Supine Medicine Ball Chest Throw
In SetGrip: Medicine Ball Chest Throw (Supine)
- Primary muscleTriceps
- EquipmentMedicine Ball
- DifficultyIntermediate
- TypeCompound · Push
Lying on a bench and launching the ball straight up removes the legs from the equation, leaving pure pressing power from the pecs, triceps, and shoulders while gravity returns the ball for the next rep. Because you release the load, you can accelerate through the entire range, something a bench press never permits.
How to do the Supine Medicine Ball Chest Throw
- Lie flat on your back on a bench with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
- Hold the medicine ball with both hands, extending your arms straight up above your chest.
- Lower the medicine ball towards your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Explosively push the medicine ball upwards, extending your arms fully and throwing the ball as high as possible.
- Catch the medicine ball and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Breathe out sharply and release the ball as fast as possible on every rep.
Muscles worked
Primary
Triceps · Arms
The triceps extend the elbows at the moment of release and provide the final snap.
Common mistakes
- Throwing with the arms only — on a standing pass the power comes from the legs and hips first; step into the throw or drive from the stance.
- Grinding out slow reps — a throw is about speed, so release the ball as fast as you can on every rep and reset fully between throws.
- Elbows flaring wide — keep the elbows tucked and the hands at chest height so the throw comes straight from the chest.
- Ball too heavy — if you cannot throw it fast, it is too heavy; pick a lighter ball and throw it hard.
Where it fits in a workout
Throws go at the start of a session after the warm-up and before bench press as a power primer. Pair them with a supine chest throw on the same mat for a power block.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
- Medicine Ball Close Grip Push-UpMedicine Ball
- Stability Ball DipStability Ball
- Stability Ball Single Arm Dumbbell Neutral Grip Bench PressDumbbell
- Incline Stability Ball Single Arm Dumbbell Neutral Grip Bench PressDumbbell
- Incline Stability Ball Dumbbell Neutral Grip Bench PressDumbbell
- Banded Close Grip Push-UpResistance Band
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
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Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.