Throwing, punching, taking a slapshot and hitting a golf ball all rely on one thing: rotational strength and power.

Generally speaking, the best way to build useful rotational strength for your favourite activities is to stick to the basics. Do compound exercises like squats and deadlifts to develop general strength. Then throw in some effective core training to ensure good body control even when under fatigue or while holding difficult positions. Without a foundation of strength and control, you won’t be able to get up much oomph in rotational movements no matter how much you practice them.

Having said that, once you already have a base of strength, you can use an exercise like medicine ball side throws to i) reinforce correct mechanics (i.e. weight shift, core control, and using the hips correctly), and ii) to build a little more power and speed in your rotational movements.

Here’s how to do medicine ball throws for rotational strength training correctly so you reap all the benefits.

There are multiple ways to incorporate medicine ball throws into a workout depending on the objective, but if power if your goal start with 4-6 sets of 4-6 reps (per side). After your technique is down, your goal is to put maximal power into every single rep. Rest 1-2-minutes between sets, or as much as needed to fully recover so that each set is of the highest quality possible. This can be done 2-4x per week.