A Medicine Ball Workout For Strong Sculpted Arms

Want sculpted arms? Add some variety to arms day with this medicine ball workout you can do at the gym, at home, or even on the road.
woman holding medicine ball at gym

Feeling like your arms are more Jello than J-Lo? Don’t throw in the towel just yet. A medicine ball may be the answer to strong, sculpted arms and shoulders.

They may look simple, but medicine balls can be an effective way to work out your entire upper body. Unlike dumbbells, medicine balls can be thrown and hurled to give you an explosive plyometric workout.

Medicine balls have been shown to improve upper body strength and even improve other sports-specific training. You can use a medicine ball at the gym or incorporate it into your at-home workout, making it easy to incorporate these exercises into your daily fitness habit.

A Medicine Ball Arm Workout for Strong, Sculpted Arms

Here’s how to use this simple tool to get extraordinary results, whether you’re working out at home or in the gym.

Medicine Ball Throw and Catch

Stand with a medicine ball, feet spaced hip-width apart. Squat down, then explosively stand up as you throw the ball overhead into the air. Catch the ball as it comes down, and return to your squat position. Repeat eight times.

Medicine Ball Slam

Stand with a medicine ball, feet spaced hip-width apart. Reach overhead with the ball, and then explosively slam it into the floor. Catch the ball if it bounces back up, or squat down and pick it up. Repeat eight times.

Wall Throws

Stand six to eight feet away from a wall with a medicine ball, feet spaced hip-width apart. Hold the ball straight up above your head, and tighten your core. Throw the ball at the wall. Retrieve the ball and repeat eight times.

Biceps Curl

Stand with a medicine hall, feet spaced hip-width apart. Begin with both hands holding the ball in front of your chest. With your elbows close to your body, lower the ball until your arms are fully extended. Curl the ball up to your chest, then lower back to your starting position. Repeat eight times.

Triceps Extension

Stand with a medicine ball, feet spaced hip-width apart. Lift the medicine ball above your head with both hands until your arms are fully extended. Bend your elbows and keep your elbows next to your head as you lower the ball behind you. Return the ball up overhead. Repeat eight times.

Front Deltoid Raises

Stand with a medicine ball, feet spaced hip-width apart. Hold the medicine ball out in front with your arms straight down. Lift the ball with both hands until your arms are straight in front of you, parallel with the floor. Lower the ball back to start. Repeat eight times.

Shoulder Press

Stand with a medicine ball, feet spaced hip-width apart. Hold the medicine ball at chest height with both hands. Push the ball with both hands up toward the ceiling until your arms are fully extended. Lower to your starting position. Repeat eight times.

Medicine Ball HIIT Workout for Fat Loss

A medicine ball can be used as part of a fat-blasting HIIT workout. Researchers have shown that HIIT, high-intensity interval training, can be more effective at reducing subcutaneous and abdominal fat than other exercises.

Subcutaneous fat is stored under your skin, creating dips and dimples. Abdominal fat, otherwise known as visceral fat, is stored internally. Visceral fat can wrap around your internal organs like your heart, liver, and intestines. Visceral fat has been linked to heart disease, metabolic disease, and type 2 diabetes.

HIIT exercises combine short bursts of intense exercise followed by a longer low-intensity period. Instead of running steadily on a treadmill for an hour, try incorporating HIIT exercises if fat loss is your goal.

This 15-minute medicine ball HIIT workout from Juice and Toya will help you tone your arms and get the belly-blasting benefits of high-intensity interval training at the same time.

What are the Benefits of a Medicine Ball Workout?

Medicine ball workouts aren’t a new trend; sand-filled animal skins were reportedly used as far back as ancient Greece for training. That kind of longevity doesn’t happen unless a workout has some special benefits.

In addition to sculpted, stronger arms, a medicine ball workout offers the following benefits:

Improved Core Strength

The weighted balls require core stability, so you get the added bonus of an ab workout every time you do arm exercises with a medicine ball.

Improved Strength and Agility

When you perform an exercise that uses strength and force, like throwing a medicine ball against a wall, you get increases in power. That’s why medicine balls are often used in plyometric workouts. Plyometric workouts have been shown in studies to be an effective training technique that can improve an athlete’s agility, strength, and explosiveness in as little as six weeks.

Added Variety

Variety is the spice of life, and, according to researchers at the University of Florida, it’s also the best way to stick to a workout routine. Varying workouts also increased participants’ workout enjoyment.

Add some variety to your arm workouts and pick up a medicine ball. It may look simple, but it’s an effective way to add some plyometric strength training that will tone and sculpt an enviable upper body. Sculpted arms, improved strength, and a core workout all in one? Sounds like a ball.

 

This article was originally published in 2018 and was updated in 2024.

Melissa Zimmerman
Melissa Zimmerman is a founding editor at GloWell, a content marketing strategist and wellness writer, and a natural-momma obsessed with nontoxic and natural alternatives to conventional products. When she's not researching, writing, and editing wellness content, she can be found in Northern CA reading a book on the sidelines of her son's soccer games. If you need wellness writing services for your brand, connect with Melissa at www.proseandpurpose.com