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Exercise guide
Ball Pike
An advanced core exercise where the hips pike up while the feet roll a stability ball toward the chest.
What this exercise works
- Muscles
- obliques · rectus abdominis · anterior deltoid · hip flexors · serratus anterior
- Goals
- hypertrophy · strength
- Equipment
- Stability ball
- Category
- Strength
- Difficulty
- advanced
Demonstration
Step 1
Step 2
How to perform the movement
- Place the shins on a stability ball and hands on the floor in a high plank.
- Brace the core and keep the legs straight.
- Pike the hips up, rolling the ball toward the chest as the body forms an inverted V.
- Pause briefly at the top.
- Roll the ball back out to the starting plank.
Technique cues and common mistakes
- Keep the legs straight throughout — no knee bend.
- Move at the hips, not the lower back.
- Build up with knee tucks first if the pike is too hard.