My new article on Return of Kings is about one of the oldest exercise devices that’s still in use today—the medicine ball! Whether its an industrially made rubber ball or an animal bladder stuffed with sand, this can be a fantastic addition to your workout.

“Medicine balls?! Haw Haw!” you’re probably cackling to yourself. “Why not do an article on Indian Clubs or those electro-shock penis stimulators, Grandpa?!”

First of all, Indian Clubs are a fantastic workout device by themselves, and will perhaps get an article in the future (the penis stimulators, not so much). But to get to the point—old fashioned though the medicine ball may be—-so old fashioned that Hippocrates himself advocated their use—medicine balls are rapidly becoming fashionable in fitness circles again. As well they should, because these pliant and uniquely shaped weights can provide a wide variety of fitness benefits.

Before we begin, let us make something quite clear: medicine balls are not exercise balls. The former has 3000 years of history and tradition behind it, while the latter was invented for rehab purposes but has since been co-opted by middle aged housewives for feeble, non-commitant exercises. No, the medicine ball, is smaller (about the size of a basketball), and weighs anywhere from 5-100 pounds. What sort of exercises can you do with the ball?

3) Medicine Ball Toss and Catch

One advantage that the medicine ball has over traditional weights is the softness and pliantness of the object. In practical terms this means it can be thrown and dropped without cracking the floors and walls—or somebody’s head for that matter. It’s simple to do: just do chest passes like you were playing basketball, either off the wall or to a partner. Throw, catch, and repeat.

This is an explosive and dynamic exercise for the chest, arms, and shoulders, and it is a great abdominal exercise as well. Catching the ball forces the abs to forcefully contract to “brace” for impact in a similar manner to taking a punch to the stomach. Keeping that in mind, is it any wonder that so many boxers, mixed martial artists, and other fighters have done this for years?

Read it here