Rogue Froning vs MK D medicine ball
This is a comparison of the Rogue Rich Froning medicine ball and the MK D medicine ball including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.
Overview and review of the Rogue Mk D medicine balls
This is an overview of the Rogue MK D medicine balls including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.
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Overview of the Rogue MK D balls
Price $79.95 - $399.95
The
MK D ball series is the D ball from Rogue on steroids. These
slam balls can go up to the
Rubber Atlas stones ranges and are especially good for their dead bounce. This is the right tool in your arsenal when you want to bring a heavy load to the shoulder and drop it from there to the ground. This is a great option to train similar muscle groups than with Olympic weightlifting, but with fewer requirements for proper technique. The Rogie
MK Dballs come in black and can be purchased in the following sizes:
- 14lb
- 20lb
- 30lb
- 40lb
- 50lb
- 60lb
- 70lb
- 80lb
- 90lb
- 100lb
- 150lb
This is a great tool for overall body fitness, if
Atlas stones are too much hassle and Olympic lifts to challenging to learn.
Pros of the MK D balls
The pros of the MK DBalls are:
- Dead bounce
- Good grip
- Wide variety of weights
The
MK D balls are great as they will not bounce off the floor when dropped from the shoulder. They will also not deform as much as a
slam ball will do during your training. In addition, Rogue also offers a wide range of different sizes for these tools for all purposes. If you want to combine heavy lifting with agility, this is a good address.
Cons of the MK Dballs
- Same diameter
- Dead bounce
- Plastic
What are the great strengths of this product are also its greatest weaknesses. Compared to medicine balls you might want some or even a lot of bounce depending on the type of exercise you want to perform. Wall balls are impossible with the D balls. It is more likely you will make a hole than for them to bounce back. If you wanted to simulate strong man training, you also want the diameter of the higher weights to increase. Strongman training is not just about how much you lift, but also that the weight you lift can be hard to find a grip on. Apart from this, these are made from plastic, which also not always simulates conditions in competition well. This is especially the case when compared with
Atlas stones.
Alternatives to the MK D balls
The regular d balls range from 8lb to 40lb in weight, have a diameter of 9" to 10.6", and are priced from $55 to $110. This is where you start with your training or end if you only weigh 40kg yourself.
The
Atlas rubber stones are an alternative especially to the heavier D-balls. The 150lb
Atlas rubber stone is $99 less than the biggest D ball. It comes with a bigger diameter and therefore simulates the conditions in strongman competitions better.
If you are looking for something heavy that behaves more like a ball than a stone that is easy to grip, than the regular medicine balls from Rogue will do the trick for you. They are available up to 30lb in weight.
Overview and review of the Rogue Froning medicine ball
This is an overview of the Rogue Froning medicine ball including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.
Overview of Rogue Froning Series medicine ball
Price: $110
- Part of the Rich Froning Signature Series
- Made in Columbus, Ohio
- Weight: 20LB
- Diameter: 14”
- Coated Vinyl Shell – moisture and scuff resistant
- Soft Shell safe to use at high speeds, but strong enough to maintain stable shape
- Double-stitched paracord threading on seams
- Color: Red with Black and White Branding (Rogue and Froning logos)
A nice Christmas present for anyone who already owns a home gym and no medicine balls.
Pros of the Rich Froning medicine ball
- Red and black color scheme instead of black
- Double-stitched
This is a nice little customization on the
standard medicine ball to get a pop of color into your gym. The
standard Rogue medicine balls only come in black. That is not for everyone, especially if it is off-brand for your gym or the color scheme in your home gym.
Cons of the Rich Froning medicine ball
- Only available as 20LB
- Higher cost than standard ball
These balls are $5 dearer than the
standard ball of the same size. This can make a difference if you are trying to outfit multiple gyms and buy somewhere between 20 - 100 medicine balls. For your home gym, it will probably be more a question of personal taste rather than pricing.
Alternatives to the Rich Froning medicine ball
The standard for most CrossFit WODs for males is a 20lb medicine ball. For females, this drops to 14lb. If you like the color blue and want to equip yourself with an inspiring medicine ball you can get the
Camille Le blanc version of the medicine ball which comes in 14 lb instead of the 20lb the
Froning version has.
Dynamax is the market leader in the US for medicine balls. While Rogue at first resold these medicine balls they went on to produce their own brand to maximize profit margins on low price tag equipment produced in masses. There is not a big difference between the two. Still, if pressed, I would always go for the product that is core for the company. The core competency of Rogue is to work with Steel to build first-class racks and barbells.
Dynamax focuses on perfecting the stitch on their medicine balls.
The
standard Rogue medicine ball is a good alternative to
Dynamax if you want to buy a lot of medicine balls and do not care that much about the design. If you like black, you can save some money on bulk buy compared to
Dynamax balls the same size.
Slam balls are a great, cheap alternative to medicine balls. If your medicine balls are used 90% of the time to be thrown on the ground, save yourself some money and yourself/or clients some injuries. These balls are cheaper to make and do not bounce back from the floor to hit you in the face. If your training is more about throwing against walls or to each other, stick with the classic medicine ball.
Conclusion for the Rich Froning medicine ball
This is the right medicine ball for the dedicated CrossFit individual with great ambitions or the one's around him who want to give something nice. Anyone who buy in bulk is probably better off to either trade up in quality by buying
Dynamax or compromising in price and getting a lot of
Rogue standard medicine balls.