Exercise guide · Advanced · Compound

Push-Up Medicine Ball: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The push-up medicine ball is a challenging variation of the traditional push-up that requires you to place both hands on a medicine ball. This increases the demand on your chest, triceps, shoulders, and core, while also challenging your balance and stability.

Primary muscles
Chest
Equipment
Medicine Ball
Level · type
Advanced · Compound
Demonstration of the push-up medicine ball
Front view: muscles worked by the push-up medicine ball. Primary: chest. Secondary: abs, triceps, shoulders and obliques.
Back view: muscles worked by the push-up medicine ball. Primary: chest. Secondary: abs, triceps, shoulders and obliques.
Primary Secondary

How to do the push-up medicine ball

  1. Step 1: Start in a high plank position with your hands on the medicine ball, shoulder-width apart.
  2. Step 2: Engage your core and lower your body towards the ground by bending your elbows, keeping your back straight.
  3. Step 3: Push through your palms to extend your arms and return to the starting position.
  4. Step 4: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the push-up medicine ball by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Push-Up Medicine Ball alternatives

More exercises that train the chest as their main target:

More chest exercises

See the best chest exercises, ranked →

Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.