Stability Ball Push-Up (Hands on Ball)

Muscles worked by the Stability Ball Push-Up (Hands on Ball)

Primary

ChestPectoralis Major

Secondary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidAbsRectus AbdominisSerratusSerratus AnteriorTricepsTriceps Brachii

Also called: pec, pecs, pectoralis major, pectoralis, chest muscles.

Equipment

Stability Ball

Also called: swiss ball, exercise ball, yoga ball, physio ball, gym ball, balance ball.

How to do the Stability Ball Push-Up (Hands on Ball)

1. Place both hands on top of a stability ball and walk your feet back into a straight-arm plank, body in a straight line from head to heels.
2. Brace your core and keep the ball steady beneath your hands.
3. Bend your elbows to lower your chest toward the ball under control.
4. Press back up to full arm extension without letting the ball roll.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Keep your body in a rigid straight line — do not let your hips sag or pike up.
• Move slowly and deliberately; the wobble of the ball is what makes the exercise work, so resist it rather than fight it fast.
• Set your hands slightly wider than shoulder width on the ball for a more stable base, and keep your elbows tucked to about 45 degrees.

At a glance

Stability Ball Push-Up (Hands on Ball) in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Archer Push Ups
• Clap Push-Ups
• Close Grip Push Ups
• Decline Push-Up
• Deficit Push Ups
• Diamond Push Ups
• Handstand Push Ups
• Incline Push-Up

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "stability-ball-push-up-hands-on-ball",
  "name_en": "Stability Ball Push-Up (Hands on Ball)",
  "name_de": "Stability-Ball-Liegestütz (Hände auf dem Ball)",
  "name_es": "Flexión sobre pelota de estabilidad (manos en la pelota)",
  "description_en": "An incline push-up performed with both hands on a stability ball and the feet on the floor. The unstable surface forces the chest, shoulders, and triceps to work harder while the core fights to keep the body rigid.",
  "description_de": "Ein Liegestütz in Schräglage, bei dem beide Hände auf einem Gymnastikball und die Füße auf dem Boden ruhen. Die instabile Unterlage fordert Brust, Schultern und Trizeps zusätzlich, während der Rumpf den Körper stabil hält.",
  "description_es": "Una flexión inclinada realizada con ambas manos sobre una pelota de estabilidad y los pies en el suelo. La superficie inestable exige más al pecho, los hombros y los tríceps, mientras el core mantiene el cuerpo rígido.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "stability_ball",
  "body_part": "chest",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "pectoralis_major"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "rectus_abdominis",
    "serratus_anterior",
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "core"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "push_day",
    "calisthenics",
    "core"
  ],
  "variation_group": "push-up",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Place both hands on top of a stability ball and walk your feet back into a straight-arm plank, body in a straight line from head to heels.",
    "Brace your core and keep the ball steady beneath your hands.",
    "Bend your elbows to lower your chest toward the ball under control.",
    "Press back up to full arm extension without letting the ball roll.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Lege beide Hände auf einen Gymnastikball und wandere mit den Füßen zurück in eine Liegestützposition mit gestreckten Armen, den Körper in einer geraden Linie von Kopf bis Ferse.",
    "Spanne den Rumpf an und halte den Ball ruhig unter den Händen.",
    "Beuge die Ellbogen und senke die Brust kontrolliert zum Ball ab.",
    "Drücke dich wieder nach oben in die volle Armstreckung, ohne den Ball wegrollen zu lassen.",
    "Wiederhole die Bewegung für die gewünschte Wiederholungszahl."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Coloca ambas manos sobre una pelota de estabilidad y camina con los pies hacia atrás hasta una plancha con los brazos extendidos, el cuerpo en línea recta de la cabeza a los talones.",
    "Activa el core y mantén la pelota firme bajo las manos.",
    "Flexiona los codos para bajar el pecho hacia la pelota de forma controlada.",
    "Empuja de nuevo hasta la extensión completa de los brazos sin dejar que la pelota ruede.",
    "Repite las repeticiones deseadas."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep your body in a rigid straight line — do not let your hips sag or pike up.",
    "Move slowly and deliberately; the wobble of the ball is what makes the exercise work, so resist it rather than fight it fast.",
    "Set your hands slightly wider than shoulder width on the ball for a more stable base, and keep your elbows tucked to about 45 degrees."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte den Körper in einer stabilen geraden Linie – lass die Hüfte weder durchhängen noch nach oben knicken.",
    "Bewege dich langsam und bewusst; das Wackeln des Balls ist der Trainingsreiz – widerstehe ihm, statt schnell dagegen zu arbeiten.",
    "Setze die Hände etwas breiter als schulterbreit auf den Ball und halte die Ellbogen bei etwa 45 Grad angelegt."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén el cuerpo en una línea recta y rígida: no dejes que las caderas se hundan ni se eleven.",
    "Muévete lento y con control; la inestabilidad de la pelota es lo que hace efectivo el ejercicio, así que resístela en lugar de combatirla con rapidez.",
    "Coloca las manos algo más anchas que los hombros sobre la pelota y mantén los codos a unos 45 grados."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/stability-ball-push-up-hands-on-ball-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/stability-ball-push-up-hands-on-ball-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "stability-ball-push-up-hands-on-ball");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.