Medicine-ball tosses or slams are one of the easiest, and certainly the most fun, ways to bring power training into your week. They build rotation, coordination, balance, and the ability to transfer force from your hips to your hands — all skills we rely on every day but rarely train deliberately.
I can’t imagine how many times I’ve written this already… But if you want to keep moving confidently and prepared as you age, you have to train power, balance, and explosiveness. Not just strength and endurance. True power — the ability to create and dissipate force quickly.
Medball slams are not only fun, but they’re a fantastic way to train these adaptations.
Medball slams train rotational power, and while they do that, they also train your balance. When you get the ball moving quickly to throw it… That’s your power training. But after you release the ball, there will be significant momentum you need to counter to prevent yourself from falling forward or sideways… that’s the balance component.
When you throw a medball, you’re training various important physical capacities:
• Power: Rapid force development. This is how you maintain your ability to catch yourself, react quickly, accelerate, and move with confidence.
• Balance: Every toss challenges your stance, your hips, and your core.
• Rotation: One of the two most forgotten planes of movement. You twist in life more than you realize — this keeps that pattern strong and safe. I wrote an entire post about why we need to train rotation. That’s how movement works in real life.
• Coordination: Hips, trunk, shoulders, and feet working together. This is part of the neuromuscular and balance training we discussed recently. Building coordination involves improving connections between the brain and individual muscle groups, as well as teaching the brain to coordinate the activities of all these groups together.
• Tissue elasticity: Training your body to store and release force efficiently, like a spring.
Rogue makes great med balls. But many on the market will do. These do not bounce naturally unless they’re thrown very hard. Med balls that bounce like a basketball will hurt you when they bounce back at you. Don’t use bouncy med balls.
Start with a light med ball. In the videos below, I am using a 12- or 14# med ball. If you’re just starting out, that might be too heavy. These tosses will test your balance and reaction time. Start slow, build slowly over time, and don’t introduce too many in your first few weeks. Once you’re comfortable with the movements and your stability, add speed before adding heavier medballs.
Coaching Notes
Throw with speed… but be controlled and balanced at all times.
Learn with a trainer or coach if you need to.
Injury risk is low, but not zero.
I have an awful-looking spine X-ray and back pain, but I love these nonetheless.
If anything hurts a lot, reduce volume or load.
Rest between sets — this is power training— it requires 2 minutes rest between sets.
Two sessions per week are plenty. Add a different toss or two to your normal workout each week.
You only need 5–10 minutes to get a real benefit.
You should not be exhausted after these. They will raise your heart rate, but the goal is not to reach exhaustion like in a strength workout.
I work on one or two of these in each training session. I never do just a medball workout. I will do a heavy leg press or leg extension, then superset it with a med ball variation. Or a heavy back exercise like a row, and superset it with a medball and/or core exercise.
Disclaimer: This Action Plan is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Consider using a professional coach if you are unsure how to perform these exercises. Always consult your physician or other qualified healthcare provider before beginning any new exercise program, especially if you have any underlying medical conditions, injuries, or concerns. Participation is voluntary and at your own risk.
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Below are 15 different medicine ball slam variations. We progress from beginner to intermediate and then to fun but more complex variations for Members.
Pick a light ball (4–8 lbs).
Chest Pass Against a Wall 3 sets of 6–8 throws. Stand tall, step into it, and toss the ball hard against the wall. Focus on quickness, not brute force. This is a one-handed toss. You can throw it with both hands like a basketball pass.
Underhand (Forward) Toss: Face the wall with both feet parallel to the wall. 3 sets of 6 tosses. Start low (notice how I start the med ball back by my hip), swing up, toss forward. Hip drive is everything here. See my right hip swing backward, load, and accelerate forward.
Side Toss (Both Sides) 2 sets of 6 per side. Feet about shoulder width apart, and perpendicular to the wall— rotate from the hips, and throw. Don’t muscle it with your arms — let the legs and trunk initiate the movement.
Complete turn side toss: A third side toss variation. Look how far I have rotated my feet away from the wall. That adds more rotational stress and training to this movement.
Side-to-side twist: 8 turns to either side: Turn as rapidly to one side as you can. Rapidly return the other way. Spread your legs to shoulder-width apart. If the ball is heavy, this can throw you off balance.
Pick a moderate ball weight (6–10 lbs).
Over The Top Toss: 3 sets of 5 per side. Grab the med ball, twist your trunk, bring the ball over your head, and throw it down to one side. Catch it and begin the twist, ball raise, and throw to the other side.
Jump and Slam: 3 sets of 6. One of my favs. Jump, lift the ball overhead, slam it, and repeat.
Rapid Chest Pass: 3 sets of 10-15: Chest pass, catch, repeat. I am releasing and catching the ball as rapidly and as controlled as possible.
For Members: Here, I will show you 7 more medball variations, including my favorite, along with some medball eccentric work.
You do not need to do all of these for a solid medball workout. I do like to add a few of these to each workout.
I use every variation above and below as part of my power and rotational training. For golfers, pickleball, and tennis players, these exercises will bring more power, confidence, and stability to your game.
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