Wallball exercises are a staple of strength training training to benefit strength, power and coordination. And since these exercises generally work all four limbs, there is no doubt that you will definitely get a full body workout.
If you take a rounded fitness test, we deliberately try to do the wallball challenge. Learn more about how to incorporate wallball exercises into your routine.
What is Wall Ball Exercise?
Wall Ball Exercises provide high energy training for compounds, including throwing weighted medicine balls on walls and other hard, upright surfaces. Many movements combine throws with squats, lunges or side shuffles, and incorporate lower body components, making it a full-body exercise with high cardiovascular demand.
Note that wall ball exercises are different from stability ball exercises. This includes large inflatable balls that most often remain on the floor and use by the body for leverage. Conversely, wall ball exercises require small balls that are specially used to throw.
How to choose a medicine ball
Medicine Balls come in a variety of weight options, typically running at loads of 5 to 30 pounds. Typically, you choose a ball on the wall based on the type of exercise you are using to size. Choose a lighter ball for speed training and a heavier ball for power and intensity training.
There are two different types of balls to choose from. One is rubbery and bouncing, while the other is large and the soft ball barely bouncing. Each type of medicine ball has a conventionally padded outer layer that makes it easier to grip and easy to catch.
How to do wallball exercises
There are various wall ball exercises, but below are the proven wall ball movements designed to hit many muscles at once.
- Stand about 2 feet in front of the wall, with your feet hips apart. Keep the ball on the wall between your hands at chest height. Squeeze your elbows towards your side.
- Sink into the squat until the lower back wrinkles are below or below the knee. Go down as low as possible, maintaining a neutral arch on your spine. Place the ball near your chest.
- Raise your chest, keep your body away from the floor, throw the ball into the wall, aiming for about 8 feet from the ground.
- Contact with the wall followed by catching the ball and returning to the next squat.
- Repeat the exercise.
Benefits of wall ball exercise
“Wallball exercise is a great addition to fitness arsenal,” says Alison Heilig, CrossFit coach and NASM certified personal trainer. Here are only a handful of reasons why we agree to High Rig.
1. Involve multiple muscle groups
It is quite difficult to find wallball exercises that don’t work with multiple major muscle groups. Most movements combine upper and lower body engagement, and “basically, one combined exercise will help your whole body work,” says Hilig. Build strength on one person on the shoulders, core, chest, arms, glut and legs.
2. Build explosive power
Holly Janiszewski, a Minneapolis-based personal trainer and founder of Holly J Fitness, says wall ball exercises are a great way to add explosive power to your workouts. The important difference between power and strength is that power combines force (strength) and speed.
It requires a considerable amount of force to hit the medicine ball against the wall, and over time you may notice an increase in the force that allows you to throw the ball faster and faster.
3. Increase your heart rate
Wallball exercise recruits an impressive number of muscle groups, so you can sweat and get out of breath. Therefore, you can benefit from adding some to your HIIT or circuit training routine to increase your heart rate. Highrig said choosing a lighter ball that can be thrown for more reps at a faster pace can create more cardio.
4. Improve balance and adjustment
No matter which variation you choose, wall ball exercises can help you develop greater balance and adjustments. To perform wallball exercises, you need to adjust your mind and body.
Variations of wallball exercise
Performing variations with wall ball exercises is a surefire way to beat boredom. The next wallball exercises will be built on basic movements for more challenging training.
1. Standing Chest Pass
Try standing chest pass to target your shoulders, chest and arms.
- With your feet wider shoulder-width, stand at least 3 feet away from the wall (soft your knees to protect your joints). Hold a soft wall ball between your hands at chest height.
- Enter the core and push it down to the floor with your feet. Explosively throw the wall ball as hard as possible into the wall and come back and catch it.
- Continue to throw the ball back and forth repeatedly for the person in charge.
2. Lateral shuffle chest pass
This exercise not only moves the shoulders, chest and arms, but also allows for rapid, lateral movements to spike your heart rate.
- Follow the same instructions on the chest pass. However, when you throw the ball into the wall, you shuffle it from side to side (approximately 15 feet). Throw, shuffle, slow, shuffle.
3. Wallball Side Slam
Rotating the ball towards the wall involves all the muscles that make up the core.
- Stand on your left shoulder at least the length of your arm away from the wall. Arrange your feet shoulder-width. Hold the wall ball with both hands at belly height and extend your arms in front of you. Soften the elbows.
- Twist the torso from the wall towards the center of the room. Next, quickly turn the torso back towards the wall and throw the ball into the hardest wall possible.
- Catch the ball on rebound and repeat continuously for the assigned rep count. Turn the drill on the other side and repeat.
4. Horizontal toss in a split state
Split stance lateral toss exercises target multiple major muscle groups (shoulders, cores, chest, arms, glut, glut, glute, legs) and are difficult to balance.
- Hold the wall ball on your chest with both hands and stand sideways around the length of your arms away from the wall. Bend both feet at 90 degrees to make a split leg charge. With your right side of your body facing the wall, step forward with your left foot, and step back with your right foot. Track your front knee vertically above the shin. Place your back knees on the floor.
- Bring the ball to your outer waist, then twist your torso and throw it into the hardest wall possible.
- Catch the ball with a rebound and immediately return it to the outside waist. Repeat the person in charge, then repeat the drill with the left side of your body facing the wall.
Wallball exercises can be tough, but they are fun, especially if you need to blow steam off after an annoying day. Try out variations at the end of a bad week and you’ll see what we mean.
