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Written by Noah Alkinburgh
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 |
 The Dynamax 14" diameter medicine ball and CrossFit. It was like a match made in heaven. The perfect medicine ball for doing sport specific training; with a large diameter and soft shell the Dynamax ball allowed for high velocity movements without worrying about bashing in your face. CrossFit couples high intensity, full body, movements designed to move as much weight as possible as far as possible as fast as possible. Merge the two and you have wall ball. The monster exercise that causes strong men to wilt into puddles of sweat and tears. The 20 lb Dynamax ball presented the perfect tool for taxing the whole body physically and mentally, but it was destined to be more like a Hollywood marriage then a long term relationship.
 Jim Cawley and the team at Dynamax absolutely revolutionized the world of medicine balls. Gone were the hard leather cannon balls that boxers and wrestlers had been utilizing for years. These new large and impact absorbing balls shot life into old exercises and became a proven tool for track and field coaches and elite athletes everywhere. Make no mistake about it, the US made Dynamax ball is a top quality product and Jim and his company deserve all the credit for what they have done. Jim and his team are coaches and know what needs to go into a quality product to stand up to the rigors of athletic training and they are passionate about what they teach and do. Jim's passion for how he believes his product should be started to have an impact on the CrossFit community however when he believed that the Wall Ball exercise performed at 20 lbs was being done by people without consideration of their skill and ability (not to mention how he perceived the balls being misused as squat markers). Unfortunately this seemed to hit a nerve across the CrossFit community and caused some animosity, perceived or real, between the CrossFit community and Dynamax. As a company Dynamax began to try to distance themselves from CrossFit.
We have the greatest respect for Jim and his decision to run his company as he sees fit. This goal of this article is not to say who was right or wrong or even determine if someone was wrong. My goal is to show how Dynamax made a superior product and CrossFit created a demand for this product that Dynamax felt they could not or did not want to fill. Several companies have stepped up to try and fill this void. Wright Exercise and Christian's Fitness Factory decided to collaborate and create a ball that they felt would come as close as possible to to recreating the experience of using the Dynamax ball, would be affordable for all who wanted one, and would be designed knowing what its intended use was. The result: the Wright/CFF 14" Diameter Medicine ball.
 Our goal was simple, create a ball that would stand up to the hard use that CrossFitters across the world demanded. We already carried a great 20 lb medicine ball from Title Boxing, but the ball design made it painful if missed. You couldn't beat the price but the ball could beat you into submission. So the new balls are made with a soft vinyl shell and a soft interior allowing for the absorption of impact when the ball is moving at a high velocity. The stitching is double stitched to prevent splitting, because let's face it you will drop the ball occasionally. On top of that we built balls starting at 4 lbs. No other company besides Dynamax does this that I am aware of. We believe we have created a ball that is every bit as functional as Dynamax. We still sell Dynamax balls. They are great and being US made is something to be proud of, but as in all things we do at Christian's Fitness Factory we strive to provide elite equipment at all price points and present people with choices.
We are still making improvements on these balls, and will continue to do so. If you are looking for a great 14" Medicine ball for wall ball then look no further then the Wright/CFF 14" Medicine ball. One thing I would like to mention is that these balls as great as they are were never designed to stand up to the rigors of slam ball (nor is Dynamax). Please know that if you slam it, the result will not be good. Just a little heads up though, we have a new design coming very soon that will be soft enough to do wall ball and stand up to slam ball too! The prototype has been to several affiliates on the east coast and we asked them to break it. So far nobody has! We are pretty excited and you will see more information soon.
As always we would love to get your feedback let us know what you think of any of the medicine balls we carry. Now get out and train!
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