The Medicine Ball Press-Up
by Daniel Regan
Plyometrics!
Medicine Balls are one of the most valuable tools any fighter can have in his arsenal! While they have long been a staple in most gyms, they're often misunderstood. We're all familiar with the old-school boxing videos of boxers dropping leathery medicine balls on to their abdomen to 'toughen' up their mid-section. Well, surprise surprise - there's much more fun out there, as far as these guys are concerned.
There's a nearly limitless supply of exercises that can be done with a medicine ball. Fighters are definitely not the only athletes that benefit from this wonderful device. Any athlete looking for top performance can use one!
I'm going to introduce you to one of the most basic medicine ball exercises. While this is not the easiest exercise for one to begin with, it will help those athletes looking to supplement their upper-body.
First off, this is a Plyometric Exercise. Plyometrics are not an endurance activity or an absolute strength building tool. They are designed for creating power! Combining strength and speed in to one synonymous flow. They are not for beginners. In fact, you should have already built up significant endurance and strength before doing these, since they can put high impact on the muscles and hell on the central nervous system. However, used properly, they are one of the most effective tools used in an athlete's training program.
As I said before, these are not meant for absolute strength. When doing this exercise, do it for SPEED! The moment your body touches the medicine ball, you should be propelling yourself upwards towards the next part. The goal of these style of exercises is to recruit as many fast-twitch muscle fibers as possible. These are the muscle fibers that will most greatly affect you when trying to turn all of your hard work in the gym in to an applicable power.
1.) Start in a standard push-up position. Place a medicine ball to one side of your body and place your hand on top of it. Essentially, you're doing a lopsided push-up at the moment. Keep your head forward, butt down, legs extended.
2.) As quickly as possible, propel yourself off of the ground in a diagonal direction. The front of your body should come well off of the ground and move to the opposite side, so that your other hand lands on the medicine ball.
3.) When landing in this position, drop your shoulders and complete a normal push-up with one hand on the medicine ball. Immediately begin the process again.
For those curious, the medicine ball I am using here is homemade. I will be doing a tutorial on how to make your own medicine balls for around five dollars. Good luck with this exercise. Properly used, it can be a part of nearly any athlete's repetoire.
