Med Ball Slam
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Stand with feet shoulder-width. Hold a slam ball overhead with both hands.',. Rise onto the toes — full body stretch at the top. Slam the ball into the ground as hard as possible — engage everything from the lats to the abs.',. Follow through — bend at the hips as the ball descends, don't let the back round at the bottom.',. Catch the bounce or pick the ball up. Reset and repeat.',. Every rep maximum power — this is not a conditioning drill at low intensity.',.
Why It Works
The med ball slam trains full-body downward power — the overhead-to-floor kinetic chain that develops the trunk flexion strength and explosive lat engagement used in physical play and body checking. It is one of the few exercises that trains the muscles above the hips in a true power expression, and it is completely safe to perform at maximum effort without a spotter. The slam also provides a psychological release that is surprisingly valuable in competitive athletes.
Hockey Transfer
Trains explosive downward force — translates to checking aggression. Hockey check force = horizontal slam in shoulder pads. The pattern is identical. Train accordingly.
Coaching Cues
- "Reach overhead"
- "Slam ball as hard as possible"
- "Hinge to catch on bounce"
Common Mistakes
Soft slams — these need to make a loud sound. Commit to every rep.',. Rounding the lower back aggressively at the bottom — hinge at the hips as you slam.',. Ball too light — 4-6kg slam balls give better feedback and more power demand.',. Too many reps per set (>8) — power decays. 5-8 reps per set maximum.',.
Progression / Regression
Rotational med ball slam — slam to the side (like a slap shot backswing) for rotational power.',
Overhead press with the ball — build the overhead control before the slam speed.',
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Alactic/ATP-PC
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
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