what is a slam ball good for

We already mentioned how a slam ball can bring more explosiveness and power into your workouts; however, there are even more benefits, such as:

Full Answer

Is slamball a good workout?

Slam balls are popular with athletes worldwide, as they're both simple to train with and can greatly improve your muscle mass. Depending on which exercises you do, a slam ball works your shoulders, triceps, pecs, calves, back and core (especially your abdominals).

What muscles do medicine ball slams work?

Medicine ball slams target muscles in both your upper body and lower body. When performed properly, they build strength in your upper back, core muscles, triceps, glutes, quads, and hamstrings, 2. Medicine ball slams are an effective cardio workout.

Is slam ball good for weight loss?

Great for burning fat - whether you're looking to get in shape or simply take care of yourself, slam balls can be used for a range of fat-burning exercises. Great for calorie burning - slam balls are one of the best ways to get your heartrate up as well as build strength making them great for calorie burning.

Do med ball slams do anything?

Medicine ball slam exercises help tone and strengthen your arms, shoulders, thighs, glutes, and core muscles giving you a full-body workout. These not only help burn the excess fat but also help improve stamina, eye-body coordination, muscle tone, and functional fitness.

How heavy should my slam ball be?

What size of slam ball should I use? This depends on your strength and ability level, but generally we see women using the 10lb to 25lb range and men using the 20lb to 40lb range. Kids and beginners do great with a 10lb slam ball.

What is the difference between a medicine ball and a slam ball?

Medicine balls can be used for natural bodybuilding workouts to safely target hard to reach muscle groups. Slam balls are designed for throwing. They do not bounce and have a heavy duty outer shell that prevents the slam ball from breaking upon impact with the ground.

What weight slam ball should a woman use?

We recommend that women buy a 4-8 pound medicine ball. Go for the lower end if you are relatively new to fitness and the higher end if you are pretty fit and strong. These options will offer enough resistance to cover the widest range of exercises for most women.

How many calories can you burn with slam ball?

How many calories does this workout burn? In the 27 minutes of this routine, we estimate that a person can burn between 200 and 320 calories.

Does bouncing on a ball burn fat?

Calories Burned A couple of bounces here and there isn't likely to burn enough calories to help with weight loss. However, continuous bouncing can burn 50 calories per hour, personal trainer Monica Vazquez told NBC News.

Does throwing a ball build muscle?

Toss Like a Boss Tossing the ball strengthens the muscles throughout your hips and core in addition to building total-body power, Gaddour says.

How do you exercise with a slam ball?

A. Stand with feet hip-width apart holding a medicine ball in both hands. B. Raise medicine ball overhead, coming onto toes, then exhale and slam the ball down onto the floor between feet.

Do med ball slams build power?

Medicine Ball Slams are a beginner-friendly exercise that develops explosive power. They are also a brilliant way of working on fast, high-power moves (such as Squat Jumps, Box Jumps, and Speed Skaters) that also offer a cardio workout to improve your cardiovascular fitness.

Do med ball slams build power?

Medicine Ball Slams are a beginner-friendly exercise that develops explosive power. They are also a brilliant way of working on fast, high-power moves (such as Squat Jumps, Box Jumps, and Speed Skaters) that also offer a cardio workout to improve your cardiovascular fitness.

Do medicine balls build muscle?

Medicine balls can be used in strength training to help build muscle mass when performing certain exercises. For instance, you can hold a medicine ball while doing squats or lunges to increase the intensity of the exercise and thereby building more muscle strength.

Why do people use slam balls?

A slam ball deserves the title " a holistic workout tool" because it also benefits the heart, lungs, and even the brain besides your muscles. It enhances your cardiovascular system because you can add the ball to a HIIT session and watch your heart rate going skyrocket. Slamming itself also pushes your heart and lung to new extremes, so regular practices for sure improve your cardio-respiratory system. Believe it or not, a slam ball can also be conducive to your mental health. We all know that anger and stress can be toxic to our bodies. Properly resolving these negative emotions, on the other hand, helps us clear our minds and stabilize our mood. What if I tell you that there is a way to turn these negative emotions into a positive force that works toward building a better body for us? Try slams. This is a great way to vent that anger and relieve that stress while reaping other aforementioned health benefits.

Why are slam balls good for power building?

When our body lacks power, physical tasks can feel extra taxing and involve more risks. Therefore, regular enhancement of muscle power means a better ability to accomplish physical activities and less fatigue and injury occurring. Slam balls are especially effective for power building.

How does a slam ball workout help your body?

Now you can be amazed when I tell you that slam ball exercises also improve your endurance, balance, coordination, mobility, and speed. While a slam seems violent and explosive, a good one is indeed very controlled. If you want to exert your force in one direction and keep your movement smooth and stable, you will need to wield your balance, coordination, mobility, and speed altogether. Repeated slam training will bring you better endurance, balance, coordination, mobility, and speed--all in one package--and you are not going to get such a deal through weightlifting or jogging.

How to do a slam ball?

Hold the slam ball in between your hands then perform a squat by hinging your hips then lower it as if you are going to sit on a chair. Use your hip to lift your body upright. Then do a light toss of the ball upward then catch it.

How to get a ball to slam?

Pick a ball, not too heavy so you can lift it without arching your back. Raise the ball above your head while extending your hips (you may also tiptoe to increase the momentum). Then slam the ball with full force. When you pick the ball up, remember to squat down first then get the ball. keep your lower back from engaging in the lift-up process , and, instead, use the power of your hip to erect your body.

How does a slam help your body?

A typical slam involves extending the muscles first to raise the ball overhead and then smash it with a quick outbreak of force. This process challenges your muscles exhaustively like no other , which in turn stimulates extensive muscle growth. Muscle growth occurs not only in terms of amount but also in terms of strength (how heavy you can load), endurance (how long you can load), and power (how quickly you can move with a heavy load). Such growth yields many other substantial benefits, including but not limited to elevated resting metabolism, fat burning rate, bone and joints protection, and self-confidence.

What is a Slam Ball?

Slam balls are weighted, rubber-coated balls that are designed to be, well, slammed on a flat surface to help improve your power-packed movements.

Why do you do slam ball slams before exercise?

For example, by performing slam ball slams before regular exercises, you’re establishing muscle engagement, getting more blood flow throughout your body, and connecting your central nervous system to your muscles. When you finally get to performing your bench presses or deadlifts, your muscles and brain will be ready and you’ll be able to perform better.

How to slam a ball to the floor?

Engage your core as you slam the ball to the floor while simultaneously squatting down. When slamming and squatting, throw the ball into the ground as hard as you can. Be sure to maintain good squatting form. Keep your knees behind your toes, keep your torso up and straight, push your hips and glutes back.

What is a slam ball?

The slam ball, otherwise known as a medicine ball, is a highly useful and versatile workout tool. It allows you to provide resistance and added weight while performing dynamic movements. These challenging movements will target your body head to toe, and force your heart rate to skyrocket. When you challenge your muscles by completely exhausting ...

How to do a medicine ball slam?

Stand upright with the medicine ball in your hands. Gripping the ball firming, extend your arms and bring the ball overhead. Clenching your core tightly, throw the ball down to the ground and squat as you lower. Pick the ball up and repeat the full range of motion (overhead to ball slam).

What muscles do ball slams work?

Muscles worked: hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes, shoulders, upper back, and abdominals. Stand upright with the medicine ball in your hands.

How to do wall ball squats?

As you sit up, bring the weight all the way in between your feet. Press your weight down through your palms and onto the ball to push your body upright. You should now be in your starting squat position from the wall ball exercise. Add this segment of the exercise to each repetition. Perform 5 sets of 10 repetitions.

What does wall ball exercise do?

The wall ball exercise makes your heart rate skyrocket in a hurry and targets all of your prime movers.

How much weight can a slam ball weigh?

Consider that there are several different weights that a slam ball comes in. Most of them range from 10 to 20 pounds in weight.

Why is it important to challenge your muscles?

When you challenge your muscles by completely exhausting their abilities, you will develop more muscle power. Striving for more muscular power will provide you with an abundance of health and fitness benefits, including: Women don’t need to fear becoming or appearing bulky.

How does a slam ball work?

Advertisement. Use a slam ball in an abdominal workout by doing a sit-up with feet 6 to 12 inches from a wall and holding the ball at chest level.

How to do a ball slam?

Keep your arms relatively straight, and as you throw the ball, crunch your abs and bend your knees. You then catch or retrieve the ball and repeat the sequence. Concentrate on breathing in on the lift and out on the throw. The ball slam works your shoulders, triceps, abdominals, quads, glutes, calves and back.

What is the difference between a medicine ball and a slam ball?

Differences. The most significant difference between a slam ball and medicine ball is that a slam ball is designed for throwing exercises. It has a harder shell typically made of a tough rubber so it can handle a high-velocity impact against a hard surface.

How to use medicine balls?

Use a medicine ball in place of free weights to add a dimension of functional training to a workout. This is helpful for athletes. Or use the ball for functional training that will prepare your body for movements you make in everyday life. One functional exercise is a diagonal chop. Stand with your feet facing forward toward a wall, and hold the ball in your hands. Move the ball above your head and diagonally while rotating your hips so one faces the wall. Then move the ball diagonally toward the opposite side of your body and close to the floor. Once you finish your repetitions on one side, switch to the other. The diagonal chop will work your arms, chest, back, abdominals, obliques, legs and glutes.

What exercises can you do with a medicine ball?

Some examples are squats, sit-ups, overhead presses and lunges. Both balls also work for partner exercises such as chest passes, overhead passes and rotational abdominal work where partners stand back to back ...

How to get rid of a ball in your face?

Stand with feet shoulder width apart and lift the slam ball above your head while rising onto the balls of your feet. Throw the ball toward the ground a little bit in front of you to prevent the ball from bounding back in your face.

Why do people use slam balls?

Perhaps the most important reason to train using a slam ball is the fact that slam ball training directly translates to most sports and athletic activities outside and inside the gym. Your body will be taught how to react in an ever-changing environment in a functional way that does not include conveniently shaped barbells or dumbbells.

Why are ball slams good?

Plus, they’re great for powerlifters and strength athletes as enhanced core control will lead to better squats, snatches, clean & jerks and many more functional movement patterns.

How many sizes are there in a monkey slam ball?

So with that in mind, let’s discuss the 3 main benefits of using slam balls for your workouts and if you don’t currently own one, we can hook you right up! The Xtreme Monkey Slam Ball comes in 5 sizes and they are all virtually indestructible!

How does a ball slam increase work capacity?

Typical ball slams, if done correctly, can increase work capacity by incorporating more functional volume in your training.

What muscles do athletes use to work together?

Therefore, your abs, obliques and deep abdominal wall are forced to work together through a full range of motion that can boost power development and spinal stability, especially for competitive sports athletes.

Is a medicine ball slam good for you?

The medicine ball slam promises enormous potential for athletes and fitness enthusiasts but few people – including sports coaches – are aware of its benefits. In fact, you are surely familiar with the basic slam ball movements in general, but we bet you did not know that ball slams are a great method to teach your body proper hip activation, ...

How to get stronger with medicine ball slam?

Boost your power output and break a serious sweat with the medicine ball slam. Building muscle and gaining strength is all about control. Anytime you hoist a loaded barbell, you do so slowly. Up and down, up and down, up and down. On the other hand, becoming more powerful is all about exploding as quickly as possible.

What muscles do medicine ball slams work?

Don’t be mistaken; the medicine ball slam is a full-body exercise that recruits your core, shoulders, lats, and hips. These muscles work together to extend your body to load the ball and flex it to slam it.

What is rotational med ball slam?

Rotational Slam. This med ball slam variation has you pivot to one side and bring the ball down laterally. To do so, your core twists, and you perform a crunch to one side. During this variation, you’re not extending up and down but twisting more up and over.

Why do you slam med balls before bench press?

By slamming a med ball before moves like the bench press or deadlift, you’re bettering the connection between the muscles in play and your central nervous system. So, when you finally do get under a barbell, your muscles and brain will already have an established connection.

What is the difference between medicine ball slams and dumbbell slams?

Exercises like the dumbbell bench press and front squat are great for building strength and movement in a specific pattern, but medicine ball slams are more fluid, forceful, and dynamic. When performing medicine ball slams, a lifter must promote force, react to stimuli, and repeat smoothly and simultaneously, much like what is needed throughout fitness and sport.

How to drive a tennis ball?

Brace your core, extend your knees, and drive your hips forward while simultaneously lifting the bar overhead with your arms. The ball should be overhead, your hips should be thrust forward slightly, and you should be on your toes from the force of your drive.

Which muscles are involved in medicine ball slam?

Muscles like the rectus abdominis are responsible for extending and flexing your torso, while the small stabilizer muscles, such as the traverse abdominis, help balance your body so you stay in one straight line. Some medicine ball slam variations require rotation, and the obliques are fully engaged when that happens.

How to Choose a Slam Ball Weight

Choosing the right slam ball size for you can be difficult as there are so many different weights and sizes to choose from and it can sometimes be a little overwhelming.

What Size Slam Ball Should You Use?

Once you’ve considered these factors, it’ll be easier for you to determine which size slam ball you should use.

When Should You Progress to a Bigger Slam Ball?

In order to increase your fitness levels and see results, you’ll need to adjust your exercises as and when necessary.

Final Thoughts

Slam balls are a versatile piece of exercise equipment but due to the fact that they aren’t adjustable, it can often be difficult to know what size to use for the most benefit. This is especially true if buying a slam ball for a home gym.