Chest exercises for Power...

A great way to work your chest muscles is to use a ball known as a "medicine ball" also known as an exercise ball, a med ball or a fitness ball. This is a weighted ball approximately the diameter of the shoulders, 13.6 inches, and designed specifically for both strength-training and rehabilitation. These balls are an integral part of the sports medicine field. DO NOT confuse these balls with the much larger inflated "exercise ball." Those balls are different. I will discuss their uses in future blogs.

Plyometric exercises are those which generate very fast, powerful and explosive movements. The following are two fantastic exercises:

Two-Arm Medicine Ball Chest Pass: 

1) Stand up straight in a squared stance position and face a wall or an exercise partner.

2) Hold a medicine ball weighing about 5-10% of your body weight with both hands at chest level with your elbows in the flexed position.

3) Push and let go of the ball as hard possible while aiming straight ahead of you and by extending your elbows and contracting your chest muscles. Do not let your shoulders elevate!

4) Catch the ball as it bounces back from the wall or your partner and keep repeating this as fast as you safely can.

Rotation Chest Pass: 

1) Stand tall with you body turned at a 90 degree angle from a wall or an exercise partner.

2) Hold the medicine ball with both hands at chest level with your elbows flexed.

3) Concentrate on using your abdominal muscles, hips, gluteal muscles (buttocks) to rotate your body as fast and as explosively as possible towards the wall or your partner.

4) As your body turns, pivot your back leg and let it go into what is called triple extension. This means that your toes will be pointing to the ground, with your knee and hip will be in extension. 

5) With your upper body/torso push the medicine ball using your back arm to extend and apply as much force as you can.

6) Catch the ball when it bounces back from the wall or your partner and repeat as many times as possible as fast as you can while maintaining control of your body and the ball while you have it.