A medicine ball may not be a part of your workout—but it should be. “Training with med balls helps you build muscle, burn fat, and improve your athleticism,” says David Jack, owner of ActivPrayer in Phoenix, Arizona, and creator of the . “You don’t need a ton of weight to reap a ton of benefits.”
Take the short slam exercise shown in the video above. You can do this with a 6-pound medicine ball. Doing reps under control targets your arms, chest, and upper back muscles, says Jack. And if you pick up the pace and propel the ball with more power and velocity, you’ll elevate your heart rate and burn some serious calories, he explains.
