Wall Balls: Weights, Sizes, Standards, and How to Choose

Wall balls are large, soft medicine balls made to be thrown at a high target, caught, and thrown again. Most buyers want one that’s 13 to 14 inches across and light enough for sets of 10 or more with a full squat. Event standards run from 4 kg to 20 lb. As of Nov 2026, a 14 lb or 20 lb ball lists for about $70 to $86. Before you buy, check that you have a solid wall or target and about 11 feet of height. For how they compare with other tools, see our conditioning equipment guide.

Wall ball weights and standards

If you compete, the rulebook picks your ball.

The conversions matter if you shop in pounds. Nothing on the US lists we checked equals 4 kg, so a Women Open racer picks between 8 and 10 lb. A 14 lb ball runs 0.8 lb heavy against 6 kg, while 20 lb nearly matches 9 kg.

Without an event, here’s our rule of thumb: choose a weight you could throw 10 to 15 times, rest a minute, and repeat with every squat at full depth. If your last throws fall short, it’s too heavy. Check the price of each weight, too. Titan’s 20 lb ball lists at about $70 and its 14 lb at about $84, because the sale prices differ.

Sizes, shells, and fill

You hold the ball at your chest through every squat, so diameter comes first. Titan lists 13 inches and Bells of Steel lists 14. REP Fitness gave no diameter on the page we read, and the HYROX rulebook sets none in its wall ball section.

• Titan Composite: poly-composite laminate, double stitched, over polypropylene fiberfill, with grip loops. Sold in 6 to 30 lb.
• Bells of Steel Triple Stitched: Kevlar shell over polypropylene cotton and rubber particles, with a urethane inner weight. Sold in 4 to 30 lb.
• REP Fitness Medicine Balls 2.0: sold in 4 to 30 lb. The page describes medicine balls as stitched, with a leather or synthetic shell.

We found no seam test or cycle rating from any maker, so “double” and “triple” stitching can’t be compared directly.

Wall ball vs slam ball vs medicine ball

“Medicine ball” is the umbrella term, and sellers blur it. REP Fitness and Bells of Steel both call their wall-ball products medicine balls, and Bells of Steel uses the same name for a small rubber ball. So compare by build.

If you can own only one, let your space decide. With a tall wall, take the wall ball. Under a low ceiling, a slam ball gets more use, since it needs floor instead of height. That’s our view, and our gym flooring guide is worth reading before you slam anything indoors.

How to do a wall-ball shot

The HYROX rulebook defines a valid rep clearly, and it’s useful even if you never race:

1. Start standing tall, holding the ball in both hands. Throwing straight off the floor doesn’t count.
2. Squat until your hips drop below your knees.
3. Throw with both hands so the ball strikes the target.
4. Catch it and go again, or let it land and restart from standing. Catching it off a bounce and continuing is a no-rep.

These cues are our own suggestions: stand about an arm’s length from the wall, hold the ball under your chin, and drive up through your legs before your arms finish the throw. Catch high and ride the ball down into the next squat.

Ceiling and target needs

A target line isn’t the top of the throw. A 13-inch ball centered on a 10-foot line reaches 10 feet 6.5 inches, and few throws land perfectly, so we’d plan on about 11 feet.

Don’t aim at bare drywall. Titan pitches its target as a way to avoid scuffed paint and broken drywall. In our judgment, the better options are a masonry wall outdoors, a rig, or a rack-mounted target. On rack targets, check two things:

• Total height. REP Fitness says its target adds 32.25 inches to a PR-5000 at the top setting. On a 93-inch rack, that’s about 10 feet 5 inches. Titan’s needs 24 inches of clearance above the rack.
• Fit. The REP Fitness target doesn’t suit its 1000 Series racks, and the company names a rig as the best mount. Titan’s fits T-3 and X-3 racks.

Our rig attachments guide covers the frames these bolt onto.

Durability

Read the warranty before the marketing. REP Fitness gives its wall balls one year and says slamming voids that cover. Bells of Steel lists one year, rules out floor slams, and calls wear from impact normal. Titan lists one year and warns against slam exercises.

Slam balls have limits too. REP Fitness and Bells of Steel give one year for home use and six months for commercial use. REP Fitness compares a slam ball to a car tire, a consumable, and asks for a smooth, debris-free surface. In our judgment, that advice suits stitched balls as well.

What the evidence can’t tell you

We couldn’t find a controlled trial of wall ball training. A title search of PubMed-indexed papers found one study naming wall balls, and it looked at a baseball warm-up. The rest is indirect:

• Effort: In a simulated HYROX race, 11 recreational athletes hit their highest heart rate, lactate, and perceived effort at the wall balls. That station comes last, so race fatigue is mixed in.
• Injury: A 12-week study of 89 HYROX athletes found mostly overuse injuries, led by the knee, with shoulder problems nearly absent. Response averaged 62%, and the abstract doesn’t break injuries down by station.
• Power: A trial of 21 young female handball players found 12 weeks of added medicine ball work improved throwing and upper-body power more than regular training. Press strength rose similarly in both groups.
• Warm-up: Thirteen college baseball players swung faster after wall throws on a vibration platform, in a before-and-after test of one session.

None of this gives you a best weight or training frequency, or shows that wall balls beat another conditioning tool. For a low ceiling, our sled guide and kettlebells guide cover two alternatives.

What to check before buying

Published specs by model

Wall balls for sale: what they cost

Safety

• Clear the landing zone. A missed catch can drop 20 lb on a foot or a nearby bench.
• End the set when form slips. Stop when your squat depth or throw height falls off.
• Check target bolts. Repeated impacts can loosen hardware, so check a rack target before each session.
• Watch shoulder and knee pain. Scale the weight or reps if either flares. See a clinician for sharp pain, and talk to a physician first if you have a heart condition or haven’t trained hard in a long time.