Med Balls
Mercurialis discovered that weights could be properly employed through hand-held objects. The ball offers more than the slate. In his treatise Exercise With the Small Ball, the Ancient Greek Physician Galen emphasizes that balls can be regulated from the most gentle to the most strenuous, according to the requirement of the individual.
Soldier using med ball in early 1900s
In 1939, E. Major of London wrote:
Medicine ball exercises have definite physiological and psychological values. They bring into activity the large muscle groups of the body, especially those of the arms, legs, trunk, circulatory, reparatory and digestive systems are stimulated. many of these exercises also assist in the development and maintenance of mobility in the joints, particularly in the joints of the spinal column.
They provide vigorous activity in a concentrated form, and in a short space of time the whole body can be exercised. The massive bending, stretching and turning movement, which constitute the majority of medicine-ball exercises, are a valuable palliative to the ill-effects of sedentary occupations. The amount of exercise can be easily regulated to suit individual requirements. Many of the exercises also demand quickness of thought and action, thus providing a useful means of developing neuro-muscular control.
Early 1960s
The Army has incorporated medball trianing. Al Vermeil, Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Chicago Bulls, came down to USAPFS a few years ago and gave a clinic. The smart old coaches know what the medicine ball can do. The Sept 7, 1999 Wall Street Journal published a front page article on the growing popularity of the medicine ball for exercise.
Here are a few med ball links
http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/publications/technique/1997/10/medicine-ball.html
http://hoover.nara.gov/education/hooverball.html