Medicine Ball Exercises

As you go about your workout program to lose body fat, you may want to consider adding in some medicine ball exercises.  Many people are starting to form entire medicine ball workout programs where they just use this simple and inexpensive piece of equipment to help tone and firm up their entire body.

The nice thing about medicine ball exercises is that they're great for working the core muscles so even though you may actually be targeting other muscles in the body as well, you'll be on your way to getting six pack abs as well.

One thing to remember is that you can purchase different weight levels of medicine balls so this will help you tailor the exercises to your own specific strength levels.  If you are never challenging the muscles to a high enough extent, it's unrealistic to expect to see progress in terms of strength gains demonstrated and you getting leaner and firmer.

Let's go through some of the top medicine ball exercises that you should be adding into your workout program.

Medicine Ball Crunches

The very first of the medicine ball exercises that you'll definitely want to perform are medicine ball crunches.  You have the option here of performing these either lying flat on the ground or if you really want to feel challenged, you can also perform them on top of an exercise ball as well.

This is something that only those who are more advanced should be doing however as it is definitely going to require a high level of balance and strength levels.

To perform your basic medicine ball crunches, get onto the floor with the knees slightly bent and feet firmly planed ahead of you.

From there, you are to hold the medicine ball at about chest level while you slowly lean back to perform the crunch.  Some individuals may choose to place the medicine ball above their head while doing this exercise but note that if you're doing that you're going to have to be very careful that you aren't using momentum to help carry you through the exercise.

The chances are much higher that you'll do this and if you do, results will not be seen.

Medicine Ball Shoulder Presses

Next up on the list of medicine ball exercises to add to your workout are medicine ball shoulder presses.  These are great ones for developing good shoulder strength and for developing a well rounded upper body workout plan.

You can either do this exercise holding one medicine ball in both hands above the body or if you prefer you can hold a smaller medicine ball in either hand as you maintain a shoulder width apart position and press it directly up above you.

If you're going to use that option you're definitely going to have to have better balancing capabilities as it can get a little tricky holding the medicine ball in a single hand.  But, nevertheless it does make for a good exercise so is something to definitely consider.

When performing the medicine ball shoulder press also watch your spinal column and be sure that it maintains a straight up and down position as well.  This will be vital to prevent the development of lower back pain.

Medicine Ball Single Leg Deadlift

The third of our medicine ball exercises that should get added into any medicine ball workout you're planning are single leg deadlifts.  These are ideal for shaping the back of the lower body and giving you that firm yet curvy bum that you're likely after.

In order to perform this movement you simply want to place one leg back up on a bench behind you while the other leg supports the body weight underneath you.  Note that you can keep slightly bent knee positions while doing this if you aren't all that flexible and really struggle to maintain a straight knee position.

From there, holding the medicine ball in your hands slowly lower the upper body down to the ground while keeping the back straight. Go down as far as you can so that the ball is almost touching the ground and then lift back up again until you're back in that standing position.

Continue on in this manner until you've completed all your reps for that side and then switch legs and repeat.  This one of the medicine ball exercises is going to require a high amount of balance on your part so don't get too discouraged if you struggle with it at first.

Just keep practicing it and in time you'll be able to do it without a problem.

Medicine Ball Lunges

The final movement that needs to get added into your medicine ball workout is medicine ball lunges.  No workout would be complete without some type of exercise for the lower body so this will be a definite must to perform.

This one of our medicine ball exercises is going to target the quads, hamstrings, and glute muscles, so you're really going to get a complete lower body workout all in one.

To perform it, simply hold medicine balls in either one of your hands, or if you prefer, hold a single ball with both hands in front of you and then slowly begin to move down into the lunge position.

Aim to bring that back knee down as close to the floor as you possibly can and then press up again to complete that rep.

If you'd like to boost the intensity of this exercise, one great way of doing so is to twist to either side of the body as you move through the lunges, moving to the opposite side of the leg that you are lunging forward with.

This will also help to target the oblique muscles, so give you a core workout at the same time.

So there are the main medicine ball exercises that will help round out your workout program and help you develop good muscle strength and agility. Aim to complete 10-15 reps per set of each movement doing a total of 3-4 sets per exercise.