Pushups on the ball??????

N

niecie2k

Active Member
Cathe, I just finished doing drillmax and I'm still reeling over those pushups off the ball. I CAN'T DO THEM!!! The ball wiggles and wiggles and then I fall off over and over and over again! How frustrating. My question is - you didn't show a modification for that particular exercise and I think this particular move definitely calls for one. I tried doing them on my knees but because of the height of the ball, it's too awkward. Any suggestions? I'm trying to practice the plank off the ball first (hands on ball underneath head and toes on floor (same position as the push-up but without the up and down) and trying to at least get my balance down, but again - modification PLEEEEEAAAASSSSSEEEE!!

Also, in the warm-up, you played some "Lime". Like you, I'm 37 - an "80's" girl so that was very cool!!

Denise from Yonkers!!! ([email protected])
 
My modification was to move the ball against a couch. This stopped the ball from moving around so much but still created a somewhat unstable environment for doing the push-ups. I definitely felt it more than a regular push-up, but was able to stop falling!

Good luck!
 
Denise,
I also couldn't do the pushups the first time...not even one! But the second time, I managed two or so. Maybe with time, my stability (and yours too) will improve. Hope so, anyway!
 
Have you tried the tricep dips on the ball?

A very dangerous move in my humble opinion.

My ball was wiggling all around, contorting my arms into unsafe positions.

So I do them on the bench.
 
I had a hard time doing pushups and tricep dips on the ball also. My arms wobbled so much that I just didn't feel good about the whole thing so I modify both by doing pushups on the floor and dips on the step. At some point, I might attempt them on the ball again but for now getting a new move is not worth an injury to me. JMHO

-Sue
 
Denise: do you have a medicine ball? If so, you could get some of the balance challenge of the stability ball, but go to your knees, if you put your hands on it instead of using the stability ball.

(It's a very good idea to wipe any sweat off your hands before trying the stability ball push-ups!)
 
Yes, I agree these are hard. It's frustrating when we want to do it just like the girls on the dvd. THEY don't seem to be wobbling do they?? One thing that might help is how much our balls are inflated. I happen to have two balls (one was from my chiropractor which is smaller) - I tend to alternate between the two, especially when you do lunges with the ball side to side. I use the smaller one because I don't feel like it's in the way.

Not sure whether it would be easier if the ball had more give or not, probably better if it was blown up more. What does everyone think?
 
I have two balls and while it helps with the pushups, it does not help with the tricep dips. Those are an injury in the works in my opinion.

I don't care what the cast does -- I know when something just does not feel right for me, so I choose to modify.
 
Speaking of sweat, in some of the videos (Cardio & Weights come to mind), Cathe uses the step for tricep extensions and then goes into a new cardio.

This is not good -- I almost busted my butt doing this.

So now, I lie my mat down on the board to keep the surface sweat free.
 
>Have you tried the tricep dips on the ball?
>
>A very dangerous move in my humble opinion.
>
>My ball was wiggling all around, contorting my arms into
>unsafe positions.
>
>So I do them on the bench.
>
>
I, too, decided to do them on the bench, after trying them out on the ball. I just felt like my form was all over the place on the ball... not a comforting feeling.
 
Denise I also am struggling SOOO much with the pushups and dips on the ball. It is so fustrating because I don't feel like I even get any strength gains from those moves because I can't do even one rep. I am just like you and kept falling off- and with the dips I was almost to the point where I thought I might injure myself...
Keep us posted with any tips you get, I would love to work up to them, but I don't quite know how, so I keep doing regular ol' pushups and dips.
Thanks!
Calee
 
Thanks girls with your help on that. One of you said that she doesn't feel like she gets any strength gains because she can't do the move, and that's exactly how i feel and it's frustrating. As a matter of fact, whenever I do a workout and there is a move I can'd o, I get very frustrated and feel like I'm wasting my time. I guess the answer to that is patience and practice, and of course, I've been trying to do them regularly since the day I tried and fell. Cathe once said to embrace challenge so whenever I'm falling off the ball, or falling on my face because a move is too hard, I'll keep hearing Cathe's words, "don't be scared of challenge - embrace it".

Thanks girls. So nice to know I have so much support.
 
I have problems with both--not so much with the pushups b/c I've been doing them w/Tracy Staehl's core workout (which BTW I really like & highly recommend), but I definitely need to de-sweat my hands. However, at first I just did regular pushups until I could work my way up to the ones on the ball.

Haven't mastered the tricep dips yet. Right now I'm still doing them off my coffee table, but to add a little extra difficulty I put my feet on the ball instead.
 
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