Core · Medicine Ball
Medicine Ball Overhead Slam
How to do the medicine ball overhead slam, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Medicine Ball
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold a medicine ball. Reach the ball overhead with arms extended and rise onto your toes, then forcefully slam it straight down to the floor by crunching through your trunk. Squat to catch the ball and repeat.
- 1Feel your abs crunch hard as you drive the ball toward the floor
- 2Use your lats to pull the ball down with power
- 3Keep the slam explosive from full overhead extension
Common mistakes
- Avoid rounding your back to reach the ball; bend at the hips and knees
- Do not slam with only your arms; drive from your trunk
- Do not let your lower back take the load on the overhead reach
Muscles worked
The medicine ball overhead slam mainly works the upper abs and lower abs, with the lats, obliques, triceps, forearms, and hip flexors assisting.
- Upper AbsPrimary
- Lower AbsPrimary
- LatsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- TricepsSupport
- ForearmsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
- QuadsMinor
- GlutesMinor
- CalvesMinor
- Front DeltsMinor
Kovo programs the medicine ball overhead slam for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.