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Exercise library · Shoulders

Wall handstand hold

Vertical press for the shoulders with your bodyweight.

How to do it

1 of 4

Hands shoulder-width near the wall

  1. Starting position

    Hold a handstand with hands shoulder-width apart near the wall, arms straight and heels lightly touching the wall.

  2. The movement

    Push the floor away, keep your body long and still against the wall, then step down with control.

Most common mistake

Don't bend your arms or arch your lower back, push through your hands and tighten your stomach and glutes.

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Muscle group
Shoulders
Equipment
Bodyweight
Where
Home or gym
Logged as
Time

Muscles worked

In the wall handstand hold, your shoulders carry your whole body weight overhead without moving. The front and side delts do the most, your triceps keep your arms locked, and your trapezius and serratus anterior push your shoulder blades up. Here your shoulders should rise towards your ears, the opposite of most shoulder exercises, because that is how you get tall and stable. Your abs and glutes hold the line from hands to heels. Your wrists take the weight while bent back, which many people are not used to.

Common mistakes

  • Kicking up too hard. Your heels slam into the wall and you lose tension. Start with gentle kicks and add force bit by bit until your heels land softly.
  • Passive fingers. With your weight sitting in the base of your palms, your wrists take it all. Spread your fingers and press your fingertips into the floor, so your hands help you balance.
  • No plan for getting down. Practise stepping down one leg at a time first, and come down as soon as your arms start to shake, not when they give way.

Variations and alternatives

  • The wall walk gets you up chest to wall without kicking.
  • The elevated pike push-up builds pressing strength in a position close to a handstand, with your feet still on a bench.
  • The handstand push-up is the next step once you can hold for half a minute or more.

Sets and reps

Wall handstands are measured in seconds. Start with 3 to 5 holds of 10 to 20 seconds with plenty of rest in between, then build towards 30 to 60 seconds. Warm up your wrists and shoulders first, for example by rocking back and forth on all fours. There is more in the guide to warming up, and the guide to sets and reps covers rest and sets.

Add five seconds at a time. Once long holds feel easy, you can turn to face the wall chest first, which demands a straighter body. That is progressive overload without weights. If you feel dizzy or get a headache, come down and rest. If your wrists or shoulders hurt, not just feel tired, stop the exercise and have it looked at by a doctor or physiotherapist.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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