In my opinion, two things all great athletic training programs focus on are core strength and power. Don't get me wrong: there's much more that goes into training and being a great athlete, but focusing on these two aspects is absolutely necessary. If you want to be a better sprinter [1], gymnast [2], golfer, tennis player, softball player — you get my point; power and core strength are essential.
There are lots of moves that should and can be done to improve core strength and overall power, with one of my favourites being the rotational medicine ball slam and toss. A few benefits of this move are conditioning (improving both the strength and power of the muscles) and improvement of hip rotational power (great for athletes like baseball players [3]), and it will help improve your overall power. Even if you aren't an athlete, you'll still reap the benefits of this move.
How to Do a Rotational Medicine Ball Slam
- Start standing in front of a wall holding a six- to 10-pound soft-shell medicine ball in front of your body with your arms fully extended.
- Engage your core, and raise the ball overhead. On an exhale, slam the ball down in front of you as hard as you can. Catch the ball after it bounces back up.
- Once you've caught the ball, pivot on your left foot and step your right leg back simultaneously as you toss the ball as hard as you can at the wall. Catch the ball, and pivot back to the starting position.
- This counts as one rep. Perform 10 reps tossing the ball to the right, take 30 seconds of rest, then repeat on the left side. That's one set. Take no more than 60 seconds of rest in between each set, completing a total of three sets.
- If this move is too advanced, perform a set of standard medicine ball slams [5] followed by a set of medicine ball rotational throws [6].