Swiss Ball Push-Ups

Why Is This Exercise So Effective?

This exercise uses the inherent instability of the Swiss Ball to work the triceps. Since your triceps are constantly forced to stabilize your body, you will use a lot more muscle fibers during the movement.

How To Do It

• Place your hands on the ball about 4 to 6 inches apart. They should be on the downward slants of the ball on either side. Spread your fingers wide for balance (this increases your surface area).
  
  
• Walk your feet out behind you. The further back you put your feet, the harder the exercise will be. The easiest position is from your knees.
  
  
• Execute just like you would a normal close grip push-ups.
  
  
• Keep your elbows in tight beside your body as you come down.
  
  
• You will be very shaky on these when you start doing them.
  
  
• Try rolling the ball away from you to turn the exercise into more of an extension. It will also be more like an extension if you roll it towards you and keep your head down.
  
  
• You can also try this exercise as a combo: roll the ball forward and go down as an extension then roll the ball back and go up as a push-up.

How to incorporate this exercise into your workouts:

Since this exercise requires great stability, you should do it near the beginning of your tricep workout.

Common Errors

1. Breaking body position

Keep your body stiff and locked throughout the movement to prevent other muscles from taking over.

Tricks

1. Increasing resistance

To make this even harder, raise your feet up on a bench or a bar (the Smith machine bar works well for this purpose as it is adjustable in height and allows you to hook your feet over it).

• Put your hands on the ball first then put your feet up one leg at a time.
  
  
• Your knees should be bent so your lower leg is vertical.
  
  
• This also works your abs isometrically.
  
  
• To increase difficulty, increase the height of the bar.
  
  
• Try changing your body position and/or hand position. Get ready to burn.