People always ask me how I invent some of the articles I include in Master Class. In most cases, they’re exercises I’ve seen other trainers use with clients over the years.
A smaller percentage of them are completely original and invented to fulfill a need of a particular client I’m working with.
An even smaller percentage of the exercises are pulled from my imagination with the sole purpose of exercise program enjoyment. This week’s exercise is one of those.
Over the years, fitness has taken on an air of seriousness.It seems exercise and fitness have become less about having fun and socializing and more about health improvement and lowering disease risk. While health outcomes are obviously extremely important, I think the fun sometimes gets lost in an outcome-driven exercise regimen.
Rather than focusing so hard on body fat, cardiovascular endurance, or VO2 Max, I find it’s better to first choose an activity you actually enjoy.Trudging through a tearfully boring workout day after day may have a positive effect on your health, but you’ll hate every second of it.
Life is short, enjoy it.
To that end, I always try to keep my exercise programs somewhat fun. And for some reason, people enjoy using medicine balls rather than dumbbells or barbells. These little weighted spheres can bring out one’s inner child. Pursuing fitness seems instantly more fun.
There are so many great medicine ball exercises that I find myself using them more all the time.
The key to really enjoying yourself with a medicine ball exercise is to throw the ball hard. You’ll take out a little aggression and get a great workout at the same time. I think it’s great to let loose once in a while and take some of the brooding and seriousness out of fitness. Medicine balls are a perfect tool to accomplish that.
This week’s exercise is designed for maximum enjoyment because it requires smashing the ball and jumping at the same time. What’s more fun than that?
Stand with your feet just beyond shoulder width apart while holding a bouncy, medium-weight medicine ball in both hands at chest level.
Squat down fully until your thighs are nearly parallel with the floor. Quickly jump up while lifting the medicine ball overhead.
As you come back down to earth, smash the medicine ball as hard as you can against the ground (be careful it doesn’t hit you in the face).
Don’t try to catch it off the rebound, simply let the ball bounce up and then back down to the floor.
Pick up the ball and repeat.
Perform two sets of 10 quickly, one after the other.
This one can get a little out of control, so you’ll want to clear some space around you and be sure you take good aim. A slight miscalculation can result in a serious medicine ball facial. But it’s definitely a fun-based exercise that’s perfect for an outdoor boot camp workout. Enjoy!
Matt Parrott has a doctorate in education (sport studies) and a master’s in kinesiology and is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine.
ActiveStyle, Pages 28 on 03/10/2014