maratoolBall Wall Circles
How to do the ball wall circles
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart.
- Place a Swiss ball at chest height against a wall and with your left hand, roll the ball in small circles against the wall.
- Keep your arm fully extended with a slight bend in the elbow.
- Reverse the direction of the circles.
- Switch arms.
Muscles worked
The prime movers are the deltoids, which raise and rotate the upper arm at the shoulder joint.
Because more than one joint is moving, the work does not stay in one place: the biceps add force at the elbow; the triceps straighten the elbow to finish the movement.
How this movement works
Several joints move together, so effort spreads across a chain rather than concentrating in one place. Coordination is part of the difficulty: the movement is only as good as its weakest link, and improving it often means fixing a position somewhere other than the muscle you meant to train.
It is filed under strength: produce force against resistance for a countable number of repetitions, and progress the resistance over time.
What you need
The exercise ball is an unstable base on purpose. It shortens the leverage you can hold and demands constant small corrections, so the trunk works even when the movement is aimed elsewhere.
Every exercise using:Exercise ball
These train the shoulders too, using equipment this one does not:
Illustration: Everkinetic — CC BY-SA 4.0 — license. Modified versions are shared under the same license. Full attribution →
ⓘ Informational only — not a substitute for professional fitness or medical advice.