Push · None
How to do
Pike Push-ups
A push-up variation that shifts the load onto the shoulders, and the most useful bodyweight shoulder press available without equipment. Also the natural stepping stone toward handstand work.
| Movement pattern | Push |
| Measured in | reps |
| Equipment | None |
| Effort weight in Alea | 1.6 per rep |
| Appears from | D11 exercise die upward |
How to do it
Setup
Start in a push-up position, then walk your feet toward your hands and lift your hips until your body forms an inverted V. Hands slightly wider than shoulders, head between the arms, legs as straight as your hamstrings allow.
The movement
Bend the elbows and lower the crown of your head toward the floor between your hands, keeping the hips high throughout. Lightly touch, or come close, then press back to the start. The more vertical your torso, the more it becomes a true overhead press.
Common mistakes
- Hips dropping during the rep, which turns it back into an ordinary push-up
- Lowering the head forward of the hands rather than between them
- Flaring the elbows wide instead of keeping them at a moderate angle
- Rushing, which is how people bump their heads on the floor
Too hard? Scale it down
Elevate your hands on a bench or a step, which reduces the proportion of bodyweight over the shoulders. Reducing the range of motion is also perfectly reasonable while you build strength.
Too easy? Scale it up
Elevate your feet on a chair or box to make the torso more vertical, moving toward a full handstand push-up. The handstand hold in this pool trains the same position isometrically.
Where this sits in the Alea pool
Alea draws exercises from an ordered pool of twenty, and the die size slices from the top of that list. Pike Push-ups is number 11 of 20, so it enters the draw once your exercise die reaches D11. Below that, you will never roll it.
Its effort weight is 1.6 per rep, which the app uses when it builds 100-rep sessions and tailored workouts, so a session containing pike push-ups carries fewer total reps than one built from lighter movements.
Roll it now in your browser, or set your dice and let it come up on its own.
General information, not medical or fitness advice. Stop if you feel pain or dizziness, use the easier variation when in doubt, and see the full training disclaimer before starting.
Let the dice pick it for you
Alea draws pike push-ups at random alongside nineteen other bodyweight movements. Free, no account needed.
Android · Free · No account needed · No ads, ever
Related
Pike Push-ups FAQ
What muscles do pike push-ups work?
Primarily the shoulders, with the triceps and upper chest assisting. They are the closest bodyweight equivalent to an overhead press.
Are they a good way to work toward handstand push-ups?
Yes, and the standard route. Progress from floor pike push-ups to feet-elevated, then to wall-supported handstand push-ups.
Why does my head touch before my arms are bent much?
Usually the hips are too far back, making the torso too horizontal. Walk your feet closer to your hands so the torso becomes more vertical.