RECREATION

Take your medicine: Weighted balls help strengthen core muscles

By Pamela LeBlanc
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, September 11, 2009

We've noticed fitness fanatics all over Austin hoisting weighted, beachball-sized orbs lately, so we checked in with running coach Gilbert Tuhabonye of Gilbert's Gazelles to find out what's up.

Medicine balls, once a favorite conditioning tool of mainly power-hungry athletes like football players, boxers and wrestlers, now get starring roles in workouts for aficionados of nearly every sport.

For runners like Tuhabonye, it's all about strengthening the core muscles and hip flexors. When those large muscle groups are whipped into shape, they can help you maintain proper form even when fatigue sets in. That helps prevent injury as you run longer distances . Medicine balls can also be used in weight lifting, to increase explosive power.

"It really helps beginners who have been struggling," Tuhabonye says.

The balls measure about 14 inches in diameter and weigh anywhere from 4 to 20 pounds, although 4- and 6-pounders are most common.

"Heavier in this case isn't necessarily better," says Rick Cawley , chief operating officer of Dynamax, which turns out about 3,000 medicine balls a month from its headquarters just south of Austin in Buda. "You want just enough weight for some resistance, but you don't want to distort the motion or fall off balance."

A few basic moves go a long way. Try doing a sit-up while tossing one of the balls to a partner, or doing some basic trunk rotations while holding a ball. Just be careful not to use too much weight (try a 4-pounder first) and take care not to drop or throw a ball on someone who's not expecting it. If you haven't used a medicine ball before, a class like the one Cawley teaches Tuesday evenings (see box) is a good idea.

"You can isolate muscles with less weight," Tuhabonye says.

The balls are easy to take anywhere; you can get in a great workout without going to the gym.

Medicine balls have experienced a resurgence in popularity of late, but they date back 3,000 years, when wrestlers in Persia exercised with sand-filled bladders. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates had his patients throw sand-filled bags made of animal skins for injury prevention. Back then, the words "health" and "medicine" meant the same thing, thus the name medicine ball.

Today most medicine balls are made of a leather or vinyl shell filled with impact-absorbing materials. (I've even heard of folks filling old basketballs with sand and stitching them shut to save money.)

Dynamax, which manufactures medicine balls filled with recycled plastic and rubber and covered with vinyl, sells balls to the University of Texas, Texas A&M University, numerous National Football League teams and a number of high school sports programs, Cawley says. The Dynamax balls start near $70 for a 4-pounder. Other manufactures sell the balls as well.

We asked Tuhabonye and Cawley to demonstrate a trio of simple moves in this series of photographs to get you started.

Consider them a starting point. Each exercise has many variations — and every one is good medicine for getting fit.

pleblanc@statesman.com; 445-3994