Pike Push-Up
How to Do a Pike Push-Up With Proper Form
Start on your hands and feet, then walk your feet toward your hands until your hips rise into an inverted-V position.
Place your hands about shoulder-width apart with fingers spread and press firmly into the floor.
Brace your trunk and keep your hips high so your torso stays angled toward a more vertical pressing position.
Bend your elbows and lower your head forward and down toward the floor between and slightly ahead of your hands.
Keep the elbows controlled rather than letting them flare straight out to the sides.
Press the floor away until the elbows straighten while maintaining the high-hip position.
Reset your shoulder position at the top and repeat without turning the rep into a regular push-up.
Form Check & Technique
DO THIS (Technique Tips)
- Think hips up before every rep
- Spread the fingers and grip the floor
- Aim the head between and slightly ahead of the hands
- Keep the elbows controlled rather than maximally flared
- Use elevation to progress difficulty only after the base rep is consistent
AVOID THIS (Common Mistakes)
- Letting the hips drop into a regular push-up position
- Lowering the chest instead of guiding the head between the hands
- Flaring the elbows straight out to the sides
- Using a hand position that is too narrow or unstable
- Cutting the range of motion short
- Losing trunk tension and collapsing through the lower back
- Progressing to elevated versions before controlling the floor version
About Pike Push-Up
The pike push-up is a bodyweight pressing exercise performed from an inverted-V position. Raising the hips makes the torso more vertical than in a standard push-up, shifting more of the pressing demand toward the shoulders while the triceps, upper chest, serratus anterior, and trunk help control the movement.
Pike Push-Up Muscles Worked
The elevated hip position makes the pressing direction more overhead-like than a standard push-up.
- The deltoids and triceps provide most of the pressing effort, while the upper chest and scapular muscles assist and the trunk keeps the body organized.
Sets & Reps Guidance
Technique / Learning
2-4 sets of 4-8 slow reps while learning head path, elbow control, and hip position.
Strength Focus
3-5 sets of 5-10 controlled reps; use feet elevation or greater range of motion when 10 clean reps are easy.
Muscle Growth (Hypertrophy)
3-4 sets of 8-15 reps taken close enough to technical fatigue that the shoulders and triceps are challenged without losing the pike position.
General training baseline. Need.fit automatically adjusts exact sets, reps, and working weight based on your individual fitness level, recovery, and progress over time.
Exercise Variations & Alternatives
handstand push up
decline push up
Overhead Press
Variation targeting Middle Delt
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Variation targeting Middle Delt
Barbell Bench Press
Learn proper barbell bench press form, muscles worked, grip and bar-path cues, common mistakes, and practical sets and reps for strength or muscle.
Dumbbell Bench Press
Learn dumbbell bench press form, muscles worked, setup, range-of-motion cues, common mistakes, and practical sets and reps for controlled chest training.
Why Hip Height Changes the Pike Push-Up
The higher the hips and the more vertical the torso, the closer the movement becomes to an inverted overhead press. Letting the hips drop turns it back toward a conventional push-up pattern.
Where Should Your Head Travel?
Lower the head forward and down between the hands rather than straight toward the fingertips. That creates a stable tripod-like base and keeps the pressing path repeatable.
Pike Push-Up vs Regular Push-Up
A regular push-up uses a more horizontal torso and emphasizes horizontal pressing. A pike push-up changes the body angle so the shoulders contribute more strongly to the press.
How to Make Pike Push-Ups Harder
Progress by elevating the feet, increasing controlled range of motion, slowing the lowering phase, or moving toward wall-assisted handstand push-up work instead of simply rushing through more reps.
Pike Push-Up to Handstand Push-Up Progression
Pike push-ups build inverted pressing strength without requiring a full handstand. A101 should own the strict handstand push-up itself; this page should stop at the progression bridge.
Sources & References
- [1]
- [2]
- [3]American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews — PubMed (PMID 41843416)View Source