Medicine balls are not just for people looking to play catch or work their abs! Truthfully, I attribute much of my explosive upper body strength and reflexes to several medicine ball exercises. Dynamic strength and your ability to track and respond to moving objects are critical to most sports. What better way to develop these than with a medicine ball!

Obtain a medicine ball. Depending on your strength, you may start with a 4 pound to 12 pound ball; eventually working your way up to a 20 pounder. For the first exercise, lie on your back. Brace the ball with both hands over your chest. Shoot the ball straight up (by flicking your wrists) as you would when passing a basketball. Don't catch it - use your reflex to move your head out of the way at the last second, or test your reflex by blocking the ball right before it hits you upon landing. For an added challenge to improve your reflex, hold your hands down by your side until the last possible moment. Doing so will also prevent you from “leading” the catch of the shot, making it too easy to intercept. You can practice variations, such as lying facing a wall and throwing the ball up and off of the wall, then catching it between your shins, or kicking it over your head. For the second reflex exercise, have a partner stand 10 feet away. Throw the ball between you, targeting different areas of the body. The other person much duck, jump, or run to catch it – or block it. Every 6 reps, back up one foot – this will gradually increase the difficulty.