Linear Medicine Ball Slam Progressions

Linear med ball slams are just as, if not more, important for athletes. A big difference with med ball slams is the emphasis on deceleration (think brakes). I tend to prescribe med ball slams first prior to med ball throws to build big brakes. You need to have bigger/better brakes than a powerful engine. You would never drive 100+ MPH if your brakes stopped working after 80 MPH‼️

 

Demonstrated in this post are four example linear med ball slam exercises with progressions based on double leg ➡️ single leg ➡️ bounding

 

1️⃣ Double leg counter movement slam

2️⃣ Double leg counter movement slam + double contact

3️⃣ Single leg counter movement slam

4️⃣ Single leg countermen movement slam + bound

 

I like to prescribe 5️⃣ sets of 3-5 reps with significant time between each set (at least a minute). With med ball slams, I want the individual to prioritize form and technique over speed. The goal is to eventually increase speed, but not at the expense of form and technique‼️