Daily Mobility Exercises by Dr. Kelly Starrett › Forums › General › Wall Ball Shots

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    • 07/09/2013 at 4:40 pm #70332
      AvatarCameron Compton
      Participant

      The more I think about it the less I like putting the Wall Ball movement in workouts because I don’t know of an athlete that can do these without wrenching their head back breaking the chain and disconnecting the CNS when looking up from the bottom position.  It would be easy if you could just say don’t look up, but the athlete needs to have their eyes on the ball as it travels up to the target and back down.  Has anyone addressed this or have a fix for the movement?  I have attached a picture from Rogue’s website for reference:

      Dynamax Medicine Balls
    • 07/11/2013 at 2:50 pm #72412
      AvatarAydan Mcmahon
      Member

      I’ve actually moved away from the standard wall ball and use smaller slam balls, for that reason (especially for beginners).  Glad I am not the only one who’s noticed!

      It is definitely possible to do the wall balls without cranking your neck back; your peripherals should be able to track the ball at the top just fine.  The trick is getting people to actually think about their neck position instead of just defaulting to looking at the ball/target straight on.  Sometimes moving a bit further from the wall allows enough space for better position, as well.  The main thing is to be aware and focus hard on maintaining that neutral spine. 
      Compound issue: if the athlete has trouble squatting in an upright position, this movement does become virtually impossible.  It might be good to warm up with some wall squats (arms overhead, toes to the wall) to get the good positioning.  If you are teaching a class, you might want to leave the wall balls for a few weeks in, after you get participants up to par on that vertical squat position.   You could also start on a lower target and work up to the proper height as squat position improves.
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