Handstand Press Up

A VISUALLY STRIKING EXERCISE, THE HANDSTAND PRESS-UP COMBINES STRENGTH, BALANCE AND CONTROL.

At a rough estimate, a handstand press-up will require you to overhead press 70-80% of your body weight. Not only that, but you will also need to have excellent proprioception to pull off the freestanding variation.

However, should you come to master this movement you will have excellent upper body strength which will transition to more advanced variations or to other skills such as planche which also requires a high level of shoulder pressing strength.

Before starting this skill, it would be sensible to have at least a 30-second freestanding handstand, although this is not essential if you are content with wall-supported handstand press-ups.

PIKE PRESS UPS

The pike press-up is the gateway towards a handstand press-up, it will emphasize your shoulders in comparison to normal press-ups while mimicking a similar movement pattern to the full HSPU.

Place your hands on the floor shoulder-width apart. Walk your feet towards your hands until you are in a downward dog position.
Lean forward on your toes, tuck your elbows in and move your head forward.
Pause at the bottom for a few seconds. Your hands and hips should be in line.
Holding the pike position push up and back in a diagonal line.

WALL ASSISTED NEGATIVES

It’s common to still need to build up the necessary strength for the handstand press-up after pike press-ups. In this case, we can use the negative phase of the exercise to build strength further.

Walk your feet back up a wall such that your chest is facing the wall. You want to leave 3-4 hands spacing between yourself and the wall. This angle will mimic the path your body travels in the freestanding version.
Keeping your legs straight and your core engaged lean forward and tuck your elbows behind you.
Lower yourself as slowly as possible. Make the descent take as long as your strength allows.
Once your head reaches the ground, allow your feet to come away from the wall and land on the ground. This is 1 rep.

FREESTANDING NEGATIVES

Freestanding negatives are an excellent drill to learn proper muscle activation for the pressing portion of the full HSPU as well as giving you a dynamic challenge if you’re part of that small group of individuals who already find the balance of a regular handstand too easy.

Start from a freestanding handstand.
Lean forward and slowly bend your elbows behind you.
Keep full body tension and continue descending slowly, make sure to aim your descent with a forward tilt to maintain balance.
When your elbows reach 90 degrees, pause for a second. The bent arm position is the hardest point of the negative, try to hold it here as long as possible to get the most out of the rep. When your strength gives out, allow your feet to drop to the ground.

BENT-ARM PRESS HANDSTAND

The bent-arm press is a great skill which will teach you how to enter into a handstand in a fashion which relies on strength rather than kicking up into a handstand. This bent arm strength will directly carry over into forming the concentric portion of the HSPU.

Start with your hands shoulder-width apart. Keep them close to the body with a slight bend. Have your feet close to your body with a bend at the knees.
Lean forward, shifting your hips further over your shoulders and lifting your feet off the ground. Your knees will draw into your chest.
As your hips come further over your shoulders, start extending your legs out. This movement when done in the right sequence will help you press out of the bent-arm back into the straight-arm hold. The faster this is done the less strength will be required to press out of the bent-arm.

As you become stronger, you will be able to press out of the bent arm with less momentum.