Issue 162
December 2017
Grab stability and medicine balls for an all-round full-body blowout.
You might assume medicine and stability balls are just for weekend warriors and soccer moms in their lunchtime core class. Not so. They’re valuable tools for rehabilitation and recovery, or the reason we’re interested in them: for a fierce and functional strength workout.
The following workout will help you build strength you can use daily in all facets of athletic competition and every realm of martial arts.
You won’t be isolating any muscle groups that you can use daily, but integrating muscle groups on each exercise instead of isolating them, ensuring you’ll be able to use power at multiple angles with multiple ranges of motion – and have the cardio to do it for longer.
- Do all seven exercises consecutively for one round
- Take a minute’s rest between rounds
- Do three full rounds or five rounds for a championship-level workout
1) ONE-ARM MED BALL PUNCH FOR EXPLOSIVE PUNCHING POWER
Adopt a fighting stance with a medicine ball in one hand. Keep your other hand up as if you were protecting your face. Launch the med ball into a wall or at a partner, generating power from your hips. 20 reps each arm.
2) STABILITY BALL PUSH-UPS
Put your toes on the ball and your hands on the ground to do push-ups. Up the intensity by moving your hands further away from the ball or lifting one leg off it. This looks easy, but the instability makes it more challenging. 20 reps.
3) MED BALL OVERHEAD CRUNCH TO BUILD BODY BLOW RESISTANCE
Lie with the small of your back on a stability ball with your arms extended and a med ball in your hands. Crunch up land keep your arms straight out in front of you. Keep your core tight. 20 reps.
4) STABILITY BALL ONE-LEGGED CURLS
Lay with your back on the floor and raise your hips. Put your heels on the stability ball and drag it towards your butt, then roll it back out. For a bigger challenge, try it with one leg and hold the other in the air. This is a hamstring fryer and lower-back strengthener. 20 reps.
5) MED BALL SMASHES TO BOOST BODY POWER
Stand with your knees slightly bent and hold the ball over your head. Smoothly slam the ball on the ground, squat to pick it up and go again. This is one of my favorites. I call it ‘I have issues’, because smashing stuff is a super stress-buster. 20 reps.
6) MED BALL TOSS ACROSS
Stand side-on to a wall or a partner and toss the ball laterally into the wall or towards your partner. Repeat the movement in the other direction. 20 reps each side.
7) STIR THE POT
Rest with your forearms on the stability ball in a plank position with your feet on the ground. Make small circles by rolling the ball under you. This will crush your core. 20 reps.
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