Med Ball Chest Pass
Upper-body power with no deceleration phase — you release instead of stopping
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Stand facing a solid wall about two metres away, feet staggered or hip width, holding a 5–6 kg medicine ball at the chest with the elbows tucked.
The rep
Brace, then explode the ball off the chest and into the wall, driving off the back foot and straightening the arms fully as you let go. The ball should hit the wall hard and flat at chest height. Catch it off the rebound, bring it back to the chest, reset, and go again.
On the exercise card
- Throw it, do not push it
- Full arm extension
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| Pushing it like a slow press | Every rep is a throw. If the ball would drop short of the wall, it was a push. Go lighter. |
| Elbows flaring out | Start with them tucked and throw straight from the chest, like a basketball pass. |
| Only the arms working | Drive from the legs and step into it. The arms finish the throw; they do not start it. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- A lighter ball, or kneeling, which takes the legs out while you learn the release.
- Harder
- A step into each pass, or a heavier ball if the speed holds.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
A bench press has to slow the bar down at the top. A throw does not, so every rep is fast to the end. In AFL it follows the push press in the upper-body power block, ahead of the bench press; in general fitness it is the upper-body half of the power block, beside the kettlebell swing.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFL | Upper Power | 4 × 5 | 5–6kg ball |
| General Fitness | Full Body C | 4 × 5 | 5–6kg ball |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Region
- Full body
- Classified as
- Power
- Prescribed in
- AFL · general fitness
If you cannot do this one
Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.
| Alternative | Why it works as a swap |
|---|---|
| Med Ball Rotational Throw | Wall-throw rotational power — bat, racquet, cricket, golf |
| Med Ball Scoop Toss | Backward overhead throw — full triple-extension power chain |
| Med Ball Side Slam | Vertical rotational slam — striker/thrower trunk speed |
| Single-Arm Med Ball Throw | Asymmetric throw — shotput / cricket throw / strike-arm |
| Med Ball Rotational Shot Put | Side-on one-arm put from the back hip — the fend, the punch, the throw in |
| Med Ball Overhead Throw | Two hands from behind the head, thrown forward — the throw-in and the lineout |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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