Andrea Contents
The medical ball goes beyond fashion.
Often today we always go in search of sophisticated equipment and tools that are often only passing fashions but instead there are tools like today’s post that are timeless, maybe change for materials, color, but retain their essence.
I’m talking about the medical ball which is a simple and timeless tool that allows you to do a series of preparatory exercises for combat sports with minimal or even less expense if you read the post I made about how to make yourself a medical ball with a few euros.
The medical ball is a tool made of vinyl or leather and filled with sand, much used in physiotherapy for rehabilitation and in various sports(volleyball, football and rugby,for example) that you need for:
- strengthen the muscles,
- improve movements,
- Resistance
- strength and
- Speed.
The medical ball is built so as not to deflate and not to damage its launch;
The medical ball usually has a diameter of 35 cm or higher depends on the weight ranging from a weight greater than or equal to 1 kg to 15 kg.
Developed by Robert Jenkins Roberts Jr. in 1876, this tool has ancient origins: Hippocrates already used animal leather bags filled with sand about 2,000 years ago to help heal patients from injuries and the use of a similar object is attributed to them in Persia around 1705.
To keep U.S. President Herbet Hoover in shape, his personal physician Joel T. Boone invented
hooverball,
a sport very similar to volleyball that uses medical ball. The sport also unpopulated members of the then presidential cabinet, earning the name Medicine Ball Cabinet.
In addition to the classic medical balls, there are also special variants:
- medical ball with handles: very ergonomic and useful to make pectorals, abs and shoulders work;
- tornado balls: equipped with a central hole in which a rope is inserted, are used to improve the core in martial arts, tennis movements and shoulder rotation;
- slam ball: built of pvc and used in combat sports such as MMA;
- FluiBall: filled not with sand, but with a liquid for no more than 55% of the volume .
But now how to use it to be able to use it in combat sports effectively, I write you some exercises but this is not a complete list, since drills are and can be really a lot but they are the most useful ones if you do combat sports.
There are entire books and videos dedicated to the use of the medical ball but for those of you who just want some effective and simple exercises, this post is perfect for you.
Drills medical ball for striking
Drills 1
Everyone is in a circle, close together. Pass the medical ball in a circle, changing directions from time to time. When you pass the ball to your nearby training partner, it should not simply be in the “hand” of the person next to you, but you push it by hitting their abdomen. Aim for abs or obliques. The person to whom it is delivered should allow the ball to bump with the abdomen, then take the ball. So don’t catch the ball before it hits you! I repeat. DON’T CATCH THE BALL BEFORE IT HITS YOU!
Drills 2
Once again, in a circle, play At Harlem Globetrotters with the medicine ball. The circle is wider this time, and the fighters must always be a little further apart and have to pull the ball by throwing it into the air towards the companion, no longer directly into the abs of their training partners. In this exercise, if the medical ball is dropped, the whole group does 10 push-ups for each time the ball is dropped or only the one who drops it depends on how the catch decides.
Drills 3
Drop the medicine ball on the fighters’ abs in the middle of the abs and surroundings. And every time the fighter has to do a sit-up, and while he is in the lowered position, the partner drops ball on his stomach. Be careful not to drop the ball at the wrong time or on the sternum. It is also fine in an isometric position instead of during the sit-up. Then perform a V-Sit or Leg Raise and maintaining this position, hit the boxer on the abs and obliques with medicine ball. Be careful to do this though with beginners, start softly, then increase until you build more resistance and continue until you find your “threshold” point.
Drills 4
With the medical ball on the ground in front of you. Set the clock or boxing timer with 30-second intervals. Start giving the start with the clock jumping over the medicine ball in front and behind. Put your knees up to your chest! Keep this until the intervals timer sounds, then switch from side to side by jumping to the side. Again, jump with your knees up to your chest. In the next interval, from behind to front and back. Continue to switch between two-sided and duplex to front/side.
Drills 5
Ground Slam – Take the medical ball and lift it over your head and slam it with as much force as possible on the ground and resume it and repeat it for the number of repetitions and set-up. A tip put on the ground something that doesn’t bounce it much like a wide of blankets or duvets rolled up also so as not to spoil the medical ball much because not all of them are quality.
Drills 6
Front Wall Slam – In front of the wall with the medical ball pull one hand against the wall and resume the ball on the fly or pick it up from the ground and change hands and pull again. Make at least 10 on the side and then repeat or change exercise.
Drills 7
Side Wall Slam – This time you’re with your back against the wall and you slam the medical ball hard and pick it up, first on one side and then on the other or more shots from the same side. Don’t drop the medical ball to the ground.
Drills 8
With a partner, standing back to back but half a step away. Stay far enough so that there is enough room to pass the ball between the two. A Fighter rotates the medical ball from the right (keeping his feet planted) and passes the ball into his hands to his training partner, who is also twisted to the left to catch the ball. Now the Fighter who took the medical ball then turns to his right and continues like this, Repeat for the number of repetitions or the set time.
Drills 9
Hold the medical ball in your hands and pull knees to the medicine in front of you. Like it’s a clinch and you go hit the medical ball.
Drills 10
Sit-ups, with a partner. A fighter holds the medical ball and does a sit-up and delivers the medical ball while he is in the “up” position. The other fighter holds the medical ball lying over his head and then does another sit-up, handing the medical ball to his partner. Then he does another sit-up, at the end of which he gets the ball again. Basically, you sit down with each other with the medical ball. You can also do it yourself if you “organize”.
Drills 11
This is a good drills for striking. Both fighters wear gloves or bag gloves (I recommend putting on the bands as well, always protect your hands when hitting). This drills must be done for 3 rounds each, for a total of 6 rounds. One of the fighters holds the medical ball around the chest height, and the other fighter hits the medical ball as if it were a heavy bag. The fighter holding the ball must change the positions of the ball to create different angles and punch levels, and should use the footwork to do the same by varying the position. This forces the fighter who hits to move a lot. After the round you pass the ball, one round apiece for a total of 3 rounds each. If a fighter drops the ball, that fighter (not his partner) has to do 10-20 push-ups for each time the ball has fallen. 10 push-ups for beginners, 20 for advanced and agonists. Even holding the ball is tiring and the aim is also to drop the ball to make your training partner do the push-ups.
Conclusions
As you can see I’ve put in drills that you have to do with training partners and others that you can do on your own! No Excuses!
Clearly there are dozens and dozens of exercises for physical enhancement using the medical ball such as push-ups, abdominals, etc. but the post aims to focus on more conditioning and combat-oriented exercises where clearly there is also physical enhancement but it is to give you a vision of an alternative and specific use for combat sports.
