How to do Balance Trainer Wide Pushups
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About this exercise
- Sets Logged
- 74,337
- Popularity Rank
- 795th
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Chest Strength
- 50 mSCORE 71st
- Equipment Required
Workouts with Balance Trainer Wide Pushups
Instructions for Proper Form
Performed with hands on a balance trainer, this variation increases chest, shoulder, and core engagement by introducing instability. The wide grip targets the chest muscles more extensively, making it beneficial for enhancing upper body strength and balance.
- Stand behind the Balance Trainer in a platform side up position.
- Place the hands in the platform handles in a wide stance and step back into plank position.
- Flex the arms and lower the chest toward the top of the platform.
- Press slowly back up to the straight arm plank position.
- Maintain a braced core throughout the exercise and avoid arching the lower back.
Sets & Reps Calculator
Average Balance Trainer Wide Pushups standards by male, female, gender, weight, age and height
Use this calculator to see Fitbod's possible first recommendations for you. This would be your starting line, based on more than 4.5 billion logged sets from 1.1 million users.
- beginner3sets7reps1 Set Max8reps
- intermediate4sets8reps10reps
- advanced4sets9reps11reps
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Alternatives & Variations to Balance Trainer Wide Pushups
1. Push Up
94.5 mSCORESWAPPED 105 TIMESPush Ups may be the most recognizable exercises out there. It’s one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do, and is a great way to develop functional strength in your upper body for pushing movements. It’s fantastic for beginners, or anyone with limited equipment, while still being a great addition for even the most seasoned lifters.
- Intermediate
- Chest
2. Cable Crossover Fly
97.3 mSCORESWAPPED 49 TIMESCable Crossover Fly is an isolation exercise that targets the chest. It’s a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Fly, and can easily be adapted to further isolate specific areas of the chest. Using cables to add resistance allows you to keep more consistent tension on your chest, as well as control the angle that the resistance is coming from.
3. Barbell Bench Press
99.2 mSCORESWAPPED 48 TIMESBench Press is one of the three Powerlifting movements, and one of the most common upper body exercises. It’s a fantastic compound exercise that can help you build strength in your chest, shoulders, and triceps. It’s a staple in most fitness programs, and is often used as a metric for tracking upper body strength in general.
4. Dumbbell Fly
98.3 mSCORESWAPPED 45 TIMESDumbbell Fly’s are one of the most common isolation chest exercises, and for good. It primarily targets the muscles in the chest, but also recruits the shoulders for stability. The use of dumbbells ensures that you’re targeting each side of the body independently, and prevents compensating for any weaknesses between sides. In addition the isolated nature of this exercise is a great way to fatigue your chest, and focus on building both muscle mass and increasing strength in your chest.
5. Push Up on Knees
83.4 mSCORESWAPPED 42 TIMESPush Up on Knees is a beginner-friendly variation of the standard Push Up. This compound, bodyweight exercise primarily targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. By performing the exercise on your knees, you reduce the overall resistance, making it easier to execute. This is a great exercise for building the foundational strength needed to progress to full Push Ups.
6. Dumbbell Bench Press
99.7 mSCORESWAPPED 40 TIMESDumbbell Bench Press is a variation on the standard Bench Press. Like Bench Press, this compound exercise primarily targets the chest, while also training the triceps and shoulders. The use of dumbbells allows for greater instability which can help you become more stable on pushing movements in general, while also isolating each side of the body to prevent you from compensating for any weaknesses between sides.
7. Machine Fly
98.2 mSCORESWAPPED 39 TIMESMachine Fly is a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Fly. This isolation chest exercise primarily targets the chest, but also recruits the shoulders. The use of a machine makes the exercise more stable allowing you to focus on exertion or learn the movement with minimal risk of injury. This is a great exercise for beginners looking to learn the movement, or advanced lifters looking to push this movement to it’s limit.
8. Machine Bench Press
93.5 mSCORESWAPPED 35 TIMESMachine Bench Press is a compound exercise the primarily targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The use of a machine forces you to use a fixed range of motion which can be a great way to learn the movement, or to focus your effort on exertion rather than stability.
9. Incline Push Up
77.2 mSCORESWAPPED 31 TIMESTargets the lower chest and shoulders by elevating the feet, decreasing the difficulty level compared to traditional push-ups. This variation is beneficial for beginners or those focusing on lower chest development.
10. Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
99 mSCORESWAPPED 30 TIMESDumbbell Incline Bench Press is a variation on the more standard Barbell Incline Bench Press. This compound exercise primarily targets the chest, but the incline also places more emphasis on the shoulders. The use of dumbbells makes this exercise more unstable than its barbell counterpart, while also forcing you to address any strength discrepancies between sides.