Pike Push Up
The pike push-up is a push-up with your hips raised high so your body forms an upside-down V: you bring your head down towards the floor and press back up. It works the shoulders, mainly the front delts, and the triceps in an overhead-pressing pattern, and it is the usual first step towards a handstand push-up.
Also called: Pike Press, Bodyweight Pike Press · Equipment: bodyweight · Pattern: push
Step by step
- Start in a push-up position, then walk your feet in and lift your hips high so your body forms an upside-down V. Place your hands about shoulder-width apart with fingers spread.
- Keep your legs as straight as you can, with your head between your arms and your torso as close to vertical as your hamstrings allow.
- Bend your elbows to bring the top of your head down towards the floor, aiming for a point a little in front of your hands so your head and hands form a triangle.
- Keep your elbows angled back at about 45° from your body rather than flaring straight out.
- When your head lightly touches the floor, or at the deepest point you can control, press back up to straight arms by pushing the floor away.
- Keep your hips high for every rep. To make it harder, raise your feet on a box.
- Hips high, head through your arms
- Head to a point just in front of your hands
- Elbows back at about 45°
- Push the floor away
- Finish with active shoulders
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Anterior deltoid | Prime mover | C |
| Trapezius: upper | Synergist | C |
| Lateral deltoid | Secondary | C |
| Triceps brachii: lateral head | Secondary | C |
| Triceps brachii: long head | Secondary | C |
| Triceps brachii: medial head | Secondary | C |
| Serratus anterior | Secondary | C |
| Rectus abdominis | Stabiliser | D |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Hips dropping
Fix: Walk your feet closer and keep your hips high over your hands.
Head landing behind the hands
Fix: Bring your head down to a point a little in front of your hands.
Elbows flaring wide
Fix: Keep your elbows angled back about 45° from your body.
Half reps
Fix: Bring your head down until it lightly touches the floor, or as far as you can control.
Sagging shoulders at the top
Fix: Finish each rep by pushing the floor away through fully straight arms.
What the research says
StrengthMuscle growthRehab & prehabGeneral fitnessEnduranceFat loss & conditioning
- Load — Raising your feet on a box puts more bodyweight over your hands, and is the usual step towards the handstand push-up. No study has measured the load at different foot heights.
- Effort — Research finds muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure, so bodyweight pike push-ups can build the shoulders when sets are hard.
- Volume — Research links more weekly sets for a muscle to more growth, with diminishing returns. A common approach is 3–5 sets of 5–12 reps.
- Muscle use — EMG studies of overhead pressing show the deltoids as the dominant movers, with the triceps and upper trapezius assisting. The pike push-up is assumed to share this pattern but has not been measured directly.
Swap it mid-workout
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the pike push up in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.