Overhead Slam
A beginner compound plyometric exercise that works the upper back, using a medicine ball.
Starting position
End position
How to Do Overhead Slam
- Hold a medine ball with both hands and stand with your feet at shoulder width. This will be your starting position.
- Initiate the countermovement by raising the ball above your head and fully extending your body.
- Reverse the motion, slamming the ball into the ground directly in front of you as hard as you can.
- Receive the ball with both hands on the bounce and repeat the movement.
Muscles Worked
Alternatives to Overhead Slam
10 movements that train the same primary muscle, closest substitutes first — same kind of training, then variations of the movement itself, then a similar difficulty.
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1
Catch and Overhead Throw
A beginner compound plyometric exercise that works the upper back, using a medicine ball.
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2
Band Assisted Pull-Up
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back.
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3
Bent Over Barbell Row
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a barbell.
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4
Bent Over One-Arm Long Bar Row
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a barbell.
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5
Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using dumbbells.
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6
Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row With Palms In
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using dumbbells.
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7
Cable Incline Pushdown
A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the upper back, using a cable machine.
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8
Chin-Up
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, needing no equipment.
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9
Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldown
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a cable machine.
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10
Dumbbell Incline Row
A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using dumbbells.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles do overhead slam work?
Overhead Slam primarily works the upper back.
What equipment do I need for overhead slam?
Overhead Slam uses medicine ball.
Overhead Slam: is it suitable for beginners?
Yes. Overhead Slam is rated beginner. Movements you can learn in a session, with a low skill floor and a forgiving failure mode.
What can I do instead of overhead slam?
Catch and Overhead Throw, Band Assisted Pull-Up, Bent Over Barbell Row train the same primary muscles and are listed with 7 more alternatives above.
Can Fitnit count my overhead slam reps automatically?
Not automatically yet. Fitnit's AI rep counting covers push-ups, squats, dumbbell curls, crunches and pull-ups today; overhead slam can be logged manually in the app, and tracked movements are added over time.
Photographs and step-by-step instructions from free-exercise-db, a public-domain exercise dataset. Muscle mapping and alternatives by Fitnit.
Track Your Overhead Slam with AI
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