Medicine Ball Chest Pass

PushSlam

An explosive horizontal throw of a medicine ball from the chest, training rate of force development in the pressing muscles without the eccentric braking demand of a plyo push-up — a staple power exercise in athletic training programs.

Demo: Athletic training demo

Sets

4

Reps

6-10

Rest

1 min

Contraindications

None significant with a properly weighted ball — avoid excessively heavy balls that slow bar speed and defeat the power-training purpose.

Setup

Stand facing a solid wall (or a partner), holding a medicine ball at chest height with both hands, feet shoulder-width, athletic stance.

Execution

  1. 1Load slightly by bending the elbows and loading the hips/legs
  2. 2Explosively extend the arms and drive through the legs to throw the ball forward at chest height
  3. 3Follow through fully, releasing the ball at full extension
  4. 4Catch the rebound (off a wall) or receive the pass back and reset for the next rep

Key cues

  • Load the legs and hips, not just the arms
  • Explode through full extension, releasing at the top of the motion
  • Keep the throw at chest height, not lobbed upward
  • Reset fully between reps for maximum power output each time

Common faults

  • Using arms only, no leg/hip contribution
  • Lobbing the ball upward instead of a flat, powerful pass
  • Not fully extending through the release
  • Rushing reps without resetting power output

Tweaks

  • Perform against a rebounder wall for continuous reps
  • Add a partner for reactive passing drills
  • Vary ball weight to emphasize speed (lighter) or power (heavier)

Progressions

Plyo Push-Up

Muscles

Primary: Pectoralis Major, Anterior Deltoid, Triceps Brachii

Secondary: Core, Quadriceps

Sources

Attribution: NSCA / athletic power-training canon