A medicine ball (also known as an exercise ball, a med ball, or a fitness ball) (1). Medicine balls are incredibly versatile, regardless of whether it is used for high-performance or amateur sports, for strength training or endurance, or for children or adults.
In contrast to the classic medicine balls made of leather or plastic, there are still special modifications for many areas, such as particularly malleable or particularly soft balls.
Here we present all medicine balls that we have tested in more detail. We have put together extensive background information and added a summary of customer reviews online.
List of 8 Best Medicine Balls For Slams
1. j/fit Dead Weight Slam Ball
Take your wods to the next level: Cross training is based on variety and innovation — and also our slam ball helps alter your WODS and fast progress cross training levels, all while allowing you reap all its advantages with unprecedented simplicity.
Boost your aerobic capacity: Slam ball exercises tone your cardiovascular system, improve circulation and dramatically enhance your endurance and strength. By moving in a high speed, you push the human system prior to generating more energy — and FAST.
Build muscle mass & attain perfect balance: Slam balls include a layer of resistance to exercises that traditionally rely on bodyweight. They obviously improve muscle mass and enhance balance and posture, through helping in regulating motion routines.
2. Titan Fitness 10-60 lb Slam Spike Ball Rubber Exercise Weight Crossfit Workout
Utilize the Titan Fitness Slam balls to boost your fitness routine simply by holding it while doing exercises. Examples of them include sit-ups, lunges, squats and overhead presses; even if working with a partner you can perform chest passes, overhead moves, and abdominal function through spinning variations. Slam balls may also be used for athletic coaching by improving cardiovascular endurance, increasing muscle mass and enhancing hand-eye coordination. Excellent to get rid of extra electricity and pent up frustration.
3. TRX Training Slam Ball, Easy- Grip Tread & Durable Rubber Shell
TRX Slam Balls can enable you to unleash your energy! Engage your whole body in an high-intensity TRX Slam Ball workout that builds muscle strength vascular and explosive energy. The TRX Slam Ball includes a solid, textured coating that offers simple grasping and can help you maintain a certain grip on the ball. Designed to last the toughest workouts, the more TRX Slam Ball includes a thick, thick ultra-durable rubber shell that absorbs impact from each core-strengthening dead bounce.
4. Rep Fitness V2 Slam Balls for Strength and Conditioning, Slam Ball Exercises, and Cardio Workouts
Stronger and more durable: Our version 2 slam balls are intended to take the misuse of contemporary Cross Training workout! We left that the next-generation MUCH stronger using a 50 percent thicker shell and fortified air hose so that you can knock them over and over again without fail.
Build strength and power faster: The explosive, full body motion of hammering and picking the ball up immediately develops acute, practical metabolic conditioning. These are ideal for both Cross Training and HIIT, in which the slam ball is still a staple of several workouts.
Made for serious training: The balls are produced with extra-grippy rubber shells full of sand, which that they have reduced bounce and are simple to pick up fast. 30 pounds and below dimensions are 9 inches in diameter, whereas 35+pounds get progressively bigger as you move up in weight.
5. j/fit Soft Wall Ball, Medicine Ball, Strength & Conditioning WODs
We’ve beefed up our outer shell into some new thicker, tougher skin. With triple stitching on the seams and thicker skin, this heavy duty wall ball will probably last longer for your entire volatile tossing drills. (Not intended for slamming, please consult with this j/fit slam ball for slamming exercises).
We place each and every ball by means of a balance tunnel to be certain each ball rolls straight and the weight isn’t lopsided. This can be important once you’re performing wall ball tosses that the ball comes back straight and balanced. Every ball is individually weighed prior to closing stitching to be certain it isn’t nicely under or over planned weight dimensions.
6. AmazonBasics Medicine Ball for Workouts Exercise Balance Training
A worthy addition to any exercise, this AmazonBasics medicine ball helps improve core strength and encourage better balance, and foster coordination. The weighted strength-training ball functions nicely for a broad selection of top – and lower-body workouts, including the timeless medicine ball exercise in which you toss the ball back-and-forth using a fitness buddy or private trainer.
The weighted ball puts 20 pounds of easy-grip resistance on your hands, which makes the most from sit , twist, arm lift, squat, or even lunge. From gentle rehab exercises to creating explosive power required by aggressive athletes, then the AmazonBasics medication ball easily and efficiently promotes aerobic training in just about any level.
7. Yes4All Slam Ball Medicine Ball
Yes4All Slam Ball is especially intended to be thrown tens of thousands of times with no break or deformation. Engineered for intensive repetitive exercises, Yes4All sand stuffed ball is constructed from durable PVC material, which permits the ball to consume the power of a slam rather than bouncing or rolling out.
The brightly colored shell gives a non-slip clasp for one to grab the ball simpler. Unlike many others, Yes4All Slam Ball includes the easy construction to stop it from breaking over time of usage. This is the ideal ball for exercises such as walls slams, overhead throw, Russian weights & spins. Fantastic instrument for Crossfit workouts, private coaches, core strengthening, game training such as wrestling, boxing, and much more.
8. POWER GUIDANCE Slam Ball, Medicine Ball
POWER GUIDANCE Slam Balls can enable you to unleash your energy! Engage your whole body in an high-intensity Slam Ball workout that builds strength, cardio and explosive energy.
POWER GUIDANCE Slam Ball includes a rugged, textured coating that offers simple grasping and can help you maintain a certain grip on the ball. Designed to endure the toughest workouts, the Slam Ball includes a thick, ultra-durable rubber casing that absorbs impact from each core-strengthening dead bounce.
What is a medicine ball made of?
Almost everyone knows the classic, leather medicine ball from school. As simple and inconspicuous as it may seem, it has quite a lot to offer. The medicine ball is usually not inflated with air, but is completely filled, which is why it is often called a full ball. It can weigh between 0.8 kilograms and 10 kilograms.
The filling is very different. The classic leather balls are mostly filled with wild hair or cork granules. The newer medicine balls are more often filled with sand, plastic granulate or even scraps of cloth, which depends on how heavy the ball should ultimately be. From the outside it can be made of plastic, leather or rubber.
Where are medicine balls used?
Due to the many weight gradations, sizes and degrees of hardness, medicine balls are incredibly versatile. They are suitable for strength and muscle building, endurance units, speed training, circuit training, small games, partner exercises and much more.
In martial arts, these balls are an integral part of training. For example, to train punch or speed, the ball is well suited. A very popular exercise for this is pressure throwing. In this exercise, the ball is thrown against the wall with one or both hands as quickly and powerfully as possible.
Did you know that the medicine ball is often used in rehab?
The medicine ball proved to be an excellent means of performing known dynamic movements under somewhat greater loads. The higher load leads to better reactivation of the muscles.
This medicine ball is also used in ball sports, such as volleyball, in the medium to high-performance range. Here is played with a ball that weighs twice as much as the conventional competition ball. The goal here is to improve finger posture, full body stretching and the right body-ball ratio.
But these are just a few examples. The medicine ball can also be used in schools and physical education. You can find it in many gyms and it is also ideal for at home to complement the training.
Due to the countless possible uses, the medicine ball can be used in every sport.
Training with a medicine ball
Thanks to the infinitely versatile application possibilities that the medicine ball offers us, almost every muscle group in our body can be trained. From the abdominal muscles, chest muscles, shoulder and neck muscles to the trunk and leg muscles, everything can be trained with the medicine ball.
An example of a great whole-body exercise, which is particularly popular in CrossFit, are the so-called wall balls. Here the medicine ball is held at chin level in front of the body, then a knee bend is made and when it comes up the ball is thrown against the wall above a marking.
The great advantage of this exercise is that the entire body is stressed. The leg muscles during the squat and the jerky rise, the trunk and abdominal muscles for stabilization during the entire movement, as well as the shoulder, neck, triceps and chest muscles when holding and throwing up the ball.
How to choose a medicine ball?
This part is about how you can rate and compare medicine balls. To make it easier for you to find a good medicine ball, you should consider the following criteria:
- Material
- Processing
- Handling
- Weight
In the following section we go into more detail on the points mentioned and explain what needs to be observed so that a bad purchase can be avoided.
Material
You should make sure that the material is robust and durable. For the classic leather balls, cowhide should therefore be used, as this is more durable and robust than synthetic leather.
The filling should at best be moisture resistant to withstand sweaty hands and cleaning with a damp cloth.
The material of the plastic balls should be kind to the skin and not smell too chemically. This applies in particular to rubberized balls. Plastic balls can also leave a paint mark on the floor or wall if the cover is not made of a high quality material.
When buying used balls, the outer signs of wear should really only be light and superficial, otherwise the functionality may be limited and there is no longer a sufficient longevity.
Processing
The classic leather balls are mostly sewn. Here the seams should be stable and of high quality so that they do not burst.
The same applies to the plastic balls. They should also have high-quality seams or connections. This is particularly important for balls with air or sand, as they otherwise lose the air or sand and are no longer usable.
Handling
If you want to use the medicine ball for sweaty endurance, HIIT or similar, the surface should not be too smooth. Even with sweaty hands, the ball must not lose its grip and begin to slide. The surface should be rather rough and non-slip.
For good handling it is important that the ball is really round. With the classics it is more common that it is flat or oval. In this case, handling is very difficult and this can be very annoying, especially when training with throwing and catching exercises.
Weight
Medicine balls are generally available from 0.8 to 10 kilograms. There are of course some exceptions that are more difficult or easier. Depending on the manufacturer, different weight levels are offered.
Especially if you want to buy a set of several balls, it is important that you can choose between as many levels as possible and individually put together a meaningful set.
Conclusion
Finally, we would like to present our evaluation criteria for our medicine ball comparison so that you can better understand our reviews. Furthermore, you are advised to keep an eye out for short-term offers, because cheap bargains can quickly make a product attractive even with medicine balls!
