10 Best One-arm Medicine Ball Slam Alternatives for Limited Equipment
If you can’t do the one-arm medicine ball slam, use exercises that reproduce explosive hip drive, trunk rotation, and rapid eccentric deceleration. Try standing cable woodchops, banded chops, rotational squat jumps, heavy landmine slams, or two-arm medicine ball slams. Cue: brace your core, drive from the hips, rotate through the thoracic spine to engage obliques.
Original Exercise: One-arm Medicine Ball Slam
How to Perform One-arm Medicine Ball Slam
- Start in a standing position with a staggered, athletic stance. Hold a medicine ball in one hand, on the same side as your back leg. This will be your starting position.
- Begin by winding the arm, raising the medicine ball above your head. As you do so, extend through the hips, knees, and ankles to load up for the slam.
- At peak extension, flex the shoulders, spine, and hips to throw the ball hard into the ground directly in front of you.
- Catch the ball on the bounce and continue for the desired number of repetitions.
Pro Tips
- Category: Strength
- Force: Pull
- Movement type: Compound
Best One-arm Medicine Ball Slam Alternatives
1. Barbell Side Bent V. 2
84.1% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a barbell with both hands, palms facing down.
- Keep your back straight and core engaged throughout the exercise.
- Slowly bend your torso to the right side, lowering the barbell towards your right knee.
- Pause for a moment, then return to the starting position.
- Repeat the movement on the left side.
2. Cable Judo Flip
77.9% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand facing the cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Hold the cable handle with both hands at chest level, palms facing down.
- Engage your core and rotate your torso to the right, pulling the cable across your body.
- As you rotate, pivot your back foot and allow your hips to rotate naturally.
- Extend your arms fully and finish the movement by flipping the cable handle over your shoulder.
3. Advanced Kettlebell Windmill
77.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Clean and press a kettlebell overhead with one arm.
- Keeping the kettlebell locked out at all times, push your butt out in the direction of the locked out kettlebell. Keep the non-working arm behind your back and turn your feet out at a forty-five degree angle from the arm with the kettlebell.
- Lower yourself as far as possible.
- Pause for a second and reverse the motion back to the starting position.
4. Cable Standing Lift
75.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand facing the cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Hold the cable handle with both hands and position it at waist height.
- Engage your core and maintain a straight back throughout the exercise.
- Keeping your arms straight, exhale and lift the cable handle up towards your opposite shoulder, rotating your torso.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then inhale and slowly lower the cable handle back to the starting position.
5. Barbell Standing Ab Rollerout
75% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the barbell with both hands in front of your thighs.
- Engage your core and slowly roll the barbell down towards the ground, keeping your back straight and your arms extended.
- Continue rolling the barbell forward until your body is fully extended and your hands are directly above your head.
- Pause for a moment, then slowly roll the barbell back towards your thighs, maintaining control and keeping your core engaged.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
6. Barbell Standing Twist
74% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a barbell in front of your chest with both hands, palms facing down.
- Engage your core and keep your back straight throughout the exercise.
- Slowly twist your torso to the right, pivoting on your feet and hips, while keeping your lower body stable.
- Pause for a moment at the end of the twist, then slowly return to the starting position.
- Repeat the twist to the left side.
7. Double Kettlebell Windmill
71.8% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Place a kettlebell in front of your front foot and clean and press a kettlebell overhead with your opposite arm. Clean the kettlebell to your shoulder by extending through the legs and hips as you pull the kettlebell towards your shoulders. Rotate your wrist as you do so, so that the palm faces forward.
- Keeping the kettlebell locked out at all times, push your butt out in the direction of the locked out kettlebell. Turn your feet out at a forty-five degree angle from the arm with the locked out kettlebell.
- Bending at the hip to one side, sticking your butt out, slowly lean until you can retrieve the kettlebell from the floor. Keep your eyes on the kettlebell that you hold over your head at all times.
- Pause for a second after retrieving the kettlebell from the ground and reverse the motion back to the starting position.
8. Barbell Ab Rollout
70.6% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- For this exercise you will need to get into a pushup position, but instead of having your hands of the floor, you will be grabbing on to an Olympic barbell (loaded with 5-10 lbs on each side) instead. This will be your starting position.
- While keeping a slight arch on your back, lift your hips and roll the barbell towards your feet as you exhale. Tip: As you perform the movement, your glutes should be coming up, you should be keeping the abs tight and should maintain your back posture at all times. Also your arms should be staying perpendicular to the floor throughout the movement. If you don't, you will work out your shoulders and back more than the abs.
- After a second contraction at the top, start to roll the barbell back forward to the starting position slowly as you inhale.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
9. Assisted Hanging Knee Raise With Throw Down
69.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Hang from a pull-up bar with your arms fully extended and your palms facing away from you.
- Engage your core and lift your knees towards your chest, keeping your legs together.
- Once your knees are at chest level, explosively throw your legs down towards the ground, extending them fully.
- Allow your legs to swing back up and repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.
10. Dumbbell Side Bend
69.3% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in one hand, letting it hang down by your side.
- Keeping your back straight and your core engaged, slowly bend sideways at the waist towards the opposite side of the dumbbell, lowering the weight as far as you comfortably can.
- Pause for a moment, then slowly return to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch sides and repeat.
Why You Might Need a One-arm Medicine Ball Slam Alternative
You may need substitutes for shoulder pain, limited equipment, low back sensitivity, or to prioritize power versus endurance. One-arm slams demand shoulder stability, unilateral anti-rotation control, and high-speed trunk flexion; that stresses rotator cuff and lumbar tissues. Choose moves that reduce overhead load or unilateral shoulder torque—for example, perform a Pallof press (stand tall, press band forward, resist rotation) to maintain anti-rotation core activation while lowering spinal shear. Substitutes let you preserve explosive hip extension and oblique activation while managing joint load and training goals.
How to Choose the Right Substitute
Pick alternatives based on movement pattern, load type, and injury history. If you want rotational power, choose landmine or cable chops and cue a hip-driven rotation and snap through the thoracic spine to load the external obliques. For anti-rotation strength, use Pallof presses and braced carries; hold tension through the ribs and glutes to reduce lumbar hyperextension. If equipment is limited, select bodyweight rotational squat jumps—sit hips back, explode upward and rotate in the air—to emphasize hip extensors and obliques. Match the substitute’s directionality, speed, and unilateral demand to the original slam for best transfer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles does One-arm Medicine Ball Slam work?
The one-arm medicine ball slam primarily hits the rectus abdominis and obliques through rapid trunk flexion and rotation; it also recruits glutes and hamstrings for hip drive and the lats and deltoids during the overhead loading. Biomechanically it combines hip extension, thoracic rotation, and fast eccentric braking of the trunk.
What is the best bodyweight alternative to One-arm Medicine Ball Slam?
A rotational squat jump is an effective bodyweight alternative: sit the hips back, explode upward, rotate through the thoracic spine, and land softly facing the new direction. This reproduces hip power and oblique engagement while avoiding shoulder loading from the slam.
Can I build muscle without doing One-arm Medicine Ball Slam?
Yes. Build core and hip musculature with progressive-loaded alternatives like heavy landmine chops, cable woodchops, loaded carries, and weighted Pallof presses. Focus on progressive overload and controlled eccentric work to stimulate hypertrophy in the abs, obliques, and hip extensors.
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