3 Awesome Medicine Ball Moves
>> Friday, August 10, 2012
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| Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gigaboss/ |
Working out often comes with connotations of equipment and
machinery. Step into any gym and you will see a maze of gleaming steel, each
metallic station a workout machine for a specific part of your body. From heavy
dumbbells to cardio machines, it seems like you can’t get a good exercise
session in without an expensive piece of machinery. However, there’s good news
for those of you who are tired of doing the same routines over and over again
and breathing in that stale gym air: with a medicine ball you can now take your
workout outside and to the next level, while also giving your joints a break
and challenging yourself in a whole new way. So check out these three moves,
and try them out yourself!
The squat is the granddaddy of all gym moves. A beautiful
compound exercise, it works out the whole body and delivers fantastic results.
However, it can put a lot of stress on your knees, lower back and neck if not
done correctly, and as such it’s good to have a variation. Try lying on your
back and placing your heels on your medicine ball, and then straighten your
body so that only your shoulders are touching the ground. From there, roll the
ball toward your butt for a great core workout, plus it sculpts and defines the
same muscles as the squat without the impact on your joints.
When it comes to back exercises, the rowing machine is an
excellent way to go. Whether you’re doing it for cardio or really adding weight
to get an excellent lat workout, there are few better machines. However it is a
relatively static exercise which doesn’t require any balance or flexibility,
which is why you can do much better with a medicine ball. Kneel before one and
rest your forearms on it. Then roll forward so that you go into plank position
on your knees, then retract back and pick up the ball and hold it before you
while leaning back on your knees to get a delicious arch in your back. Roll
back and do three sets of fifteen for a dynamic row with a bigger range of
motion.
Finally, skip those awful lunges
and instead do the knee-cross curtsy. Bend over with straight legs so that your
fingertips are on the medicine ball, and raise your left foot toward the sky,
then lower it back down so that your left knee goes behind your right leg. Lift
it once more, and do 3 sets of fifteen reps with each leg.
Phil Tucker is a health and beach fitness blogger that is determined to feel younger as he grows older.
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