Standing Overhead Throw
Trains the Lats.
- Equipment
- A medicine ball
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Stand with the feet about shoulder-width apart holding a medicine ball in both hands.
- Bring the ball back overhead, letting the arms bend and the trunk extend slightly.
- Step forward with one foot as the ball starts forward.
- Throw the ball forward over the head by driving the trunk forward and whipping the arms through.
- Release in front of the head and follow through with the arms and the body.
- Retrieve and repeat, leading with the other foot.
Common mistakes
- Throwing with the arms only. The trunk bends forward to drive the throw and the arms whip at the end; arms alone throw a short distance and tire the shoulders.
- Arching too far back. The wind-up is a slight extension, not a deep backbend; the lower back is not the spring.
- Releasing behind the head. The ball goes when the hands are in front of the face; a late release sends it into the floor.
- Keeping the feet planted. Stepping into the throw adds the legs; a throw from a fixed stance is trunk and arms only.