Start with a light medicine ball. A 4 or 6 pound ball is fine for most women. A ball no heavier than 8 pounds is fine for most men. This routine includes four exercises:

-Russian Twist
-180 to 90 Degree
-Pedestal Hold
-Body Squat

Watch the video above to see how to perform each exercise properly, then click HERE to download a PDF detailing the entire routine.

Originally posted here

*Note - The medicine ball is the one tool that I want all of the athletes I work with to bring to practice - we use it most days and if you have one that bounces, you can do work with a partner and/or do work that is power oriented without going into the weight room.  However, that does not mean you need to go out and spend $20-$30 on a medicine ball today.  You could simply buy a 5 lb. bag of sugar and do three of the four exercises in this video, then simply us a basketball or soccer ball for the Pedestal Hold.  If you outgrow your bag of sugar then you could use a gallon jug of water, which weighs about 10 lbs. full.  That being said, you'll see the medicine ball used time and time again in the ancillary work I prescribe to athletes and you could do a lot worse things with $30 then buy a good medicine ball (...and yes, the Nike ball pictured here is great - they bounce really well and they have seams that help you grip the ball).

This routine is fairly simple, yet keep in mind the principles of body angles.  In the Russian Twist you should have a 90º angle between your thighs and upper body; in the Pedestal Hold you should have a straight line from your feet to your shoulders.

While I like this routine, it's a pretty easy for most serious runners.  Also, you can make an argument that a runner should do most ancillary work standing or even standing on one foot since that is how the runner interacts with the ground during running; many of the medicine ball routines and exercises we'll show later in 2009 will be done standing.

I look forward to your comments and to the athletes and coaching starting to compete indoors, I wish you the best this season!

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Jay Johnson