10 Exercises You Can Do With a Medicine Ball

Long before the advent of barbells, dumbbells, and hi-tech fitness gadgets, there was the medicine ball.

This simple piece of exercise equipment has been around for over 2,000 years. Ancient Greek physicians used weighted animal bladders to rehabilitate injured warriors. Hippocrates — the father of medicine himself — was said to have his patients toss stuffed skins for therapeutic benefit. The term “medicine ball” dates back to the late 19th century, where it gained popularity in American physical culture circles and old-time gymnasiums. Teddy Roosevelt reportedly trained with one. So did turn-of-the-century prizefighters, soldiers, and circus strongmen.

Today, the medicine ball is often an underrated and underutilized implement. If you’re like a lot of gym-goers, you probably see the rack of medicine balls but aren’t entirely sure what to do with them — beyond maybe throwing them against the wall and slamming them on the floor.

But there’s much more you can do with medicine balls than that, and their variety of uses parallels their variety of benefits: medicine balls add resistance without the rigidity of weights and train not just strength, but speed, coordination, balance, and rotational power. They’re an ideal tool for developing explosive strength — a vital yet often overlooked dimension of fitness that not only supports overall health but helps stave off powerpenia, the age-related decline in muscular power that’s key to aging well.

Below, we’ll break down some of the best medicine ball exercises to build power, athleticism, and all-around old-school vigor.

Basic Guidelines

Choose the right weight. For power and speed-based movements, lighter is better (6–10 lbs). For slams or strength exercises, you can go heavier (12–20+ lbs). The ball should challenge you without slowing you down.
Choose the right kind of ball for the exercise. Use a softer ball for slams or partner work (a.k.a. wall balls or “D-balls”), and a hard rubber one for bounces and floor drills.
Maintain form. The goal is explosive, controlled movement — not flailing or jerking.

1. Chest Pass

A person in athletic attire performs a chest pass, one of the classic medicine ball exercises, by pushing a medicine ball from chest height toward a wall.

Targets: Chest, triceps, shoulders
How: Stand 3–5 feet from a wall or partner. Hold the ball at chest level and forcefully pass it straight out, like a basketball chest pass.
Why: Builds upper-body power and coordination. Great warm-up for pressing days.

2. Rotational Throw

A muscular person in gym attire prepares to throw a weighted ball against a wall, demonstrating a rotational throw with a red arrow showing the movement path—an excellent example of medicine ball exercises.

Targets: Core, obliques, hips
How: Stand sideways to a wall, holding the ball at your hip. Rotate through your torso and throw the ball into the wall as hard as possible. Catch on the rebound or retrieve and repeat.
Why: Mimics the rotational power used in punching, swinging, or throwing. Builds athleticism.

3. Overhead Slam

Illustration of a person in athletic wear holding a medicine ball overhead, preparing to slam it downward with force. Text below reads "Overhead Slam"—a powerful move often featured in medicine ball exercises and workouts.

Targets: Lats, core, arms, legs
How: Raise the ball overhead with arms extended, then slam it down into the ground with everything you’ve got. Squat to retrieve and repeat.
Why: A total-body power movement that builds explosiveness. A great workout finisher — and stress reliever.

4. Front Squat

Illustration of a person in a blue outfit performing a front squat as part of medicine ball exercises, holding the ball with a large red upward arrow in the background. Text below reads "Front Squat.

Targets: Quads, glutes, core
How: Hold the medicine ball at chest height. Squat down, keeping your chest upright and elbows tucked in. Drive back up through the heels.
Why: Adds load to a bodyweight squat and forces you to brace the core.

5. Russian Twist

Illustration of a man performing a Russian Twist as part of a medicine ball workout, highlighting the twisting motion with arrows. Perfect for learning exercises with medicine ball to strengthen your core.

Targets: Obliques, abs
How: Sit on the floor with knees bent, feet hovering or planted. Hold the ball with both hands and rotate side to side, tapping it to the ground each time.
Why: Builds rotational core strength and stability. Can be scaled up by adding speed or weight.

6. Wall Ball Shot

Illustration of a person in a squat holding a medicine ball, preparing to throw it at a wall—an effective exercise with medicine ball. Red arrows show the ball’s path. Text reads "Wall Ball Shot.

Targets: Quads, glutes, shoulders, cardio
How: Stand facing a wall with the ball held at chest level. Squat down, then explode up and throw the ball at a target on the wall 8–10 feet high. Catch and repeat.
Why: Blends strength, power, and cardio. A brutal conditioning tool.

7. Medicine Ball Push-Up

Illustration of a person doing a push-up with one hand on a medicine ball and the other on the floor, showing directional arrows for movement. Text reads "Medicine Ball Push-Up"—a challenging addition to your medicine ball workout.

Targets: Chest, triceps, core
How: Place one hand on the ball and the other on the ground. Perform a push-up. Switch hands each rep or after a set.
Why: Increases instability and range of motion, hitting smaller stabilizer muscles.

8. Medicine Ball V-Up

Illustration of a person performing a medicine ball V-up; lying on back, lifting legs and arms to touch the ball to feet, with red arrows showing movement. Great for adding variety to your medicine ball workout.

Targets: Abs, hip flexors
How: Lie flat, holding the ball overhead. Simultaneously raise your legs and upper body, touching the ball to your feet at the top. Lower under control.
Why: Demands coordination, flexibility, and core control.

9. Lunge With Twist

Illustration of a person doing a lunge with a twist, holding a medicine ball—arrows highlight arm, torso rotation, and lower body movement, demonstrating medicine ball exercises for full-body engagement.

Targets: Legs, core
How: Holding the ball, step forward into a lunge. At the bottom, rotate your torso (and the ball) away from your front leg. Return to center and step back. Alternate legs.
Why: Adds balance and core engagement to a classic leg movement.

10. Scoop Toss

Illustration of a person performing a scoop toss, throwing a medicine ball underhand against a wall with a red arrow indicating the motion—perfect for demonstrating medicine ball fitness exercises.

Targets: Glutes, hamstrings, back
How: Face a wall or partner, hold the ball low, then explode upward and forward, tossing the ball with a scooping motion.
Why: Mimics the hinge-and-extend pattern of jumping or Olympic lifting. Builds lower-body power.

Incorporating Medicine Ball Exercises Into Your Workout Routine

Medicine ball work makes a great supplement to calisthenics, sprinting, or kettlebell workouts. Or you can do them at the end of a weightlifting workout to build conditioning. If you’re going to use medicine ball work for that purpose, combine movements that supplement your strength workout. For example, if you hit your upper body that day with the weights, select medicine ball exercises that emphasize the upper body, like chest passes and overhead slams. On lower body days, do front squats and lunges with a twist.

You can even do a workout that consists entirely of medicine ball exercises. Here’s one short, intense circuit workout that hits every part of your body in just 20 minutes.

Medicine Ball Circuit Workout

Do 3–5 rounds of the following, resting 1 minute between rounds:

Overhead Slams – 10 reps
Front Squats – 10 reps
Rotational Throws — 10 reps (5 each side)
Russian Twists – 20 reps (10 per side)
Wall Ball Shots – 15 reps

For an added challenge, finish with a 2-minute max-rep slam test.

The medicine ball is an old-school fitness tool that still carries currency today. Once used by warriors, boxers, and strongmen, it remains a valuable, and honestly fun, training implement for developing explosive strength and vital conditioning.

Illustrations by Ted Slampyak