8 Medicine Ball Exercises for Core Strength

Medicine ball abs can be easily achieved by increasing weight or adding movements to transform beginner and intermediate exercises into advanced options instantly. Simply hold your legs slightly above the ground instead of lying flat or keep your arms above your head instead of close to the chest.

Here's 8 for you to try out no matter what fitness level you are! 

Squats & Squeezes

3 sets of 15 + a 15 – 60 second hold.

1. Place your back against a wall with your hips and shoulders squared.
2. Take the medicine ball and hold it either above your head with your arms extended or _`directly in front of you with your arms forward if you want an arm workout too.
3. Slide down until your knees are at 90 degrees and then rise back up.
4. On the 15^th squat, place the medicine ball just above your knees and hold for 15 - 60 seconds depending on your fitness level.

V-Ups

3 sets of 15

1. Lie flat on your back with your legs extended.
2. Place your arms overhead holding your medicine ball with both hands.
3. Lift your hands and feet simultaneously so your body forms a V.
4. Slowly lower your arms and legs back down to the floor.

Medicine Ball Presses

3 sets of 15

1. Lie on a yoga mat faceup with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
2. Hold a medicine ball with extended arms in front of your chest. Raise your torso to a sitting position and do a sit up.
3. Extend the medicine ball over your head.
4. Lie back down.

For an additional ab workout, extend your legs instead of having your knees bent and do flutter kicks.

Medicine Ball Chop Swings

3 sets of 15 for each side

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold the medicine ball in your top right shoulder.
2. Twist your torso to the left to do a 180 turn.
3. While twisting you’ll want to pivot your feet and swing or “chop” the medicine ball down wards while lunging towards the ground in the same direction you are turning.
4. Now bring the ball back up in the opposite direction using a similar cross body movement.

Squat and Toss

3 sets of 15

1. Stand with your feet spread about shoulder-width apart.
2. Hold the medicine ball at your chest.
3. Squat down, and then extend your legs up.  
4. Once standing, throw the medicine ball directly overhead and catch it.
5. Bring ball back to chest and repeat.

Rock And Roll Ups

3 sets of 15

1. Lie flat on the floor with the knees flexed and your feet flat on the floor. Hold the medicine ball with your arms fully extended overhead.
2. Pull your knees to your chest and bring your hands towards your knees.
3. Pull your body up and assume the squat pose. Then stand up straight.
4. Squat again, and go back to the starting position.

Ball Flies

3 sets of 15

1. Lie face up on a stability ball with your neck and shoulder blades resting on the ball’s center and your knees bent at a 90-degree angle.
2. Extend your arms holding a medicine ball towards the ceiling.
3. Shift the ball to your left hand and slowly lower the ball until the left arm is parallel with the floor.
4. Bring the ball back to the center and shift the ball to the right hand and do the same thing on this side.
5. If you want an extra movement, with your arms straight, lower it behind your head flat to the ground and bring back up above your chest.

Medicine Ball Boat Balance

3 sets

1. Sitting on a yoga mat, raise your torso off the floor, and grab the medicine ball.
2. Keep your knees bent, lift your feet off the floor.
3. Place the medicine ball on your shins and balance the ball while you lean slightly backwards.
4. Extend your arms forward and hold for 30 to 60 seconds.

To strengthen all your core muscles, you will need to do a variety of exercises in your workouts. That’s why using medicine balls for core workouts is a great idea.  You can easily increase and decrease the intensity by changing the weights, but you also get a huge range of movement because of their shape and are not attached to anything.   

What do you think?