Issue 132
September 2015
S&C coach to elite athletes, each issue Kevin Kearns presents his best training tips.
I’ve worked with medicine balls since I began functional strength training. They’re the perfect pieces of equipment, especially for MMA, because they’re simple and effective for activating muscles throughout the body if they’re used correctly.
Different types of medicine balls give you so many exercise combinations depending on whether they’re compact, have handles, they bounce or are filled with sand. But for developing explosive power for the cage, nothing comes close to the converta-ball.
It’s a medicine ball attached to a rope, but the fluid movements you can do with it are unique. There’s no better way to train dynamic rotational motions, with acceleration and deceleration through multiple planes of motion. It’s hard to measure just how much benefit’s provided for combat sports training by the slamming, chopping and throwing exercises you can do with this piece of kit.
The following workout is perfect for anyone looking to develop a solid core and more striking power. If you’re just starting training, I recommend using a smaller, 2.2lb ball, which is about the size of a volleyball. Intermediate exercisers can use a slightly larger 6.6lb ball, which is more like the size of a basketball. If you’re a pro athlete and need a challenge, go bigger and choose something bigger. The balls go up to 15.4lb.
KILLER CONVERTA WORKOUT
Do each exercise for sets of 20-30 seconds, then rest for 15 seconds before moving on to the next one. Start with one set of each exercise, then build up to three rounds.
1. Figure-8s
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Swing the ball in a figure-8 pattern as fast as possible. Speed is essential. Repeat in the opposite direction.
2. Speed kayaks
Sit on the floor with your feet elevated off the ground. Arch the ball left to right and smash it to the ground on either side of your body.
3. Overarm smash
Drop to one knee and hold the ball over your opposite shoulder. In one motion, arch the ball over your shoulder and smash it on the ground, then do another set on the other side.
4. Overhead smash
Kneel down on the floor with the ball over the back of your shoulders. In one motion, swing it over your head and smash the ground in front of you.
5. Helicopter
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Swing the ball above your head like a helicopter. Make sure you repeat the exercise in the opposite direction.
6. Wall smash
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent, side-on to a wall. Hold the ball down by your opposite side. Quickly swing the ball – in the same motion that you would swing a baseball bat – and smash it into the wall. Repeat on the opposite side.
7. Power drive
Take the same stance as the wall smash, but this time swing the ball across your body and upward, as if you were hitting a drive down the fairway in golf. Once you’ve done this exercise for a predetermined number of reps, do another set on your opposite side.
8. Fight gone bad
Stand with your back against a wall. Keep your elbows in and swing the ball back and forth against the wall. Try and generate enough force to keep the rope and ball as level as possible.
