Kneeling Pike Push-up
A beginner-friendly vertical push that drops the knees to the floor to reduce leverage on the shoulders.
TrainsShoulders
NeedsBodyweight
The movement
2 stages
Top
01 Top
Hinge at the hips so your torso points downward.
02 Bottom
Bend your elbows to lower your crown to the floor.
How to do it
Setup
- Start on your hands and knees, walking your hands slightly back toward your knees.
- Hinge sharply at the hips so your torso points down toward the floor.
Execution
- Bend your elbows to lower the crown of your head to the floor.
- Press back up until your arms are straight.
BreathingInhale on the way down, exhale as you press.
Getting it right
Form cues
- Keep your gaze slightly back toward your knees, not straight down at your hands.
- Let your elbows track backward, not flared out directly to the sides.
Common mistakes
- Looking straight down at the hands, which flattens the thoracic spine and shifts load off the shoulders.
- Letting the hips drop forward, which turns the movement into a standard kneeling push-up.
Worth knowing
- Do not crane your neck or try to touch your nose to the floor; aim the crown of your head down.
General guidance, not medical advice. See how Setkit works.
Notes
The kneeling pike push-up is the entry point to vertical pushing with just your bodyweight. The standard pike push-up is often too heavy for beginners, as the shoulders are a much smaller muscle group than the chest. Dropping the knees to the floor significantly reduces the percentage of your bodyweight that the shoulders have to lift.
The key to the movement is keeping the hips high and the torso angled downward. If your hips drop and your back flattens out parallel to the floor, you are no longer doing a vertical push. Instead, you are doing a regular kneeling push-up, which trains the chest.