Plyometric and ballistic exercise
Medicine Ball Chest Pass
Build upper-body pushing power for the fend and initial contact.
- Equipment
- Medicine ball
- Sides
- Both sides together
- Positions
- All positions
- Tempo
- X0X0
Setup
A medicine ball of 3 to 6kg, standing in a split stance or half-kneeling facing a solid wall.
How to do it
- Brace your trunk and throw the ball explosively at the wall with a full arm extension, catching the rebound and going again.
- Use a split stance or half-kneeling to stop yourself leaning back to generate force - the throw should come from the arms and trunk, not from falling backwards.
- Do 3 to 5 sets of 5 reps.
Coaching cues
- Braced trunk, full extension
- Split stance stops you leaning back
- Explosive every rep
Common mistakes
- Leaning back to generate force
- Letting the reps get slow, which turns it into a strength exercise
Sets and reps by goal
| Goal | Load | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 3 to 6 kg | 3 to 5 | 5 | 90 sec |
Tempo X0X0: Every rep is fast: no slow lowering and no pauses.
Related exercises
- Heavy Sled PushBuild horizontal driving force in a position close to scrum and maul work.
- Box JumpExpress concentric jumping power with a low landing cost.
- Countermovement JumpTrain and test elastic jumping power.
- Broad JumpDevelop horizontal force production, which is what acceleration is made of.
- Trap Bar JumpGet a loaded triple-extension stimulus with a fraction of the coaching cost of a clean.
- Loaded Jump SquatExpress lower-body power under light external load.