The medicine ball can be used to develop an athlete’s muscular endurance, power, and strength in the functional aspect. These benefits are vital to showing athletic dominance in athletic competition of all sports and, as we all know when an athlete physically dominates the competition, athletic confidence rises! Placing medicine ball exercises in a plyometric or muscular power training program can enhance an athlete’s power output by allowing full acceleration throughout the movement without and deceleration. This is important because in these programs the most efficient movements are done with speed and when a barbell is being used, it is hard for most people to go through the whole power movement without decelerating at the end. It is also safer to throw a medicine ball compared to throwing a weighted barbell (Kraemer 2008). This means your growing and developing athlete is training in a functionally safe environment.
When creating an exercise program that utilizes medicine ball training there are a few things we consider, first the weight of the ball and the size of the ball. It is always best to start with a lighter ball. This will ensure that the athlete can perform the movement with proper form. If the athlete starts off with a heavier ball without practicing the movement first, they put themselves at a higher risk of injury. Another factor that plays into this programming is the size of the ball. Some exercises require larger sizes, not necessarily more weight, in order to perform the exercise properly and efficiently.
In regard to the impact medicine ball training has on the body’s physiology, research shows that this type of training can stimulate acute cardiometabolic responses. In a study done with children and medicine ball interval training, the researchers were looking to see if there were any of these responses produced by this type of training. Once the testing was complete, they found that MBIT stimulated increases in HR, VO2, VE, and RER. MBIT requires the individual to use musculature from the upper and lower parts of the body which causes an increase in energy expenditure. Also, this type of training increases neuromuscular fitness because it causes the individual to use kinesthetic awareness and focus on their motor control (Faigenbaum 2018).
Faigenbaum, A. D., Kang, J., Farrell, A., Ratamess, N. A., Ellis, N., Vought, I., & Bush, J. (2018). Acute Cardiometabolic Responses to Medicine Ball Exercise in Children. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise,50, 527. doi:10.1249/01.mss.0000536821.26319.70 Kraemer, W. (2008). Selecting and Effectively Using Medicine Balls (ACSM).
Retrieved from https://blogs.umass.edu/bodyshop/files/2009/07/SelectingandEffectivelyUsingMedicineBalls1.pdf
