How many single-arm medicine ball slams should you do per side when you are new to the exercise?

Work in matched blocks of 3 sets of 6 slams per arm, resting a full 60 to 90 seconds between arms so fatigue does not favor one side. Add a rep or two per side each week before you move up in ball weight.

What can I use instead of a medicine ball for a single-arm slam?

A single-arm battle rope side slam trains a very similar rotational trunk pattern if a ball is not on hand. A light single-arm dumbbell chop-and-throw onto a mat is a workable stand-in if neither a ball nor ropes are available.

Why do single-arm slams instead of the two-handed version?

Loading one side at a time builds rotational power and evens out left-right differences in your pulling pattern, useful for throwing and rotational sports. It is a poor choice with an unstable or recently injured throwing shoulder, or with an active oblique strain, since the rotation loads that side directly.

Intermediate

Medicine Ball Single-Arm Slam

The single-arm slam keeps the explosive lat and trunk drive of a two-handed slam but adds a cross-body rotation, so the obliques work hard to control and accelerate the strike. Loading one side at a time also builds coordination and evens out asymmetries between your left and right pulling patterns. It doubles as a punishing conditioning tool when run for continuous rounds with a non-bouncing slam ball.

Equipment: Medicine Ball
Body part: Abs, Lats
Type: Cardio, Plyometric
Browse by muscle: Latissimus Dorsi, Abdominal External Oblique
Browse by movement: Rotation, Vertical Pull

How to do it

1
Stand with feet shoulder-width and hold the ball in one hand at your side.
2
Reach the ball overhead as you rise onto the balls of the feet and extend the body.
3
Pull the ball down hard with the lat and rotate the trunk toward the opposite hip.
4
Hinge at the hips and follow through as the ball strikes the floor in front of you.
5
Pick the ball back up, switch hands if desired, and stay in rhythm.
6
Repeat for the set, keeping each slam a full-effort strike.

Tips

Drive the slam with the lat and trunk, not by whipping the shoulder alone.
Keep a soft bend in the knees and hinge the hips to protect the low back.
Split reps evenly between arms so both sides get equal work.

Variations

Common mistakes

Shrugging the throwing-side shoulder up toward the ear to generate power instead of rotating the drive through the trunk.
Doing more reps on the stronger arm because it feels easier, instead of matching volume exactly side to side.
Whipping the ball down with a straight, locked elbow, turning a lat-and-trunk pull into a shoulder-only motion.
Staying square to the target throughout instead of letting the hips rotate slightly toward the throw, which leaves the obliques out of the movement.
Skipping the overhead reach and starting the slam from chest height, cutting the range the trunk gets to work through.

Frequently asked

How many single-arm medicine ball slams should you do per side when you are new to the exercise?: Work in matched blocks of 3 sets of 6 slams per arm, resting a full 60 to 90 seconds between arms so fatigue does not favor one side. Add a rep or two per side each week before you move up in ball weight.
What can I use instead of a medicine ball for a single-arm slam?: A single-arm battle rope side slam trains a very similar rotational trunk pattern if a ball is not on hand. A light single-arm dumbbell chop-and-throw onto a mat is a workable stand-in if neither a ball nor ropes are available.
Why do single-arm slams instead of the two-handed version?: Loading one side at a time builds rotational power and evens out left-right differences in your pulling pattern, useful for throwing and rotational sports. It is a poor choice with an unstable or recently injured throwing shoulder, or with an active oblique strain, since the rotation loads that side directly.

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