Do Medicine Ball Slams To Improve Power

Kick your workouts into "high gear" with medicine ball slams....medicine ball slams primarily improve the reactive power of your back and abdominal muscles.




1. Stand with your feet parallel and knees slightly bent.

2. Hold the medicine ball back behind your head and forcefully throw the ball down on the ground as hard as possible.

3. Catch the ball on the bounce from the ground. That's one repetition. Repeat for 8-10 repetitions.

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Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Crossover Lunge

Basketball players will brag about "crossing over" the opponent on the way to scoring 2 points...that's interpreted "crossover dribble of the basketball."

Well, if you are a basketball player, you need to do crossover lunges to help you to be a better basketball player.....

Core strength and leg strength is critical for basketball players! A strong core will lessen risk of injury, allow you to have stronger limbs and allow you to perform game moves with speed and explosion. The cross-over lunge (shown below) is a great leg and core exercise for basketball players.



Work hard and smart to achieve your sports goals!

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Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Improve Power For Basketball

Yes, that right! You can improve your power (how fast your muscles can produce force) for basketball....jump with more explosion, accelerate with more power, move laterally with speed and force! All of these improvements will make you a better basketball player....

To improve your power for basketball, you need to train fast and explosively....

You will be a better basketball player if you have the muscles you need to compete at a high level....build muscles to improve your speed, power and explosion...

A certain amount of traditional weight training is needed to build bulk muscles and core muscles with exercises like bench press, squat, deadlift, rows, shoulder press, planks and briges...after that, a basketball player needs to be concerned with improving speed (especially lateral speed, endurance speed, change-of-direction speed, backwards speed, quickness and acceleration speed) and power (with plyometric exercises).

One good way to build power and explosiveness is with high-speed medicine ball exercises after having laid the foundation with traditional barbell, dumbbell and core exercises....medicine ball exercises also allow you to exercise using your natural motions....this is important because every person moves different.

Workout hard and smart to get better!

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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You Need A Sports Fitness Assessment

A sports fitness assessment will let you know where you are and what you need to do to achieve your sports fitness goals....it makes no sense to just start working out with no plan!

Don't base your exercise program on something you read in a magazine! Also, don't base your exercise program on another athlete's program. Every athlete is different and will have a unique training program. A professional trainer can design a program just for you!

A fitness and nutrition assessment done by a professional trainer will tell you, among other things, your postural deficiencies, body fat percentage, muscle imbalances and flexibility problems. Also, you need to know if you are eating like an athlete should (most are not)!

What are you waiting for? Schedule your fitness and nutrition assessment today! It won't cost you anything but your time (about 45 minutes)! Call (512-289-8879) or email me at the bottom of this post (mark@markdilworthfitness.com)! Don't put it off!

Train hard and smart to reach your goals!

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Improve Your Running Speed

The topic requested the most by athletes is "how to improve running speed and explosive power."

Here is Speed Tip #2 from my eBook, "Sports Fitness Hut's 10 Must Know Speed Training Tips!"

"Strengthen and condition your hips, glutes, thighs and hamstrings. These groups make up your athletic "power center" and great athletes dominate with these muscle groups....."

Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete.

Having been an NCAA Division I athlete, I know about this topic from personal experience as well as from a personal trainer's point of view.....You can improve your maximum running speed and other types of running speed with proper training!

Just last summer, a middle school client decreased his 40 yard dash time by 2 tenths of a second! That's a huge improvement! Imagine yourself improving your 40 yard dash time from 4.5 seconds to 4.3 seconds! The NCAA Division I coaches would take notice of you in a hurry!

Train hard and smart to get faster!

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Improve Running Speed With A Balanced Body

Your body needs to be in balance for you to run with effiency and run faster....as you progress up the ladder in competition, there's not much margin for error....all things being equal, a more efficient runner will run faster than her or his opponent...

It is important for your body to be in muscular balance to prevent injuries and to help you run faster. For example, the frontside of your body should not be significantly stronger than your backside. And, your quadriceps should not be significantly stronger than your hamstrings.

Four effective ways to keep your body balanced are:

1. Full body strength, power and speed training,

2. One-legged and One-armed strength, power and speed training exercises,

3. Doing exercises in all 3 planes of motion and

4. Keeping all areas of the body flexible.

Training with bodyweight and dumbbell exercises force each side of your body to do its share of the work. And, you see right way if a side of your body is weaker than the other. Some of the best exercises for this are:

--Step ups
--Lunges
--Single leg squats, deadlifts and good mornings
--Single leg/arm cable exercises
--Pushups
--Two-armed and one-armed dumbbell presses and rows
--Single leg arm and leg curls
--Medicine ball exercises working all sides of the body

Train hard and smart to get faster!

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Torso Injuries and Decreased Speed Equals Weak Core

Is your torso always injured or you can't maintain your speed for very long? Then, you have a "weak core" problem!

Core strength is no doubt the weakest link on most athlete's bodies (and people in general)....Why? Because most spend too much time strengthening the limbs (arm and legs)....

Strength training should be just the opposite....stabilize and strengthen the core first (where all movement begins) and the limbs last.....show me an athlete with a strong, explosive core and I'll show you an athlete who will excel over her or his opponent......

If you have trouble maintaining your speed during the late stages of a game, you probably have a "core weakness" problem.

Core strength is important to help you remain strong and upright when you are running, especially when you are tired....adequate core strength helps your speed endurance, which is the ability to maintain maximum velocity or a percentage of maximum velocity for a prolonged period of time or in a fatigued state.

The best players and teams have excellent overall body strength, core strength and speed endurance (and they win the most games).

Low back injuries and other injuries of the shoulder girdle and torso are usually related to "weak core muscles" or "postural problems."

One painful and slow-healing injury that many athletes suffer is the oblique muscle strain or pull. This type of injury is usually incurred when doing a twisting or rotating movement such as swinging a bat/racket, rotating explosively, etc.

The obliques are part of your core and can be strengthened with exercises like planks and medicine ball exercises.

Don't ignore the core!

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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March Madness Medicine Ball Exercise: Rotational Throw

Do your high-speed, power exercises that will make you a more explosive athlete!

One of the exercises in the workout is the medicine ball rotational throw.



Some sports such as baseball, tennis, lacrosse and hockey require explosive levels of rotational core power.

The medicine ball rotational throw should be done full speed to train your central nervous system and body to move faster and more explosive. The medicine ball rotational throw is an advanced exercise and should not be done by those athletes with inadequate body strength and core strength.

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Build Foundational Strength For Sports

Build the foundational strength first and you will avoid many sports injuries later on...

Of course, foundational strength starts with the core. Your body's core consists of the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex, thoracic spine and cervical spine. THE CORE is your body's center of gravity. Many athletes have sufficient EXTREMITY STRENGTH (limbs), but few athletes display sufficient CORE STRENGTH.

A strong and stable core will maximize your EXTREMITY STRENGTH and POWER. Rather than isolating specific joints as in most weight lifting exercises, core stability exercises focus on working the deep muscles of the entire torso at once.

The core muscles are also very important in preventing low back pain. Stability ball exercises, bridges, planks, low back extensions, medicine ball exercises, etc. are great for strengthening core muscles.

The body's core is so much more than your "six pack" abs! A strong core will maximize your strength and speed. Since the core is your body's center of gravity and all movement begins with the core, it is critical to strengthen and stabilize it. A strong core will allow you to handle heavier loads as your training progresses.

General strength and conditioning is achieved by strengthening the core and all other major muscle groups and joint structures. The cardiovascular and nervous systems are also developed.

Foundational strength training is also used to rehabilitate injuries and correct any postural dysfunctions. Strength training is high volume and low intensity. This means training with lighter weights and higher repetitions. All athletes need this phase of training.

Work hard and train right to become a better player!

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Strengthen Hamstrings More During Lunges And Step Ups

I can't talk enough about constantly conditioning and strengthening your hamstrings.... hamstring injuries are among the most difficult for athletes in running sports to recover from....just when you think the "hammy" is healed, you "tweak your hammy" again....so, prevention of injury is always best....



Two common exercises, the lunge and step up (pictured above), can be adjusted to work your hamstrings more during these exercises.....its simple to do:

For the step up exercise - the higher the platform (needs to be at least knee high), the more your hamstrings will be worked.


For the lunge - reach out farther on your lunge step and your hamstrings will be worked more than your quadriceps.

Small adjustments in exercise technique can make a huge difference.....Train hard and smart to get better in your sport!

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
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Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
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Basketball Players Need Muscles Too!

You will be a better basketball player if you have the muscles you need to compete at a high level....build muscles to improve your speed, power and explosion...

A certain amount of traditional weight training is needed to build bulk muscles and core muscles with exercises like bench press, squat, deadlift, rows, shoulder press, planks and briges...

After that, a basketball player needs to be concerned with improving speed (especially lateral speed, endurance speed, change-of-direction speed, backwards speed, quickness and acceleration speed) and power (with plyometric exercises).

One good way to build power and explosiveness is with high-speed medicine ball exercises after having laid the foundation with traditional barbell, dumbbell and core exercises....medicine ball exercises also allow you to exercise using your natural motions....this is important because every person moves different.

Workout hard and smart to get better!

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Young Athletes And Plyometrics

A parent asked me yesterday about plyometrics for young athletes....along with speed training, plyometrics is probably the hottest topic out there in sports fitness training.....

Memo to parents and youth league coaches---JUST RELAX AND TAKE A DEEP BREATH! Decreasing the risk of injury is a huge part of sports fitness training....80% to 90% of the young athletes I take on as clients have low back pain brought on by "TOO MUCH TRAINING LOAD TOO SOON!"

Plyometrics (and other full speed power exercises) is not the place to start for young developing athletes! Building a strong strength foundation must be first---placing special emphasis on strengthening and stabilizing the core.

Power, or speed strength (how fast your muscles can produce force) is one of the best physical predictors of success in sports. Plyometric exercises help you to increase power. Strength training gives you the muscular and nervous system development needed to develop optimal power, so you shouldn't skip the strength training to do plyometrics.

Plyometrics represent high intensity training, placing great stress on the bones, joints, and connective tissue. While plyometrics can improve your speed, power, and performance, they also place you at greater risk of injury than less intense training exercises. Perform the exercises correctly before moving on to full-speed exercises. Jumping and landing techniques should be mastered.

Choose plyometric exercises that mimic your movements of your sport (transfer-of-training-effect).

Safety concerns during plyometric training are: quality footwear for the athlete, safe training surfaces (hard surfaces like concrete and asphalt should be avoided) and a program designed and supervised by a fitness professional.

Training progressions should follow this path:

a. Simple to Complex
b. Stable to Unstable
c. Body Weight Exercises to Resistance Exercises
d. Low Loads to High Loads

Signs of over-training in plyometrics include:

a. Prolonged foot contact with the ground
b. Lack of control
c. Decreased vertical height or horizontal distance
d. Longer rest periods are needed by the athlete

Train hard and safe!

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Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Powerize Your Body With Medicine Ball Workouts, 4

While you're powerizing your body with medicine ball workouts, you will also be burning the body fat....

"Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!"

I am seeing too many "fat athletes" on every level of competition--from the professional ranks to the kid ranks! If you want to be your best at your sport(s), you need to control your body fat.

The best way to burn body fat is to increase lean mass (including muscle mass) through regular weight training (including power and bodyweight exercises). Body composition is the key to peak athletic performance. Stated another way, how much lean mass does your body have in relation to fat mass. One major athletic goal should always be to decrease fat mass to an acceptable level for your sport.

Have you ever seen an overfat athlete who was performing her or his sport at a high level. That same athlete would perform at an even higher level if her or his body fat was at an acceptable level for athletes. Acceptable levels of body fat for athletes are as follows: Women 14-20%, Men 6-13%.

Some athletic positions, like a catcher in baseball, might require a little more body fat (like 10% instead of 8%). Whereas a swimmer would need less body fat. The point is this: if you are serious about your athletic performance, being overfat will not help you achieve your highest athletic potential.

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Powerize Your Body With Medicine Ball Workouts, 3

One medicine ball exercise that works the often neglected frontal plane (lateral movement) of motion is the medicine ball side lunge.



The side lunge forces you to decelerate movement through one hip at a time, placing greater emphasis on the gluteals and hamstrings. It trains you to move correctly in the lateral direction. Many knee ACL injuries occur when athletes place too much stress on their knees and not enough stress on their hips during deceleration. In other words, the hips are often under-used during sports activities.

You will improve your lateral speed and power only if you have adequate strength in the frontal plane of motion.

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Powerize Your Body With Medicine Ball Workouts, 2

Using medicine balls for plyometric exercises is ideal....upper body medicine ball plyometric exercises help to improve power because you can safely train at full speed to retrain the central nervous system to move the body faster....



It doesn't help you to keep getting stronger if your power (how fast your muscles can produce force) doesn't improve...racket sports (like tennis and lacrosse) and throwing sports (like baseball) require you to have superior arm speed.

The soccer throw (pictured above) and the two-handed chest pass are two great medicine ball exercises that improve power if you do the exercises at full speed. When these types of exercises are combined with your strength training program, you will be a powerful athlete!

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Powerize Your Body With Medicine Ball Workouts, 1

No serious athletic training program would be complete without medicine ball work....the best athletes move naturally with little or no wasted motion...to do this, you MUST train your muscles with "natural movement patterns." Medicine ball exercises help you to do this....



Power can't be effectively transferred from your legs to your arms if your core is weak....athletic movements like jumping, swinging a bat, swinging a racket, rotating, turning, twisting, etc. can be "powerized" with full speed medicine ball training.

For example, the medicine ball rotational throw (pictured above)trains your body to move explosively while swinging, rotating, twisting or turning.

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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