Muscles worked
The elevated pike push-up mainly trains your shoulders, with your triceps helping to straighten your arms. With your feet on a bench your torso is more upright than in a regular pike push-up, so your hands carry a larger share of your body weight and the movement looks more like an overhead press. The upper chest helps, but less the steeper you stand. Your serratus anterior and trapezius steer your shoulder blades, and your abs keep your hips up.
Common mistakes
- Cutting the movement short. Many people bend their arms a little and push back up. Put a folded towel on the floor where your head lands and lower until you touch it, so every rep is equally deep.
- An unstable base. A chair that slides or tips can drop you on your head. Put the chair or bench against a wall and train barefoot or in shoes, not socks.
- Starting too high. The higher your feet, the more of your body weight your shoulders carry. Begin with your feet on a low step and raise them only when you can do 8 full reps.
Variations and alternatives
- The pike push-up keeps your feet on the floor and is the step before, when the elevated version is too heavy.
- The wall handstand hold gets your shoulders and wrists used to carrying your whole body upside down.
- The handstand push-up comes after this, once you can do several full reps with your feet high.
Sets and reps
For most people this is heavy enough to train strength: 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 10 reps with about two minutes' rest, or up towards 12 reps to build muscle. Keep a couple of reps in reserve on every set, so you never lose control with your head near the floor. For choosing by goal, see the guide to sets and reps.
Make it harder in small steps: a higher bench, hands closer to it or a slower lowering. Later, put your hands on two sturdy blocks so your head can travel below hand level. That is progressive overload with your body weight. If your shoulders or neck hurt, not just feel heavy, stop the exercise and have it looked at by a doctor or physiotherapist.