Medicine Ball Upper Body Superset Workout

Hi everybody!  I hope your weekends were all fantastic!  Today I'm giving you an upper body workout you can do pretty much anywhere as long as you have a medicine ball handy.  In the gym, in your home, at a studio, in a hotel room or park... the list is endless.  It's a chest, shoulders, & triceps superset workout, which means you'll be doing 2 moves back to back working the same muscle group with no rest.

For this workout I used an 8lb ball, but adjust as you need to.  You may find a heavier ball works better for you for some of the moves (like the chest throws).  I definitely recommend using a ball with a sturdy exterior, though, since some of the moves require you to put most of your bodyweight onto the ball.  The one I used has a bit of sand in the bottom to keep it stable, which made it slightly more challenging to roll on the ground, but I found that to be okay and an added bonus to the workout.  Ready to get started?

Medicine Ball Upper Body Superset Workout

What You'll Need: a sturdy medicine ball with some weight to it (I used 8lbs) and a mat
What You'll Do: each exercise lasts 1 minute (or in some cases, 30 seconds each side).  Go through each superset with no rest between exercises, and minimal rest between supersets.  Repeat the whole thing 2 times through for the full workout.

Superset 1: Chest

Raised Push Ups (5 each side) - start in a push up position with the ball under one hand.  Do 5 push ups on that side, then roll the ball over to the other hand and do 5 more push ups.  Keep alternating 5 on each side for 1 minute.  Trainer Tip: you can do these from your knees, too, just remember to keep that spine in a straight line from neck to tailbone.

Chest Throws - lie on your back with your pelvis raised.  Rest the ball on your chest, hands underneath it, elbows out wide, ready to push the ball up into the air.  From here, push the ball straight above you releasing it slightly into the air, then catch it and lower it back down to your chest.  Keep the throws going (with your pelvis raised the whole time) for 1 minute.

Superset 2: Shoulders

Overhead Shoulder Pass - these ones will burn after a while!  Stand with your feet about hip width apart, arms outstretched to shoulder height, holding the ball in one hand.  From here, slowly bring the ball up above your head, pass it to the other hand, and lower it back down on the other side to shoulder height.  Keep passing it up over your head (careful not to drop it!) for 1 minute.

Single Arm Shoulder Press - stay standing with feet hip width apart, this time holding the ball on one side as if holding a serving platter above you.  From here, press the ball up straight overhead.  Lower back down to shoulder height.  Keep the presses going for 30 seconds on one arm before switching to the other.

Superset 3: Triceps

Raised Leg Tricep Dips - having your feet on a unstable surface here adds a little bit more abdominal work to keep you stable.  Start seated with your feet on the medicine ball, knees bent, and hands flat on the floor, finger tips facing your feet.  From here, raise your hips up so your butt is off the floor.  Now bend at the elbow and dip yourself down slightly, then push back up.  Keep the dips going for 1 minute.  Trainer Tip: so often I see people doing "tricep dips" by raising and lowering their pelvis, not bending their arms.  Remember this is a triceps exercise, not a lower body exercise, so the arms are the focus.  Your legs and waist should stay relatively neutral once you raise them off the floor initially; your arms should be doing all the work.

Side-lying Tricep Push Ups - start lying completely down on one side, bottom arm crossed over your chest, and top arm over it with that hand placed on top of the medicine ball. (Note: the ball should be very close to you here.)  Push up with that arm raising your upper body off the floor, trying to get your elbow as straight as you can (mine could be slightly straighter in the picture).  Lower yourself back down to the floor.  Keep the push ups going for 30 seconds on each side.

Superset 4: Combo

Frontal Roll Out with Push Up - start in a push up position on your knees with the ball under one hand.  Roll the ball forward lowering your chest towards the floor, extending your arm straight out.  Roll the ball back up to starting position, and now roll it out to the side to perform a wide-arm push up.  Roll it back in.  Repeat those motions (frontal roll out + lateral roll out with wide arm push up) for 30 seconds on each arm.  Trainer Tip:  these are difficult as is, but if you want to increase the intensity and get some additional abdominal work, do these from your toes.

Superman Passes - these ones are fun - like playing hot potato with the ball.  Lie on your stomach, arms and legs extended out, both raised up off the floor, ball in one hand.  From here, roll the ball back and forth between your arms as quickly as you can, keeping your feet and chest elevated the entire time.  Keep rolling back and forth for 1 minute.  Trainer Tip: try to work more of your shoulders when moving the ball by keeping your arms straight, rather than bending at the elbow to push it across.

Repeat that whole series once more (2 times through total) for the full superset workout.  Now for some exciting news...

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Readers: chat with me!  Do you like using medicine balls during your workouts?  What's your favorite exercise to do with them?  Do you like the mesh trend in leggings recently?  Have you heard of GTS Clothing?  Will you check them out?

Disclosure: I was not compensated to write this post, however I was kindly given a discount on my clothing purchase in exchange for a review.  All opinions and this workout are my own.

Medicine Ball Cardio Interval Abs & Core Workout

Happy Thursday to you all!  Eeek, it's Thursday and this is my first post for the week.  Sorry to leave you guys hanging!  How was your weekend?  How about the workweek?  Going okay for you?  We're almost through, so hang in there! 

On to the fitness for today - how have your workouts been going lately?  Abdominal workouts are suuuuuper popular right now (or, well, super popular always), so here's another one for ya!  This one uses just a medicine ball and some floor space.  You'll alternate between a strength move and bout of cardio, each using the medicine ball in some capacity.  Ready to work those abs and sweat?  Keep reading for details!  (Also remember these workouts are pinnable, so pin 'em to that fitness Pinterest board now and save 'em for when you're hitting the gym or need a good routine to do at home!)

Medicine Ball Cardio Interval Abs & Core Workout

All you need is a 5-7 lb medicine ball (one that's hard on the surface, not the soft slam balls) and some floor space.  I suggest going through these exercises twice, but feel free to do more or less depending on your time and desired intensity.  Let's get started!

20 Straddle Sit Ups - lie on the floor, legs out in a straddle, arms stretched up by your ears holding the med ball.  Keeping your arms raised above you, do a sit up.  As you come up, reach up tall to the ceiling first, and then lean over to one side touching the ball to your toes.  Slowly lower yourself back down, sit up again, and lean to the other side.  Keep alternating sides for 20 reps.

Cardio: 1 Minute Med Ball Burpees - like regular burpees, but you're holding the medicine ball in your hands and planking out on it when you go back.  Take your time here.  Try to go quickly, but don't rush them so much that your form suffers.

30 Toe Ball Rolls in Plank - start in a plank with the ball under your right toes.  Staying in a plank, bring your right knee up to your chest, rolling the ball with your toes as you do it (think of using the top of your toes to roll it up, stopping the ball with the under side of your foot as your knee reaches your chest).  Keep rolling the ball out and in for 30 reps on the right leg, then switch and do 30 on the left.

Cardio: 1 Minute Toe Taps to Ball - place the ball on the ground and quickly tap your toes to it, alternating feet.  Think of it kind of like a soccer drill.  Keep going for 1 minute.

20 Supine Feet-to-Hand Passes - lie on your back with the ball in your hands, arms by your ears, and legs out straight.  Using your abs, raise your arms and legs simultaneously, passing the ball from hands to feet.  Lower back down.  Raise yourself back up and pass the ball back to your hands.  Each pass counts as 1 rep.  Continue for 20 total.

Cardio: 1 Minute Jump Squats with Upward Reach - start in a squat position, holding the med ball lowered to the ground.  Propel yourself up into the air, reaching upward toward the ceiling with the ball.  Come back down - landing softly on your feet! - lowering yourself immediately back down into a squat, touching the med ball to the floor again.  Keep going for 1 minute.  Trainer Tip: if the cardio gets to be too much here, nix the jump and just squat up and down in place with the ball.

30 Supine Toe Touches - lie on your back with your legs straight up into the air forming an L, holding the med ball above you.  Engage your abs and reach that med ball to your toes, lifting your shoulder blades off the floor and keeping your head looking upward.  Slowly lower yourself back down.  Do 30 reps.

Cardio: 1 Minute 3-Point Hops Holding Med Ball - this one is tough to explain so bear with me here.  Stand upright holding the ball close to your body with elbows bent to 90˚ holding the ball out in front of you.  Keep the ball stationary (your arms and the ball stay in the exact same position the whole time - it shouldn't move with you) and hop to face the right, back to center, face the left, back to center, etc.  Keep hopping for 1 minute.

30 High-Low Russian Twists - start seated with your hands down on your left side holding the med ball on the ground.  Twist quickly and reach your hands up diagonally to the right, ending with arms overhead on the right side.  Do 30 reps left to right, then 30 on the other side, right to left.  Trainer Tip: easier = keeping your feet on the ground (knees bent); for more of a challenge, lift the legs to a 90˚ angle.

Cardio: 1 Minute Side Lunge Hops - start in a side lunge on your right holding the med ball touching the floor by your right foot.  From here, hop your right foot to meet your left bringing the med ball up to your chest, and immediately step the left foot out into a side lunge (like a side shuffle).  Touch the med ball down to the ground on the left.  Keep alternating shuffles side to side, touching the med ball to the ground in each lunge, for 1 minute.

Try to get through one more round of these exercises for the full workout today!

Readers: chat with me!  How was your weekend (long overdue question, I know)?  Do you use medicine balls in your workouts?  What are some of your favorite med ball exercises?  How about for your abs?