What is the medicine ball used for?

A medicine ball is a ball of large diameter whose weight can vary and which can be made from different materials to provide the resistance it needs. Usually, leather, plastic, rubber, or latex are used to make them.

Its weight can range from one kilo to ten, and for that reason it is widely used to work the muscles at different levels and in different areas of the body.

It began to be used in the 1950s thanks to a Swedish pediatrician and an English physiotherapist, who used this object to assist in different rehabilitation exercises for patients.

Although there is some controversy about this fact, as some claim that its use dates back to Persian athletes who used spherical objects to perform strength training and resistance for more than three millennia, in fact the approach referring to the 20th century is more accurate, as it refers to the same type of object and the trend of events, as well as its evolution, is much more plausible.

Types of medicine balls

A medicine ball can be classified according to weight, shape, or size. Contrary to what many believe, weight does not depend on the other two factors, so they do not have to be linked.

The most common is to find medicine balls of three, four, five, eight, ten, or twelve kilos. The three and four-kilogram ones are the lightest and are used for explosive exercises, although from five kilos they can already be used for throws and loads.

They can have different shapes. In fact, some are made to bounce, while others are designed to cushion impacts. The former are usually used to perform explosive exercises and fast; the latter, to carry out exercises where weight plays a more important role.

It should be noted that medicine balls used for explosive exercises have to be lighter to encourage them, while exercises that require longer pauses between repetitions they must be heavier, since intensity is usually worked based on weight, not frequency, with clear exceptions depending on the routine.

To help perform these exercises, some balls have handles to facilitate grip, something common in the training of some athletes, such as padel or tennis players.

Regarding size, it is a feature that will also vary depending on the type of exercise performed. Overhead ball throws require medicine balls large in size, while the exercises performed using the ball as support will have to be heavier to provide the necessary level of resistance.

Advantages of using medicine balls

There are many benefits that come with using these objects. That's why, if you are considering giving your routines a fresh touch or looking for a complement agile, fun, durable, and very versatile, the best is to opt for getting a medicine ball.

In Fitness Tech, as specialists dedicated to the sale of products and services related to physical activity, we have medicine balls of different weights, as well as with accessories to store them in an orderly and safe manner. If you are thinking about acquiring professional premium quality medicine balls, we advise you to take a look at our section, where you can find them at the best price.

Among the different advantages that justify their purchase are their price, resistance, and flexibility. They are truly affordable, highly resistant, capable of withstanding a large number of impacts and variable weights, and tremendously flexible, both in their structure and in their uses, since they can be used in a large number of exercises and fulfill their purpose.

Additionally, they are perfect both for individual physical preparation activities and for group activities, being one of the most common objects in group exercise rooms at gyms and physical training centers.

Activities that can be performed with medicine balls

As we said, there are many exercises that can be done with a medicine ball. That is one of the keys to its success and popularization, and it is that they can serve both to train balance as well as to work the strength of various muscle groups.

They are perfect for posture correction and proprioception work, allowing exploration of new ways to understand our body. Additionally, improves the cardiovascular system thanks to the fact that medicine balls are suitable for a large number of aerobic exercises.

They are also ideal for workouts aimed at toning muscles. Although any muscle group can be worked with them, it is actually more common to perform exercises with a medicine ball to train the legs or the core. They are also used to complement some strength exercises, and in tasks of rehabilitation Post-injury rehabilitation remains a powerful ally to improve the physical condition of those affected.