Medicine Balls

Medicine balls bring a different kind of strength training into your home gym. Instead of keeping every movement slow and controlled, a weighted medicine ball can help you train power, coordination, core strength, and full-body movement with exercises that get more than one muscle group working at a time.

Use medicine balls for wall balls, throws, rotational movements, squats, lunges, carries, core exercises, and more. They’re easy to work into strength workouts, conditioning sessions, circuits, and athletic training, giving you another way to build variety into your routine without adding a large piece of equipment to your gym.

The right medicine ball weight depends on the exercise and what you want to get out of your training. Lighter medicine balls are a great fit for faster, more explosive movements, higher-rep workouts, and exercises where maintaining speed and control matters. Heavier options add more resistance for strength-focused movements, carries, squats, and other exercises where you want to slow things down and challenge your muscles.

You don’t necessarily need the heaviest medicine ball you can handle. Choose a weight that lets you move with control and maintain good form throughout the exercise. As your strength and conditioning improve, adding multiple medicine ball weights can give you the flexibility to choose the right resistance for different movements and workouts.

Medicine balls and slam balls can both add weighted, dynamic movements to your workouts, but they’re designed for different types of training. Medicine balls are a versatile option for throws, wall balls, rotational exercises, core work, and partner drills, making them a great addition for strength, conditioning, and athletic training.

Slam balls are specifically built to handle repeated high-impact slams into the ground. If your workouts include aggressive overhead slams and other movements where the ball repeatedly hits the floor with force, reach for a slam ball instead. If you want a weighted ball for wall throws, controlled exercises, and a wider variety of movements, a medicine ball is likely the better fit.

Choose the ball built for the work, then get moving.