Weight balls are also known as medical balls, and they are something that always gets neglected at the gym. You will find them laying around idly as most people that go to gyms almost never use them. But the actual reason for it is not many people know their benefits or even how to use them. Weight balls or medicine balls are really effective tools to improve one’s fitness, even though they remain unused for most of the time in gyms during fitness sessions.

Weight balls are particularly good for highly explosive moves like slamming down on the floor or being thrown against the walls. Exercising with weight balls is an exceptional way of turning up the heat on any other traditional exercises for strength training. And you can even conduct exercises where the ball won’t even have to leave your hands. While there are numerous exercises you can take part in, exercises with weight balls can be something different and highly effective for you to try. Exercising with weight balls comes with numerous benefits, and you can conduct these exercises very easily too.

How Using Weight Balls for Exercises Can Help

Training or exercises with weight balls challenge a person’s stability and core strength and also work on the person’s muscle strength of the entire body. Also, chucking a weight ball can strengthen a person’s joints, especially the shoulder joints that are really prone to injuries.

 

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research published a study on some handball players, where six weeks of weight ball throwing was added with those players’ regular training sessions. This enhanced the isokinetic strength around their rotator cuff muscles and also improved their throwing velocity. The players from the study also benefited by including resistance training along with their throws, as they got upgraded bench-rep scores and upper-body hypertrophy. 

 

The weight of a weight ball can be used traditionally to increase the intensity of strengthening exercises. For instance, you can hold a weight ball at your chest the same way you would hold a dumbbell and then do a squat.

 

One of the best things about weight ball exercises is that you will be able to put the weight ball in motion with almost any exercise to add weight and double simultaneously as a core blasting exercise. And you can do that as you can grip these balls anywhere. You can also hold the medicine ball away from your chest with straight arms, and then move it left and right as you do squats. 

 

You’ll be able to grow balance, explosive power, and force by throwing weight balls, or following through with the balls and then releasing them at the end of the range of your motion like people do during medicine ball slams. And growing these is not much achievable through using kettlebells or dumbbells. 

 

The best thing about exercising with weight balls is that they’re perfect for all fitness levels. And you can do those exercises with or without having a fitness trainer. They can be used in numerous different ways, which makes them great equipment for home workouts. For performing various exercises with a weight ball, all you need is a ball and some space. 

 

The Proper Weight for A Weight Ball

Whenever you are going to perform exercises with a weight ball or medicine ball, make sure to pick the right weight for you. Weight balls can be of various weights, and based on your ability and need, you need to choose the right weight for yourself. Even though there isn’t a strict rule about picking an appropriate weight, the general advice to follow in selecting a weight ball is to pick a weight that you can lift up above your head comfortably and then put the ball down again ten times in a row without stopping. You have to do that in controlled reps.

 

Your arms will get fatigued after you finish doing the 10 reps with your weight ball, and that’s normal. It is needed to see if you can finish doing the up and down exercise in controlled reps 10 times comfortably or not. And if it feels too easy for you, then you can try with a slightly heavier weight ball to see if that works better for you. 

 

Varieties of Weight Balls

There are different types of weight balls based on looks, sizes, and purposes. Each type of weight ball is created for a specific purpose. You already know how to choose the right weight for you, now let’s have a look at what type of weight ball to get based on your specific need-

Slam Balls

These balls are designed for throwing exercises or partner passing exercises, such as partner chest passes, or medicine slam balls. They are covered by a rubbery and thick shell to soften the impact of the slamming. 

Wall Balls

They are used for throwing movements and they should be thrown only at walls. These balls are usually covered in leather with thick and double stitching on one side of them. They are used for achieving explosive power. 

Medicine Balls

Even though weight balls are largely known as medicine balls, medicine balls are a specific type of weight ball that is covered in either vinyl, or leather, or rubber material. These balls shouldn’t be slammed as they are hollow at times, and can break open or bounce back when slammed. Their size depends on their weight. The heavier their weight, the larger their sizes are. 

 

Final Words

There are numerous types of intriguing exercises one can try with weight balls, and these exercises can help a person a lot with gaining proper fitness and balance. So, make sure to incorporate exercises with weight balls in your exercise routine, as they are really easy to perform, and you can get huge benefits from them.