Medicine Ball Exercises: 44 Moves for Core and Power
Medicine ball exercises train one quality better than almost any implement you can buy: the ability to make force fast and send it through your torso into something outside your body. That is the job description of a tactical athlete carrying load, breaching a door or dragging a partner. Our tactical fitness programs use med ball work for that reason, not because it films well. Below are 44 named medicine ball exercises grouped by region and pattern, a load chart, three programmed workouts, and a straight answer on the slam ball question most exercise lists skip.
Key Takeaways:
A medicine ball is a power implement first. Its value is throwing, slamming and rotating, not holding weight a dumbbell holds better.
Load by movement, not by ego. Rotational throws run light at 4 to 8 pounds, core work at 8 to 12, slams at 10 to 25.
Medicine ball, slam ball and wall ball are three different tools and the labels are not standardized. Test whether your ball rebounds before you slam it.
Rotational power transfer is the thing a barbell cannot train, and it is the most relevant section here for anyone who works under load.
One ball and floor space is a complete conditioning setup and a partial strength setup.
What Is a Medicine Ball and What Weight Should You Use?
A medicine ball is a weighted ball, usually 4 to 30 pounds, built to be thrown, caught, slammed and rotated rather than only lifted. A dumbbell has to stay in your hand at the end of the rep. A medicine ball can leave your hands at peak speed, so you accelerate through the finish instead of decelerating to protect your joints. Cormie, McGuigan and Newton showed that maximal power output depends on accelerating a load through the full range. Ballistic work removes the brake.
Medicine ball vs slam ball vs wall ball
Figure 1.1 - medicine ball, slam ball, wall ball and dead ball compared by shell, fill, weight range and rebound. The soft medicine ball and the wall ball are the same product, sold under both names: a coated vinyl shell 14 inches across at every weight from 4 to 30 lb, built to absorb impact so it can be caught overhead. The rubber medicine ball is a different implement entirely, 6 to 30 lb, 8.5 to 11.25 inches depending on weight, with a springy tread shell that manufacturers explicitly warn against using for overhead slams because the rebound comes straight back at the thrower. Slam balls run 10 to 50 lb in 5 lb steps with a thick rubberized shell and a sand fill that stops the ball bouncing or rolling, making them the only ball on the list built to be driven into concrete. Dead balls, 8 to 40 lb and gel filled, split the difference with a consistent dead bounce that covers both slams and standard medicine ball work. Competition weights: CrossFit prescribes 20 lb to a 10 ft target for men and 14 lb to 9 ft for women, while Hyrox runs 100 reps at 6 kg to 3 m for Open men and 4 kg to 2.7 m for Open women, rising to 9 kg and 6 kg in Pro. Sources: Rogue Fitness and Dynamax product specifications, CrossFit wall ball prescription, Hyrox station standards.
Do not buy on the label. Vendor specs call slam balls sand filled and dead, while ACE describes medicine balls as soft shelled and non-bouncing and slam balls as harder and bouncier. The terms are not standardized. Test your own ball: drop it from chest height, and if it rebounds past your knee it is not a slamming ball.
What weight medicine ball should you use
Load follows the speed of the movement. Faster movement, lighter ball. The Army used a 10-pound ball for the Standing Power Throw on the ACFT before the Army Fitness Test dropped that event on June 1, 2025, which is a fair reference point for a two-handed throw by a fit adult.
Figure 1.2 - medicine ball load by movement, plotted on one 0 to 50 lb scale. Load follows the speed of the movement: the load–velocity relationship in medicine ball throws is strongly linear, individual r ≥ 0.886, so every pound added costs measurable velocity and a ball heavy enough to slow the throw has stopped training power. Rotational and chest throws run 6 to 10 lb for men and 4 to 8 lb for women on a rubber ball that rebounds off the wall; core work 8 to 12 and 6 to 10 on any ball, since nothing leaves the hands; overhead slams 15 to 30 and 10 to 20 on a slam ball or dead ball only, because a rubber medicine ball rebounds into the thrower and a soft wall ball splits on concrete; loaded squats and lunges 12 to 25 and 8 to 20, where grip and front-rack position fail long before the legs do. Only the wall ball row is a published standard: CrossFit prescribes 20 lb to a 10 ft target for men and 14 lb to 9 ft for women, while Hyrox runs 6 kg to 3 m and 4 kg to 2.7 m across 100 reps. The dashed line marks 10 lb, the ball used for the ACFT Standing Power Throw, the same weight for men and women, with the standard set by distance instead, and an event the Army Fitness Test dropped on 1 June 2025. Sources: U.S. Army Fitness Test announcement, ACFT scoring standards, Marovic et al. 2025, CrossFit and Hyrox wall ball standards.
Buying one ball? Take a 10 or 12 pound medicine ball, and add a 20 pound slam ball if the budget stretches. That pair covers this page. A medicine ball is the canonical first purchase for training with limited equipment, and it sits in the same family as sandbag training: an odd object that trains what a barbell cannot. Be honest about the alternative. You do not need one. Training with zero gear still builds a serious base, and if you are ranking a ball against boots, plates and a pack, our guide to gear that actually matters sets the priority order.
One search note: the Starbucks Medicine Ball is a hot tea drink and does carry a small amount of caffeine from its green tea. It has nothing to do with the equipment on this page.
The Full Medicine Ball Exercise List
Every movement covered below, grouped by section, each with a how-to and a load prescription in its own section.
Core and abs:
medicine ball sit-up, sit-up to overhead throw, V-up, weighted crunch, dead bug, plank pull-through, toe touch, hollow hold, leg raise with ball squeeze.
Slams:
overhead slam, rotational slam, squat to slam, slam to burpee, half-kneeling rotational slam.
Rotational:
Russian twist, seated rotational throw, standing side throw, high-to-low chop, low-to-high lift.
Throws and wall balls:
wall ball shot, chest pass, scoop toss, backward overhead throw, squat throw, kneeling overhead throw.
Lower body:
goblet squat, reverse lunge with rotation, lateral lunge, split squat, glute bridge with ball squeeze, single-leg Romanian deadlift.
Upper body:
hand-on-ball push-up, roll-over push-up, push press, strict overhead press, floor pull-over, front raise, overhead triceps extension.
Partner:
partner chest pass, partner sit-up pass, partner rotational pass, over-under pass, partner slam and catch, lateral shuffle pass.
Medicine Ball Core and Ab Exercises
Medicine ball core exercises beat bodyweight crunches because the ball adds load at the end of a long lever and gives you something to throw. The trunk's job under load is to transfer force between hips and shoulders without leaking.
Medicine ball sit-up. Ball at your chest, feet anchored. Sit up under control, then lower over three seconds. The eccentric is the work. Three sets of 12 to 15 with 8 to 12 pounds.
Sit-up to overhead throw. Same sit-up, finishing with an overhead throw to a wall or partner. Catch and reset. Four sets of 8 with 6 to 10 pounds.
V-up. Lie flat, ball overhead. Lift legs and torso together and touch the ball to your shins. Three sets of 10. Bend the knees if your low back rounds.
Weighted crunch. Ball at the chest or extended overhead, shoulder blades off the floor, no neck pulling. Short range, high tension. Three sets of 15 to 20.
Dead bug with ball. Press the ball between hands and knees, extend the opposite arm and leg, keep your low back flat. The press creates the tension. Three sets of 8 per side.
Plank pull-through. In a plank, reach under your body and drag the ball to the other side. Fight the hip rotation. That anti-rotation demand is the point. Three sets of 10 per side.
Toe touch. On your back, legs vertical, ball overhead. Crunch up and touch the ball to your toes. Three sets of 12 to 15 with a light ball.
Hollow hold with ball. Ball overhead, low back pressed down, shoulders and heels a few inches up. Hold 20 to 40 seconds, three sets. Stop when your back lifts.
Leg raise with ball squeeze. Squeeze the ball between your ankles and raise your legs without swinging. Added load makes an easy movement honest. Three sets of 10 to 12.
Pick four or five of these rather than all nine. Ten hard minutes beats a thirty minute ab circuit.
Medicine Ball Slams (and Why a Slam Ball Is Not Always a Medicine Ball)
Medicine ball slams are the most searched movement in this family and the one people get hurt on. A ball that rebounds returns off concrete at close to the speed you sent it down, and your face is directly above it. ACE's guidance separates the two cases: a bouncing ball needs space and a catch plan, a dead ball needs a solid floor that can absorb the force. If you only own a bouncing ball, throw it at a wall instead of the floor.
Overhead slam. Ball overhead, full extension through hips and shoulders, drive it into the floor a foot in front of your toes. Exhale on impact. Five sets of 5 to 8 with 15 to 30 pounds.
Rotational slam. Start with the ball above one shoulder and slam it outside the opposite foot, pivoting the back foot. This trains the diagonal that carries into striking and dragging. Four sets of 6 per side.
Squat to slam. Slam, drop into a squat to pick the ball up, stand and press it overhead for the next rep. Continuous. Four sets of 8.
Slam to burpee. Slam, chest to floor over the ball, stand, repeat. Three sets of 6 to 10. Keep the ball light enough to move fast.
Half-kneeling rotational slam. The rotational slam from a half-kneeling stance. Removing the legs forces the torso to produce the rotation. Three sets of 6 per side.
Slams are high-output and low-volume. Chasing thirty rep sets turns a power exercise into a mediocre conditioning exercise.
Rotational Work: Russian Twists, Chops and Throws
This section earns a medicine ball its place in tactical programming. Rotational power transfer is the one quality a barbell will never train, because a barbell moves in one plane and your job does not. Earp and Kraemer's review of medicine ball training in rotational sports makes the same case: the implement's value is producing and absorbing force through the transverse plane. Rotational output is a power quality rather than a strength quality, and those are not the same thing. If that distinction is new, read our breakdown of strength training versus power training before you program this section.
Russian twist. Seated, heels up or down, rotate the ball hip to hip with a tall chest. Move the ball with your torso, not your arms. Three sets of 16 to 20 touches with 8 to 12 pounds.
Seated rotational throw. Sit sideways to a wall, feet anchored, throw with a torso rotation. Catch, reload, repeat. Legs are out of the equation. Four sets of 8 per side, light ball.
Standing side throw. Athletic stance perpendicular to a wall, ball at the hip, drive off the back foot and throw across your body. Five sets of 5 per side.
High-to-low chop. Ball above one shoulder, chop diagonally to the opposite hip with straight arms and a pivoting back foot. Controlled, not a swing. Three sets of 10 per side.
Low-to-high lift. The reverse of the chop, hip to opposite shoulder. Trains the same diagonal in the direction most people neglect. Three sets of 10 per side.
Throw light and throw fast. Adding weight to a rotational throw trades the training effect for the feeling of work.
Throws, Wall Balls and Scoop Tosses
Throws are the purest expression of what the implement does. Nothing decelerates, so peak power is genuinely peak. Stockbrugger and Haennel validated the seated medicine ball throw as a reliable field test of explosive upper body power for that reason.
Wall ball shot. Front squat to depth with the ball at your chest, drive up and throw it to a target 9 or 10 feet up, then catch it into the next squat. Standard prescription is 20 pounds to 10 feet for men and 14 pounds to 9 feet for women.
Chest pass. Explosive two-handed push from the sternum into a wall or partner. Step into it. Five sets of 6 with 6 to 10 pounds.
Scoop toss. Ball between your feet, hinge and load, then extend hips, knees and ankles and toss it up and back over your head. Full triple extension. Four sets of 5.
Backward overhead throw. The old Army Standing Power Throw. Squat, swing the ball between the legs and throw it back over your head for distance. Five sets of 3, full rest.
Squat throw. Front squat, release the ball straight up at the top and step clear. Outdoors or with a soft ball only. Four sets of 5.
Kneeling overhead throw. Tall kneeling, ball behind the head, throw forward into a wall using torso and arms alone. Exposes weak trunk transfer. Three sets of 8.
Wall balls and slams are CrossFit-coded movements, and plenty of readers arrive here weighing a class membership against training on their own. Our comparison of app-based training versus a gym class covers that decision honestly.
Lower Body Medicine Ball Exercises
A medicine ball is a poor squat implement and a good loaded-position implement. Nobody is squatting heavy with a 20 pound ball. What it does well is add load in front of your body, which forces an upright torso and honest depth.
Goblet squat. Ball at the sternum, elbows down, squat to full depth. The front load keeps your chest up. Four sets of 10 to 12 with 15 to 25 pounds.
Reverse lunge with rotation. Step back, then rotate the ball over the front thigh. Single-leg stability plus a rotational demand. Three sets of 8 per side.
Lateral lunge. Ball at the chest, step wide, sit into that hip and push back. Frontal plane work most programs skip. Three sets of 8 per side.
Split squat. Ball at the chest or overhead, rear foot elevated or flat. Overhead is harder on the trunk than the legs. Three sets of 10 per side.
Glute bridge with ball squeeze. Squeeze the ball between your knees while bridging. The adductor tension improves pelvic control. Three sets of 15.
Single-leg Romanian deadlift. Ball in both hands, hinge over one leg with a flat back. Balance limits the load, which is fine. Three sets of 8 per side.
A word on standing or squatting on top of a medicine ball, since people search for it. Do not. The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position stand on instability training concluded that unstable-surface work reduces force and power output compared with stable ground, and Kohler and colleagues found that unstable loads and surfaces did not increase trunk activation over heavy stable lifting. You give up load, you gain no core benefit, and you add a fall risk on a rolling object. Squat on the floor.
Upper Body Medicine Ball Exercises
Upper body medicine ball exercises fall into two buckets: throws, covered above, and loaded positions, here. Balls with handles expand the list, but none of these require them.
Hand-on-ball push-up. One hand on the ball, one on the floor. The offset load makes the trunk work to stop rotation. Three sets of 8 per side.
Roll-over push-up. Push-up, roll the ball across to the other hand, repeat. Adds a shoulder stability demand at the top. Three sets of 10 total.
Push press. Dip and drive the ball from your chest to overhead. The fastest way to move real weight overhead with a ball. Four sets of 8 with 15 to 20 pounds.
Strict overhead press. Same finish, no leg drive. Slower and honest about shoulder strength. Three sets of 10.
Floor pull-over. On your back, ball overhead near the floor, pull it over your chest with straight arms. Hits lats and serratus. Three sets of 12.
Front raise. Ball at the hips, raise to eye level with straight arms. Light ball, controlled tempo. Three sets of 12.
Overhead triceps extension. Ball behind the head in both hands, extend the elbows, ribs down. Three sets of 12.
For lower back work, prefer the hinge patterns in Section 7 over spinal extension with a ball behind the head. Loading a rounded spine at end range is a bad trade.
Partner Medicine Ball Exercises
Partner medicine ball exercises are the one thing this implement does that no other piece of equipment does. A partner gives you an unpredictable catch, a reactive start and a built-in work-rest structure. It is also the most natural unit PT application on the page.
Partner chest pass. Face each other 8 to 12 feet apart, pass hard, catch and return immediately. Four sets of 20 seconds. Speed, not weight.
Partner sit-up pass. Feet interlocked, both sitting up, ball passed at the top of each rep. Three sets of 20 passes.
Partner rotational pass. Stand back to back, rotate the same direction and hand off, then reverse. Three sets of 10 per direction.
Over-under pass. Back to back, pass the ball overhead one way and between the legs the other. Three sets of 12.
Partner slam and catch. One partner slams, the other receives and slams it back. Dead ball on a solid floor only. Four sets of 8.
Lateral shuffle pass. Both partners shuffle down a line while making chest passes. Footwork under a reactive task. Four sets of 20 yards.
Medicine Ball Workouts: Beginner, Full-Body and Strength
A list of exercises is not a workout. Here are three medicine ball workouts you can run today. All three assume one ball and open floor space.
Beginner medicine ball workout
Three rounds, 60 seconds rest between rounds, 8 to 10 pound ball.
Goblet squat, 12 reps
Chest pass into a wall, 10 reps
Medicine ball sit-up, 12 reps
Reverse lunge with rotation, 8 per side
Plank pull-through, 10 per side
Full-body medicine ball strength session
Four rounds, 90 seconds rest, 15 to 20 pound ball. Move deliberately and do not rush the loaded work.
Goblet squat, 10 reps
Push press, 8 reps
Single-leg Romanian deadlift, 8 per side
Floor pull-over, 12 reps
Hollow hold, 30 seconds
Medicine ball conditioning finisher
Five rounds for time, minimal rest, 20 pound slam ball.
Overhead slam, 6 reps
Slam to burpee, 6 reps
Wall ball shot, 10 reps
Lateral shuffle, 20 yards
Run the strength session twice a week and the finisher once, never on back-to-back days with heavy lower body work. If the odd-object stimulus suits you, the unstable load advantage explains why shifting mass makes a lighter load feel harder. And if you would rather have this sequenced across a training block, our guide to choosing a training program walks through how to pick one.
Sport-Specific Medicine Ball Training
Baseball drives most of the sport-specific search demand here. Szymanski and colleagues found that twelve weeks of medicine ball training improved rotational strength measures in high school baseball players. Rotational throwers found the implement first because rotational power is what they sell. The quality transfers. A pitcher, a golfer, a boxer and a soldier pivoting under a 45-pound ruck solve the same problem: make force at the ground and deliver it through a stiff torso to a distant limb. Train the pattern, not the sport. Standing side throws, rotational slams and chops cover all four. Sport specificity here is a difference in stance and volume, not exercise selection.
Printable Medicine Ball Exercise List
The full 44-exercise list, load ranges and set-rep prescriptions fit on one page. Print Section 2 and the two load tables in Section 1 and you have a garage gym wall chart. A downloadable one-page medicine ball exercise PDF with the load column included is in production and will be linked here when it ships.
Programming Medicine Ball Work into Tactical Training
Medicine ball work is a power tool, and power sits on top of strength rather than replacing it. Suchomel, Nimphius and Stone reviewed this directly: stronger athletes produce more power, adapt faster to ballistic training and get hurt less. If your deadlift is weak, throwing a ball harder will not fix it. Build the strength base, then use the ball to teach that strength to move fast. Our breakdown of how power training differs from strength covers the underlying distinction.
Programming rules that hold up:
Two to three med ball sessions per week, 10 to 20 minutes each.
Power work goes first, after the warm-up and before fatigue.
Five to eight reps per set on throws and slams, with full recovery.
Core and rotational work can run at higher volume and later in the session.
Med ball work supplements squatting, pressing, pulling and carrying. It does not replace them.
That last point is why this page pairs with our farmers carry guide. Loaded carries and med ball throws sit at opposite ends of the same force-velocity curve, and a serious tactical athlete trains both. If you want it sequenced instead of assembled, our structured tactical training programs explainer covers how the pieces fit into a week.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
What exercises can you do with a medicine ball?
You can do 44 distinct movements with one ball, in seven families: core and abs, slams, rotational work, throws and wall balls, lower body, upper body and partner drills. The full named list sits in Section 2, with a how-to and a load for each below.
What weight medicine ball should I use?
Match the weight to the speed of the movement. Rotational and chest throws run 4 to 10 pounds because speed is the training effect. Core work sits at 6 to 12 pounds. Slams go heaviest at 10 to 30 pounds since gravity does part of the work. If you buy one ball, 10 to 12 pounds covers the most ground.
What is the difference between a medicine ball and a slam ball?
A slam ball is generally built with a thick rubber shell and a sand fill so it lands dead, while a medicine ball may be softer or firmer and some models rebound. The labels are not standardized across manufacturers, so test your own ball. Drop it from chest height, and if it bounces back past your knee, do not slam it at your feet.
Are medicine ball slams good for you?
Slams train whole-body extension power and they are simple to coach, which is why they show up everywhere. The risk is equipment, not the movement. Slamming a rebounding ball at the floor sends it back toward your face, and slamming a dead ball on a suspended or tiled floor damages the floor. Use a dead ball on concrete.
Can you do a full-body workout with just a medicine ball?
Yes. The full-body session in Section 10 covers squat, hinge, press, pull and core with one ball. What one ball cannot give you is progressive heavy loading, since a 20 pound implement stops challenging a trained squat quickly. Treat it as a complete conditioning setup and a partial strength setup.
Do medicine ball exercises build strength or just conditioning?
Mostly power and conditioning. Medicine ball loads are too light to drive maximal strength adaptation in trained lifters, but they excel at rate of force development, which is how fast you express the strength you already have. Program them alongside heavy compound lifts, not instead of them.
Medicine ball exercises earn their place because they let you accelerate through the finish instead of braking, and that quality carries into moving a casualty, clearing an obstacle or driving through a door. Pick five movements, match the load to the speed of the movement, and put them at the front of two sessions a week. Keep squatting, pressing and carrying heavy, because the ball sharpens strength and does not create it. Start with the beginner circuit this week and add the strength session once the positions feel automatic.
References:
Earp JE, Kraemer WJ. Medicine ball training implications for rotational power sports. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 2010;32(4):20-25.
Cormie P, McGuigan MR, Newton RU. Developing maximal neuromuscular power: Part 1, biological basis of maximal power production. Sports Medicine. 2011;41(1):17-38.
Cormie P, McGuigan MR, Newton RU. Developing maximal neuromuscular power: Part 2, training considerations for improving maximal power production. Sports Medicine. 2011;41(2):125-146.
Suchomel TJ, Nimphius S, Stone MH. The importance of muscular strength in athletic performance. Sports Medicine. 2016;46(10):1419-1449.
Stockbrugger BA, Haennel RG. Validity and reliability of a medicine ball explosive power test. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2001;15(4):431-438.
Stockbrugger BA, Haennel RG. Contributing factors to performance of a medicine ball explosive power test: a comparison between jump and nonjump athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2003;17(4):768-774.
Ignjatović AM, Marković ŽM, Radovanović DS. Effects of 12-week medicine ball training on muscle strength and power in young female handball players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2012;26(8):2166-2173.
Szymanski DJ, Szymanski JM, Bradford TJ, Schade RL, Pascoe DD. Effect of twelve weeks of medicine ball training on high school baseball players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2007;21(3):894-901.
Behm DG, Drinkwater EJ, Willardson JM, Cowley PM. Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position stand: the use of instability to train the core in athletic and nonathletic conditioning. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 2010;35(1):109-112.
Behm DG, Drinkwater EJ, Willardson JM, Cowley PM. The use of instability to train the core musculature. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 2010;35(1):91-108.
Kohler JM, Flanagan SP, Whiting WC. Muscle activation patterns while lifting stable and unstable loads on stable and unstable surfaces. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2010;24(2):313-321.
Haff GG, Triplett NT, editors. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th edition. National Strength and Conditioning Association / Human Kinetics; 2016.
Zatsiorsky VM, Kraemer WJ, Fry AC. Science and Practice of Strength Training, 3rd edition. Human Kinetics; 2021.
U.S. Army. Army Fitness Test (AFT) event standards and 2025 transition.
U.S. Army. Army introduces new fitness test for 2025.
U.S. Army. Army Combat Fitness Test event descriptions, including the 10-pound Standing Power Throw.
American Council on Exercise. Exercise Library: Overhead Slams (bouncing versus dead ball guidance).
American Council on Exercise. 8 Creative Ways to Use a Medicine Ball.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information and training education. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose or treat any condition. Loading recommendations are starting points, not prescriptions, and individual capacity varies. Consult a physician or qualified medical provider before starting a new training program, particularly if you have an injury history or a current medical condition. Fitness test standards and event lists change; confirm current requirements with your unit, department or the official governing source before training to them.
