Medicine balls go back 3,000 years to ancient Persia. Persian soldiers used medicine balls to help train for strength & endurance.
The ancient Greek physician & philosopher, Hippocrates used them for rehabilitation and conditioning which is how the ball came to be called term "medicine ball." However, the term “medicine ball” wasn’t added to the dictionary until 1895.
Wildly popular in the 1920s (you’ve seen those old films too) doctors recommended medicine ball exercises for patients looking to improve overall fitness & accelerate convalescence.
Thereafter, many athletes especially began using the balls in workouts meant to increase strength. Medicine ball routines were especially popular with wrestlers & boxers.
Wrestlers & boxers understood that medicine ball exercises helped increase “functional” performance. That is they helped you improve at doing things, tasks.
What is a medicine ball?
Medicine balls in the past were made much differently than they are now. Ancients used natural skins & various stuffers to make what we call a medicine ball.
Current medicine balls are made of leather or nylon & filled with enough material to lend them a weight of between 2 - 25 pounds.
It is the weight of the ball that allow users to reap specific health benefits. A good weight for average users varies between 4 - 10 pounds.
Benefits of exercises with medicine balls
There are many benefits to exercising with medicine balls that are difficult to achieve with other workouts.
* Ditch the jumping jacks every once in awhile & do a medicine ball routine for a great warm-up activity.
* Medicine ball training targets your core. It really works the abs & back. Having strong, supple ab & back muscles increase performance in many activities but it also helps avert injury. Persons who practice yoga also maintain that working the abs & back with motions that are fluid also improve the tone & function of internal organs.
* Medicine ball training is one of the best ways to strengthen the muscles around your key joints, critical areas involving the shoulder, elbow, knee and ankle areas. Many aerobic & strengthening workouts do not involve those areas. This too can help to avert injury & possibly arthritic conditions.
* Medicine ball fitness can include cardiovascular training. Movements would have to be fairly repetitive & last for at least 20 minutes. Of course you could easily modify your medicine ball exercise to do an interval routine that is also good cardiovascular training.
* Exercises with medicine balls are good for developing upper and lower body fitness. Add the core also & you have a piece of equipment that could exercise the entire body including the innards!
* Medicine ball routines blend physical skills, like strength, coordination, balance, accuracy, and flexibility.
* Medicine balls prepare your body for realistic motions. This is essentially what is meant by functional fitness. They are the kinds of movements that you might do in real life situations.
* Medicine ball training is good for rehab (check with your doctor or therapist first). There are many exercises that could be adapted for back & arthritis sufferers & for getting back into shape after some injury.
* Medicine ball exercises are good for all ages, fitness levels, sizes. You can have a fitness ball exercise class that includes all family members.
* Variety! There are limitless kinds of exercises you can do with them. Hey, I like exercise but give me some variety so I don’t get bored & burn out.
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