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After 20 years of training with medicine balls and over 10 years of selling them, I have to give a quick Medicine Ball 101. If you are researching medicine balls, you most likely have the wrong idea. My experience from my past NCAA collegiate coaching to current personal training and exercise equipment sales tells me that people continually presume that heavier is better!
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First and foremost, medicine balls are about speed and power, NOT STRENGTH! True, medicine balls can be used for variety in the slower motions of strength training. As far as I’m concerned, the essence of medicine ball training is about ballistic upper body movements. It’s about converting existing strength into explosiveness and power! Since medicine balls are not about strength, using heavy medicine balls for speed and power could totally waste your time!
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So how do you choose the right weight? The key to medicine ball training is analyzing the specific athletic motion, then duplicating and overloading that motion with the medicine ball. The weight of the medicine ball should not alter the motion! The weight of the medicine ball should not slow the speed of the motion! For youth, 2-4 pounds is a safe bet. For the average athlete, 4 to 6 pounds, for the bigger & stronger, 8 to 10 pounds. Usually any heavier than that is more about strength training.
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For more about Medicine Balls, go to Coach's Corner
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