Pike push-up
A push-up folded at the hips so you press your bodyweight overhead. The bodyweight route to shoulder strength.
The movement
Top
01 Top
Lock the elbows with the hips high and the arms in line with the torso.
02 Bottom
Keep the hips high and lower the crown just ahead of the hands to form a tripod.
How to do it
Setup
- From a push-up position, walk your feet toward your hands until your hips point at the ceiling.
- Set your arms and back in one straight line from your hands to your hips.
Execution
- Bend your elbows and lower the top of your head toward the floor just ahead of your hands.
- Stop just before your head touches, then press back up to the start.
- Keep your hips high while your shoulders travel down and slightly forward.
Form cues
- Keep your neck in line, eyes toward the floor just ahead of your hands.
- Push tall at the top, with your shoulders reaching away from your ears.
Common mistakes
- Letting the hips drop and sending the chest between the hands, which makes it a decline push-up.
- Bouncing your head off the floor.
Worth knowing
- Build up gradually. Pressing overhead under load is new territory for most shoulders.
General guidance, not medical advice. See how Setkit works.
Notes
The pike push-up turns a horizontal press into a vertical one by folding you at the hips. The steeper the fold, the more of your bodyweight travels through your shoulders in an overhead pressing position. That makes it the key shoulder exercise in any program without equipment.
Two things control the difficulty. How close your feet are to your hands, and whether your feet are raised. Feet on a bench with a deep fold puts your torso almost vertical, which is a smaller version of a handstand push-up.
Range of motion matters more here than in any other push-up. The rep is not over when your arms get tired. It is over when your head reaches the floor and you press back to straight arms. Cut the range short and the shoulders never do the part you came for.