Let me throw at you the conclusion first: a slam ball is truly a workout beast. If you are not convinced, read this guide to slam ball. 

What Is a Slam Ball？

Slam balls are a type of exercise balls like medicine balls. However, slam balls are much heftier but more compact, and more versatile. Slam balls are usually black or gray and weigh in a range between 5-50lbs. They are only about the size of a basketball (but softer), so you can get your WOD accomplished as long as you have a free space bit bigger than a corner. A slam ball, as its name suggests, is built to withstand repeated slams. Thus, the best slam ball features an ultra-sturdy shell, robust construction, and deadweight, meaning zero rebounds. They have a sand-filled core that shifts the center whenever you move the ball. The unbeatable outer shell of slam balls can well handle most of your med ball exercises, but you may not want to use med balls for repeated slams (They will rebound and split!).  

Some slam ball features a tread surface while some do not. The grooves on a tread surface give the ball a tough look and also enhance your grip even when sweat is pouring. Normally speaking, a slam ball lasts for decades, and you can consider it a feat if you slam one until it splits! 

What Are the Benefits of A Slam Ball?

• It helps up your fitness game.

Feeling stagnant about your present fitness situation, so you start seeking gym membership or a bigger piece of equipment? You don't need all of that. A slam ball can well help you find a breakthrough. Unlike barbell plates, slam balls can be applied across a huge range of exercises. Add a slam ball to your current squats, planks, Russian twists, lunges, HIIT, and more, and soon that added weight will bring the auspicious muscle soreness. The limit to their versatility is your creativity. 

Furthermore, the shifting center of a slam ball requires more of your control and focus during the movement, making slam ball exercises more engaging than that of an equally matched other exercise ball. Switch to a heavier weight once you conquer the lighter one. Slam balls always offer you the flexibility to start mild and go robust. 

• It builds muscles 

Want a quick cut to a shredded body? Do slams. This single movement engages an impressive amount of muscles across your entire body: the arm, the lat, the chest, the core, the hip, and the leg.

Too engaging that it's legit to picture a bit more fat being shredded off from your body every time you slam. A typical slam involves extending the muscles first to raise the ball overhead and then smash it with a quick outbreak of force. This process challenges your muscles exhaustively like no other, which in turn stimulates extensive muscle growth. Muscle growth occurs not only in terms of amount but also in terms of strength (how heavy you can load), endurance (how long you can load), and power (how quickly you can move with a heavy load). Such growth yields many other substantial benefits, including but not limited to elevated resting metabolism, fat burning rate, bone and joints protection, and self-confidence.  

• It builds muscle power like no other

One thing worth mentioning is that slam balls help build muscle power like no other. Muscle power is how quickly you can move with a heavy load. Muscle power will be a blessing to anyone when lifting a heavy grocery, playing sports, chopping wood, and performing many other daily tasks. When our body lacks power, physical tasks can feel extra taxing and involve more risks. Therefore, regular enhancement of muscle power means a better ability to accomplish physical activities and less fatigue and injury occurring. Slam balls are especially effective for power building. Unlike when you hoist a loaded barbell, you decelerate when going up and down. When you slam, your movement accelerates till you release the ball. A quick outburst of force primed with acceleration makes possible maximal exertion of power in a minimal time. Repeated slam practices require you to keep exerting bigger force in less time, and that is exactly how power is built. 

• It brings benefits across a comprehensive range of fitness aspects. 

We value so much whether an exercise will better our body shape that we often overlook betterments in so many other significant fitness aspects. Other fitness aspects such as endurance, balance and mobility are essential in keeping us safe during daily physical tasks and in fall prevention and joints protection as we age. Now you can be amazed when I tell you that slam ball exercises also improve your endurance, balance, coordination, mobility, and speed. While a slam seems violent and explosive, a good one is indeed very controlled. If you want to exert your force in one direction and keep your movement smooth and stable, you will need to wield your balance, coordination, mobility, and speed altogether. Repeated slam training will bring you better endurance, balance, coordination, mobility, and speed--all in one package--and you are not going to get such a deal through weightlifting or jogging. 

• It is genuinely a holistic workout tool

A slam ball deserves the title " a holistic workout tool" because it also benefits the heart, lungs, and even the brain besides your muscles. It enhances your cardiovascular system because you can add the ball to a HIIT session and watch your heart rate going skyrocket. Slamming itself also pushes your heart and lung to new extremes, so regular practices for sure improve your cardio-respiratory system. Believe it or not, a slam ball can also be conducive to your mental health. We all know that anger and stress can be toxic to our bodies. Properly resolving these negative emotions, on the other hand, helps us clear our minds and stabilize our mood. What if I tell you that there is a way to turn these negative emotions into a positive force that works toward building a better body for us? Try slams. This is a great way to vent that anger and relieve that stress while reaping other aforementioned health benefits. 

Some Best Slam Ball Workout...

Here we will introduce a few simple but effective slam ball exercises in the order of increasing intensity. Remember that you can always get more creative with its use. 

• Wall Sit

Stand straight with your back against a wall and with your feet shoulder-width. Engage your abdominal muscle and slowly slide down the wall until your thigh is parallel to the ground and your knees and ankles form lines that are perpendicular to the floor. Set the slam ball on your thighs and feel the tension on your quadriceps for 1-5 minutes. 

• Leg Hold

Keep the slam ball in between your feet, and then lie down on a mat. Try to lift your upper body and legs above the mat as high as possible. Use your abdominal muscle, not your lower back, to lift. 

• Slam Ball Backward Lunge

Hold the slam ball against your chest. Step back and lunge. Make sure your front knee is in alignment with your front ankle, and the weight is loaded in the front heel. And your upper body remains in a straight position: shoulders back, chest up, and abs tight. Then take back your hinder leg and alternate the leg and repeat the lunge. 

• Squat and Toss

Hold the slam ball in between your hands then perform a squat by hinging your hips then lower it as if you are going to sit on a chair. Use your hip to lift your body upright. Then do a light toss of the ball upward then catch it. 

• Overhead Slam

Pick a ball, not too heavy so you can lift it without arching your back. Raise the ball above your head while extending your hips (you may also tiptoe to increase the momentum). Then slam the ball with full force. When you pick the ball up, remember to squat down first then get the ball. keep your lower back from engaging in the lift-up process, and, instead, use the power of your hip to erect your body.

• Overhead Slam with a Burpee

Add on top of the overhead slam a burpee jump. This is a very advanced slam ball workout. Try to start with a lighter weighted slam ball. Not too heavy so you can lift it without arching your back