Name: Stability Ball Push Up (Progressions and Regressions)
Uploaded: 2023-04-26T01:00:03.000Z
Duration: 10 min 19 s

English captions

https://stream.mux.com/3003wADt3l01yHdvIl6UsimTloyAijTChMDxjE3WFwkcU.m3u8

Learn how to properly perform stability ball push-ups in this comprehensive step-by-step instructional video from the Brookbush Institute. This evidence-based video offers expert coaching on setup, posture, and exercise modifications (including progressions and regressions) to safely develop chest (pectoralis major), shoulder (deltoid), and core strength, stability, and coordination. Perfect for athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and rehabilitation clients seeking to enhance upper body strength, dynamic stability, and functional performance.

Introduction to Stability Ball Push-Ups

Understanding Progressions and Physics Concepts

Demonstrating Initial Progressions

Implementing the Stability Ball Technique

Increasing Difficulty with Stability Ball Push-Ups

Final Progression to Floor Push-Ups

Key Takeaways and Considerations for Training

Stability Ball Push Up (Progressions and Regressions)

nine hundred ninety-nine.... one thousand Alright Cats, this is Brent from the Brookbush Institute. In this video we're going over stability ball push ups. That is, push ups with your hands on a stability ball- a very challenging progression. And I know many of you are you are already thinking, "Where do I put my hands, and how do I line up my shoulders, and what I do with my body?" And all of those technical questions are important, but they're not the bigger question. The bigger question is how do we create the micro progressions, the step-by-step manner from which we can progress from a floor push up to a stability ball push up? Now, we're going to think about a little bit of physics here. We have to think about things like moment arm. Alright, so this stability ball is fairly large. A moment arm is is kind of like a lever- right, this has a nice long lever, so every time it moves it creates a fair amount of force that we have to right. We have to think about how much friction. Being that a stability ball is fairly firm, it's not going to squish so much against the floor, so it's going to roll pretty easily. And then we also have to think about inertia. Since a stability ball doesn't have very much mass, it moves really easily. Now, since we're also going to use this as a stability progression, this is going to be part of my higher rep training, so we might have to decrease the load. And that's where this setup comes in. So, this is one of our first progressions for trying to get somebody to a ball push up. I've put somebody a little higher- that's going to decrease the amount of load. I used a squishy medicine ball here, so that we get a lot of displacement, a lot of surface area in contact with the bench. I then put the ball up against the wall, so I get even more friction. Now it's not moving nearly as easy. And then this ball's a little smaller so we don't have quite the same moment arm. Now, I'm going to have my friend, Melissa, come out. She's going to help me demonstrate all of these progressions- every single last one. And eventually, we're going to get up to the stability ball push up, which I think Melissa can do, because she's a beast. Alright, so let's get you in position on this, this very first progression. You guys will notice that we had to put a step here between the wall and the ball, because with these smaller objects if you put them right up against the wall, you end up with forehead into the wall before they get a good range of motion. Notice that her kinetic chain checkpoints are in line- ankles, knees, and hips. She has no anterior pelvic tilt- I'm going to tuck her under a little bit. Glutes are tight. She's drawn in. We're gonna go down for 4- 2, 3, 4, hold and then up for 1. And that looked really, really easy for Melissa. Let's do one more just to make sure. Down 2, 3, 4 and up. Good, so that's pretty easy? Alright, so let's go ahead and and make this a little tougher. So we could use a firmer object, but not the stability ball yet. So, if you guys have ever seen these type of medicine balls, these are nice and firm. There still pretty heavy, so they still have a little bit inertia- they're not going to roll around quite as quickly as a stability ball, and we can also put this against the wall. You can see here, we might have even wanted to put another step in there to keep her head away from the wall. I do notice with this progression something that's very important, guys. These are kind of close grip sagittal plane push ups that we're working on. If you try to do elbows flared out, it just doesn't work out very well for any of the progressions we're showing you. As your hands have to be here, this is just going to put a lot of stress on the elbows. How does that feel? Still too easy, huh? Alright, so then we can have a go to the stability ball, and see how that's working against the wall. Now, once you switch to a stability ball chances are you're not going to have to put anything between the wall and the ball- there's plenty of room for their head. I also want you guys to notice, and it's a lot more obvious on the stability ball, which way Melissa's fingers are facing. So, Melissa's fingers are facing down. A lot of people try to turn them this way, right, so they try to turn them up. Try to turn your fingers up there. Now, watch what happens when she does a push up. She's forced into a lot, a lot of extension on the way up, and she's forced into a lot of ulnar deviation on the way down. And and those just don't feel good. Neither of those positions feel really good, so if you turn your hands this way, it requires a bit more strength. You really have to squeeze that ball to keep your hands from sliding, but it's a much more comfortable push up. How's that? Alright, still not hard enough, so what are we gonna do next? Let's reduce the amount of friction between the ball and the surface it's touching. I'm just going to go ahead and move this bench away from the wall. And now, Melissa, we could start all the way over with the big heavy squishy medicine ball and see how she performs that. Now, guys, as you are doing these progressions, please be careful who you're doing these progressions with. Obviously, I trust Melissa- we've been working together a long time- I know she's fairly quick, fairly coordinated. If you have somebody on a ball on a bench, if they slip, they need to be able to catch themselves. I wouldn't do this with somebody that I was worried if one of their hands slips, they're going to take a header into the bench, or flip over the top of the bench, or bash their nose off the wall. We don't want any chance of injury. That was still too easy. Alright, so we could switch to the medicine ball. I'm going to go ahead and skip this one, because Melissa has done a lot of push ups. We'll go to the stability ball up on the bench. Alright, so, so now we're giving her all of the stability that comes with the stability ball push up, but because she's elevated on the bench, she's tilted a little bit. I don't have quite as long a moment in her body, she's not taking on quite as much of her body weight. You ready? Oh, we're getting tougher- I see a little shaking. Alright, good. Draw in. What happened to the count? Down, 2, 3, hold and up.  And, man, that hold at the bottom is tough. Alright, so there you guys go. With the bench progressions, of course, if we can get somebody here, now the big challenge would be can we slowly lower them to the floor. Maybe you guys could use a plyo box that was a little lower than this. You have to experiment to come up with a very stable way of setting up some some steps, but maybe you could put some steps down so it's not a big jump from here to the floor. But Melissa's a beast, so we're just going to go straight to the floor. Alright, so, once again- hold on before you get there. Guys, we're not going to jump from stability ball on the bench to stability ball on the floor. Don't be afraid to start over with some of those stability progressions. You just increased the load a ton, so back off on the stability, get your rep range back up to that 12 to 20 reps that we need for this particular phase, and then if she can do that well, then you can start increasing the stability again. How does it feel? Alright, this time clapping. I'm just kidding. Okay. Alright, Melissa, can you do it? This is just show off time. They all know what's coming. They all know that this, the push up on the stability ball on the floor, was the final progression. They just want to see if you can do this. Aright, so, she's going to get her feet locked in. Notice she's on the balls of her feet. She's pushing through the floor. Glutes are nice and tight. Drawn in. Good. And push all the way up. Down, 2, 3, hold, hold, up. Really nice. Really nice. Really nice. So there you guys go. Not only did we give you a very challenging progression for a push up- twenty of those, no joke, especially at that 3, 2, 1 count. But bigger question, right? The bigger picture, the thing that is most important, is that you guys consider all of these micro progressions. Even if you can do this, as a professional, you need to try all of these progressions. Figure out how to set them up in your club. We have this nice soft, padded column here, you guys might not have a padded column. In fact, I would imagine that most people don't have a padded column, but do you have a blank wall? Maybe you're going to have to set this up against a plint that happens to be the right height that's up against a wall. You need to figure out all of those set up variations, know what they feel like, and then you can properly cue your client, your patient to do the same thing. I hope you guys have enjoyed this video. I look forward on this video to getting some videos back from you guys of 20 repetitions 3, 2, 1 or a 4, 2, 1 count. You guys can even mix it up a little bit, maybe on one foot? Next video. Talk to you guys you soon.

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Chest strength training exercises - best progressions for bench press, barbell press, dumbbell press, push-ups, bands, cables, and bodyweight. Chest movements for endurance, stability, hypertrophy, and strength, and a sample routine. 

Chest Exercises and Pushing Progressions

Have the client or patient place their hands on either side of a stability ball, gripping into the ball with fingers pointed down. Note, sagittal plane push-ups are more comfortable when performing hands-on stability ball push-ups.

Cue your client into a position in which their nearly fully extended arms are perpendicular to the ball. This is achieved by asking them to adjust their foot position, body angle, and shoulder and arm position appropriately.

Ask the client or patient to assume optimal form/posture:

Feet perpendicular to the floor and 2nd toe aligned with ASIS

Pelvis neutral (absence of anterior or posterior pelvic tilt)

Torso, scapula, and head in neutral alignment

To enhance core muscle recruitment and trunk stability, ask your client or patient to maximally dorsiflex their ankles and attempt to get as much of the ball of their foot on the floor as possible. Have them “squeeze (contract)” their glutes and quads as if they are pushing the balls of their feet back into the floor. Last, have them perform the abdominal drawing-in maneuver before initiating the eccentric phase.

Cue the client or patient to maintain trunk stability as they bend the elbows and slowly lower themselves into the bottom position. Note, the forearms should maintain near perpendicular alignment with the ball; the lower chest/upper abdominal area should approach the ball.

The foot position may need to be repositioned during the first few repetitions to ensure that forearms maintain near perpendicular alignment throughout the motion.

Ensure that your client is maintaining the drawing-in maneuver, glutes contracted, and quads contracted before they push themselves up (or push the ground away) to full elbow extension and scapula protraction; achieving a plank position with fully extended arms.

Note, it may feel counter-intuitive to the client, but they should start with a slower tempo. Faster tempos will result in larger perturbations, more “wobble” from the ball, and a significant increase in the challenge to stability.

Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

 Replace the stability ball with a medicine ball (increases inertia and decreases perturbation speed), press the ball into a wall imparting friction (reducing perturbation speed), and/or elevate the ball to reduce load.

Initial Progression: Position a bench against a wall, and then place the stability ball on the bench and press it into the wall. This elevates the hands and torso which reduces load and pushing the ball against the wall reduces instability.

Increase Load: Elevate the feet or add a weighted vest.

The scapula should not be cued into a fixed position. The concentric phase of a push-up should include protraction, and the eccentric phase should include retraction.

Placing the hands on top of the ball (fingers pointing cranially) as if doing a horizontal plane push-up is not advised. Generally, stability balls and medicine balls are too narrow to perform a horizontal plane push-up with good form/posture.

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