Wall balls are a unique movement in CrossFit and one that many (usually short) people struggle with.
Wall balls require a maximum effort from a large number of muscles in your body. This compound exercise works your whole body, from your quads, glutes, calves and hamstrings with the squat, to your chest, back, shoulders and arms with the throw, as well as your core throughout the exercise.
The combination of exercises in wall balls will increase your strength and stamina.
Yet for the same reasons wall balls are a brilliant fitness and strength exercise, they’re a movement many athletes struggle to go unbroken in. Some people are stopped or slowed down by intense muscle pain and others by exhaustion.
Here are seven important technique tips to improve your wall ball efficiency for CrossFit and help you go unbroken.
- START SQUATTING AS YOU CATCH THE BALL
Squatting too early is a common mistake athletes make when performing wall balls. Catching the ball midway through a squat – or at the bottom of a squat – will mean the weight of the ball will crush you down.
It’s better to catch the ball with hips and arms extended, bring it to your chest and then start with your squat. If done efficiently this won’t add extra time and will make your squats easier and much smoother.
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- WALL BALL TECHNIQUE TIPS – CONTROL YOUR SQUAT DROP
It is vital that you generate enough energy to propel the ball upwards with force and accuracy when doing wall balls. Performing the squat properly is essential to making this happen.
Coming down in a controlled manner, with flat heels and proper form, will give you more power to explode out of your next squat.
- HAND PLACEMENT MATTERS
Having your hands sandwiching the ball and your elbows out will reduce the efficiency of your throw. Instead, catch the ball with your hands underneath the ball and high elbows in front of you. This will give you more power and to press overhead and get that ball on target.
Keep the ball as close to your body as possible during the entire movement. The further away from your body it is, the heavier it will seem as the resistance arm becomes longer.
- MEASURE YOUR DISTANCE CORRECTLY
Standing too far away from the wall means you will need more energy to throw the ball to the target. You’ll be forced to throw the ball too far forward and give yourself a big amount of unnecessary extra work.
Stand too close and it won’t touch the wall and probably fall on your face as you don’t have enough space to catch it.
This will take away from the strain on your shoulders.
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- WALL BALL TECHNIQUE TIPS – BREATHE ON EVERY REP
Your muscles need oxygen to produce energy, and you need a fair bit of energy to explode out of the squat and use that force to throw the ball overhead.
By breathing on every rep, you ensure you continue to provide oxygen to your working muscles and, with it, are able to release enough energy to perform the reps as smoothly as possible.
- GIVE YOUR ARMS A REST
Holding your arms above your head after you’ve thrown the ball to the target might seem like the obvious thing to do, but it’s also the most tying.
Don’t wait for the ball to come back down with your arms extended; this will unnecessarily tire your shoulders. Instead, quickly circle your arms around (like you do when warming up) in the time it takes for the ball reach the mark and come back down.
You can also just let you arms drop back down when the ball is high to help reduce fatigue in your deltoids.
Unless you have superb shoulder strength, bring your arms down or circle them between reps to give them a rest.
Unless you’re a pro athlete, there’s no need to wait for the ball with your arms extended.
- KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE FLOOR
Short athletes especially tend to naturally do a little jump at the top of a wall ball to get that extra height. While it might seem this helps, the exercise becomes very inefficient as you’ll be forced to ‘reset’ your feet in every rep.
Concentrating on keeping your feet on the floor will help your wall balls feel more efficient but, as all tips above, it’s something you need to concentrate on otherwise it won’t happen.
Try out our technique tips to improve your wall ball efficiency in CrossFit and let us know how you get on below!
