Exercise details
- Target muscle: Sternal (Lower) Pectoralis Major
- Synergists: Clavicular (Upper) Pectoralis Major, Anterior Deltoid, Triceps Brachii
- Mechanics: Compound
- Force: Push
Starting position
- Kneel on the floor with a stability ball in front of you.
- Lie forward with your chest on top of the ball and your hands placed under your chest, on the surface of the ball.
- Extend your feet, and straighten your legs and torso.
Execution
- Keeping your core tight, exhale as you carefully push your body up until your arms are almost fully extended.
- Balance in the extended position for a count of two.
- Inhale as you lower yourself to the starting position.
- Repeat.
Comments and tips
- Keep your core tight so that your body doesn’t sag.
- To make it easier to balance, spread your legs out wide.
- The stability ball push-up is more difficult than it may seem. Learn how to perform the standard push-up before graduating to this exercise.
- To make the stability ball push-up more difficult, elevate your legs. You can also place your legs on a separate ball or place each hand on a separate ball. See second and third videos. Note, however, that these advanced variations can be dangerous.
- The stability ball push-up is not a mass-building exercise. The novelty of the exercise is that the unstable surface of the ball forces the recruitment of many more leg and core stabilizer muscles than the regular push-up. The end result is a better functional and core workout, and improved balance and coordination. Some of the stabilizer muscles recruited by the stability ball push-up include the rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, erector spinae, and quadriceps.
- Also known as the Swiss ball push-up.
