A pike push-up puts your hips high so your body forms an upside-down V, which turns the press from horizontal to nearly vertical and hands the work to your shoulders. It is the bodyweight answer to an overhead press, and the usual first step toward a handstand push-up.
How to do it
- Start in an upside-down V: hands a little wider than your shoulders, hips high, head between your arms.
- Bend the elbows and lower the top of your head toward a point just in front of your hands.
- Press back up until your arms are straight, keeping the hips high the whole time.
Common mistakes
- Letting the hips drop as you tire, which turns it back into a regular push-up.
- Flaring the elbows straight out to the sides, which puts the strain on the shoulder joint.
What it trains
- Front delts
- press you up out of the bottom — the prime mover once the hips are high
- Triceps
- extend the elbows through the top half, where most people run out
- Side delts
- help steady the shoulder as the load moves over your head
- Core
- holds the hips high so the angle — and the exercise — does not collapse into a push-up
Variations and alternatives
Common questions
Are pike push-ups as good as an overhead press?
For building the shoulders they come close, especially once you raise your feet. Where they fall short is loading: weight is awkward to add in that position, so progress comes from more reps and a steeper angle rather than small, even jumps. For training at home, they are the best shoulder press you have.
Where should my head go at the bottom?
Slightly in front of your hands, so your head and hands form a triangle on the floor. Aiming the head straight down between the hands tends to flare the elbows and shorten the press; a little further forward keeps the forearms vertical and the load on the shoulders. Stop just short of touching.
My hamstrings are too tight to keep my legs straight. Does that matter?
No — bend your knees as much as you need. What matters is that your hips stay high over your hands so the press stays vertical; straight legs are a detail. Walking your feet closer to your hands does the same job.
How do I make pike push-ups harder?
Raise your feet. With your feet on a bench, more of your bodyweight sits over your hands and the press gets closer to vertical. StackUp lists that version as its own exercise, Elevated Pike Push-Ups, so each keeps its own numbers — and on both, it raises your target reps as you reach the top of your range.
In StackUp. Logged as reps per set. Add weight if you use a belt or a dumbbell and StackUp progresses it like any other lift. Get the app.
Shoulders
