The stability ball walkout starts with you lying over a large exercise ball with your hands on the floor. You walk your hands forward so the ball rolls down your legs and you end up in a plank on straight arms, then walk them back again. Your stomach and trunk hold a straight line while your shoulders and arms take more of your weight with each step. The further you walk out, the harder it gets.

How to do the stability ball walkout

Kneel behind a stability ball, lie forward over it and put your hands on the floor in front of it. Walk your hands out until the ball sits under your thighs and your body is straight, in a plank on straight arms.
Keep your back flat, without an arch, and bring your chin in slightly so your eyes point at the floor. Let your lower tummy draw in gently as you lightly lift your pelvic floor.
Walk your hands forward, one at a time, so the ball rolls toward your knees and shins. Go only as far as your body stays straight and the ball stays steady.
Walk your hands back the same way until the ball is under your thighs again.
Repeat for the set. To finish, walk your hands all the way back and lower your knees to the floor.

What you should feel

Mostly your stomach and trunk, which stop your hips sagging as the ball moves. Your shoulders, arms and chest work harder with every step your hands take forward.

Common mistakes

Letting the lower back sag as the ball rolls toward your feet.
Walking out so far that you lose the straight line or start to slide off the side of the ball.
Lifting your head to look forward.
Taking big, quick hand steps, so the ball rolls away from you.

How often

Many programs start with 2 or 3 sets of 5 to 8 walkouts, going only a short way out at first, a few days a week. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Pain in your wrists or shoulders, or tingling or numbness spreading into an arm.
Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
Lower back pain that is sharp or builds as you walk out.
Chest pain or pressure, dizziness or feeling faint, a racing or irregular heartbeat, or being far more out of breath than the effort should cause.

From the clinic

A short walk, with the ball staying under your thighs, is the easiest version and matches most of the video. Walking further, until the ball reaches your shins, makes the lever longer and the work much harder, so build up over weeks. Get a steady high plank on the floor first. The plank with feet on a ball holds that far position still.

Choose an anti-burst ball, pumped up firmly, and use it on a floor that grips with plenty of clear space around you. Sliding off the side of the ball is the main risk, so keep it centered under you and never walk further than you can hold. Check with your physio before you try it if you have fallen in the past year, have low bone density (osteoporosis), which makes a fall more serious, or feel unsteady getting down to and up from the floor.

If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try the stability ball walkout. Kneeling and folding forward over the ball to reach the floor bends the hips past a right angle, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations.

Your hands take more of your weight with every step forward, and your wrists stay bent back throughout. Spreading your fingers helps share the load. After wrist or shoulder surgery, a shoulder dislocation, or with ongoing wrist or shoulder pain, check with your physio first.

Lying over the ball presses on your stomach, and the plank that follows loads the stomach wall. If you are pregnant, have recently given birth, have had abdominal surgery or have a hernia, ask your physio or doctor before you plank. If you have high blood pressure, breathe steadily through every hold and never hold your breath. With a heart condition or high blood pressure, check with your doctor before you start.

If chest pain, pressure or tightness does not ease quickly when you rest, spreads to your arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, feeling light-headed or being short of breath, call emergency services straight away, as this can be a heart attack. If it eases quickly and none of these happen, get medical advice the same day, and do not exercise again until you have been checked. If you faint while exercising, call emergency services, even if you feel fine again quickly.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Stability ball walkout