How to do a Pike Push-Up
- Start in a high plank, then walk your feet in and lift your hips into an inverted V.
- Set hands about shoulder-width with fingers spread and keep your hips high.
- Bend your elbows and lower the crown of your head toward the floor between your hands.
- Keep elbows near 45 degrees and press back up until your arms straighten.
- Maintain a neutral neck and avoid dropping into a flat plank.
Keep in mind
- Walk the feet in until your hips are stacked high over your shoulders.
- Lower the crown of your head toward a point just ahead of your hands.
- Keep the elbows travelling forward and slightly out, like an overhead press.
- Press back up until the arms are straight and the hips stay high.
Common mistakes
- Lowering the face straight down between the hands — aim the crown of the head slightly ahead of them.
- The hips dropping toward a plank as you tire — reset the pike between reps.
- Flaring the elbows straight out to the sides — keep them travelling forward.
Breathing
Breathe in as you lower, out as you press up.
Take care
This is the closest thing here to an overhead press — if a shoulder pinches overhead, stay with incline push-ups instead.
Easier and harder
Similar exercises