Continuing on with the stability ball series, this post focuses on push-ups. But not your average push-up, this push-up involves a little more because you are not only performing the exercise, but you are working your balance just to maintain your position on the ball. To begin, place the ball on the floor and lay your body over the ball with your front half touching the ball and your hands and feet on the floor. Next walk your hands out away from you as your feet lift off the ground. Stop once your shins are resting on the ball and your hands are place firmly on the ground about shoulder width apart. Now perform a push-up. This push-up is much more intense than a regular push-up because your feet are elevated. However, if it’s not intense enough, you can walk your hands out even further so that the tops of your feet are resting on the ball. For the most intense version, rest only the balls of your feet on the ball. Give it a try, it’s a killer chest, shoulder and tricep exercise.

Melissa Allen, BS, CPT, CES. Please visit my website at http://www.optimumcondition.org/classes/lunch-crunch.html