Pike Push-Up/Handstand Push-Up
What you'll gain
Shifts a push-up into a vertical press so the deltoids take the load.
Needs no equipment, which makes it a home overhead-press stand-in.
Builds the pressing strength that later progressions take to a wall handstand.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Set both hands on the floor about shoulder width and lift the hips into an inverted V.
- 2
Keep the legs long, heels reaching down, and the head hanging between the arms.
- 3
Brace the trunk so the pike does not sag.
- 4
Bend the elbows about 45 degrees from the body and lower the head toward the floor.
- 5
Stop when the head is close to the hands without collapsing the shoulders.
- 6
Press through the palms to straight arms and return to the pike.
Common Mistakes
Letting the hips sag, which turns the pike into a regular push-up.
Flaring the elbows wide and stressing the shoulder joint.
Rushing the lowering phase instead of controlling both halves of the press.
Lifting the head and cranking the neck to look forward.
About This Exercise
The pike push-up is a vertical bodyweight press. From a downward-dog V you bend the elbows and lower the head toward the floor, then press back to straight arms while the hips stay high. It is listed as an advanced deltoid-dominant press and names the pecs as a second primary; the approved highlight paints the deltoids red and the triceps and pecs pink, so Chest stays secondary. The same floor pike is also graded intermediate and treated as the bodyweight stand-in for an overhead press. The pipeline name concatenates pike and handstand push-up. The selected frame is a floor pike with feet on the ground, not a wall handstand. Copy describes the pike. App builders who need a true handstand press should not treat this clip as that skill.
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A floor pike press from an inverted V, lowering the head toward the hands to load the shoulders like an overhead press.
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Specifications
Built for
- Bodyweight shoulder-press clip in calisthenics libraries.
- Home overhead-press alternative in app workout builders.
- Progression content toward a wall handstand push-up, not a substitute for it.
- Push-pattern filters that need a vertical bodyweight press.
Muscles Worked
Details
License Includes
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