Medicine Ball Chest Pass (Complete How To Guide)

The Medicine Ball Chest Pass is an explosive chest movement that can be done with a partner or a (solid) wall.

In this guide, I’m going to teach you how to do Medicine Ball Chest Passes including important coaching points and a few alternatives.

How To Do Medicine Ball Chest Passes

Equipment Needed

Medicine Ball
Partner or Solid Wall

Muscles Worked

Chest
Triceps

How To

Grab a medicine ball and a partner (or a solid wall)
Start on your knees, sit back onto your calves and hold the ball at your chest.
Explosively drive forward with the hips and throw the ball forward to your partner.
The forward hip extension should cause you to fall forward.
Catch yourself with your hands and then explosively push yourself back up to your starting position.

Coaching Points

Med Ball Chest Passes can be done from the knees as described above, but can also be done from a standing position. Regardless of what starting position you use, brace the core and be explosive!

Med Ball Chest Pass Variations

Starting From a Standing Position

Instead of starting from a kneeling position, start in a standing position with feet square, shoulder-width apart. Start with a slight bend in the knees and hips.

Explosively extend through the hips and throw the ball forward with both hands. Take a step forward if needed to catch yourself from your forward momentum.

Medicine Ball Chest Pass Alternatives

Need an alternative for Med Ball Chest Passes? Here are a couple of exercises you may be able to use as a replacement.

Plyo Pushups

Plyo Pushups are another explosive chest exercise and, technically, are already built into the recovery of a Medicine Ball Chest Pass. A Plyometric Pushup is any pushup that involves you explosively driving yourself up off the ground. (Clapping pushups are a popular example of a Plyo Pushup.)

If you don’t have a medicine ball, Plyo Pushups are a great alternative.

Dumbbell Bench Press

Dumbbell Bench Press isn’t quite as explosive as a Med Ball Chest Pass (I definitely don’t recommend you throw dumbbells), but they are a solid exercise for developing upper body strength.