Why Do They Call it a Medicine Ball?

Although a more creative moniker might make the medicine ball a bit more appealing in the advertising world, the unpretentious designation is actually quite appropriate for the simple piece of exercise equipment. Although the exact origin of the name remains unclear, it appears to originate in the device's use for health and medicinal purposes.

  1. Medicinal Gymnastics

    • In the year 1569, Renaissance physician Hieronymous Mercurialis wrote “De Arte Gymnastica” in which he recommended weighted balls as a fitness tool. Although Mercurialis never actually referred to the devices as “medicine balls,” they were used as part of Mercurialis’s “medicinal gymnastics” program, according to Josh Chetwynd’s “The Secret History of Balls: The Stories Behind the Things We Love to Catch, Whack, Throw, Kick, Bounce and Bat.”

    First Use of the Term

    • According to an 1889 supplement to “Scientific American,” a Professor Roberts first bestowed the “medicine ball” title on the device when conducting classes at the Y.M.C.A. According to the article, Roberts created the name because exercising with the ball “invigorates the body, promotes digestion, and restores and preserves one’s health.” However, no additional information on Robert’s use of the “medicine ball” term is available.

    Dictionary Appearance

    • The term “medicine ball” made its first appearance in an English-language dictionary in 1895, according to Chetwynd. At the time, the device was defined as a “stuffed leather ball used for exercise.” The 11th edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary published in 2003 defines the medicine ball as “a heavy usually large ball used especially in conditioning and strengthening exercises,” according to the Merriam-Webster website.

    Alternate Name

    • Since Herbert Hoover’s presidential stint in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the term “Hoover-ball” has also be tossed around in regard to the weighted exercise balls. However, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum website explains that this moniker was actually given to the game -- not the ball itself -- by “New York Times” reporter William Atherton DuPuy. The Hoover-ball game involved tossing a medicine ball over a high net and was scored similar to tennis.