It goes without saying that medicine ball (MB) training is popular in tennis circles. I’ve written on the subject a number of times. A few years back, I wrote an article that highlighted the research and practical application of med ball throws when trying to increase power in various tennis strokes.

In a more recent post, I wrote how sub-maximal med ball throws can also be beneficial when aiming to improve elastic qualities, facilitate better rotation (kind of a big deal for tennis) and to prep for more intense throws in later training cycles. 

Essentially, med ball throws can be employed to train power or they can be performed at sub-max intensities to target fascia and muscle-tendon complexes (where the aim is less on ‘muscular’ power and more on ‘elastic’ power). 

But beyond that, I think there are other ways we can include med ball training into the physical prep programs of tennis players. 

Enter Non-Throwing Medicine Ball Exercises

One of those ways is to use med balls for non-throwing scenarios. I know, for the most part, med balls are used for throwing purposes (and made for this reason as well). Throwing allows us to have a shorter deceleration phase and extend the propulsion phase - akin to doing a jump squat instead of a barbell squat for the development of lower-body power. 

But the use of med balls for non-throwing activities also has its benefits. In fact, various sports have used them for this exact reason, for decades...or longer (just have a look at some old Russian texts for proof). 

I’ve been using med balls for non-throwing purposes for years and recently, I’ve added them more regularly into my programming. Below are just a few reasons why I believe they’re a great addition to any tennis players’ training regime.

4 Reasons to Use Non-Throwing Med Ball Exercises for Tennis

1 - Small Overload

I incorporate bodyweight routines regularly into my training programs. There are times when they act in a supporting manner to accelerate recovery and other times - with younger and/or less experienced trainees - as the main training stimulus. 

Irrespective, med balls can serve as a small overload during these general bodyweight exercises. So even though we are adamant about the incorporation of weight training in our programs (even with youngsters), if an athlete or client cannot control their own body in a lunge pattern, for example (and perhaps the addition of a 3 or 4 pound med ball), then surely using free weights is anything but appropriate. 

That being said, holding a med ball can act as a bridge between bodyweight only exercises and traditional weight training lifts. 

2 - Varied Difficulty Levels

Depending on how you hold the med ball - and where you position it during the execution of an exercise - it can be more, or less, challenging (like the lunge videos above). What we’re essentially doing is changing the lever arm - this can have an impact on both torque (rotary force) and angular momentum. 

For example, if I hold the med ball over my head with my arms straight (elbows locked) and perform a lateral side bend, that will be more challenging compared to holding the same med ball with my arms bent. This will not only have a different impact on what tissues are involved but it’ll also change the range of motion associated with the movement.

Beyond that, this small difference can have a massive impact on how the core functions - in this case, holding the ball further from the centre of rotation will increase the core challenge (in a dynamic fashion). This is in contrast to what many in tennis will do - over-rely on static core exercises (like planks variations). Note, planks are fine (we use them too), but are only a small piece of the trunk development puzzle.

And let’s not get started on what this will do to shoulder strength! Holding a med ball in an isometric position for 15 reps can take up to 30-45 seconds. That’s a good amount of time to build resilience in those tissues. To make things even more challenging, hold the med ball with only one hand (like in vid 1 below) - then let’s talk about rhythmic stability, scapular control and so on.

3 - Specificity and Exercise Variety

There are so many different variations of exercises we can come up with - ones that are less specific to ones that are more specific for tennis. We can perform a basic reverse lunge or we can perform a reverse lunge with a rotation.

We can even mirror an on-court movement, like a low volley (see 2nd vid in IG post above). And because the load is relatively light, I don’t see any harm in purposely being in a somewhat ‘compromised’ position while doing these (a slight arch in the back, for example). In essence, this may mitigate injury because we’re exposing tissues to those positions prior to experiencing them on the tennis court…in real-time. I’d call this group of exercises your ‘general strength’ activities.

But there are other exercise groupings - one of which can be termed your ‘ballistic’ med ball movements (see vid below). Here, we use speed of execution and momentum to put various structures through contract-relax scenarios. On top of that, this momentum can accentuate thoracic rotation, lateral flexion or even facilitate a pre-stretch of certain muscular structures that are exposed to a similar mechanism during an on-court movement or when striking the tennis ball.

4 - Enhanced Warm-Ups

Their usage during pre-tennis warm-ups is almost a must. I’ve found that young players can sometimes go through warm-ups half-heartedly but as soon as I put a med ball in their hands, it’s game on. Perhaps this is due to the variety of movements we have at our disposal; I’m not exactly sure. But either way, I’ve seen a heightened state of arousal when performing warm-ups with med balls. 

And let’s not forget about pre-physical training warm-ups. In particular, these should/could be placed into every session that has some sort of med ball throw involved. Think of them as a build-up to throws - just as sub-max accelerations are a build-up to maximal accelerations. 

Fake throws are also pretty interesting - and likely need an article of their own. Just check out Jonny Parkes (performance coach at IMG Academy) and how he uses them below:

Load Doesn’t Really Matter All that Much

A couple final words here. First, I prefer using handled med balls for these variations as grip won’t be a factor. It’ll also enable us to use some single-arm variations (like the ones shown above). In reality though, any type of med ball can work just fine.

Second - and more importantly - depending on the age of the individual, I’ll use anywhere from about a 6-pound handled MB (for young juniors, even a 4-pound might work) to a 10-pound MB (maybe a bit more for strong athletes and/or adult male clients). But don’t be too concerned with load here - we’re looking to improve positions, accentuate certain movements/work through various planes and add variety to our sessions - load is the least of our concerns. 

Lastly, I use these in a number of ways - either as stand-alone circuits of 6-12 exercises or in combination with med ball throws. This often depends on the session aim and the individuals abilities. Experiment with these and I’m confident they’ll act as a nice inclusion into your training regimes.

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