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Start ShoppingAt Archon Fitness, our team of fitness and health professionals is often asked about the differences in the different workout balls you can find not only at the gym but for sale on most fitness sites.
The truth is medicine balls, slam balls, and wall balls may look similar; however, they have different uses and will help achieve different fitness goals.
Medicine Balls
The Basics
Medicine balls are weighted balls, usually made of PVC or rubber, and covered in a textured surface so grip is improved. Medicine balls typically weigh between 8 – 30 pounds. While there’s no standard size for medicine balls, they’re usually a little bigger than a basketball.
Medicine balls have no bounce. Most are filled with sand (which is cheap and easy to use).
What Medicine Balls Do
You have probably already correctly assumed what medicine balls do, just from reading their description.
Medicine balls are comfortable and easy to use. Certainly you can throw them, but it’s not recommended that medicine balls be slammed. Because medicine balls are weighted, they are easy to use as a modification for any number of standard exercises like sit-ups or squats. Many use medicine balls as a stability ball for modifying exercises like push-ups.
What Are Your Goals?
For weight training, the medicine ball is less intimidating than free weights and is used in basically the same way.
Also, medicine balls are used to train explosive power and coordination by catching and throwing. To throw the medicine ball, you’ll use dynamic power production within your muscles.
If you’re working out for general health and fitness, already have the strength to perform daily tasks, have good cardio health, and are looking to increase these aspects of your fitness regimen, medicine balls are a good way to freshen your average workout.
Our Product
The Archon medicine ball is sold in both sets and as individual balls. Textured for easy gripping and color-coded for clear identification, use them to improve your balance and challenge your overall fitness abilities. Our medicine balls are not recommended for slamming.
Exercises to Try
When you’re choosing the appropriate medicine ball, pick one that’s heavy enough to slow your typical motion but not so heavy that it impairs your accuracy or range of motion. For each exercise, try for 10-15 reps.
Figure 8
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold the medicine ball in both hands on one side of your head.
- Very slowly and with your arms fully extended in a clockwise motion, form a figure eight in front of your body.
- This exercise is deceptively tough – especially with arms extended. You may want to start with a lighter ball at first.
- Repeat exercise in a counter-clockwise motion.
Crunch and Hold
- Lie on your back with your legs extended in the air, forming an L.
- Hold the ball overhead. Crunch up. Hold. Lower back to starting position.
- Repeat.
Slam Balls
The Basics
Slam balls are made to be thrown. Like medicine balls, they don’t bounce, and their heavy shell provides durability, which means they won’t “give” when thrown. You’ll use your full body as you throw a slam ball, which improves your core and explosiveness over time. They vary in weights, similar to the medicine ball, and support a range of muscle strengths and capabilities.
What Slam Balls Do
Slam balls are easy to use and provide a killer workout to your abs and core, shoulders, triceps, pectorals, calves, and back. Consider using slam balls in place of your free weights or incorporate them into your cardio exercises.
What Are Your Goals?
As with all fitness equipment, it’s important to identify your fitness goals before purchase so that you know exactly why you’re buying a specific piece of equipment. Similar to the medicine ball, slam balls are helpful in building strength and increasing cardio and muscle mass.
Our Product
Receive FREE shipping on our slam balls, which are color-coded for easy identification. Our slam balls are sold individually or in sets. Round out your home gym with this easy and flexible addition to your workout.
Exercises to Try
Bulgarian Squat
- Stand with feet together in front of the slam ball.
- Push right foot back and balance your toes on top of the ball.
- Applying weight to your left heel, lower your body into a lunge, bending your right knee forward (be sure your left knee forms a 90-degree angle.)
- Straighten both legs until standing in front of the ball again. Repeat.
Burpee Slam
- Stand with legs a little more than shoulder-width apart and slam the ball to your chest.
- Pushing your feet up by the toes, lift the slam ball over your head.
- Drop hips down and force slam ball into the floor.
- While pressing the ball into the floor, spring your feet back so that you’re in a braced plank position.
- Spring feet forward into a squat, with hands still on the ball, then move slowly back to the first position.
Wall Balls
The Basics
Larger than both medicine balls and slam balls, wall balls look like a beach ball. They’re softer and have a little more bounce to them. They’re usually made of vinyl and have a padded outer layer that makes them easier to catch. Wall balls come in a variety of weights, typically from 6 – 20 pounds.
What Wall Balls Do
True to their name, wall balls are usually used in exercises that have something to do with a wall. Bouncing, throwing, and catching the ball against a wall leads to more dynamic movement and a stronger core. For those intimidated by using weights, the wall ball is a great compromise!
What Are Your Goals?
When used correctly, wall balls target lots of the same areas that medicine and slam balls do, but in different ways. They also test your cardio and provide serious (even unexpected) shoulder, leg, and cardio endurance tests.
Because the wall ball is so lightweight, you’re going to get better squat form and muscular endurance. Wall ball is a more specialized exercise than slam or medicine balls. If you’re a strength athlete or a frequent exerciser, wall ball exercises are an excellent way to warm up and fine-tune your squat mechanics.
Our Product
Our wall balls are made with a durable, synthetic leather shell that provides a comfortable and controlled grip. This wall ball will hold up to your most intense workouts. Our wall balls are most often used for throwing, catching, and launching.
Exercises to Try
Squat Ball
- Stand about two feet in front of a wall with your feet hip-width apart.
- Keep the wall ball between your hands at chest height. Squeeze elbows into your sides.
- Sink into a squat until the crease of your hip is at or below your knees. Descend as low as you can while maintaining a neutral arch in your spine. Keep the ball close to your chest on the way down.
- Keeping your chest up, push your body away from the floor and throw the ball at the wall, aiming for a spot about eight feet off the ground.
- Catch the ball following contact with the wall and sink back into your next squat.
- Repeat.
Side Throws
- Standing tall next to a wall with feet shoulder-width apart, hold the wall ball in both hands. Extend your arms fully in front of you, so the ball is at chest height.
- Engage your abs and rotate your torso away from the wall.
- Quickly reverse direction to throw the ball against the wall as hard as possible, catching it on the rebound.
The Archon Difference
Archon is way more than an online retailer for workout equipment. We are a fitness company staffed by a team of passionate professionals dedicated to healthier bodies and healthy minds.
We provide a wide selection of only the highest-quality equipment and offer free shipping on almost all items. When you purchase a piece of workout equipment from us, our relationship is just beginning. Ideally, we start a dialogue.
We want you to know how to effectively and safely use the equipment so you see the results you’re expecting. Communicate with one of our trainers about the equipment you’ve purchased, and let us design a workout for you that will help you meet your fitness goals.
We are here for you. We want you to succeed. Whether you’re just beginning your journey toward fitness or you are well on your way to healthier living, you are important to us. Check out our website and start your relationship with Archon – TODAY.