Here I have NFL defensive back Vernon Harris performing an explosive stability ball pushup. This variation is similar to the ricochet pushup developed by coach Nick Tumminello. In this version I’m having Vernon focus on power output with max hang time in order to recruit the highest threshold motor units and fast twitch fibers. During this particular workout we supersetted this movement with a heavy single arm dumbbell floor press and a single arm seated cable row. Each movement had a positive impact on the next exercise as the heavy loading from the dumbbell press along with the heavy rows helped to engage the appropriate recruitment patterns for maximizing power output and body positioning on the explosive pushups. Besides teaching athletes to control and stabilize their power output which is a critical component of performance, this variation also teaches rate of force development as well as rate of stabilization development. Rate of stabilization development is an often-times neglected component of athletic performance however it’s absolutely critical as athletes much learn to stabilize their body’s quickly in order to avoid body deviations from destabilizing forces. On a side note Vernon was using a tad too much body bounce off the ball but this is something we corrected on subsequent sets.
