Medicine Ball Interval Workout

If you’ve got 20 minutes and a weighted medicine ball, then I’ve got a total body workout you can do at home or anywhere with enough space for an exercise mat.

Medicine balls are weighted and usually about 9-inches in size; they’re harder than wall balls but either type would do great with this workout. I’m using an 8-pound ball in the video. If you don’t have a weighted ball, or prefer a lighter workout, you can do this with a Pilates ball or even a playground ball; you can sometimes even find those at a dollar store.

20-minute Medicine Ball Interval Workout:

I did this video with 45/15 intervals: 45 seconds of work with 15 minutes of rest. I use an iPhone app called IntervalTimer. As with any interval workout, you can make it more or less intense depending on how hard or enthusiastic you work. Listen to your body!

This workout consists of two circuits. Do the first circuit three times, catch your breath for a minute or two, then do three rounds of the second circuit. That brings the whole workout to just twenty minutes!

Circuit 1:

• speed skaters
• dynamic single leg press
• sumo squat tap to push press

Circuit 2:

• straight leg sit-up
• oblique boat pose twist
• uneven push-up

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A few modification notes:

With the speed skaters, you can take out the hop while keeping the enthusiasm. In the dynamic single-leg press, you can keep the non-weight-bearing foot lightly on the ground if needed for balance. Feel free to slam the ball in the sumo squat if you’d like but keeping it to a tap makes it quiet, which is great if you’re doing this at nap time or if you have downstairs neighbors!

The straight-leg sit-ups can also be done with bent knees to make it a bit easier. For the oblique twist, you can make it more or less challenging: take it down a notch by keeping your feet on the floor (especially if you notice your legs wanting to twist), or take it up a notch by straightening legs into more of a hollow hold position. And finally, for the uneven push-ups, you can make them a whole lot harder by extending legs rather than knees on the floor as I do in the video. If you do the knee push-up version, make sure you’re not just bending at the hips; keep your body rigid.

>> Click here to view the workout on YouTube.

I’m working on making more videos and I’d love to hear what types of workouts you’d like to see. Leave a comment below with your requests.