The experiment
Every track coach has a medicine ball. Most of them sit in a corner collecting dust. This is a mistake.
Medicine balls are the bridge between the weight room and the competition ring. They let athletes express power in sport-specific movement patterns without the technical complexity of a barbell. And here is the thing most coaches miss: sprinters and throwers benefit from the same exercises.
Think about what both events require. Explosive triple extension - hips, knees, ankles firing together. Rotational power through the core. Ground reaction force transferred into a horizontal or angular direction. The medicine ball trains all of this without teaching bad habits for either event.
When a thrower does overhead back-throws, they are practicing the same violent hip extension that happens in the power position of a shot put or discus release. When a sprinter does the same throw, they are reinforcing the posterior chain activation that drives them out of blocks. Different application, same movement pattern.
The beauty of med ball work is the feedback loop. Unlike a barbell, where technique breakdown happens slowly, a bad med ball throw shows itself immediately. The ball goes nowhere. The athlete self-corrects. This makes it an ideal learning tool for athletes who are still developing body awareness.
I use med balls with my throwers year-round. During the competition season, they replace heavy lifting sessions when we need to stay explosive without accumulating fatigue. During the offseason, they complement our lifting program. For sprinters, I incorporate them into speed days - not as a workout on their own, but as part of the neural activation sequence before sprint work.
The weight matters. For high school athletes, I recommend 4kg (about 9 lbs) for most general work, 6kg (13 lbs) for stronger athletes on throws requiring full-body extension, and 3kg (6.5 lbs) for rotational work where speed matters more than load. When in doubt, go lighter. We are training for power expression, not grinding through heavy reps.
One rule I enforce: every throw should look like you are trying to send the ball into orbit. If an athlete is just lobbing the ball, the weight is too heavy or they are fatigued. Cut the set.
Try this at practice
Overhead back-throws
Setup: Athletes stand with feet shoulder-width apart, facing away from the throwing direction. The ball starts between the legs.
Execution: Dip into a quarter squat, loading the posterior chain. Drive up explosively through the hips, extending at the ankles, knees, and hips simultaneously. As the body extends, swing the ball overhead and release at maximum height. The body should finish on the toes or with a small jump backward.
Coaching cues: "Load through the heels." "Drive the hips through first." "Finish tall - the ball leaves when you're at full extension." "Let your feet leave the ground."
Sets and reps: 5 sets of 3 throws. Full recovery between throws - walk to retrieve the ball, set up again.
Forward frog throws
Setup: Same starting position as back-throws, but this time facing the throwing direction. Feet slightly wider than shoulder-width.
Execution: Deep squat with the ball held between the legs. Explode forward and upward, releasing the ball at approximately a 45-degree angle. The body should leave the ground and travel forward with the throw. This is not a controlled exercise - it is maximum effort every rep.
Coaching cues: "Load like you're jumping into a swimming pool." "Throw yourself with the ball." "Land past where you started."
Sets and reps: 5 sets of 3 throws. Full recovery between.
Seated twist tosses
Setup: Partner sits 8-10 feet away facing each other, both in an athletic sitting position with knees bent and feet off the ground. Use a lighter ball (3-4kg).
Execution: Athlete receives the ball to one side, rotates the torso to absorb the catch, then immediately reverses direction and fires the ball back to the partner. Maintain the V-sit position throughout - if your feet touch the ground, reset.
Coaching cues: "Catch with rotation, throw with rotation." "Power comes from the hips, not the arms." "Stay off the ground."
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 10 throws each side (20 total exchanges per set). 60 seconds rest between sets.
Coach's clipboard
Error: Arms throwing, not hips
If an athlete's throws are weak and the ball barely leaves their hands, they are using their arms rather than their hips. Have them do three bodyweight squat jumps between each throw. This reactivates the hip drive pattern. Then cue: "Throw with your legs, not your arms."
Error: No triple extension
Watch the finish position. If the athlete is still flat-footed with bent knees at release, they are not extending fully. Cue: "Finish on your toes." Or use a target on a wall above their reach height - they must hit the target to force full extension.
Error: Rushing the load
Athletes want to throw immediately. They skip the loading phase and lose half their power. Cue: "Slow down, fast up." Have them pause at the bottom position for a one-count before each throw.
Error: Losing position on seated twists
Feet drop to the ground, the core disengages, and the exercise becomes an arm exercise. If an athlete cannot maintain the V-sit, have them start with feet on the ground and progress to feet-up as they develop core strength.
Multi-event alert
Medicine ball work is low-impact and low-volume. It can be incorporated on the same day as other explosive work without significantly adding to recovery demands.
For multi-event athletes doing throws and jumps, schedule med ball work before throwing sessions - it serves as neural activation. For sprinter-throwers, schedule it on speed days before sprint work, or use it as a recovery-friendly alternative to heavy lifting during the competition season.
If an athlete is doing all three event types (sprints, jumps, throws), limit med ball work to 15-20 throws total per session. The movements are explosive enough to contribute to fatigue if overdone.
Go deeper
The complete medicine ball training protocol for throwers - including periodization across the season, exercise progressions, and integration with lifting programs - is covered in detail in the Throws Practice Blueprint specialty guide.
The Throws Practice Blueprint guide is one of the Track and Field Lab Guides coming to the store.
The guide includes a full drill library with video reference links, a 16-week throwing season plan, and specific recommendations for shot, discus, and javelin athletes.
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