Bench press on a swiss ball safe?

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immax01

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I just graduated from college and I used to go to the gym there. Now i dont feel like paying for a gym membership because i have my own dumbbells and barbell and i like to work out at home. I don't have too much space in my room (Im still looking for a job so im living with parents) so i couldn't buy a bench.

Instead i learned that i can do my bench press (and flies) on a swiss ball. The ball is rated for up to 300lbs and i know im not exceeding that, i weight about 200lbs but through a little experiment, i figured out that only half of my weight is on the ball, and the other half is on the floor through my feet. Also im not too big so when i bench with dumbbells, im currently up to 65lbs each dumbbell, so thats about 230lbs on the ball from my body and the 2 dumbbells.

Do any of you regularly do your bench press on a swiss ball? I would love to believe the 300lb rating but its somewhat frightening to hold that kind of weight above your face with the risk of a sudden burst of the ball. Let me know what you guys think. Am i safe before i reach that 300lb limit? Also are there any advantages or disadvantages to the swiss ball bench press? Thanks guys!
 
One day, the ball will pop.

A good ball will be burst resistant up to 1000lbs and have a static load strength of 2500lbs.

1. Do not trust your 300lb rated ball.

2. There is more weight than you think on the ball. Every time you lower the weight, stop it, then press up, the stress on the ball increases well above the combined weight of your body and your weights.

3. Contrary to claims. Balls do not slowly leak. They pop.

3. You do not want to be pressing on a ball when it pops.

I have seen this happen a lot of times and had it happen to me 2X with just my bodyweight, even when using the higher quality ball.

In short, I would not recommend weighted exercises be done on an exercise ball. The ball can not be trusted.
 
Much better off doing some weighted push-ups:

Grab a backpack, fill it with something heavy, strap it on, remove face from floor until floor won't leave. Rinse and repeat. Weighted vest would be better, but I'm assuming you're not wanting to spend any money.
 
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