But if you thought upper body strength was only built in the weights room, think again. New research proves bodyweight exercises can be just as effective as barbell exercises for both building strength and muscle size [1]. And one of the best (and hands down coolest) exercises for building the upper body, and in particular, shoulder strength? Handstand push ups.
‘A what?’, you might ask. True–unless you are from the world of functional fitness or calisthenics, you may not have heard of this unusual exercise. But this blend between a handstand and a push up is arguably one of the best bodyweight exercises for building boulder shoulders due to pressing in a ‘vertical’ position.
Whether you’ve never come across a handstand push up before, you’ve seen it on TikTok but are too nervous to try, or you need help getting your first rep or beyond, we’ll guide you through what a handstand push up is and the exact exercises you can do to get yourself there.
This exercise certainly isn’t for the faint-hearted, but trust us–when you get the hang of it, it feels pretty cool.
What Are Handstand Push Ups?
Handstand push ups (or HSPU for short) are, as the name suggests, a blend between a handstand and a push up. They involve kicking onto the wall, lowering your head to touch the floor, and pressing back up. They are common in functional fitness classes and calisthenics (although there are differences between how each approach the HSPU, which we’ll explore later). Still, you certainly don’t have to be regular in either of those disciplines to learn them! That being said, when it comes to bodyweight training, they’re one of the most challenging exercises, blending strength, skill, and technique. So, if you’re up to the challenge, keep reading to discover how to do handstand push-ups.
How To Do Handstand Push Ups
If you’ve never done a HSPU before, we do not recommend going straight into a the full movement. Instead, you’ll need to follow the six handstand push up progression exercises to build your way up. But just show you know what you’re aiming for, here’s how to do a handstand push up:
We recommend placing an exercise mat lengthway in front of the wall or an ab mat a couple of inches away from the wall to protect your head before beginning this exercise. (Note that using an ab mat is the easier option as it decreases the range between your head and the floor, making it easier to press back up.)
The first step of how to do a handstand push up is to kick up into a handstand against the wall:
Stand a few steps back from the wall, raise both arms above your head, and point your dominant leg out in front of you.
Then, kick up to the wall by placing your hands on the ground shoulder width apart, about one hand away from the wall, and kicking your legs up so your heels rest on the wall.
Hold the handstand by pressing into the palms of your hands, keeping your shoulders away from your ears. Brace your core, squeeze your glutes, and keep your gaze straight ahead (not down!).
Then, you can begin the handstand push up.
How To Do A Strict HSPU:
Lower your head towards the ground by bending your elbows, keeping the heels of your feet against the wall at all times.
When the crown of your head touches the floor, instantly drive back up by pushing through the palms of your hands and extending your arms.
Lockout fully at the top, driving your head through your arms, before descending back into the handstand push up for another rep.
6 Exercises For Learning Handstand Push Ups
Keen to master a HSPU? Here are six handstand push up progression exercises that will help you get there, designed to build your upper body / overhead pressing strength, develop your confidence going upside down, and help you nail the movement pattern of a handstand push up.
Aim to practice one or two of these exercises twice weekly (leaving two or three days for recovery in between).
1. Dumbbell Z Press
Handstand push ups are a test of overhead pressing strength. You need to be strong enough to press pretty much your entire body weight during strict handstand push-ups and around 50% of your body weight for a kipping HSPU (where you use momentum from your legs to ‘kick’ yourself out of the handstand push up).
A dumbbell z press is one of the best handstand push up progression exercises to improve overhead strength necessary for a handstand pushup. It requires strong core engagement to keep the torso upright as you drive the dumbbells up–just like a real HSPU. As a unilateral exercise, the db z-press will smooth out any imbalances between sides (which many of us have), and you’ll have to really focus on shoulder stability to keep the dumbbell moving straight up and down.
Master this exercise and gradually increase the weight over time to build the foundational strength necessary for a handstand push-up.
How To Do A Dumbbell Z Press:
Select a pair of moderately heavy to heavy dumbbells and take a seat on the floor with your legs outstretched in front of you, dumbbells beside your hips.
Take hold of the dumbbell in both hands, clean them up onto either shoulder and position them so that one dumbbell head rests on your shoulder and the other just in front of your shoulder.
Ensure your torso is upright and your gaze is straight ahead. Take a deep breath in and brace your core. Press the dumbbells up, extending your arms so your biceps are in line with your ears. Do not lean your torso back at all as you press.
Continue until your arms are fully extended, pressing your head slightly forward between your arms as you reach full extension.
Lower the dumbbells back to your shoulders by bending your elbows and driving them forward.
Bring the dumbbell down to rest on your shoulders before driving them back up again.
Prescription: Perform 3-4 sets of 4-8 reps. Feel free to go heavy.
2. Pike Pushups
Ready to head upside down? Pike push ups are a beginner-friendly option for learning a handstand push up, allowing you to familiarise yourself with the movement pattern of a HSPU and build upper body strength. Rather than pressing your entire body weight as you would during a strict handstand push-up, the pike pushup only requires you to press your upper body.
Pike handstand pushups will also teach you the tripod position essential for performing handstand pushups. This position refers to the three-point triangle you want to make on the floor with your head and hands. When performing pike pushups, aim to touch your forehead or crown of head to a point just in front of your fingertips. This is the same position you will use when doing a handstand pushup.
How To Do Pike Pushups:
Start in a high plank position, wrists stacked in line with elbows and shoulders. Bracing your core, walk your feet in, lifting your hips so your body forms a v-shape. It is ok to have a slight bend in your knees.
Shift your weight so it is mainly through your hands. Then, lower your head towards the floor by bending your elbows and driving them back. Aim to touch the top of your head just in front of your finger trips (forming a three-point triangle between your hands and head).
Press back up, driving through your hands to extend your arms to return to your starting v-shape.
Repeat.
Prescription: Perform 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps.
Tip: Place an ab mat on the floor just in front of your hands to make a target for your head to hit. This can help you get used to where you should aim your head and will also make the exercise slightly easier by reducing the ROM.
Don’t worry if your legs aren’t completely straight. Depending on your hamstring mobility, your knees will likely have a soft bend in them. The most important thing is to make sure you are balanced on your tip toes and that the majority of your weight is through your hands.
3. Box Pike Push Ups
Once you’ve mastered the pike pushup, take things up a level by placing your feet on a box. This is the ideal pike pushup progression as it increases the load through your shoulders, requiring you to press more weight. This also gets you used to being upside down 🤯.
Start with the box at its lowest level (usually about 50cm), and progress to a higher level as your strength increases.
How To Do Box Pike Push Ups:
Set the box to the right height, and stand a couple of steps in front of the longest side, facing away.
Bend down, placing both hands on the floor in front of your feet. Step your feet up onto the box.
Walk your hands in towards the box, and bring your body as vertical as possible, chest facing towards the box. Depending on your hamstring mobility, it is okay to bend your knees slightly.
Bracing your core, lower your head towards the ground, bending your elbows, and driving them backward. Then, bring the top of your head between your hands, touching the floor in front of them (forming the tripod shape).
Press back up by driving through your hands and extending your arms. As you reach the top, lock out your arms and press your head through.
Repeat.
Prescription: Perform 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps (or as many as possible).
Tip: To make box push ups easier, walk your hands further away from the box, or place and ab mat on the floor to touch your head to. To make them harder, walk your hands closer or increase the height of the box.
4. Wall Walks
Now it’s time to really get comfortable upside down–one step at a time. Wall walks build a huge amount of shoulder stability, core strength, and confidence! You can start small with these (one or two steps up) and slowly increase the degree of upside down as you get comfortable.
How To Do Wall Walks:
Lie flat on your stomach, toes touching the wall. Hands should be placed flat on the floor beside your chest.
Bracing your core and squeezing your glutes, press your body up as if you are doing a push up.
Slowly walk your hands towards the wall, one at a time, simultaneously stepping your toes up the wall.
Continue walking as far as you can, aiming, if possible, to reach the wall so your nose touches it.
Then, reverse the movement, walking your hands away from the wall and letting your feet slide down.
Come all the way down until you are back lying on the floor, and then repeat.
Prescription: This is a challenging movement. Start with one rep and increase depending on your ability. For example, you could do these for 1-5 reps EMOM (every minute on the minute) for a set duration.
Tip: Start by walking one step up the wall and then back down. Then, practice walking two steps. Slowly increase the number of steps you walk up the wall to build confidence before attempting a full wall walk.
5. Handstand Holds
If wall walks haven’t increased your confidence enough to get upside down, handstand holds will. Remember how much you used to love doing these as a kid? Well, it’s time to learn to love them again. Handstand holds work to build isometric strength while you’re inverted, firing up the exact muscles required for a full handstand push up.
How To Do A Handstand Hold (Against The Wall):
Stand facing the wall. Set your hands on the ground about 30cm in front of the wall with your fingers spread out. Kick one leg and then the other up to the wall, bringing them all the way up to rest on the wall.
Hold the position: Brace your core, engage your glutes, and keep your legs squeezed together. Push the floor away with your hands to lock out your arms.
If you feel balanced, you can practice taking one leg away from the wall, then meeting it with the other leg and holding a freestanding handstand. As you do so, try to ‘grip’ the floor with your fingertips to help keep you balanced. Always look directly in front of you, not down.
Hold for as long as possible (aim for 20 to 60 seconds)
Prescription: Hold for 20 to 60 seconds for five sets.
Tip: Kicking up into a handstand can be scary at first! The most important thing to remember is to keep your arms straight. As long as you don’t bend your elbows, you’ll either kick all the way up to the wall or (worst case) gravity will bring you back down to the floor. Consciously push into the ground with your hands and lock out your elbows.
6. Negative Handstand Push Up
The final step in our journey to HSPUs is negatives: these involve performing only the eccentric phase of the handstand push-up—a controlled lowering with no push-back up at all.
Numerous studies have pointed to the benefits of negative training for building strength and increasing the TUT (time under tension) of the exact muscles required to perform a full HSPU [2].
How To Do Negative Handstand Push Ups:
You may want to place an ab mat or exercise mat on the floor in front of the wall to protect your head. Then, kick up to the wall just as you would for a handstand hold, with hands about 15-30cm (6-12 inches) away from the wall.
Keeping your legs squeezed together, core braced and glutes engaged, lower your head towards the ground (remembering to aim the crown of your head just in front of your fingertips to form a tripod shape). Control this movement! You should be lowering for
3 to 5 seconds.
Come all the way down until your head touches the mat or ground, but make sure to continue pressing your weight through your hands so as not to put too much weight through your head and neck.
Pause, then bend your knees to bring your legs down and kick them away from the wall, bringing you to kneel down in front of it.
Stand up and repeat the movement, coming back into the handstand and then performing the negative rep again.
Prescription: Be strict with the lowering phase (count 3 to 5 seconds). Perform 5 to 8 reps for four rounds.
What Are The Benefits Of Handstand Push Ups?
Improved upper body strength: Although this may be a bodyweight exercise, HSPU requires immense strength to push your bodyweight up from the ground, which builds strength in the shoulders, lats, traps, and pecs.
Boosts overhead pressing strength: Building strength in the vertical pressing motion used in HSPU will also boost your strength in other overhead movements such as the barbell shoulder press and push press.
Builds a strong core: Holding your body in a stable position against gravity and powering yourself out of the push up while maintaining balance requires exceptional core strength. This transfers to any compound lift (and may just help you on your way to that six-pack!).
Improved heart health: Research has found that handstand holds can improve brain response speed and delay the onset of disease symptoms for conditions such as Alzheimer's [3].
Looks cool: It might sound trivial, but few other exercises feel as good as mastering handstand push-ups. They look cool, no arguments, and can do wonders for boosting your confidence in the gym!
Opens the potential for more advanced movements: The HSPU is a good foundation for many calisthenics movements, teaching essential movement mechanics and muscle requirements for other exercises, such as the planche.
Handstand Push Ups Muscles Worked:
HSPUs are a compound exercise, mainly targeting muscles of the upper body and core:
Shoulders: The shoulders are important for stability during a handstand, but add a push up, and the shoulders get involved a whole lot more. HSPUs mainly engage the anterior delt at the front of the shoulder as you come down and the lateral delts (middle) to stabilize as you push up.
Pectoralis Major: Just like a regular push up, the pecs are also involved during a handstand push up (although not as much as the shoulders!).
Triceps Brachii: When you come down to the ground and press back up, the triceps fire up and assist the elbow to give you the power to drive up.
Trapezius:This big v-shaped muscle of the upper back helps to stabilize the shoulders during the handstand push up.
Other stabilizing muscles: The serratus anterior (the muscle that runs from the side of the ribs and extends to the back), core, and glutes all work to stabilize the body during HSPUs.
Functional Fitness HSPU Vs Calisthenics HSPU
As mentioned, there are some differences in how functional fitness classes vs. calisthenics approach handstand push ups:
Kipping Handstand Push Up
You might have seen athletes such as Aimee Cringle doing a strange variation of the strict handstand push up, called a kipping HSPU. These are, in theory, easier than a strict HSPU as you use momentum to help drive you from the ground. The technique, however, can take a bit of time to learn, but once you’ve mastered it, it will feel second nature.
It is better to learn a strict handstand push up first to build your shoulder strength and stability, and then move on to mastering kipping handstand push ups.
How to do a kipping handstand push up:
Kick up into a handstand hold (just as you would for a strict handstand push up), hands about a hand length away from the wall, shoulder width apart. Brace your core, squeeze your glutes and look straight ahead. Actively push the floor away with your hands.
Begin the HSPU, bending your elbows to lower the crown of your head towards the floor in a slow and controlled way. The top of your head should be slightly behind the tips of your fingers, forming a three-point ‘tripod’ shape between your two hands and head.
As you lower down, simultaneously bend your knees, letting your heels come off the wall, sitting your bum back into the wall, and bringing your knees down towards your triceps. You should be in a tucked position.
Pause for a second, then use momentum to drive back up by simultaneously extending your arms and legs, driving through the palms of your hands, and exploding your heels up and into the wall.
Lockout at the top by fully extending your arms and driving your head through your armpits, then repeat.
Tip: Use as little energy as possible in the eccentric phase by lowering quickly to the ground. Drive your knees as far down as possible towards your triceps, then be explosive and aggressive with your kip back up. This will increase your speed and efficiency and decrease fatigue (essential for a WOD where you are performing high reps of HSPUs alongside other exercises!).
Freestanding Handstand Push Up
The world of calisthenics takes the wall-assisted handstand push-up a level up with the freestanding handstand push-up. Nadine Hettinga and the rest of #FitTok might make it look easy, but trust us when we say this exercise is a test of balance, strength, stability, and control–to a degree that few other exercises challenge.
With this one, you definitely should practice first getting to grips with doing handstand push-ups against the wall and comfortably holding a free-standing handstand for 60 seconds or more.
How to do a freestanding handstand push up:
Kick up into a handstand, ensuring your hands are shoulder-width apart, wrists stacked directly below elbows and shoulders. Just as in the handstand push-up variations above, actively push the floor away by pressing into your hands.
Then, move down into the press up by bending your elbows and bringing your head towards the ground in front of your finger trips (forming a ‘tripod’ shape with hands and head). Keep the decent controlled, squeezing your core and keeping your legs straight and pinned together.
Pause when the crown of your head, your nose, or your chest (depending on how far you can come down) touches the ground in front of your hands.
Then, ascend back into the handstand, straightening your arms by pushing through your palms.
Lock out your arms at the top, pushing your head through until your body is fully extended. Repeat.
Functional Fitness HSPU Vs Calisthenics HSPU: The Differences
Depth: While functional fitness athletes only aim to touch the crown of their head to the ground, those practicing calisthenics often come down lower, touching their nose, chin, or even chest to the ground in the bottom position before pressing back up. In calisthenics terms, the lower, the better (but don’t expect getting to full depth to be easy).
Parallettes: Calisthenics athletes also sometimes use parallettes to perform their handstands. Using parallettes puts less pressure on the wrists when performing a handstand, as the wrist is kept in a neutral position. They can also help with stability and control, giving you something to grip onto to help you feel more balanced. That being said, parallettes will increase the range of motion, with the taller parallettes meaning you have to travel further to descend to the ground.
Ready To Give It A Go?
Mastering a handstand push up takes time, dedication, and confidence. Often, even the thought of being upside down in a handstand is scary, but once you’ve got used to the feeling, it starts to feel a lot more natural!
Whether you’re inspired by videos you've seen on TikTok or you already do functional fitness or calisthenics and want to improve, working through these six handstand push-up progression exercises will build the strength, skill, and confidence you need to do handstand push-ups.
Not only is it a super satisfying movement to master, but you’ll also improve your shoulder strength and stability, which will help you push through plateaus and reach new PBs on your next push day.
Handstand Push Ups FAQs
How Long Does It Take To Learn Handstand Push Ups?
This will depend on your current level. Those who already have good upper body strength and are confident doing a handstand might find they master a HSPU in a couple of weeks. Beginners, however, may find it takes 6 months to learn a handstand push up. Not only do HSPUs require excellent upper body strength and stability, but there’s a lot of skill involved, too, which can take time to get used to!
How Do I Add These Handstand Push Up Progressions Into My Workouts?
The less skilled, strength-based exercises (such as dumbbell z press or pike press ups), lend themselves well to being performed as single exercises or in a superset alongside other upper body movements.
The more skill-based handstand movements (e.g. negatives or handstand holds) are well suited to an EMOM (every minute on the minute) training style. For example, you might 3 wall walks EMOM, for ten minutes. Or, you might perform 30 seconds of handstand holds, E2MOM (every 2 minutes on the minute). Adjust according to how much rest you need, and slowly increase the number of reps you perform in each minute, each week.
Learning HSPUs can be quite taxing on the body. Studies suggest muscles need anywhere between 48 to 72 hours for recovery–so however committed you are to getting HSPUs under your belt, you don’t want to be doing them every day [4]! Try performing your HSPU exercises twice a week, leaving two days for recovery in between–for example, on doing your handstand push up practice on Monday and Thursday.
What’s The Difference Between A Handstand Push Up And A Normal Push Up?
Whereas regular push ups focus on the chest and triceps in a horizontal push, handstand push ups focus the majority of work through the shoulders from a vertical position. This means that HSPUs train overhead pressing strength (unlike regular push ups), which carries over to exercises such a shoulder press and push press. Push ups, on the other hand, will help build strength for exercises such as the bench press (and vise versa).
HSPUs are commonly regarded as a more challenging exercise compared to push ups, for two reasons:
The amount of body weight you have to press is greater, especially if you’re doing strict HSPUs.
Being upside down is a challenge in itself, requiring good balance and confidence!
Push ups are a lot more common and most people know how to perform a push up, even if they can’t do one on their toes.
Handstand push ups, on the other hand, are less common. They can take longer to learn, but when you master them, they’re satisfying exercises to have in your back pocket!
Do Handstand Push Ups Build Muscle?
Yes! HSPUs build the shoulders, pecs, triceps, lats, traps, core, and glutes (to some extent, although not directly).
While weight training may be your go-to for hypertrophy, bodyweight training, such as handstand push ups, can build muscle. In fact, one study of 23 moderately trained men, found the calisthenic push up as effective as bench press for increasing muscle thickness, when trained 3 days a week for 4 weeks–showing that bodyweight training can be as effective for hypertrophy as free weights [5].
If you do want to build muscle using HSPUs, we recommend performing them strict and against a wall, rather than freestanding. This removes much of the balance requirements, delaying the onset of fatigue, allowing you to perform more reps and fully focus on putting enough training volume through the shoulders for muscle development [6].
Why Can’t I Do A Handstand Push Up?
Handstand push ups require strong overhead pressing strength, especially if you are doing them strict. The mechanics of the movement can also take time to pick up, especially if you are new to handstands!
Focus on building your upper body strength with movements such as the dumbbell z press and pike push ups. Then, get comfortable being upside down, and practice getting good at negative reps first, before attempting a handstand push up.
If you have done all of the above steps and feel you have enough upper body strength but are still struggling to do a handstand push up, check your hand position: This can often make or break a HSPU! Have your hands too close, and you’ll keep falling off the wall, have them too far away and you’ll struggle to push back up. You want your hands about 30 away from the wall.
You could also start by stacking a few plates under an ab mat. This will decrease the ROM of the exercise, making it easier. Over time, as you progress, you can remove one plate at a time, eventually performing handstand push ups without any plates or ab mats.
References:
Wei, W., Zhu, J., Ren, S., Jan, Y.-K., Zhang, W., Su, R. and He, L. (2023). Effects of progressive body-weight versus barbell back squat training on strength, hypertrophy and body fat among sedentary young women.
Kelly, S.B., Brown, L.E., Hooker, S.P., Swan, P.D., Buman, M.P., Alvar, B.A. and Black, L.E. (2015). Comparison of Concentric and Eccentric Bench Press Repetitions to Failure.
Liu, H., Xu, Q., Xiang, X., Liu, D., Si, S., Wang, L., Lv, Y., Liao, Y. and Yang, H. (2022). Case Report: Passive Handstand Promotes Cerebrovascular Elasticity Training and Helps Delay the Signs of Aging: A 40-Year Follow-Up Investigation.
K, T., Cg, B., J, D., P, P., S, G. and G, H. (2018). Neuromuscular Fatigue and Recovery After Heavy Resistance, Jump, and Sprint Training.
Kotarsky, Christopher, J., Christensen, Bryan, K., Miller, Jason, S., Hackney and Kyle, J. (2017). Effect of Progressive Calisthenic Push-Up Training On Muscle Strength and Thickness.
Williamson, T. and Price, P. (2021). A comparison of muscle activity between strict, kipping and butterfly pull-ups.
