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    Plyometric and ballistic exercise

    Medicine Ball Rotational Throw

    Build rotational power for passing, fending and rotating in the tackle.

    Equipment
    Medicine ball
    Sides
    One side at a time
    Positions
    All positions
    Tempo
    X0X0

    Setup

    A medicine ball of about 3kg to start, standing side-on to a solid wall.

    How to do it

    1. Load onto your back leg first, then plant your front foot hard - that front leg is a braking system, and it is what actually creates the throw.
    2. Let your arms stay relatively passive and let the hips do the work.
    3. Do 3 to 5 sets of 5 per side, starting around 3kg and progressing to 4 to 5kg.
    4. If the ball spins off your hand you are throwing with your arms or the ball is too heavy.

    Coaching cues

    • Load the back leg, then plant the front foot
    • The front leg is a braking system
    • Let the hips throw it, not the arms

    Common mistakes

    • A spinning release, which means arm dominance or too heavy a ball
    • The back leg hanging rather than loading and driving

    Sets and reps by goal

    A starting point for each goal. Load is a percentage of your one-rep max (1RM) where a number is given.
    GoalLoadSetsRepsRest
    Power3 to 5 kg3 to 55 per side90 sec

    Tempo X0X0: Every rep is fast: no slow lowering and no pauses.

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