0478-0484 Strongman Smash D-Ball

Strongman Smash D-Balls are heavyweight medicine balls for athletic training and strongman exercises. Robust, non-rebounding, and characterised by a tessellated surface that improves grip, they are exceptional for achieving high levels of performance through power training, with particular reference to the strength component, which is indispensable in every sporting discipline and skill.

See also lower weights: series Smash D-Ball, code 0470 - 0478, 2 to 20 kg.

Available models:

cod. 0478 Strongman Smash D-Ball 30 kg / Ø 330 mm
cod. 0480 Strongman Smash D-Ball 50 kg / Ø 400 mm
cod. 0482 Strongman Smash D-Ball 70 kg / Ø 420 mm
cod. 0484 Strongman Smash D-Ball 100 kg / Ø 450 mm

The evolution of Strongman Balls

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a very special discipline began to make its appearance; men who performed by spectacularly lifting very heavy loads. Spectacles that aroused amazement and admiration, so much so that competitions, federations and such disciplines became sporting activities during the 20th century. Apart from competitions, it is interesting to note that some of the exercises derived from this sport are also adopted in modern athletic training and fitness precisely through the adoption of Strongman medicine balls.

Like the Strongman Smash D-Balls, the Strongman Smash D-Balls are very versatile pieces of equipment dedicated to strength training, with the particularity of having structural and surface characteristics specifically designed for high weight and grip. The athletic trainer's choice of this equipment certainly comes at the moment when the trained athlete reaches a high level of fitness.

Strongman Ball exercises focus on power training, where the strength component is certainly the main one, but good proprioception and an excellent knowledge of lifting techniques must be added to it. It is a global, total training, involving the recruitment of all muscles and physical qualities. Let's take an example by trying to explain lifting (Atlas Lift) and throwing a heavy rubber medicine ball of 30, 50, 70 or even 100 kg backwards.

The athlete positions himself in a crouch with the medial malleoli next to the ball. The width of the legs will therefore be slightly greater than the outer diameter of the ball itself. Using the inside of the forearm, he should wrap the ball, taking care to position his hands wide open in line with the elbow, without interlocking the fingers.

With an action guided by the forearm and legs, but involving all the muscles of the body, the athlete will have to raise the ball above his knees, blocking it. In this phase, considered to be the most technical, he will then have to adjust his grip and prepare to perform the salient gesture of the exercise: the lift. This involves seeking within oneself the 'muscular connections' capable of rolling the heavy ball over one's body towards one's shoulder thanks to a global movement centred on the action of the arms and legs. The action of the legs, after a concentric squat phase, ends with a full push and full extension. The athlete is now left with the final part of the exercise, relating to pushing the ball behind the back.

We were therefore saying a power exercise where the strength component is the main one, and in fact the weight lifted is the main one, not the time spent lifting, not the speed of execution. A work, we repeat, muscular but not only because it focuses precisely on the exercise of all neuromotor capacities. In the explanation of the exercise, for example, it is emphasised that the grip of the hand is an important detail. The grip stimulates fundamental nervous processes inherent in coordination and proprioception. A discourse that could extend to every part of the body, think of the work of the feet (preferably barefoot) in this type of exercise.