Medicine Ball Training for Sport

Timing and synchronization of movement is essential in the early stages of athletic and sports development. The more confident and stable the athlete feels in these athletic patterns, the greater the chance of success on the field. But before we can add even the lightest resistance, our athletes must be able to control their own body. Failing to correct these flaws in multi-planar, movement patterns can lead to slower, less efficient movement, or even worse, it could lead to injury. By keeping an eye on the movement patterns and movement synchronization, we can better prepare the body for the demands of the particular sport.

Here is a look at the Table of Contents for the eBook Medicine Ball Training for Sport:

1: Warm Up:

• Relax the muscles that, due to tightness are effecting movement
• Increase core temperature, heart rate and joint/muscle readiness
• Increase body control and awareness
• Incorporate rhythmic, specific movements to prepare the body for activity

2. Agility Prep:

• Part 1: Agility Prep
• Part 2: Rhythmic Synchronization and Transition
• Part 3: Singles and Doubles

3.  Plyometric Prep:

• Part 1: Dynamic Movement
• Part 2: Jumping and Landing
• Part 3: Jump Turns, Linear and Lateral Movement
• Part 4: Elasticity and Depth Jumping

4.  Conditioning/Core Strength:

• Part 1: Anti-Flexion, Anti-Extension & Anti-Rotation
• Part 2: Thoracic Rotation & Chopping
• Part 3: Sagital Plane Throwing, Pressing

We start by introducing medicine balls in the warm up routine to build stability through dynamic movement. The focus on these warm up exercises will never be for speed, but more for balance, rhythm, timing and control. This is a great way to warm up for other phases of training and ease into coordination and confidence with the medicine ball.

As we progress, we will begin to add medicine balls into the warm ups for our agility and plyometric programs. This can be very beneficial as it allows the player to warm up at a slower speed where they can focus on getting into good positions. It can also allow them to produce great amounts of force when used in such a way to get a post-activation response (train movements with a load, then remove the load to generate more speed and therefore more power in an “activated” state).

We finish by putting in plyometric, core and conditioning drills that can be done with med balls once the movement patterns have been mastered. Some of these conditioning programs work great for adding muscle endurance, stability or simply just to refine various movements through much repetition in a general preparation phase. I hope you enjoy this overview to medicine ball training, and begin noticing great results in your training programs as we have seen over the past 10 years!