9 Slam Ball Exercises For A Full Body Workout

One piece of workout equipment that gives users a full-body workout is a slam ball.

A slam ball is a tough rubber or leather ball that typically contains sand. It is fairly similar to lifting a heavy rock or sandbag.

Slam balls are durable enough to take the beating of being slammed onto the ground repeatedly.

• Need something a little lighter? Check out these 10 fitness ball squat exercises.

The Perfect Slam Ball

In your workout, utilizing slam balls uses the same muscle groups as other complicated weightlifting movements such as cleans and presses. Since slam balls are a little more unstable than a barbell, you have to adjust quickly to make up for it. Slam ball exercises tend to focus on utilizing hips, back, posterior chain, core, lats, and arms all at once.

There are two common types of slam balls: rubber ones that bounce and deadweight slam balls that do not bounce. Both are very useful for both strength and cardio training.

9 Slam Ball Exercises to do at Home

You are now ready to try some at-home slam ball exercises on your own. Once you have determined your ideal weight, grab your slam ball and try these nine exercises that are sure to improve your core strength and cardio without leaving the comfort of your home-based workout area.

1. Medicine Ball Slams

If you have ever done CrossFit or seen videos of the sport, you have likely already seen a ball slam or overhead medicine ball slam workout. Ball slams are one of the major movements done with a slam ball, as the name implies.

This movement is great for activating your entire body as it forces you to pick up the ball and slam it down to the floor. It is one way to teach your body how to move the weight quickly and explosively. It is also a great way to get some pent-up anger out.

How To Do A Med Ball Slam

1. Begin the movement with the ball resting on the floor immediately in front of you
2. While ensuring that your back is kept straight, squat down to the ball
3. Pick the ball up from the floor and stand up, raising the ball above your head as you do so (utilize your legs and hips to thrust the ball over your head)
4. Slam the ball back to the floor as hard as you are able
5. Catch the ball on the bounce while lowering back into the squat position
6. Repeat as many times as you have allotted

2. Slam Ball Air Squats

Air squats or squats are a very common go-to for building glutes and quads. When you do this movement with weighted objects such as a slam ball, you add extra resistance to the movement.

Holding a slam ball while you do a simple air squat is also a fantastic way to keep your core engaged and torso upright throughout the entire squat movement.

How To Do A Slam Ball Air Squat

1. Begin with your feet about hip-width apart (this can vary by person and anatomy) while holding the slam ball at your chest
2. Squat down until your butt is just below parallel, ensuring that you keep your back straight, chest up, and your heels planted firmly on the ground.
3. Stand up the engage in full extension with your hips extended and your legs straight.

**If you find yourself compromising your form during this movement at all, slow down and focus on moving correctly. You should be able to wiggle and move your toes throughout the movement.

3. Overhead Lunges with a Slam Ball

Much like an air squat, lunges are another example of a way to feel the burn in your quads and glutes. When you add the slam ball overhead, you also work your core and shoulder strength.

Overhead slam ball lunges are a good way to fire up multiple areas of your body with a not overly complicated movement and do not require much knowledge. To get the most from this movement, keep your core engaged and your torso upright the whole time.

How To Do A Slam Ball Overhead Lunge

1. Begin standing tall while holding the slam ball immediately over your head (you should fully extend your arms.)
2. While holding the ball overhead, take a step forward while deliberately lowering your back knee to the floor. Your shin should remain vertical on your front leg.
3. Slowly step back up with your front leg to your original position.
4. Repeat this movement leading with the opposite leg, switching legs every repetition

**You can also do this movement as an overhead walking lunge

4. Slam Ball Twist

The slam ball twist is perfect for those looking to engage their oblique core muscles in addition to glutes and hamstrings.

It is a great movement to practice if you struggle with balance because you work your stabilizer muscles, which improves your coordination and balance.

How To Do A Slam Ball Twist

1. Begin by lunging down with the slam ball extended out from your body at about chest height
2. Slowly rotate the ball from side-to-side engaging the entire waist
3. Rotate as far as you comfortably can without losing balance or inhibiting form
4. Stand back up and switch legs and to repeat the movement on each side

5. Alternating Push-up on a Slam Ball

If you are doing all of these movements in one day, your arms and shoulders should be feeling some burn. This movement should push them even more. Push-ups are difficult movements, but doing them with one hand elevated on a slightly unstable surface is a great way to engage your stabilizer muscles and force you to focus more on balance. Alternating arms also forces you to focus on form and moving through the workout correctly.

How To Do Slam Ball Pushups

1. Begin in a push-up position (you can do this on your knees as well) with one of your hands on the slam ball and the other firmly on the floor
2. Lower your body until your best is about an inch away from the floor
3. Push yourself back up into the starting position
4. Walk your opposite hand over onto the slam ball and repeat the movement.

**To make this workout easier, you may do it on your knees instead of a full push-up position. If you wish to make it more challenging, switch hands in a “jumping” motion to force your hands off the floor and move to the ball.

6. Slam Ball Toe Touch

A toe touch is a movement that forces you to engage your abs and core. When you add a slam ball into the mix, you begin activating your core muscles and stabilizer muscles and arms.

This movement is a great way to engage all of your body while focusing more on core strength. There are a few ways to do this movement, but the most common involves coordination and focus on ensuring that you do not injure yourself or get too tired.

How To Do Slam Ball Toe Touches

1. Begin by lying flat on your back with your arms above your head on the floor and the slam ball resting between your hands
2. While ensuring that you have a firm grip on the slam ball, lift your arms and legs at the same time, keeping your core tight and your arms and legs extended.
3. Your toes and the slam ball should meet in the middle with your shoulder blades slightly off of the ground.
4. Slowly lower yourself back into the start position and repeat the movement as many times as you are able.

**If you are unable to lift your arms and legs simultaneously, you can do this movement by keeping your legs raised at a 90-degree angle and bringing the ball to your toes.

7. Slam Ball Burpee

When you do a typical burpee, you focus your muscles on strength and endurance simultaneously, both in your upper body and lower body. Standard burpees focus on your legs, hips, glutes, abs, arms, chest, and shoulders in one movement.

When you add the slam ball movement into it, burpees gain more of a challenge and force you to utilize all of those muscles even more. It is a great movement to build muscle while continuing to improve on your cardio.

How To Do Slam Ball Burpees

1. Begin with a deadweight slam ball overhead
2. Slam the ball to the ground as hard as you can
3. Squat down and place your hands on the ball
4. Jump out with both legs into a push-up position
5. Jump your legs back into the lower squat position
6. Jump vertically as high as you are able while holding the ball over your head
7. Repeat this movement as many times as you are able

8. Slam Ball Snatch

A snatch is an Olympic weightlifting movement that utilizes almost all of your body at once. Snatches allow you to focus on deliberate movement while maintaining proper form.

When you do a snatch with a slam ball, it still works for every muscle group but leaves less of an opportunity for injury and is easy to incorporate into your home workout.

How To Do A Medicine Ball Snatch

1. Begin in a low squat with a slam ball between your heels and your head looking straight ahead
2. Keep the ball close to your body and drag it up your body, jumping when you get it to chest level.
3. As you jump, continue to bring the ball to the ceiling until it is above your head with your arms in full extension. This should be one fluid motion.
4. Bring the ball back down by reversing these steps and dropping the ball onto the floor in between your heels
5. Repeat as able

9. Slam Ball Flutter Kicks

At this point, your entire body is probably feeling fatigued. This movement is a great one for a lighter ball, which gives all of your muscles a chance to recover from all of the work they just did. Flutter kicks are a movement that forces you to focus on coordination while engaging your core. Adding a slam ball to this movement ups the difficulty a bit by forcing you to stay engaged.

How To Do Slam Ball Flutter Kicks

1. Begin by lying on your back
2. Hold the slam ball between both hands above your head.
3. Engage your core and raise your arms directly above your chest
4. Lift your legs about four to five inches off of the ground
5. Keeping your upper body still, squeeze your glutes and your legs to move them in a flutter kick motion for about thirty seconds
6. Bring your legs and the ball down and rest until you can go again

That’s A Wrap!

By including these slam ball workouts into your home exercise routine, you can get a fuller, tougher workout for your whole body.

Start by practicing just a few of these exercises, and see how much of a difference they make to you. If you enjoy them, try adding a few more to your workout routine each week. By doing so, you’re upping your game and adding some variety to your at home workouts.