Medicine ball exercises are becoming more popular because they’re effective plyometric core workouts that engage the upper body muscle groups. Overhead medicine ball throws help increase your explosive power, promote weight loss, and improve balance and coordination.
However, such a functional exercise requires enough space, in addition to the availability of weighted medicine balls. For the most part, gyms dedicate a special area where you can perform medicine ball slams.
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But what if your gym isn’t catching up to the trend yet? Fear not, as we’ve compiled a list of the best med ball slam alternative exercises to ensure you’re not missing out on core muscle gains. But first, let me explain how this explosive exercise is performed.
How to Do a Medicine Ball Slam
My favorite medicine ball exercises are those that engage more than one muscle group. You can easily appreciate that medicine ball slams work your upper body muscles. However, it’s not instantly obvious that your core muscles and legs get their fair share of stimulation as well.
To get the most out of such a great exercise, you need to stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Next up, you need to grab the medicine ball with both hands and the chest level is your starting position.
As you raise the medicine ball overhead, get into a slight squat position to stimulate your abdominal muscles. As you’re throwing the ball to the ground, you need to take some notes into consideration for maximum explosive power.
For starters, you need to push your hips forward while extending your legs and getting on your toe tips. Extend your arms as you bring the medicine ball to the very top. Now, you’re ready for the ball slam part of the exercise!
Push your hip backward to engage the posterior chain muscles with your knees bent. Squeeze your abdominal muscles as you slam the ball to the ground between your feet. Then, you need to assume the squatting position, pick the medicine ball, and repeat the same movement pattern for your next round.
It’s also worth noting that if you repeat the exact same movement enough times with short time intervals in between, you’re boosting your stamina and endurance. It depends on how you integrate such a workout into your training program, which speaks for medicine ball slams’ flexibility.
7 Best Medicine Ball Slam Alternatives
If you don’t have an exercise ball lying around, you can still reap the same benefits with your existing workout equipment. Follow along as I explore the best medicine ball slam alternative exercises that work your whole body!
1. Thrusters
The best thing about thrusters is that you can incorporate any type of weight you have into such a workout routine. Whether you’re using dumbbells, kettlebells, or a barbell, the exercise is as effective and explosive as you’d expect.
Effective Technique
- All you need to do is stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart, tighten your abs, and hold the weights at shoulder height.
- With your lower back straight, assume a deep squatting position until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
- While standing up, make your momentum help you reach full arm extension and raise the weights all the way up over your head.
- Reach your starting position by slowly lowering the weight to rest on your shoulder.
Such a workout is as close as it gets to a regular medicine ball slam. Thrusters enhance stability and engage your shoulder muscles more. So, if you’re following proper form, expect to notice more rounding of your deltoid muscles and a more defined shoulder contour.
2. Battle Rope Slams
If you’re up for a challenge, you’d love battle rope slams. The core workout keeps your feet flat throughout the entire movement, removing the momentum you get when bouncing from the squat stance.
Effective Technique
- For the most force production, you need to stand with your feet about shoulder-width and your hands resting right on your thighs.
- Hold each end of the battle ropes and slightly bend your knees into a shallow squat.
- Make sure your trunk remains upright through the exercise and your core muscles are as tight as steel!
- You need to regulate your breathing pattern as well in order not to run into exhaustion too soon.
- Take a deep breath while bracing your abdominal muscles, then raise both arms up and exhale as you slam the battle ropes hard toward the ground.
- Go into a half squat position with each slam and stand up once more to get ready for the next repetition.
You can also shake things up and use alternating hand movements when doing battle rope slams. This breeds new life into your exercise and allows you to continue seeing gains far down the line.
3. Sledgehammer Swings
Of course, no list of medicine ball slam alternative workouts is ever complete without sledgehammer swings. Such exercise mainly targets the abdominal muscles and can help you develop your six-packs.
That’s not all; your shoulders, back, and forearm muscles get some love as well, giving you a more defined upper body.
Just like all the other core exercises I’ve gone through so far, sledgehammer swings are key for maintaining cardiovascular health, as the exercise routine promotes endurance and stamina.
Effective Technique
- Stand with your feet hip-width while steadily holding the sledgehammer in both hands.
- Place the tire flat on the ground to ensure it remains sturdy throughout the exercise.
- Next up, you need to raise the hammer over your shoulders and slam it down as hard as you can to hit the tire in front of you.
- Be prepared for the sledgehammer’s momentum and expect it to bounce back in your direction.
- Repeat the same movement pattern and try putting your entire body weight behind each swing.
- You might be tempted to swing the sledgehammer only from your dominant side, but this isn’t the best way to go as you overload such muscles and make them prone to injuries.
- Try alternating between both sides and be patient because your non-dominant side will pose a challenge for a while until you get used to the movements.
- It’s always advised to wear your trusty pair of gloves while doing sledgehammer swings, especially if you’re going for high-rep sets.
You don’t need fancy equipment to get similar benefits to medicine ball slams, as all you need is a sledgehammer and an old trunk tire and you’re off to go. Ideally, you need an open outdoor space to avoid any potential accidents and ensure you get the full range of movement.
4. Kettlebell Swings
Surprisingly, kettlebell swings target the gluteal and hamstring muscles, as the movement that thrusts the kettlebell upwards actually comes from your lower body muscles. The shoulder muscles are just needed to fine-tune the movement and ensure you don’t over or undershoot.
Effective Technique
- Start with your feet hip-width with the kettlebell resting on the ground in front of you.
- To hinge forward at the right angle, your kettlebell needs to be at a distance of around six inches away from you.
- Push your hips backward as you reach out to grasp the handle of the kettlebell.
- Once you have a firm grip with both hands, lift the weight off the ground and pull it back between your legs to create enough momentum.
- Squeeze your glutes and push your hips forward as you swing the weight in front of you up to around shoulder height.
- Let gravity take over, and as the weight drops, repeat the same movements until you complete your kettlebell swing set.
You don’t need as much space to nail kettlebell swings as that needed for sledgehammer swings, so it remains a reliable indoor alternative to medicine ball slams. Also, if you can’t find a kettlebell in your gym, you can perform the same exercise using a single dumbbell.
5. Kettlebell Snatches
I’ve got one more kettlebell exercise for you that feels like the natural evolution of the kettlebell swing. Since snatches are more advanced, you might have to start with lower weights than what you’re used to with the kettlebell swing to avoid ending up with bruised wrists.
Effective Technique
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and place the kettlebell around six inches in front of you.
- Lean forward as you reach out to the kettlebell handle. However, this time around, you’re grasping the weight with only one hand.
- The kettlebell snatch follows the same footsteps as the swing. So, you’re still bringing the kettlebell backward between your legs as you inhale and pushing it in front of your torso as you exhale.
- Use the inertia of the swing to raise the weight overhead by pushing the kettlebell handle with your palm and engaging your upper back muscles.
- To rotate the grip of the kettlebell, you need to slightly bend your elbow when the weight reaches shoulder height.
- Punch your fist upwards to get the full shoulder press and prepare to bring the weight down.
- Rotate your wrist forward with your forearm going inwards to swing the kettlebell downwards between your legs.
- Once you’re done with one arm, repeat the same steps with the other.
Kettlebell snatches stimulate the same muscles as the swings, which are the glutes and the hip muscles. Since snatches are more complex, they require help from the trapezius muscles of the upper back, making such an exercise a more comprehensive alternative to medicine ball slams.
6. Jump Squat
You don’t even need any weight plates for this next workout, as jump squats are one of those conditioning exercises that rely on your body weight. This makes for a more flexible medicine ball slams alternative that you can perform virtually anywhere.
Effective Technique
- As always, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and bring your arms by your sides.
- Go down into the squatting position by bending the knees down and pushing the hips backward until your thighs are parallel with the floor.
- The key here is nailing the explosive aspect of the movement. Jump as high as you can and stretch your body as you go up.
- Go back to the squatting position and repeat the movement until you have a full set.
Jump squats stimulate the same muscles as a medicine ball slam and are accessible to people at different skill levels. Also, no cable machine, battle rope, or kettlebells are required! As long as you can jump, you’re good to go.
7. Medicine Ball Sit Up and Throw
Just like sledgehammer swings, medicine ball sit up and throw mainly targets the abdominal muscles. For the best results, use a sturdy wall to bounce off the wall, or ask your gym buddy to catch the ball and throw it back your way.
Effective Technique
- I figured I should wrap up my list on a different note. Unlike the starting position you’ve come to expect from other medicine ball slams alternatives, here you need to lie on the floor with your back flat and your legs half bent.
- Make sure you’re around 6 to 10 feet away from a wall.
- While you’re sitting up, throw the ball forward in the direction of the wall. Make sure this translates into one smooth movement, as you don’t want to sit up first and then start throwing the ball.
- As the ball bounces off the wall, catch it and lie back once more, then repeat.
As you can tell already, for this exercise, you still need a slam ball. It’s a good variation of the regular medicine ball slams, and it leans toward working your core more than your upper body.
Final Thoughts
A medicine ball slam could be too noisy for some. Besides that, it requires exercise balls and an open space where you can comfortably perform the full range of motion.
If any of those prerequisites fall apart, this doesn’t mean you’ll have to miss out on the gains of such conditioning exercises.
By now, you should have a wide range of alternatives to medicine ball workouts to choose from.
Whether you settle for battle rope exercises, kettlebell workouts, or body weight medicine ball slam alternatives, you’re still stimulating the same muscles as in an overhead medicine ball throw.
