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BALANCE BALL FITNESS
UPPER BODY EXERCISE TIPS

On this page you'll find great balance ball fitness upper body exercises for the gym or your home fitness routine. You'll also find ideas for stability ball dumbbell workouts, just make sure you choose at least one exercise for each body part.

Please click on the appropriate link below for balance ball exercises for other body parts:

Balance Ball Fitness - Main Page

Lower Body/Legs

Abs and Core Strength

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CHEST EXERCISES

Including any of the chest exercises listed here in your balance ball fitness upper body routine will utilize your pectoral muscles (chest) as well as your triceps (back of arms) and anterior deltoid (front of shoulder).

PUSHUPS (knees on floor, hands on ball)

This is a great balance ball fitness upper body exercise to start with to strenthen the chest and back of the arms (triceps).

Find balance point on ball in position 1 then lower your chest to the ball. Return to start position.

Points to consider:

The closer your hands are together, the harder this exercise

Variations:

The closer your hands are together, the harder this exercise. To utilize more of your triceps you can keep your elbows more towards you body, rather than pointing outward.

PUSHUPS (feet on floor, hands on ball)

Find balance point on ball in position 1 then lower your chest to the ball. Return to start position.

Points to consider:

The closer your hands are together, the harder this exercise

Variations:

To utilize more of your triceps you can keep your elbows more towards you body, rather than pointing outward.

PUSHUPS (knees on ball, hands on floor)

Find balance point on ball in position 1 then lower your upper body to position 2. Return to start position.

Points to consider:

The closer the ball is to your feet, the harder the exercise
The closer your hands are together, the harder this exercise

Variations:

To utilize more of your triceps you can keep your elbows more towards you body, rather than pointing outward.

BENCH PUSHUPS

Find your balance point on the ball for this balance ball fitness upper body exercise. Lower your body keeping your chest in line with the ball (2). Push up and return to starting position. Keep your elbows pointing outwards to emphasize more work from your chest muscles.

Find balance point on ball in position 1 then lower your chest to the ball. Return to start position.

Points to consider:

The closer your hands are together, the harder this exercise

Variations:

To utilize more of your triceps you can keep your elbows more towards you body, rather than pointing outward.
At home you can use a chair instead of a gym bench.

DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS

Start with dumbbells just wide of your chest. Push up and extend elbows so the dumbbells come together at the top of the movement.

At the top of the movement elbows should not fully extend, keep slightly bent.
This is a great exercise to add to your balance ball fitness upper body routine for an added lower back stabilizing/strengthening aspect.

Variations:

You can alternate dumbbells up one at a time. One arm presses whilst the other remains in position 1. Then alternate
Alternatively, you can perform one arm presses. Press dumbbell with one arm, whilst the other remains on your hip (no dumbbell in that hand!)

DUMBBELL FLY

Start in position 1. Slowly lower the dumbbells to your side as low as the level of your body. Keep dumbbells in line with your chest.

Elbows should be fixed in a slightly bent position for the whole range of movement. This is a great exercise to add to your balance ball fitness upper body routine for an added lower back stabilizing/strengthening aspect.

Return to the starting position as if you were doing a bear hug!

Variations:

You can alternate dumbbells one at a time. One arm performs the fly whilst the other remains in position 1. Then alternate
Alternatively, you can perform one arm flys. Fly dumbbell with one arm, whilst the other remains on your hip (no dumbbell in that hand!)

UPPER BACK EXERCISES

Including any of the back exercises listed here in your balance ball fitness upper body routine will utilize your latissimus dorsimuscles (Lats) as well as your rhomboids (between shoulder blades) and biceps (front of upper arm).

CHIN-UPS

This is a great balance ball fitness upper body exercise to include in your routine at the gym or in a park. Just find a railing anywhere and away you go.

Start in position 1 with elbows extended. Pull your body up so that your chest comes in to line with the bar, not at the level of your neck or head. Return slowly to original position.

Points to consider:

The further the ball is to your feet, the harder the exercise
This exercise can be done in the gym using a smith machine, or outside (eg. In a park using railing)

TWO ARM ROW

This exercise is best executed with your feet against the wall to stabilize yourself. Bring the dumbbells up toward your lower torso keeping your elbows closer to your body rather than pointing outwards. When you get to position number 2, you should have approximately 90 degrees of flexion in the elbows. If you have excessively more so, you may be bringing the dumbbells up too close to your upper torso.

ONE ARM ROW

Find your balance point on the ball keeping you back nice and straight. Start with arm extended and bring dumbbell up toward your lower torso keeping your elbow close to your body rather than pointing outward.

When you get to position number 2, you should have approximately 90 degrees of flexion in the elbows. If you have excessively more so, you may be bringing the dumbbells up too close to your upper torso.

SHOULDER EXERCISES

Including any of the shoulder exercises listed here in your balance ball fitness upper body routine will utilize your shoulder muscles as well as your triceps (back of arms).

DUMBBELL SHOULDER PRESS

Begin with dumbbells level with your ears, and elbows at approximately 90 degrees. Press dumbbells above our head, looking forward the whole time.

Do not fully extend your arms, keep them slightly bent at the top of the movement.

Variations:

You can alternate dumbbells up one at a time. One arm performs the shoulder press whilst the other remains in position 1. Then alternate.
Alternatively, you can perform one arm Shoulder presses. Perform the exercise with one arm, whilst the other remains on your hip (no dumbbell in that hand!)
For added emphasis on core stability, balance and increased difficulty, this is a great exercise to do with one leg on the ground. Simply raise one foot off the floor. It’s best to start this with the basic shoulder press movement using both arms.

DUMBBELL LATERAL RAISE

Starting in position one, raise dumbbell to position 2 keeping elbows slightly bent and fixed for the whole range of motion. Raise dumbbells to shoulder level, or slightly higher.

Variations:

You can alternate dumbbells up one at a time. One arm performs the lateral raise whilst the other remains in position 1. Then alternate.
Alternatively, you can perform one arm lateral raise. Perform the exercise with one arm, whilst the other remains on your hip (no dumbbell in that hand!)
For added emphasis on core stability, balance and increased difficulty, this is a great exercise to do with one leg on the ground. Simply raise one foot off the floor. It’s best to start this with the basic lateral raise movement using both arms.

REVERSE FLY'S

Starting in position one, raise dumbbell to position 2 keeping elbows slightly bent and fixed for the whole range of motion. Raise dumbbells to shoulder level.

Adding the reverse fly to your balance ball fitness upper body routine will utilze less of the triceps (as opposed to the above shoulder exercises), but will incorporate your upper back muscles in to the movement.

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