Ready to introduce the slam ball to your workouts? Here are eight killer slam ball exercises plus a full-body workout for maximum fat-burning and explosive power.
Slam balls are one of the best tools to use to shred fat, build explosive power, and have some fun in the gym.
No more boring repetitions of the same weightlifting exercises over and over; you get to spend your workout throwing a ball around and slamming it against the ground and walls with all of your strength.
Now that’s how you add some spice to your training!
In this post, we are going to break down the best slam ball exercises, looking first at what slam balls are and how you use them, then sharing a list of the best slam ball exercises you can do.
Finally, I’ll help you put it all together into one kickass full-body training session using only slam balls.
Get ready to learn an exciting and highly effective new way to train!
The Slam Ball – Overview
The slam ball is, as its name suggests, a weighted ball designed to be slammed hard against the ground or a wall.
Like all the balls used at the gym, the balls come in a variety of weights, allowing you to vary up the load of your workout based on the specific exercise you’re doing.
There are a few things that set slam balls apart from medicine balls and wall balls:
Medicine balls are typically made from rubber, but may be made using plastic, leather, or vinyl. They tend to be air-filled and, if slammed hard against the ground, may break. They’re typically used for exercises like Russian twists and medicine ball push-ups as they can support your weight without bursting. They are not built to withstand the impact of slam training.
Wall balls are typically made from plastic, vinyl, or leather, though some are rubber. They’re filled with some combination of filling—usually polyester fiber and/or rubber granule—that make them heavy and give them weight. Wall balls can handle the impact of your throwing them into the air and bouncing (gently) off the wall, and they tend to be larger than medicine balls.
Slam balls are built from rubber and tend to be filled with sand or some other filling that prevents them from bouncing. This actually earns them the name “dead ball” (another nickname for slam balls) and changes up the nature of the workout.
The primary benefits of slam balls are because there is no bounce, you have to bend over and pick the ball up off the floor after slamming it down. This movement and lift adds an extra dimension to your training you wouldn’t get with a ball that bounces.
The best slam balls are designed to be tough and sturdy enough to handle the impact of slamming them onto the ground or hurling them at the wall with all your strength, but the same can’t be said for medicine balls or wall balls.
If you’re going to do slam training—and specifically the exercises below—you’ll definitely want to make sure you’ve got the right ball to endure the workout.
The Best Slam Ball Exercises
Here is a list of some of my favorite (and the most effective) slam ball exercises to incorporate into your routine:
Exercise #1: Standing Overhead Slam
This is the most commonly used of the slam ball exercises, so it makes sense to include it as the first exercise on our list.
The standing overhead slam is a movement wherein you slam the ball straight down from a standing position, raising it high over your head.
Through this exercise, you focus on training your entire body—your shoulders, chest, back, and arms engage to raise the ball high and slam it down, your core stabilizes your upper body through the movement, and your legs work as you squat to recover the ball after slamming it down.
It’s a truly effective slam ball exercise that will have you sweating and exhausted in no time!
To perform the exercise:
- Stand with your feet spread shoulder width apart, with your toes turned slightly outward and your knees soft.
- Grip the slam ball in both hands at chest level.
- Raise the ball high overhead, rising up on your tip toes as you do.
- Exhale with force as you slam the ball onto the floor between your feet or directly in front of you.
- Squat to reach down and pick up the ball, coming back up to your starting position and transitioning once more into the overhead raise.
- Repeat as desired.
Exercise #2: Slam Ball Snatch
The snatch is a classic bodybuilding exercise that involves lifting a heavy weight from the floor, across the front of your body, and up over your head.
It works virtually your entire body, from your legs to your core to both your push and pull upper body muscles.
Doing it with a slam ball lets you train with a bit less weight, but you can incorporate a jumping motion into the upper portion of the exercise to really maximize leg engagement and increase explosive power development.
To perform this exercise:
- Start with the slam ball resting on the ground between your feet. Plant your feet roughly shoulder width apart, prepared to do a standard squat.
- Squat, reach your arms down to grip the ball, and inhale in preparation.
- Stand from the squat, dragging the ball up across the front of your body as you do so.
- In a single fluid motion, bring the ball up over your head and jump into the air.
- As you land, slam the ball down between your feet.
- Drop into a squat to pick the weight up once more.
- Repeat as desired.
Exercise #3: Squat Throw
This exercise focuses largely on your legs, but adds a bit of upper body work, too, so you can get those arms and shoulders pumping.
It’s not quite as full-body as the standing overhead slam, but there’s more leg engagement to help you focus on strengthening your quads, glutes, and hamstrings.
To perform this exercise:
- Start with the slam ball resting on the ground between your feet. Stand 3-5 feet away from a wall, at a comfortable distance so you have plenty of space to throw the ball. Plant your feet roughly shoulder width apart, prepared to do a standard squat.
- Squat, reach your arms down to grip the ball, and inhale in preparation.
- Tighten your core as you stand up from the squat. As you stand straight, extend your arms to throw the slam ball forward as hard as you can. The ball should bounce off the wall just enough that it will fall within reach, ready to be picked up as you squat once more.
- Repeat as desired.
Exercise #4: Scoop Overhead Throw
This exercise focuses not on slamming the ball onto the ground, but throwing it high over your head.
This activates both the push and pull muscles through both the throwing and catching movement. Add in a squat, and you’ve got yourself a truly amazing full-body workout!
To perform this exercise:
- Start with the slam ball resting on the ground between your feet. Plant your feet roughly shoulder width apart, prepared to do a standard squat.
- Squat, reach your arms down to grip the ball, and inhale in preparation.
- Stand from the squat, lifting the ball up in front of you as you do so.
- In a single fluid motion, hurl the ball high into the air, extending your hips and standing up high on your tip toes.
- Catch the ball as it descends, and lower into a squat as you catch it.
- Repeat as desired.
Exercise #5: Overhead Walking Lunges with a Slam Ball
Lunges are a game-changer for your glutes and quads, and work your hamstrings and core quite effectively, too.
Adding in the instability of a heavy load held overhead makes the exercise even more efficient and challenging.
You’ll find that this slam ball exercise is a great one to strengthen your legs and improve your balance.
To perform this exercise:
- Start with your feet placed together, posture upright, shoulders relaxed, and slam ball gripped at roughly chest level.
- Lift the slam ball over your head as you step your right foot forward into your first lunge. Lower into the lunge until your back knee just taps the floor lightly and your front knee bends to a 90-degree angle.
- Step forward into the walking lunge, pushing off your back foot and straightening onto your front foot. Lower the slam ball to your chest once more.
- Now step your left foot forward into the lunge, raising the slam ball over your head.
- Repeat as desired.
Exercise #6: Slam Ball Twists
This exercise uses a lunging movement to work out your legs, but adds an extra layer of challenge by holding the position (for isometric training) and twisting your torso to engage your core.
To perform this exercise:
- Start with your feet placed together, posture upright, shoulders relaxed, and slam ball gripped at roughly chest level.
- Step forward into a lunge. As you reach the bottom of your lunge—front knee reaching a 90-degree angle, back knee lightly tapping the floor—extend the slam ball in front of you and twist your torso first to the right, then to the left.
- Bring the ball back to your chest and push back off your front foot to step back into your lunge.
- Repeat the same motion with your other foot to complete one rep.
- Repeat as desired.
Exercise #7: Woodchoppers
This is one of my favorite exercises to do to train my core for both bending and twisting motions.
Because of your posture and movement, you’ll strengthen the muscles that keep your spine and torso stable as you move through this range of motion.
It’s great for anyone trying to bulletproof their back against spinal injuries.
To perform this exercise:
- Start in a lunge position, with your right foot extended out in front of you, knee bent at a 90-degree angle, and your left foot bracing for balance behind you.
- Hold the slam ball out with straight arms. Start by raising the ball over your left shoulder, then twisting down to swing it toward your front right ankle.
- Repeat the twisting motion, raising and lowering the ball in mimicry of a woodchopper swinging an axe at a tree.
- Once you complete the set on one side, switch legs (left foot forward) and repeat the twisting/raising/lowering motion in the other direction.
Exercise #8: Figure 8
This is an amazing exercise to help you develop core strength, leg strength, and coordination and balance in uncomfortable positions.
It’s not the easiest exercise to master, but once you get the form down right, it will be a game-changer for improving your posture in a lot of different disciplines and sports.
To perform this exercise:
- Start in a sumo squat position, with your feet spread beyond shoulder width and your knees bent to a roughly 90-degree angle.
- Grip the medicine ball in your right hand, and swing it around in front of your right knee to pass it between your legs to your left hand.
- Use your left hand now to swing the ball around outside your left knee, then around in front to pass it between your legs back to your right hand.
- Repeat the motion, using the ball to draw a “Figure 8” around your legs.
- Repeat for 10 passes per hand.
Sample Full-Body Slam Ball Workout
Time to put together all these amazing exercises into one kickass full body training session!
Standing Overhead Slam: 3 sets of 12 repetitions, 30 seconds of rest between sets.
Scoop Overhead Throw: 3 sets of 12 repetitions, 30 seconds of rest between sets.
Squat Throw: 2 sets of 12 repetitions, 30 seconds of rest between sets.
Slam Ball Snatch: 2 sets of 12 repetitions, 30 seconds of rest between sets.
Overhead Walking Lunges with Slam Ball: 2 sets of 12 repetitions, 30 seconds of rest between sets.
Figure 8: 3 sets of 10 repetitions, 30 seconds of rest between sets.
Woodchoppers: 3 sets of 12 repetitions, 30 seconds of rest between sets.
And just like that, you’ve got one heck of a workout!
The Bottom Line
The slam ball is an amazingly useful piece of workout equipment that can help you push your fitness, endurance, and agility to the next level.
As you’ll see from all the exercises above, it’s great for developing explosive power, and utilizing all of your muscles in new and interesting ways.
If you’re looking for a way to shake things up and add a new dimension of fun and challenge to your weekly workouts, slam ball exercises may be just the ticket!
