Advances in science, technology and education have been reflected in the modernization of training techniques, practices, equipment and facilities.

But there’s one exercise many believe to be the oldest in existence, with ancient origins dating back as much as 3,000 years that’s stood the test of time and still used my top athletes, fitness enthusiasts and those looking to take their fitness to the next level! Ancient drawings have shown Persian wrestlers performing this exercise and although back then they were using sand filled bladders, the movement and purpose of the exercise was still the same.

The exercise in question you may be wondering?

Medicine Ball Slams!

Nutrition Solutions Athlete/WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio

The medicine ball slam develops power, strength, speed and endurance. It works the triceps, abdomen, shoulders, calves, back, glutes, quads. It is a highly functional movement that improves on performance and overall body aesthetics! Which is a fact way of saying how we look naked…

When performed with intensity it will burn a ton of calories, not only during the exercise, but over the next 24 hours as well due to the benefits on metabolism that HIIT offers.

This obviously has profound benefits for -anyone looking to lose fat or increase lean muscle!

Additionally, it’s much funner to do than slow, boring steady state cardio and is much more efficient, as it takes a lot less time being that it’s best performed in short intervals.

The proper way to perform med ball slams is as follows:

1. Stand feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent and medicine ball held overhead.(med balls don’t bounce)
2. Slam the ball down to the ground in front of your feet with as much force as possible.
3. If you can, catch the ball as it bounces from the floor to leverage the momentum & fluidity of the exercise. If there’s no bounce at all, keep the core engaged and pick the ball up from the floor.
4. Lift the medicine ball back to the starting position as quickly as possible, rise up to your tippy toes for max leverage and repeat.

You can do this exercise within your normal workout ,or in place of your post workout cardio.

Perform intervals for optimal results. 4-5 intervals of 20-30 seconds each depending on your current level of fitness . Rest 40-60 seconds between sets and when you’re going, go hard as you’ll get out what you put in!

This will be hard…

Your heart will beat faster than it probably ever has and it will be hard to breathe…that is normal, so no factor.

This will be especially uncomfortable if it’s your first time doing them or if you’re not currently in the best of shape!

When the feelings of discomfort set in and the little voices in your head start trying to talk you out of pushing hard, just remember all the quotes you’ve read about NOTHING good ever happening in the comfort zone!

Have fun, train hard and let me know how it goes!