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Exercises

Pike push-up: how to do it, what it works, and how to progress it

Published October 19, 2026

A pike push-up is a push-up done with your hips high in an upside-down V, so you press your body up and down at an angle instead of horizontally. That turns it into a bodyweight shoulder press: the front of your shoulders and your triceps do most of the work. Walk your feet in, lower the top of your head to a spot just in front of your hands, and press back up.

Train the pike push-up

How to do the pike push-up

It is the most direct way to train your shoulders without weights, and it is the first step toward the handstand push-up. You can make it harder simply by raising your feet, so it keeps working long after regular push-ups are easy.

Steps

  1. Start in a push-up position with your hands a bit wider than your shoulders and fingers spread.
  2. Walk your feet toward your hands and raise your hips until your body forms an upside-down V, with your weight leaning over your hands.
  3. Bend your elbows and lower the top of your head toward a point a few inches in front of your hands, so your head and hands form a triangle.
  4. Keep your elbows angled back, not flared straight out, and stop when your head lightly touches the floor or just above it.
  5. Press the floor away and straighten your arms, pushing your hips back up to the V.

Cues

  • Hips stay high
  • Head forward of hands
  • Push the floor away

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips drop as you lower: that turns it back into a regular push-up; keep the hips stacked over your shoulders as much as you can.
  • Lowering your head straight between your hands: aim slightly forward so your forearms stay close to vertical.
  • Cutting the range short: lower until your head is near the floor, using a yoga block or book as a target if you need one.

Swap for: Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Decline Push-Up, Handstand Push-Up

Muscles the pike push-up works

The pike push-up works your front and side shoulders and your triceps, with your upper chest, upper back and serratus helping you keep the shoulders steady. The more vertical your torso is, the more it shifts toward your shoulders and away from your chest.

Sets, reps and reps in reserve for the pike push-up

GoalSets × repsRIRRest
Build muscle 3–4 × 6–12 1–2 90 s
Once you get 12 clean reps, raise your feet instead of adding more reps.
Beginner 3 × 4–8 2–3 90 s
Use a smaller range, or do slow lowering-only reps, until you can touch your head down with control.
Toward a handstand push-up 4–5 × 3–6 1–2 2 min
Feet on a box with your hips over your hands, getting your torso closer to vertical over the weeks.

Pike push-up variations

  • Decline Push-Up start position

    Decline Push-Up

    Put your feet up on a step or box in a regular push-up when the pike is too hard and you want an easier step toward it.

    Build a session with it
  • Handstand Push-Up start position

    Handstand Push-Up

    Press from a handstand against a wall when you can do 10 or more elevated pike push-ups with good form.

    Build a session with it
  • Handstand Hold start position

    Handstand Hold

    Hold a wall handstand to get used to bearing your weight upside down before trying handstand push-ups.

    Build a session with it

Pike push-up alternatives

Weighted shoulder presses

Push-ups

Pike push-up progression

1. Pike push-up with feet on the floor and a short range. 2. Full-range pike push-up, head to the floor. 3. Feet elevated on a step or bench, hips over your hands. 4. Wall handstand hold. 5. Wall handstand push-up, partial range, then full range.

Move to the next step when you can do three sets of 8 to 12 clean reps with a rep or two still in reserve.

Pike push-up vs regular push-up

In a regular push-up you press horizontally, so your chest does most of the work. In a pike push-up you press at a steep angle with your hips up, which moves the work to your shoulders and triceps. Use the regular push-up as your bodyweight chest exercise and the pike as your bodyweight shoulder press.

Questions

What muscles do pike push-ups work?

Mainly the front and side shoulders and the triceps, with the upper chest, upper back and serratus helping.

Are pike push-ups good for shoulders?

Yes. They are the best way to train your shoulders with bodyweight alone, and they get harder as you raise your feet, so you can keep progressing.

Which push-up is best for shoulders?

The pike push-up and its harder versions, elevated pike and handstand push-ups, put the most work on the shoulders of any push-up.

Why are pike push-ups so hard?

You press a large share of your body weight at a steep angle with your shoulders, which are smaller muscles than your chest. Start with a short range and build up.

How many pike push-ups should I do?

Three or four sets of 6 to 12 reps, stopping one or two reps short of failure, two or three times a week.

Are pike push-ups the same as a pike press-up?

Yes. Press-up is the British name for a push-up, and a shoulder push-up usually means the same movement.