Pike Push-ups
The pike push-up is a bodyweight overhead press done from an inverted V position, hips high and head travelling toward the floor. It trains your shoulders, mainly the front delts, with your triceps assisting. Pick it when you have no weights for overhead pressing. Raise your feet on a box to make it harder and closer to a handstand push-up.
Muscles worked
The pike push-ups trains the shoulders, with triceps helping.
Weekly sets for shoulders
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for shoulders, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the pike push-ups
- 01Start in a push-up position, then walk your feet toward your hands until your hips are high and your body forms an inverted V.
- 02Set your hands shoulder width apart and keep your arms and back in a straight line.
- 03Bend your elbows to lower the top of your head toward a spot slightly in front of your hands.
- 04Keep your elbows angled back at about 45 degrees, not flared straight out to the sides.
- 05Press through your hands to straighten your arms and push your hips back up to the start.
Coaching cues
- Hips high, head through the triangle
- Head lands in front of your hands
- Push the floor away overhead
Common mistakes
- Letting your hips drop turns it into a regular push-up; walk your feet closer so your torso stays steep.
- Lowering your face straight between your hands jams the shoulders; aim your head at a point ahead of your hands to form a tripod.
- Flaring your elbows wide out to the sides limits pressing strength; keep them angled back slightly toward your knees.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers compound lifts toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Once the top of the range is easy, Swole.fit suggests a harder variation or added load.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Pike Push-ups alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your pike push-ups free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.