MB Sagittal Reach (I) | Exercise 6.120

Exercise Demonstration

Technique Photographs

Starting Position

Stand in an athletic stance holding the medicine ball in both hands.

How To Perform The Exercise

Hinge at the hips to move the ball toward the ground. Extend the hips to stand and reach the ball overhead, then return to the starting stance.

Coaching Points

Keep the selected head, trunk and pelvic position during the hinge. Coordinate the return to standing with shoulder flexion into the overhead reach; do not use forced low-back extension to gain ball height. Choose range from control rather than requiring every athlete to reach 90 degrees of hip flexion.

Equipment: Medicine ball
Book difficulty level: 1 of 5

Written Variation: 6.121 Figure-Four Single-Leg Reach

Stand on the right leg, bend and turn the left leg outward, and place the left ankle over the right knee region. Retain that figure-four position while hinging and lowering the ball through a controlled range. Return upright through the supporting hip and coordinate the overhead reach. Recover support before repeating and changing legs. Original difficulty: 3; foundation: Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift.

Maintain whole-foot support and let the supporting knee track in the direction of the foot. Do not force the crossed-leg setup or overhead endpoint. The video above shows bilateral 6.120, not the figure-four support of 6.121. No one-second hold is prescribed. The source breathing sequence is inhalation before the forward hinge and exhalation during it; continue breathing through the return and reach.

Progressions And Related Exercises

• 6.112 Physio Ball Trunk Rotation (III)

Browse the Functional Training library or explore tennis conditioning workouts to use these movements in a session.