Wall balls and partner passes are great if you have a sturdy wall or a workout buddy, but they’re not the only moves you can do with a medicine ball. This multitasking exercise tool is a superstar when it comes to strengthening your abdominals, and we’re proving it with these seven medicine ball ab workouts you can do anywhere.
The Tool
Before we dive into a few of the ways you can use a medicine ball for ab workouts, let’s talk about what makes a medicine ball special.
Medicine balls are effective because they target muscle groups through dynamic movement. A medicine ball can challenge your balance in side-to-side drills, or improve your stability through moves like offset push-ups. Because medicine balls come in a variety of weights, there’s room to progress or regress your exercises, as needed.
For this workout, we suggest the TRX XD KEVLAR™ Rubber Medicine Balls because they are the most durable medicine balls on the market. Using tire technology, natural rubber is combined with Kevlar® fiber, resulting in a grippy texture to aid in movements like catching, throwing, and slamming—all with a medium bounce that's ready to withstand your toughest sweat sessions.
In ab workouts, try a medicine ball that’s in your medium range.
The Interval
There are lots of ways to build a workout, but we suggest sticking with either timed intervals of 30-45 seconds per move, or rep-based intervals of 12-20 moves per set in this medicine ball ab workout series. Experiment with both to find which style suits you.
Whether you opt for time or rep intervals, work through the circuit twice for an approximately 15-minute ab blast series.
Take It to Mat
Medicine Ball Sit-Up
Muscle groups engaged: Upper Abs, Lower Back, Hip Flexors
Let’s start this workout lying face-up on the ground for a not-so-basic sit-up.
Begin with your knees bent and your feet planted flat on the ground. Holding your medicine ball against your chest, you can either crunch up, (lifting only your shoulder blades off the ground), or sit-up, (lifting your whole back up and forward).
If you want to add an arm bonus to this move, press the medicine ball overhead as you sit up or crunch, and bring it back to your chest and you return to the ground.
