Medicine balls are, without a doubt, the unsung heroes of the fitness industry, especially when training your core muscles. These sand or gel-filled balls come in a variety of weights, from beginner to advanced, and are probably one of the most versatile fitness tools out there. The weighted nature of the ball offers resistance that engages the core’s muscles and challenges their stability in similar ways to real-life activities. Plus, many medicine ball movements require multiple muscle groups to activate simultaneously, further promoting coordination and balance.  

Including Medicine Balls in your core workouts should be a no-brainer! In this blog, we’ll provide you with ten different medicine ball movements that’ll make a great addition to your workout regime.  

 What Are Your 'Core' Muscles?

When we talk about training our ‘core’, we’re referring to a group of muscles in the torso and pelvis that provide stability and support to the spine and pelvis during exercise and day-to-day activity.  

The Core Muscles Include -

• Rectus abdominis - front of the abdomen

• Obliques - sides of your abdomen

• Traverse abdominis - deep abdominal muscle

• Erector spinae - back muscles

• Pelvic floor muscles

Strengthening these muscles will not only improve your athletic performance but also your posture, balance, and overall functional strength.  

10 Med Ball Core Exercises

1 - Medicine Ball Russian Twists

Sit on the floor with bent knees and feet lifted off the ground. Hold the medicine ball in both hands and rotate your torso from side to side, tapping the ball lightly on the floor on each side. If this is too challenging, you can scale the exercise by allowing your feet to rest on the ground. 

This exercise targets the obliques, rectus abdominis, and transverse abdominis and improves rotational strength and stability.  

2 - Medicine Ball V-Ups

Lie flat on your back with your arms extended overhead, holding the medicine ball. Lift your legs and upper body simultaneously to reach the medicine ball towards your toes. Return to the starting position. 

This exercise targets the entire core, including the rectus abdominis, obliques, and hip flexors. V-ups are a great exercise to boost your overall core strength and stability. It also requires a certain amount of coordination. 

3 - Medicine Ball Plank Rollouts

Assume a plank position with your forearms resting on the medicine ball. Roll the ball away from your body while maintaining the core position and return to start. The stronger your core, the further away you can roll the medicine ball without ‘breaking’ the plank position.  

This exercise targets the deep stabilising muscles, including the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, and obliques. 

4 - Medicine Ball Bicycle Crunches

Lie on your back with your knees bent and hold the medicine ball over your chest. Your shoulders should be raised off the floor. Bring your left knee towards your right elbow whilst extending the opposite leg. Repeat on the other side.  

This exercise engages the rectus abdominis, obliques, and hip flexors. It’s a great way to improve your core strength and work on your coordination.

5 - Medicine Ball Deadbugs

Lie on your back with your knees bent at 90 degrees. Hold the medicine against your knees with your arms. Extend one leg whilst simultaneously extending the opposite arm behind your head, keeping the ball balanced in place during the exercise. 

This exercise is excellent for training core control and coordination. It targets the transverse abdominis and obliques. 

6 - Medicine Ball Woodchopper

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding the medicine ball with both hands above one shoulder. Rotate your torso diagonally and swing the ball across your body, ending in a squat with the ball next to the opposite hip. Rotate again, standing, and swing the ball back to the starting shoulder. 

This exercise engages the obliques, rectus abdominis, and lower back muscles, boosting rotational strength and stability.

7 - Medicine Ball Russian Twist with Leg Extension

This is the next-level version of the Russian twists we described earlier. Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet lifted off the floor. Hold the medicine ball with both hands and rotate your torso side to side while extending one leg at a time. 

This exercise targets the obliques, rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and hip flexors. It requires a little more control and coordination than the standard Russian twists. 

8 - Medicine Ball Reverse Crunches

Lie on your back and knees bent. Hold the medicine ball between your feet. Initiate the movement by lifting your hips off the ground, bringing your knees toward your chest while squeezing the ball hard. 

This movement mainly targets the lower rector abdominis, hip flexors, and deep core muscles.  

9 - Medicine Ball Plank with Knee Tuck

Start in a high plank position with your hand directly under your shoulders and the tops of your feet resting on your medicine ball. While maintaining a stable core position, pull one knee towards your chest, leave your other foot on top of the medicine ball, and return to start. Repeat on the other side. 

This exercise targets your traverse abdominis, obliques, and hip flexors, whilst also adding the extra challenge of the instability of the medicine ball.

10 - Medicine Ball Plank Pass

Start in a high plank position and place the medicine ball on the right side of your body. Engage your core to stabilise your torso and use your left hand to grab the medicine ball under your torso. Pull the medicine ball under your body and place it on your left side. Switch hands and repeat the movement on the other side. Focus on keeping a stable plank and try not to wiggle your hips too much. 

This movement targets your entire core and requires good coordination and balance. 

Example Med Ball Workout

Depending on your fitness goals and targets, you can add between three and five of the above movements to your workout in the shape of a quick core blast added at the end of your training. Set a timer to 40-second intervals with a 20-second break and perform each movement for a complete interval. Always prioritise the quality of your movements over the number of reps. You can do one interval of each movement or perform multiple sets. If you are a beginner, one or two sets should suffice. If you are a more experienced athlete, feel free to up that number! 

• 40 seconds of Russian twists + 20 seconds rest.

• 40 seconds of reverse crunches + 20 seconds rest.

• 40 seconds of woodchopper + 20 seconds rest.

• Repeat for 2 total sets.

If you’re training your core as the main event of that day’s gym session, a medicine ball EMOM (every minute on the minute) would be a great choice. Select a challenging number of movements and decide how many minutes you want to work. For example, you can choose six medicine ball movements and set a timer to 18 minutes. This means that you’ll do each exercise three times. Work only 30 seconds of the one-minute intervals and rest for the remaining time. If you are an experienced athlete, you can either reduce the amount of time you rest in the intervals or increase the overall duration of your EMOM.  

• 18 minute med ball EMOM

• V-Ups.

• Plank pass.

• Russian twist with leg extensions.

• Plank rollouts.

• Deadbugs.

• Bicycle crunches.

You can mix and match the medicine movement however you see fit. Keep in mind that the quality of your movement is always the priority. Proper form ensures you’re effectively targeting the intended muscles and prevents injury! 

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Tags: Equipment > Medicine Balls & Slam Balls ; Exercise Type > Strength ; Misc > Workout