How many wall balls should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Work in unbroken sets rather than a long count: five rounds of 12 with a minute of rest is a reasonable first session, using a ball around 6 to 9 kg for men or 4 to 6 kg for women and a target near 9 or 10 feet. Make the sets longer before you make the ball heavier, moving from 20 unbroken to 30, then to timed pieces such as three rounds of 60 seconds. If you have to break the set, the ball or the target is too much for now.

What can I do instead of wall balls without a medicine ball or a wall?

A dumbbell or kettlebell thruster is the closest match, chaining the same squat into the same overhead drive without the throw and catch. With no equipment, squat jumps with an overhead reach keep the leg drive and the breathing cost. If squatting deep is the problem rather than the gear, light dumbbell push presses cover the top half of the movement.

What are wall balls good for?

They are conditioning first: a squat, a press and a catch inside one continuous rep raise the heart rate faster than almost anything else in a gym, and they build repeatable leg power for sport. They are a poor choice for maximal strength or size, since the load has to stay light enough to throw, and they are hard on knees and shoulders that already hurt, because every rep ends in an overhead throw and a deep catch.

Intermediate

Wall Ball

The wall ball chains a full-depth squat straight into a push-press throw, so the legs load the shot and the hips, shoulders, and arms finish it against the wall. Because every rep is a squat plus a throw plus a catch, it spikes the heart rate fast and builds repeatable lower-body power. It is a staple conditioning piece; pick a target height and ball weight that let you keep a smooth, unbroken rhythm.

Equipment: Medicine Ball
Body part: Quads, Shoulder
Type: Cardio, Plyometric
Browse by muscle: Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis, Gluteus Maximus, Deltoid Anterior
Browse by movement: Squat, Vertical Press

How to do it

1
Stand an arm's length from a wall, feet shoulder-width, holding the ball at your chest.
2
Squat down until the thighs reach at least parallel, keeping the chest tall and the ball high.
3
Drive up explosively through the legs and use that momentum to press the ball toward a target high on the wall.
4
Release the ball at full extension, aiming for a mark a few feet above your reach.
5
Catch the ball back at your chest and immediately absorb it into the next squat.
6
Repeat in a continuous cycle for the prescribed reps or time.

Tips

Time the throw with the leg drive so the ball rides your momentum rather than being pressed cold from a dead stop.
Catch the ball soft and let it sink you into the next squat instead of stopping the rep at the top.
Keep the elbows tucked under the ball on the catch so it does not drift forward and pull you off balance.

Variations

Common mistakes

Squat depth shrinks rep by rep once your breathing catches up, and the throw quietly becomes an arms-only push that misses the target more often.
Standing too far from the wall forces you to lean forward to reach the mark, and the ball comes back short and low with your hips already out of position.
The ball gets caught on straight arms out in front, which pulls the shoulders forward and adds a rep's worth of braking to every catch.
Aiming below the marked target is the most common way to fake a wall ball set; if the height is out of reach, drop to a lighter ball rather than lowering the mark.
Everyone eventually takes one in the face, so track the ball all the way down and step aside from a rep you have lost instead of reaching back for it.

Frequently asked

How many wall balls should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Work in unbroken sets rather than a long count: five rounds of 12 with a minute of rest is a reasonable first session, using a ball around 6 to 9 kg for men or 4 to 6 kg for women and a target near 9 or 10 feet. Make the sets longer before you make the ball heavier, moving from 20 unbroken to 30, then to timed pieces such as three rounds of 60 seconds. If you have to break the set, the ball or the target is too much for now.
What can I do instead of wall balls without a medicine ball or a wall?: A dumbbell or kettlebell thruster is the closest match, chaining the same squat into the same overhead drive without the throw and catch. With no equipment, squat jumps with an overhead reach keep the leg drive and the breathing cost. If squatting deep is the problem rather than the gear, light dumbbell push presses cover the top half of the movement.
What are wall balls good for?: They are conditioning first: a squat, a press and a catch inside one continuous rep raise the heart rate faster than almost anything else in a gym, and they build repeatable leg power for sport. They are a poor choice for maximal strength or size, since the load has to stay light enough to throw, and they are hard on knees and shoulders that already hurt, because every rep ends in an overhead throw and a deep catch.

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