Wall Balls and Geometry
Written by Holden Rethwill
Raise your hand if you’ve ever thrown wall ball up in the air, only to miss the target and drop straight back down to the ground, or worse, your face. I’ve done it, we’ve all done it at some point. This error is so often not for a lack of effort or mental toughness, but for a lack of awareness and angles.
Geometry Lesson
Today’s lesson in geometry: If you throw something straight up in the air at a 90 degree angle from the ground, what is going to happen? Spoiler alert, it’s going to drop straight back down.
Now, if you throw that same object – in this case a wall ball – at an angle and it bounces off a target, what will happen? It’s going to bounce back to you (at the same angle in which it hit the wall)!
Common Mistakes
All too often I see people setting up much too close to the wall ball rack only to throw the ball straight up, miss the target, and watch the ball drop straight back to the ground. Or, they set up too closely and then try to throw at an angle, smash the bottom of the target which in turn slams the ball back down bopping them in the face. Either one is no fun!
Try This Simple Trick
A simple trick I learned when first starting CrossFit has made my situational awareness on wall balls a non-problem. When you are setting up for your target, extend your arms in front of you to where the ball barely touches the wall – if you are using a target that extends off the rig, remember to account for this distance – from here set your feet in your squat stance and go to town. Remember to throw at an angle so that the ball will bounce back to you rather than drop straight down.
This little trick might help you keep that ball off the ground longer because we all know how hard it is to pick it back up once it drops!
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