While the basic slam ball is essentially a plain, round-ish piece of rubber, it is a versatile piece of equipment that may be utilized for various actions. Slams, tosses, carries, and utilizing the ball as a weight are among the most popular activities for beginners.
Notably, using a slam ball as a weight can also help you strengthen your grip and core strength, two essential parts of CrossFit. So, slam balls are not only a terrific exercise in and of themselves, but they also serve as a simple strength and conditioning supplement to more complex exercises.
Slam Ball Workouts
1. Ball Slams
Focus: This slam ball crossfit will have you going full throttle in a short amount of time. It is a true lactic acid endurance test. The ball slam is a full-body activity that exhausts you from head to toe. However, because this is a quick workout, keep the rest and intensity low—a true push-through-the-pain workout.
Ball Slams Technique:
- Place your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bring the ball to the full extent above.
- Keep a neutral spine throughout.
- Smack the ball between your feet.
- Recover the ball from the rebound.
- Maintain your weight in your heels.
- Bring the ball back overhead to full extension by extending the knees and hips.
Benefits
Ball smashes necessitate rapid, explosive movements that create power in all major muscle groups. Ball slams also necessitate triple extension to propel the ball from the ground to overhead in a single fast movement. Moving objects in ‘one rapid movement’ is ubiquitous in CrossFit.
Slamming the ball back down will also activate your lats, strengthening them for gymnastics-based routines. To gain momentum, you press down on the bar. That is also the movement you make during the slam component of ball slams.
2. Slam Ball Throws
Focus: This workout is all about generating dynamic power. Your goal for each rep is to toss and jump as high as possible. The reps are kept low to allow maximum recovery between sets, so you can continue giving 100% every minute without exhaustion.
Slam Ball Throws Technique:
- Place your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Place your hands beneath the ball.
- Return to a squat stance with your hips.
- Extend the knees, hips, and ankles all at once.
- Toss the ball high as you can over your head.
- Keep a neutral spine throughout.
Benefits
Slam ball throws are extremely similar to ball slams’ extension portion. Ball slams are primarily concerned with generating power during flexion (pressing down), whereas slam ball throws are concerned with increasing power during extension (drawing up). We use the triple extension to drive the ball as high as possible.
To generate maximum pulling velocity, we generate momentum through our ankles, knees, and hips. Olympic lifts, box leaps, and kettlebell swings are all variations of this activity. Increasing your pulling power will help you cross-train in many areas of CrossFit, making you a more well-rounded athlete.