Power Chop Medicine Ball Smash

Medicine Ball Slam/Chop:

1. Start by having your client/patient assume a stance with feet shoulder-width apart.
2. This exercise starts with the client/patient in a form similar to a deadlift , with hands gripping a medicine ball on the ground between the client/patient's toes.
3. Ensure your client/patient's hips , knees and ankles are in alignment.
4. Address any deviations in cervical or thoracic alignment ("head back with chin tucked" and "reaching with the top of the head as if trying to get taller" are often helpful cues).
5. Have your client/patient quickly lift the ball overhead by thrusting the pelvis forward, the body erect, and the arms upward, as quickly as possible. This initial movement is the quick eccentric load (pre-stretch).
6. Cue your client/patient to reduce the time spent in the amortization phase (top position) by snapping from the eccentric phase to the concentric phase as quickly as possible (no pausing at the top).
7. The ball should be thrown down and forward with as much speed as possible, by extending the shoulders and elbows, crunching, and descending into a squat position (cue your patient/client to use their whole body). Allow the arms to continue swinging past the legs after the ball is let go to ensure follow-through.
   • Note: It is important that the ball is not thrown "straight down". Medicine balls can ricochet off the floor very fast, and a ball thrown straight down is likely to ricochet back into the face, while the face is still moving toward the ground, potentially doubling the force of impact. An impact with that amount of force can be very painful and potentially dangerous.
8. Prepare for the next repetition, and repeat.

• Progressions:
  • Height (height after the bounce)
  • Weight of ball (remember, max velocity must be maintained)
  • Single leg
  • Single leg on an unstable surface