Category: Free Fitness Plans

Medicine Balls have been around since 1876 when Hippocrates stuffed animal skins for their patients to throw for ‘medicinal’ purposes (hence where the name Medicine Balls originate). In the modern-day, mostly everything gets replaced by a better version of itself, so what makes these ‘med balls’ so effective and ensures they last through the ages?

Their Versatility

When you walk into a gym, you see everything from cross-trainers, free weights, bench presses and so many other exercise equipment. But if your home gym is too small for all of this equipment or you don’t like the thought of hitting the gym, Medicine Balls have your back as you can do full-body exercises with them.

When you think about it, all you are doing is moving a weighted ball, surely it can’t be that beneficial? Wrong. Whether it is your upper body or lower body, the benefits of using a medicine ball have been widely researched and confirmed.

Confirmed By Sports Stars…

In 2017, former Pittsburgh Steelers & New England Patriots NFL Linebacker James Harrison conducted an interview for GQ’s fitness coverage. In the interview, Harrison spoke fondly on his love for Medicine Balls, mentioning how he involved hops, tosses and even bench presses into his vigorous NFL workout.

If you’re a big fan of Golf, Baseball, NFL, Hockey etc. then it might be cool to know that a lot of players in these sports would focus a lot of their weight training with Medicine Balls. This is because if you just use traditional weightlifting methods in the gym, then you are focusing on the amount of weight you are lifting.

This methodology of thinking neglects the exercises that build up your power and ability to exert your force incredibly quickly. Using Medicine Balls gives golfers the power to hit a long drive down the fairway, baseball players the ability to hit a home run, NFL Quarterbacks to throw a touchdown.

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Medball press

A post shared by James Harrison (@jhharrison92) on Sep 26, 2017 at 5:34am PDT

Ex Stoke City player Rory Delap said in an interview before that “The Derby fitness coach had me throwing medicine balls, trying to get a little more out of me, but it started hurting my shoulders and neck”, which shows that multi-million Premier League clubs trust Medicine Balls to launch the ball into the opposition box.

Using Medicine Balls in the same way as kettlebells boost the power you generate and can even benefit you in strength training on the bench press and shoulder press, giving you the ability to progress if you’re stuck in a rut.

Home-Workouts Have Never Been Easier…

Home-workouts don’t just have to be cardio workouts. If you are new to the gym or just want to learn some new exercises, then the only place you could do that is by hitting the gym and learning from the trainers or watching and replicating others. However, nowadays it is easier than ever to achieve the workout you want, without leaving your own home (without a mountain of fitness equipment as well).

With the rise of Instagram, Facebook & Twitter, it is now easier than ever before to find and replicate new workouts. Just scrolling through the hashtag #MedcineBallWorkout on Instagram gives you unrivalled access to almost 30,000 fitness fanatics sharing their tips and tricks on how to have a good workout.

Even now, you can buy gym sets that include weight plates, punching bags, adjustable dumbbells and pull up bars as well as medicine balls and kettlebells for way less than what it would cost for a yearly gym membership.

The Workouts Are Fun

Whilst lifting weights releases endorphins after your weight lifting session, exercises such as the Medicine Ball Slam release built-up stress instantly. Whilst lifting weights the traditional way is fun, there is something different that only throwing something heavy as hard as you can onto the floor can bring.

Medicine Ball Slam

Here, we see a video from Youtuber Tony Cress, showing you how to effectively do a Medicine Ball Slam. We’d tell you ourselves but we think seeing a video is more beneficial than a paragraph. Anyway, Medicine Ball Slams are used for developing power, but also work your triceps, abdomen, shoulders, calves, back, glutes, quads

Burpee To Med Ball Press

For the next video, we’re looking at Bodybuilding.com. They are showing you how to do a Burpee through to a Medicine Ball Press, an exercise that we’re sure will get your heart beating whilst training your legs, chest, arms and shoulders

Wall Balls

Wall Balls are a favourite in the CrossFit community, they use a variety of muscles such as shoulders, upper back, biceps, chest, core, quads, hamstrings, and glutes.

BUT SOME PEOPLE TAKE IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL,

Some of the workouts you’re going to see below are next-level, they take the basic concept of Medicine Ball workouts and incorporate their own twists to promote balance, posture and soo much more.

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A post shared by Erik Long (@elevatefitperformance) on Sep 10, 2019 at 3:42pm PDT

This guy is using three medicine balls at once whilst doing a press-up!

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A post shared by Brian Orr (@b_orr21) on Nov 18, 2019 at 10:06am PST

Putting your own spin on a core and upper body workout.

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A post shared by Simone Baseball Performance (@simone_baseball_performance) on Sep 17, 2019 at 5:52pm PDT

Do you think you could catch a medicine ball?

In The Market For A Medicine Ball?

Well, you’re in luck. Here at SS Healthfoods, we have a wide variety of Medicine Balls to suit all tastes and strengths. From Synthetic Leather through to Rubber and 1kg up to 20kg, we have one for you.

See our extended range here: Full Range of Medicine Balls.

Or keep scrolling for our picks!

Ironman Medicine Ball Dual Colour 5KG – £15.99

Designed for people with medium strength, it’s outer coater gives you a better grip, especially if you’re thinking about undertaking some Wall Balls.

SSS Medicine Ball Leather 2kg Black/Yellow – £13.99

Perfect for those who want to use a lightweight ball to add some weight to some aerobic movements.

SSS Medicine Ball Leather 20kg Red/Blue – £55.99

For the strongest of the strong, a stylish Red/Blue Leather finish makes you look even cooler.

SSS Medicine Ball PU 20kg Red/White – £31.99

Again, for the strongest of the strong but with a Synthetic Leather finish and the cheaper option.

There are always times in the year where we just don’t have time to properly exercise, which can leave you feeling guilty. Whilst a diet is the most important aspect of working out, a bad diet is easily fixed whereas it is a lot harder to find that motivation to go to the gym after time off.

In this blog post, we’re going to be outlining our top tips to keep active when you’re otherwise occupied. 

Plan, Plan, Plan

You could be visiting family, but unfortunately sometimes family don’t live near. Planning where you’re going to go and what you’re going to do can be the difference of you getting even 30 minutes you need, or being immobile for a few days.

If your family have the delight of visiting family near walking, running or park trials, great! That means that your cardiovascular fitness will be topped up whilst being able to spend time with the family.

If you haven’t got much room, plan simple workouts that do not require equipment and make use of what space you’ve got. You could even ask if they have a kettlebell or medicine ball, but that doesn’t matter too much. If you are working with nothing, using bodyweight exercises such as squats, press-ups, burpees, lunges etc are still going to be getting that heart beating and the blood flowing.

If you’ve gone away to see the family, ask them if they have an exercise room or an in-house gym – that will keep you active! If not, then have a look at Hustle, downloading the app unlocks thousands of gyms at your fingertips. It uses your location to find you gyms nearby and then enables you to buy day-passes to the said gym, to ensure that you are keeping active. You can download their app by clicking here.

Jenny McCoy from self.com notes that it is a lot easier to stick to exercising if you’ve mentally planned and prepared yourself for it – especially if it is not in your usual routine. If it’s been pre-planned, you’ll mentally know when it’s time to do it and it will be easier to squeeze into your busy routine.

How Do I Do Home Workouts Away From Home?

Whilst planning is quintessential, sometimes you may have had too much to drink or coming down with a fever. Sometimes there just is no way that you are physically able to get yourself out and exercising in an efficient manner. No worries, even the slightest bit of exercise is better than no exercise, so let’s get creative and figure out what you can do now.

Walking is the best form of cardiovascular exercise. Walking as much as you can throughout the busy period keeps the blood flowing and heart beating. Even if it is just walking to the shop rather than driving, it’s a start.

If you’re shopping, try and look for the slightly longer route to the next shop, don’t worry it’s going to be there still but it might just take you a little bit longer. Also, I’d personally count carrying a lot of heavy bags around a shopping centre all day is definitely a weight exercise – so that’s ticked off.

Using the stairs is also a big one if you’re going up to floor 17 or something then I’d recommend taking the lift as you don’t want to get tired out. But, if you’re only going up to floor 4, take the stairs instead.

Ice Skating is a festive favourite, it’s fun for all the family and it’s a high-intensity exercise. In fact, you can burn up to 670 calories depending on your weight for 30 minutes of ice-skating. Now, that sounds efficient.

Seize The Moment

We know that a lot of the time you spend in the living room with your family and sometimes you don’t get the time to exercise, so this segment is how you can utilise your spare 15-30 minutes efficiently.

When you plan your workout, make a contingency plan for quick, little home workout routines you can do in little space. We recommend following runnersworld.com’s guide for bodyweight exercises that are fast and effective.

If you have fitness equipment handy, move them into your room for some more home-workouts, it will save you the anxiety of working out in front of your family. Check out our article on home-workouts here.

Keeping your running shoes handy is massively beneficial. You might find that there are a couple of times where you get a window big enough to take a light jog, a run on a morning will get your appetite going.

One of the weirder pieces of equipment in the gym, It looks like a cannonball with a handle, so you’d be forgiven if you thought it was to be fired out the side of a ship in the eighteenth century. The kettlebell is growing in popularity, many people don’t know what they are, how they use them or how they can use them for their own home workouts.

According to ThoughtCo, they originate in Ancient Greece, with one weighing 315 lbs (142 kg) hanging up in a museum in Athens. However, the first time we ever see it written is in a Russian dictionary which was published in 1704 reading the word ‘Girya’.

The Best Kettlebell Exercises

Kettlebells have a wide range of exercises you can undertake with them, from aerobic exercises to straight-up weightlifting, you can use them for various weightlifting activities. We’re going to list a few that with get your full body and heart rate working.

BEGINNER

Swing

Kettlebell swings are one of the easiest exercises you can do to familiarise yourself with this piece of equipment.

Stand with your feet slightly wider than the wide of your shoulders. You should begin to grasp the kettlebell with both of your bands and place your palms facing towards you and your arms in front of your torso. To begin the movement, lower your body by just slightly bending your knees and moving your hips back, then use your body’s power to force your hips forward and swing your kettlebell with straight arms to the height of your shoulder.

It is important whilst doing this exercise is to keep your glutes and core engaged in the movement and to make sure you control the swing back down. Start with a lighter weight at first to control the movement & form then begin to up the weights every so often.

Windmill

Boosting your strength in your shoulders as well are your core & mobility, the windmill is an excellent beginners exercise.

Your starting position should see your feet shoulder-width apart from each other with your kettlebell in your right hand. Both feet should be pointed at 45° angles to the left and then you want to press the kettlebell straight overhead until your elbow locks.

Once you have done that, bend down and shift your hips to the right until you are able to touch your left foot (or left leg/shin if the foot is too difficult) with your left arm/left hand and then come back up and repeat again for your desired amount of reps.

To use on the other side of the body, just swap your left and rights around. When shifting your hips, make sure you’re looking at the kettlebell to keep the exercise controlled and reduce the risk of injury.

INTERMEDIATE

Single Arm Swing

Similar to the exercise in the ‘Beginners’ section, this is just a more extreme version as you are one using one arm instead of two.

Like most Kettlebell exercises, your starting position should see your feet slightly wider than your shoulder width (not your feet hip-width) whilst holding the kettlebell with one hand and the palm facing towards you and your arm facing in front of your torso. Then, again, lower your body by bending your knees and moving your hips back before powerfully driving them forward whilst keeping your arm straight and not going above the height of your shoulders.

It is so important that you start with light weights first so you know how to do the exercise correctly without injuring yourself.

Goblet Squat

The Kettlebell Goblet Squat is one of the more unusual exercises in strength training but effective nonetheless.

Grab the kettlebell handle with both hands upside down and then the procedure to do the movement of a regular squat (the two movements are identical), bending your knees whilst keeping your back straight and until your things are parallel to the floor then use your heels to force yourself and the cast iron back up again.

Goblet Squats are good because they improve your squatting movement because the position of the kettlebell is in the same place throughout the exercise.

ADVANCED

Clean & Press

Grab a kettlebell that is on the ground and then raise the kettlebell to your shoulder by powerfully extending your legs and your hips and you’re pulling the kettlebell to shoulder height. Whilst doing this, being the kettlebell over to your wrist so your palm is facing forwards,

After This, keep your torso tight and lower your body by bending your knees then extend your knees through your heels and hips creating a momentum whilst pressing the kettlebells overhead your head until your arm is directly extended.

If you’re struggling to understand what you need to do, if you go into Youtube and type in the exercise, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of helpful videos just waiting to be used.

I don’t go to the gym, where can I find cheap Kettlebells?

Some people don’t feel comfortable or just prefer working out in their own space, understandable. Here at SS Healthfoods, we have a wide variety of Kettlebells available to suit all strengths, from 4kg all the way up to 40 kg. All at affordable prices and with the option of Rubber or Neoprene coating.

OUR PICKS

Ironman Neoprene Kettlebell 16 kg – £34.99
Preparing for a heist and wondering how you’re going to be able to move those gold bars? Well, we have you covered. Our 16kg Neoprene Kettlebells weigh 1.3 times the weight of a gold bar, giving you the ability to steal gold more efficiently thanks to the excess weight that will cover you when the fatigue hits from moving those cold bars.

The incognito design gives it a slick look and don’t worry when you’ve stolen that gold the kettlebell won’t damage or scratch the gold due to its Neoprene coating. Not using it for a heist? Nevermind then, it’s also good for working for muscle groups all over the body efficiently, buy it now. 

Ironman Colour Vinyl Kettlebell 36kg – £54.99

Top-quality professional rubber vinyl-coated cast iron colour-coded Kettlebells. Probably one of the best Kettlebells on the market and on average 30% cheaper than other companies! More aesthetic looking with a thicker handle and more robust than other Kettlebells.

Kettlebell Bundle Deal – £39.99

Perfect for those who just are getting into fitness/can’t lift that heavyweight. With 4kg, 8kg & 12 kg kettlebells in one, you can undertake the various exercises listed above with ease and comfort!

Home Workout Bundle – £35.99

Kickstart your home workout routine and order the ultimate home workout bundle deal today! This is the complete home workout bundle and meets all your needs when it comes to working up a sweat at home. 

12kg Kettlebell – Perfect to increase your grip strength, as well as conduct endurance and strength training on your lower back, shoulders and legs. 

5kg Dual Colour Medicine Bell – Whether you want to slam, throw, squat or crunch… Medicine Balls are brilliant for all home workouts, and will soon become your abs best friend. 

Lonsdale Leather Skipping Rope – Skipping Rope workouts are one of the best ways to increase your cardiovascular output, this 275cm rope can help you warm up and is suitable for children and adults. 

Shaker – Insert your protein powder, or just use for general hydration. 

At a time where the majority of the continent is staying home, your desired type of exercise may be no longer viable. That’s why you need to extend what other types of exercise you do when you’re at home. 

Aerobic exercise has many health benefits for your body. It improves your cardiovascular system as well as your respiration and improves your blood volume & distribution – which will help more blood get to your muscles for when you get back into the gym. Oregon Providence says that other benefits of regular aerobic exercise include decreasing anxiety & stress, reducing high blood pressure, using fat as energy, weight loss and decreasing heart rate. You should look to do aerobic exercise at least 5 days per week according to Healthline and aerobic activities should be conducted for at least 30 minutes per day.

Core exercises also have their benefits, they improve the transfer of power throughout the body and teach the muscles how to work together.

In this article, we’re going to be looking at what aerobic workout you can do with different types of equipment and how you can boost them to reach high-intensity and get your heart pumping.

Aerobic Exercises

WALKING

The most simple and convenient form of aerobic exercise is walking. It does not require any equipment other than a pair of trainers which you probably already have. It is also very easy to match the walking pace to your fitness level, from power walking to a light jog. Whilst running is popular, walking is a relaxing experience that is very good for people starting their exercise journey. If you’re looking to lose weight, walking is brilliant because it doesn’t put as much pressure on your joints or muscles as some of the exercises below do.

If you’re looking to add a little resistance to your walks and work those muscles harder, our 2kg wrist/ankle weights add that little bit of extra weight to your body to help you burn the calories and improve the cardiovascular system. It’s a noticeable bit of weight, but it should be enough where you can easily keep up the regular tempo and strengthen your body. They have adjustable straps and can be used on either your ankles or your wrists.

SKIPPING

When you skip, you are helping your body develop a better awareness of itself, whilst also improving your hand & foot co-coordination as well as your overall agility, champion boxers and athletes alike use skipping for these benefits. If you don’t have any skipping ropes, they’re generally a cheap piece of equipment to purchase and all you need is a small, clear space – clear of any obstacles to reduce the risk of injury (or breaking something).

You can choose to adjust the intensity to suit your needs, and even add some weight to wrist/ankles or body for extra resistance. If you need some skipping ropes, we have some Lonsdale Skipping Ropes or our own SSS Blue Nylon Skipping Rope. 

Core-Building Exercises

PLANK

Planking is THE core-building exercise. It is perfect for beginners and it involves almost no movement but you need to put in the most effort. Add some music to the exercise to really get your heart-rate going and work those muscles. You plank by supporting your body on your forearms and toes whilst holding your body in a straight line from shoulders to ankles. You can also do dead-mans plank by resting on your hands then back down to your forearms.

Whilst you can do it in any room, purchasing an exercise mat gives you endless possibilities where to plank, with some added comfort and support.  It means you can go in your back garden on a warm sunny day without getting grass stains all over your elbows.

EXERCISE BALL

Exercise balls are very versatile, you can conduct various exercises with one piece of equipment. Greatist made a list of the best exercise ball exercises which includes V-sits, ball jogs, handoffs & knee-tuck. If you’re not sure how to do these exercises, you can look at this video below. 

If you look like you’re up to the challenge, why not purchase one of our exercise balls? Cheap, colourful and great for the exercises shown above.

SIT-UPS

Another great core-workout. Sit-ups are one of the most unforgiving exercises you can do if you have poor form. Sit-ups run the risk of injuries so you have to make sure that you do them properly.

PureGym has outlined how to do a proper sit-up. You need to keep your feet, hips & knees aligned with your knees which should be bent and your feet should be flat on the floor. Exhale on your way up and inhale when you go back down. It is important to not use your head to try and gain momentum as it could injure your neck.

If you need a piece of equipment to help you, we have our Ironman Sit-Up Bar. The Deluxe Sit Up Bar, thanks to an oversized, non-damaging screw-on clamp, it attaches to any door and is adjustable to your dimensions. It is also fitted with comfortable neoprene-padded footrests to make every sit-up safer, and it is lightweight and very supportive, offering fast release for portability so you can take it everywhere.

Why not take a look at our entire list of aerobic exercise equipment as well as our full range of fitness equipment.