Many laud the benefits of medicine ball training with its recent re-popularization. However few relize that it orignates from ancient Persian wrestling and Greek physician training almost 3,000 year ago. Anthropoligsts have even discovered drawings showing the medicine ball being used for both training and medicinal purposes. Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, often prescribed heavy, sand-filled bags as a remedy to their inllnesses. Akin to modern physical therapy, he beleived that positive stress to the muscle, sinew and bone would combat illnesses. Circa the same period, Persian wrestler’s were depicted using medicine balls to train specific movements used in early comat practices.
In the 18th century, the medicine ball was revitalized in formal military preparation. It’s ability to enhance full-body strength, conditioning and agility, as well as its portable nature, allowed it to be implemened into many types of military units. With its resurgence in the military, it regained public awareness with athletes, weight-liters and exercise enthusiasts. Named a one of the “4 Horsemen of Fitness” – along side of the Dumbbell, The Clubbell (know then as “Indian”) and the Mace (known then as the “Wand”) – it survived eons and has seen great proliferation in modern fitness.
Like in barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell and Clubbell training, as we have advanced sport science, we have been able to discover precisely those techniques which lead to injruy, and those which lead to optimal performance. So too, have we learned this with medicine ball training.
Medicine ball training uses a sand-filled ball in loaded movements, as well as lifted and swung exercises. To keep this ball serving its name as a “medicine” for fitness, TACFIT, applied biomechanics and stress physiology to modify existing research in order to debug the biomechanical dangers used n popular medicine ball training. We have now distilled the fundamentals of this into our all-new introductory series with the launch of TACFIT Medicine Ball 101!
Please visit the TACFIT Medicine Ball 101 page to learn more!
Official TACFIT Medicine Balls Also Now Available for Sale!
Best,
TACFIT Team