4 Killer Medicine Ball Drills For MMA Fight Strength
The original publishing date of today’s article was back on July 30, 2018, but I thought today was a good day to bring this particular piece out of the archives.
Over my career I’ve come to realize that a lot of fighters starting out tend to enjoy being garage gym warriors when it comes to getting in their strength training outside of the fight school. So for today’s topic of discussion I wanted to bring this article to the forefront as I know it will help you if you happen to fall into that category of being a garage gym warrior…whether you’re a fighter, or not.
Read and apply!
- Are you currently looking for some unique strength drills to enhance your MMA fight strength?
- Are you currently incorporating a strength and conditioning program for your MMA fight performance?
- Do you currently train with medicine balls for your fight strength and performance?
- Are you looking to build power, speed, and reaction time for your MMA fight strength?
One of the most overlooked hidden treasures in many gyms these days are medicine balls. Medicine ball training is one of the most overlooked training implements when it comes to building power and athleticism because most people don’t really know how to leverage this awesome training implement. When it comes to fight strength and performance I’m here to tell you that this training implement can serve your fight performance well. As a result I’m going to show you how to do that here in this article!
Medicine Ball Drills For Fight Strength
1) Medicine Ball Power Slams: If the goal is about producing power and rapid force for striking then the medicine ball power slam is a hell of a drill to help you to develop that very trait and it’s commonly overlooked as a solid go to for fight strength.
Click the image here above to access the sale of my 90 Day MMA Strength & Conditioning Program that I wrote and published with SEALGrinderPT. The 90 day program does utilize dynamic medicine ball drills and teaches you how to blend the training with your strength and cardiovascular fitness.
To perform this drill you want to utilize a soft jam ballistic medicine ball that you can forcefully slam into the ground using your entire body.
Begin this drill by holding the ball above your head and slamming it down right between your feet. Flex your ankles, knees, and hips to aid in a rapid squat descent to drive the ball into the ground. From here there should be a small bounce of the ball coming off the ground.
Try to catch the ball off this small hop and immediately extend your body to perform a subsequent rep with speed and intensity.
A few things to note: When performing this drill make sure to perform the slams with speed and do them in continuous succession. So by doing this make sure to fully extend your body at the beginning of the slam and to get your hips down at the base of the slam.
The main goal should be for you to execute a rapid descent of your hips in order to produce maximal power and speed for the movement.
Perform 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps on your power training days.
2) Medicine Ball Rotational Throws: This is a great medicine ball drill to get you more proficient in moving in the transverse plane of motion. Moving in this plane of motion is crucial for helping you to develop rotational strength which is absolutely necessary for MMA fight strength and martial arts performance.
With this drill it’s ideal to use a large soft throw ball for grip and weight. You want to begin this drill and stand with your feet at hip distance apart in length.
From here bring the ball from your hip and directly across your body as you pivot your front foot to load your back leg for the throw. You can perform these throws for distance, or up against a wall to catch and recoil for several throws in succession. By doing the latter you will emphasize more reaction time and quickness.
A few things to note: Keep your body tall as you make the throw and be very conscious of pivoting your front foot to optimize your rotational ability. Focus on throwing the ball for both height and distance simultaneously.
Perform 3 sets of 4 to 7 throws in each direction (left and right sides) on your power training days.
3) Overhead Medicine Ball Throw: This medicine ball drill will hone your leg power and athleticism. Incorporating the overhead medicine ball throw is going to be a tremendous asset to your training arsenal in terms of developing greater fight strength.
Click the image here above of Brandon Richey Fitness strength student and retired national Muay Thai champion Jeff Perry to learn how he and others and have utilized medicine balls in my 90 Day MMA Strength & Conditioning program.
The reason for this is because this drill trains your lower limbs for triple extension so you produces power. It will help you to develop a very high level of athleticism.
Training this triple extension aids you in developing tremendous leg power. This will feed your ability to produce tremendously powerful kicks. It will improve your agility and reaction time all of which are needed inside the ring.
Perform this by squatting down to grab the ball on the sides so you slightly grip underneath. This will allow you to “cup” it between your hands. From here ascend up out of the squat with enough force to extend your ankles, knees, and hips. You want to granny toss the ball over the back of your head.
A few things to note: Ascend out of the squat to throw the ball overhead. Focus on both height and distance. Also you ideally want to jump as you elevate your body to make the throw.
Perform 3 sets of 4 to 7 reps and turn to run and get the ball. You want to immediately get back into position to make a subsequent throw. Do this until you have completed the designated number of reps.
4) Rotational Medicine Ball Slams: This drill will teach you to rotate about your axis while developing dynamic core strength and power that is essential for striking and throwing bodies during grappling.
To perform this drill you want to use a soft jam medicine ball in order to forcefully slam the ball. This is important because a hard bounce ball will present too much recoil on the slam.
Next, lift the ball above head because you want to pivot both feet to rotate your body.
You want to do this because you want to flex at your ankles, knees, and hips. As a result you’ll be able to slam the ball while getting in your rotational movement in the transverse plane.
After slamming the ball catch it off of the first hop so you can lift it above head to pivot. This will allow you to set up for a subsequent slam. You want to put your feet into position for another slam.
Continue this pattern alternating slams on both sides for the designated number of reps.
Perform 3 sets of 4 to 7 reps on each side on your power training days.
A few things to note: So fully extend your body bringing the medicine ball overhead before performing each slam. You want to do this because you want to generate maximal force.
Make sure to perform the slams in continuous succession.
Medicine Ball Drills For Fight Strength: The Takeaway
The best training plans often involve the simplest options. The value of medicine ball training is often overlooked by many which will cheat a trainee out of results.
It’s such an effective training tool you don’t want to make the same mistake because medicine ball training will add a broader dynamic to your fight training.
Are you currently using medicine balls in your strength and conditioning program?
What medicine ball drills are you currently using for your fight strength and fitness program?
Post up and share in the comments here below.
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