Speedball Exercises

A speedball is the small punching ball that many boxers use in their training regimens. Working with a speedball requires rapid movement of the arms and shoulders, and a speedball workout is considered one of the best types of exercise for these two areas. Once individuals learn the speedball technique of incorporating the torso into their speedball workout, it is also a first-rate exercise for the core and the waistline. Speedball workouts have proved effective in muscle toning, fat loss, improved body rhythm, coordination and balance, and heightened reflexes.

  1. Begin Slowly

    • The proper placement of a speedball is at face level, so that the bottom of the ball is lined up roughly with your chin. Due to this placement, the proximity of the ball to the person using it, and the fast-moving nature of speedball exercises, it is important to take the time to master the speedball technique. If you simply jump right in, you can injure yourself by knocking your fists together or even hitting yourself in the face.

      To practice proper speedball technique, begin with your hands open and rotate your arms slowly around each other, striking the center panel of the ball with your flat, open palm. Hit it with enough force to cause the ball to rebound. Strike the ball three times with the same hand and then alternate. This will give you the basic feel of how a speedball should be hit. Once this technique is mastered, the fists can be clenched and the ball struck with either the side of the fists or with the knuckles leading.

    Arm Rotation

    • In a speedball arm rotation exercise, the arms rotate rapidly each other. The ball is hit with alternating hands on each rotation, left then right then left, and is impacted with the sides of an individual's clenched fists. This type of speedball exercise requires little rotation of the body, and the feet remain planted on the ground. The rotation is done almost exclusively in the elbows or wrists.

    Body Rotation

    • To use more of the body in speedball exercises, the center of the ball should be struck with the knuckles. Making the knuckles strike the middle of the ball will require slight inward turns of the torso and the feet, which will exercise the core and legs along with the arms.

    Technique

    • Simple arm rotation and the fuller body speedball exercises use a three-count technique. When struck, the ball should hit the back of the board, rebound to hit the front of the board and hit the back of the board again before it is hit with the other hand.

      A three-times-per-week training regimen of six three-minute rounds with a 60 second breaks in between is appropriate for a general conditioning exercise routine.