Medicine ball slams are one of my favorite lower-impact power exercises for midlife women.

They train your glutes, quads, hamstrings, deep core, obliques, lats, shoulders, triceps, upper back, grip, and coordination.

They also train something we cannot afford to ignore in midlife:

Power.

Power is your ability to produce force quickly.

It helps you react when you trip, climb stairs with more confidence, move with more athleticism, and keep your nervous system sharp.

The best part?

Medicine ball slams let you train power without jumping.

Here’s how to do them:

Start with your feet about hip- to shoulder-width apart, hold the medicine ball with both hands, and stand tall with your ribs stacked over your pelvis.

Bring the ball overhead without arching your lower back or flaring your ribs.

Then brace your core, exhale, hinge slightly through your hips, bend your knees, and drive the ball down toward the floor with speed.

Your feet push into the floor, your hips and core help create force, your lats and arms finish the slam.

Reset between reps so every slam is clean, powerful, and controlled.

Common mistakes:

Going too heavy, arching the back overhead, using only the arms, losing core tension, squatting too low, or rushing sloppy reps.

Start with a lighter ball than you think. For many women, 6 to 10 pounds is enough.

You want the slam to feel fast and athletic, not slow and messy.

Try 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps with 45 to 60 seconds rest.

Find more exercise breakdowns, video demos, and progressive strength + endurance training plans in my Substack exercise library under “Posts.”