stockbrugger, Barry; Haennel, Robert G. (2001). “Validity and Reliability of a Medicine Ball Explosive Power Test”. (source)
