The Medicine Ball Is A Largely Useless Training Tool

I said it. I do not think the medicine ball is a very useful training implement for really any goal. Let's think about why medicine balls (referred to as med bell from hereon) may be used by trainees:

The famed medicine ball, used by many sports performance coaches as an inefficient means of developing power in athletes

1. Power Production

What is power production. Power is the ability to generate force quickly. Are we producing force quickly during a med ball slam or toss? Yes, we are. But we are not producing LARGE force quickly. Using a medicine ball will probably provide you with 10kgs of max resistance. How are you going to load more weight? How many reps are you going to add? Practically, med ball work doesn't seem conducive to long term gains in power production.

But also, what unique benefits are we getting from med ball work that is conducive to performance in any sport? For example, the olympic lifts, which are a tested way of developing power, train many qualities powerfully. They train triple extension, absolute strength etc. What qualities are we training with med ball work? Some claim that med balls allow us to develop "upper body explosiveness". But do they? Explosive work is ALWAYS dependent on ground reaction forces (think punching, kicking, jumping, olympic lifts). So when we do some explosive work for the "upper body" using a med ball, we aren't really building upper body explosiveness. Also, the upper body is NOT built to be explosive! The BODY is built to be explosive. Every explosive activity is some mix of both upper body and lower body strength and coordination (even jumping!), but the large majority of this power is from the lower body due to it being a much stronger part of the body. In saying this, you can do explosive work that targets BOTH the upper body and lower body! You could do a push press, a snatch grip high pull, or a variety of olympic throws (shotput, discus). 

Olympic weightlifter Dmitry Klokov mogging a 225kg (495lbs) push press. Push pressing this amount of relative weight is a clear indication of both upper and lower body strength.

Therefore, the med ball is not a useful tool in developing power, and you would be better of incorporating olympic lifts if your goal is to target the upper body. 

2. Sports Performance

Many throwing coaches believe that med ball work could help their shotputters get more distance out on the field. Many boxing coaches thing doing med ball side tosses will increase punching power. These statements are false. 

Why would med ball work help our shotput throws? Med balls do not provide enough resistance to grow the muscles required for the shotput. They don't hypertrophy he triceps or the shoulders; if we did want to grow those muscles, we would do basic conventional exercises like dips and overhead presses. If we wanted to get better at throwing a shotput, then we would throw a shotput! There is no reason why low specificity med ball work is useful when we can simply allocate that time to actually throwing the implement. 

And how is the med ball going to help us develop "rotational power" for punching? If we wanted stronger punches, we could hypertrophy the relevant muscles through standard weight room exercises for the obliques, core, shoulders etc. And if we wanted to get better at the skill of punching, we would just do more punching and more specific work! If we wanted to develop power in the body, then we would do the olympic lifts, which just like punching, rely on the ability of the lower body to produce force quickly!!

Discus throwers should spend more time throwing a discus rather than a non-specific med ball. A med ball weights differently, is shaped differently, and provides no unique benefit. Same applies for hammer throwers and shotputters.

The point I am making is that substituting our sport specific movements will med ball movements in unnecessary. If we want to get better at our sport, we should play our sport more! If we wanted to develop strength and power to benefit our sport, then we would do traditional weight room exercises and olympic lifts! Med balls provide no unique benefit here.

Now there is a caveat here. If you are actually training for an event that requires you to use med balls, then you should definitely train with those same med balls. This obviously applies to crossfit, and I know that the US army tests the med ball power throw as well. But the amount of technical prowess required for these events are VERY minimal, so you would probably be better of just building up your traditional lifts. If you increase your back squat and power clean, then you med ball power throw WILL increase.

I have used med balls for some time and only recently realized that they are largely useless. Maybe they have a one-off training effect by potentiating the nervous system or as a warmup, but these is rarely what people use them for. Med ball work should NOT be a staple in your program, and you should NOT rely on them to make any gains in power, strength or hypertrophy. 

The VERTICAL JUMP Program

Building a monstrous vertical jump can be reduced down to 4 main exercise categories:

1. A squat variation - Back Squat, Front Squat, SSB Squat etc.
2. An olympic lift variation - Power Clean, Power Snatch etc.
3. A loaded jump - Jump Squats, Weighted Box Jumps etc.
4. An unloaded jump - Depth Jumps, Box Jumps etc.

Now, why these 4 specific exercise categories? Well, each of these exercises correspond to a specific point on the strength speed continuum:

In order for us to increase our vertical jump, we must target all areas on this continuum if we want to make appreciable long-term progress (more about this in this blog post). If, for example, I just tried to increase my power by using power-based exercises, I would eventually stall because I haven't increased other parts of the continuum (like max strength). This is why these specific exercise categories have been chosen. A heavy squat variation will target max strength, an olympic lift will target strength-speed, a loaded jump is producing power, and an unloaded jump is building speed-strength. Now, you may notice that there is no exercise for the pure "speed" part of the continuum. That is because pure speed exercises don't really exist since an exercise can only be pure speed if there is no resistance applied. An unloaded jump is NOT a pure speed exercise since you have to overcome your own bodyweight to get off the floor, so it is more speed-strength.

Now, let's get into specifics. The squat variation should be done heavy. I would recommend beginners start with a high bar back squat since strength in the quads is more of what we are going for when it come to vertical jumping. After some time, you can rotate to low bar squats, front squats or even pin squats from varying heights. Heavy squats should be done 2x a week for the majoirty of people. If you really do not progress with 2x a week squatting, you could maybe do 3x a week. But your recovery, nutrition and sleep better be on point!

The olympic lifts can be done at a higher frequency than the squatting. The reason for this is because the olympic lifts (for the purpose of increasing the vertical jump) should only be loaded with 70-85% of your 1 rep max. So they can be done anywhere from 2-4x a week. I generally favour the power clean and the power snatch since they don't require much technical skill, but you could also do the hang power version, rack jerks or high pull variations. Basically, just do any olympic lift that you can execute with good form explosively.

Loaded jumps should be done around 2x a week. The best exercise here would be the jump squat. People often make the mistake of going to heavy with these to see any real carryover to their vertical jump. A recommendation I learnt from Alex Enkiri is that you should now use more than 10% of your back squat 1 rep max for jump squats. So if your squat max was 200kg, you would only use 2 10kg dumbbells for jump squats. You can use heavier loads with weighted box jumps, but I think majority of your power work should be done with jump squats.

Unloaded jumps can really be anything. I put box jumps here because I like them, but you could also do some standing jumps were you just stand on ground and jump as high as you can rhythmically. As far as box jumps go, your technique will be based on what type of vertical jump you are training for. If you are training for a vertical jumps with a running start, then you should do your box jumps with a running start as well. This will allow you to practice technique whilst developing explosiveness. If you are training more for a standing vertical jump (like in the NFL combine), then do your box jumps from a stationary standing position. These unloaded jumps can be done 2-4x per week since they induce very low fatigue. 

Here is the entire program put together:

Additional Notes:

• You may notice that the jump squats have a peaking protocol as well. This can be run optionally if you plan on peaking your vertical jump for a competition, test etc. In the first 2 weeks, use 10% of your back squat 1 rep max, then 15% for the next 2 weeks, then 20% for the final 2 weeks, then reset and repeat.
• The volume in these workouts is at the higher end. If you can't handle this volume, remove the 2 olympic lifts on sessions 2 and 4. You can also cut down on the accessory work.
• Olympic lifts should be executed quickly. Do not try to load too heavy, and just focus on moving the bar as fast as possible. This will have maximum carryover to the vertical jump.
• I also recommend doing some sort of max effort jumping every single day (ie. trying to dunk etc.). This will build jumping technique and will accustom you to max effort jumping. This should be done in a separate session from these workouts.
• The light/moderate intensity plyometrics should be done rhythmically. You could do ankle hops off a 6 inch box, do broad jumps rhythmically (for 3-5 reps), or just jump on the spot for high reps. If you have the chance, try to do horizontal jumps in this slot. Horizontal jumping power is important for running vertical jumps (like dunking in basketball), since they allow you to get more horizontal distance.
• I have included calf work here. I personally believe calf work is useless. I have only included it here for the purposes on ankle health. Your Achilles tendon MUST be strong if you are constantly jumping high and landing on a hard surface, so strengthening the calves will largely prevent injuries.
• You can rotate the main and assistance exercises in this program every 6 weeks. Exercise rotations have been provided.
• If you do not know how to perform the olympic lifts, I would start with easier variations and progress to harder ones. Start with the hang power versions, then the power versions, then the full versions. I have programmed the olympic lifts at a high frequency, which can accelerate the learning phase.
• This program can work for any type of trainee! The high volume in each workout can develop work capacity, but we still have 3 rest days for plenty recovery. If you are more intermediate, you could split the 2 upper body sessions into 3 shorter upper boy sessions.
• A rest day should be taken after session 2, session 3 and session 4.

A Note On Depth Jumps

This is a 6 week program. After running this program for the first 6 weeks, you should swap out the unloaded jump from a box jump to a depth jump. Depth jumps are notorious for increasing jumping ability drastically, but also being highly taxing on the joints. After doing them for 3-4 weeks, you will probably feel bouncy as ever! They are a truly effective exercise, but care must be taken when performing them. Use a box height that allows you to jump as high as possible, and don' try to increase the drop height too quickly. I recommend you start with a 24" drop height. Stop the workout when you feel that your jumping height is decreasing. Only add box height if jumping performance is consistent over many sets on the short box heights. Depth jumps should only be kept in the program for a maximum of 6 weeks. After the 6 weeks, rotate back to the box jumps. 

So that's the program! As always, make sure you are in a caloric surplus, getting plenty of sleeping, and taking your recovery seriously. Keep in mind that this program could change in the future if I learn more about training for the vertical jump, so keep your eye out for any edits to this article!

- Neil 

Pre-Workout Core Training

Train you core before you start your workouts! Why? Because these core exercise also double as drills which can improve your ability to brace, which is a highly underrated skill requirement to be successful in any strength sport. These exercises won't necessary get you a six pack or grow your core musculature, but they will increase proprioception and your ability to "feel" your core and brace better in compound lifts.

So what do I recommend you do. I think you should start each workout with at least 1 exercise for the anti-extension function of the core, and at least 1 exercise for the anti-rotational/anti-lateral flexion functions of the core. I would recommend to start off with front planks and side planks respectively. But you could also do birds dogs, curl ups (part of the McGill Big 3 Back Rehab Protocol) and dead bugs. Do these movements for no longer than 3 minutes total before you start every workout, and even on rest days! These number of sets and reps you do doesn't really matter on these types of exercises; just do the movements. Also, adding weight is an option here, but I don't really think it is necessary to practice bracing. For example, instead of adding weight to planks, just do harder variations. Do planks with only one hand on the ground, with only one leg on the ground, bird dog version or the superman version. Hollow holds are also really good.

The main point with this is just don't do them sporadically. The benefits with these only come when you do them at a high frequency, so try to do them every single day. Core bracing is a forgotten art in this era of lifting, and it ought to have more attention!

- Hawtsauce

PLS STOP SKIPPING REAR DELTS, BRAH!! (PSA for Gym Rats...)

Do 1 rear delt exercise for every vertical press that you do. Also, do 1 rear delt exercise for every lateral raise/lateral delt exercise you do. 

This is an idea I learnt from Sam Shethar (Shethar Training on YT). Training the rear delts is such as important aspect of maintaining shoulder health, stability and aesthetics that neglecting them is an easily avoidable mistake. Training those rear delts will make your overhead press AND your bench presses feel much better and stable, especially in the bottom positions. Also, having strong rear delts also prevents injuries in these deep end ranges, and this could be very helpful for those with rotator cuff pain/injury. 

Also, building the rear delts can make your more 💫AESTHETIC💫. The rear delt adds the missing 3D look to your shoulder whilst also pushing the lateral delt forward, masking it look bigger. Skipping rear delts is what causes a half-developed shoulder muscle and terrible posture.

The rear delts grow best when they are punished over and over again. So do high frequency. Following the recommendation that I have given at the start is perfect for balancing the front, side and rear head of the delts. Here are my favourite exercises for the rear delts:

1. Incline IYT Raise
2. Facepull
3. Powell Raise
4. Upper Back Inverted Row
5. Rear Delt Flye (Machine Or Cable)

I think you should do rear delt work at least 3x a week. Like I said, these types of exercises respond very well to high frequency and high volume, so really just go ham with these. You may also notice that these rear delt exercises also double as upper back exercises. This is good! This means your upper back also becomes stronger, which helps in basically every lift! Do these exercises for 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps at the end of upper body and/or lower body sessions. You can use rest-pause methods with these exercises or superset them with overhead presses or bench presses.

- Hawtsauce

Don't Be A Volume Goober

I used to be a volume goober. I thought that if I just did more exercises in the gym, I would get more jacked and strong. I remember vividly that my workouts would just be from going on one machine to the next until I had gone through every machine in the gym (no joke, I actually thought this was proper training).

Adding endless volume to your training is not how you get stronger (in most cases). My general rule of thumb is that if you are training for either powerlifting/bodybuilding/strongman, then doing more than 8 exercises in the gym is useless.

I have found through experimentation and conversations with advanced lifters that ~8 exercises are as many you need per session to make all the gains you need for progress in strength and size. A lot of trainees (especially beginners) fall into the trap of thinking that more is always better. This is almost always NOT true when it comes to strength training. You are MUCH better off putting more intensity and effort into your exercises rather than just doing more exercising with no intent. The truth is that if you are training legitimately hard, you WILL be fried after 8 exercises. 

Note: This recommendation doesn't really apply to performance or olympic weightlifting training. Both of these will generally be even more technical and challenging on the body and nervous system, so you should probably do even less volume. Most olympic lifters I know do 3-4 exercises in a workout and then they're done.

Also, please don't take this message the wrong way. Just because I hate doing endless exercises doesn't mean that you should only do 1 exercise in the gym and leave. I believe that through trial and error you should find the best amount of volume that works for your individual capabilities. Most guys are going t be fine with 6-7 exercises per session maximum. Some guys with stressful work and poor sleep could only do 4 exercises. Younger guys with optimised recovery (such as myself) can push it to 8 exercises in a single session. Above 8 exercises per workout, you're just being a goober. 

Practical Tips To Help You Determine Volume

Start with the lower end of volume. If you can go through workouts whilst training hard and you still aren't fried at the end, then you can add in more volume. But there will be a certain point were your body tells you to stop, and that is where you should cap volume. If you are someone who has terrible recovery, just start with 4-5 exercises. If you have better recovery, start with 6 exercises. Also, keep in mind you can just add sets to your existing exercises rather than adding in more exercises. This will be enough to drive progression without majorly impacting recovery. Refer to the table below:

Just keep in mind that volume requirements are highly individual. All that I have described in this post is the MAXIMUM amount of volume you should do. Many of the people I coach only do 5 exercises per session and they make excellent progress whilst only spending 1-1.5hrs in the gym. More is not always better!

If you have any questions, put them in the comments below!

- Hawtsauce

Do Static Holds!!

Static holds are heavy holds done whilst stationary. The reason I love them is because they train the core in a 'functional' way. Holding on to a heavy weight is a great way to strengthen your bracing, as well as adapt you core to not bend under pressure. This is the best way to train the core for something like a back squat...or an olympic lift...or any strongman event. 

Static holds include suitcase holds, front rack holds, zercher holds, pallof holds etc. All of these target the core and the obliques in a different way, but they still provide the heavy core strengthening which is absent in typical core exercises. Are these similar to loaded carries? Somewhat. Loaded carries also target the core. However, since we are standing still in static holds, we can use slightly more weight as we don't have to worry about actually moving our legs, and thus the core will be targeted more efficiently. 

Static holds probably won't be very conducive to hypertrophy given that there is no eccentric. However, what they will do is teach trainees how to brace the core properly, which is an INVALUABLE skill for any trainee looking to increase their strength on the compound lifts. This 'teaching tool' aspect is why I even recommend these static holds for beginners. Just keep in mind that these exercise will only provide optimal results if you focus on posture and muscle activation. Loading up a ton of weight here will only lead to injury rather than solid gains.

I categorize these static holds into 4 categories:

• A heavy anterior hold: This includes holding weight in front of you or on you ie. front rack holds, zercher holds, barbell holds. These will target the entire rectus abdominis musculature, as well as provide some potentiation effect to squat variation. Just focus on bracing the core and breathing rhythmically/normally so you don't die. 

Chinese weightlifter Tian Tao performing heavy front rack holds to improve his front squat and nervous system potentiation. 

• A unilateral hold: This involves holds with only one hand. The best unilateral hold is the suitcase hold. With this exercise, focus on keeping the torso upright and neutral. The back muscles and obliques will have to work really hard to prevent yourself from collapsing. 
• An overhead hold: This is when you hold a heavy implement over your head. This will challenge the hip and core stability and strength as well as shoulder mobility. You could also do overhead holds unilaterally! I recommend you set up in a squat rack so there is no danger of dropping the bar. Waiter holds are also a great overhead hold variation. 
• Planking variations: There are many planking variations, which include side planks, superman planks, bird dog planks and regular front planks. There will target aspects of anti extension mainly, but also some anti-lateral flexion is well with side planks The point here is to go heavy; using your own bodyweight will eventually become easy, so add weight via a backpack or weight vest.

With all of these static holds, I recommend 3-4 sets of 30-60 sec holds (per side if applicable). With the planks, you could go up to 60-90 secs at a time. 

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment below!

- Hawtsauce