Tag Archives: medicine ball

Medicine Ball Cross Body Mountain Climber

Posted on by
Reply

Hey there, it’s a new week and that means it’s time for a new exercise!  The Home Exercise of the Week this time is another core exercise called Medicine Ball Cross Body Mountain Climber.

With this exercise you will be targeting your abdominal muscles, especially your obliques, as well as your chest, shoulders, triceps, hip flexors, and lower back.  The added instability of planking on the medicine ball while doing the mountain climber further engages your core muscles and stabilizers, making it quite challenging.

Here are the key points to doing the Medicine Ball Cross Body Mountain Climber properly:

  • start in a plank position with your hands on the medicine ball
  • make sure the ball is directly underneath your chest
  • engage your abdominals and keep tight throughout the movement
  • from the full plank position, drive your right knee towards your left elbow giving your abs a really good flex
  • return to the starting position and then drive your left knee towards your right elbow
  • repeat until you have finished your set

So there you have the Medicine Ball Cross Body Mountain Climber.  Take it slow at first until you feel comfortable balancing yourself on the ball.  Once you get the hang of it you can try increasing your rep speed to add a cardiovascular component.

If you like this exercise leave a comment below.  I’d love to hear what you think.

Happy climbing!

Medicine Ball Side to Side Pushup

Posted on by
Reply

Hey everyone!  It’s time for a new Home Exercise of the Week and this week we are going to work your upper body.  The exercise is called a Medicine Ball Side to Side Pushup and this will primarily work your pectoral muscles.  Assisting in the movement will be your deltoids and triceps, and your core will get a great workout too!

In the video I use a medicine ball which is great to use because the weight of the ball will activate more muscles to push it across but if you don’t have one then you can use a soccer ball, volleyball, or basketball.

The purpose of using a ball in this pushup exercise is to increase stabilization of your body which is what the offset hand position will cause your shoulders, chest, and core to do.  Also, the side the ball is on will work through a longer range of motion, increasing muscle activation.

So let’s take a look at how to do the Medicine Ball Side to Side Pushup properly.

  • get in to your pushup postion with one hand on the ball and one hand on the floor
  • lower your chest to about an inch from the floor then press back up
  • once at the top of the pushup, push the ball across to your other hand and you will now be in position to do the other side
  • repeat the pushup and medicine ball roll until you complete your desired amount of reps
  • if you are a beginner and you have trouble doing the full pushup, you can modify this exercise to do it from your knees.  Just make sure you keep your butt down and body straight.

There you have the Medicine Ball Side to Side Pushup!  This is a great variation to the standard pushup that will challenge your muscles in new ways!