Tag Archives: pushup

Stability Ball Pushup

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I have a challenging exercise for you today for the Home Exercise of the Week!  If you’re a fan of pushups, the Stability Ball Pushup will add something new to your routine.  If you don’t like pushups, well then you’re probably thinking wow I didn’t know they could get any worse than they already are!

Whether you like pushups or not, the Stability Ball Pushup is a great exercise that will work your chest, shoulders, and triceps.  Since you are doing this exercise on a ball, you will also be working on your balance, core muscles, and all the little stabilizer muscles to keep you from flying off the ball.

If this is your first time trying the exercise, I recommend placing the ball against a wall which will make it easier to balance.  As you get more comfortable with the exercise you can place the ball freely in the room.  Also, you can start with a modified pushup from your knees if needed until you get stronger.

Some tips when performing the Stability Ball Pushup:

  • grab the ball on the sides and squeeze it as you move down to increase the contraction in your pectoral muscles
  • make sure your hands are in line with your chest throughout the movement
  • keep your ab muscles tight at all times by pulling your belly button in towards your spine
  • a wide foot position will increase your stability and if you feel that’s too easy then bring your feet together to work your core and stabilizers even more (at this point you’re probably thinking “yeah right Craig, let’s start with getting on the ball first!”)
  • at the top of the movement, stop just before your arms are fully extended to keep tension on your pectorals throughout

So there you have the Stability Ball Pushup!  Add this great exercise to your routine and you might impress people so much with your acrobatic feats that you get asked to join the circus!

Close-Grip Pushup

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The Home Exercise of the Week this week is the Close-Grip Pushup also known as the Military Pushup.  This is a great exercise to work your tricep muscles, inner chest muscle, anterior deltoid (front shoulder), as well as your core!

This is generally more challenging than a regular pushup because the tricep muscles are the prime mover whereas your chest does more of the work in a regular pushup.  Since the tricep muscles are smaller than the muscles of your chest they won’t have as much strength.

If you are new to performing the Close-Grip Pushup, you will most likely find that your elbows tend to flare out from your body because your chest takes over and does the work to compensate for the weaker tricep muscles.  You will want to try and keep your elbows tucked in to your body as much as possible to avoid this.  Over time, as your triceps get stronger, it will be much easier to keep your elbows from leaving your sides.

Another key point to remember when performing this exercise is to always keep your body as straight as possible.  There is a tendency, especially from the kneeling position, to just move your upper body down towards the floor while leaving your butt up in the air.  You will want to make sure that your hips come down with you so you get the full benefit of the exercise.

So there you have the Close-Grip Pushup!  Add this effective exercise to your routine and you’ll be on your way to sculpting strong and shapely arms!