Handstand Push Ups

Muscles worked by the Handstand Push Ups

Primary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidTricepsTriceps Brachii

Secondary

Side DeltsLateral DeltoidAbsRectus AbdominisTrapsTrapezius

Also called: front deltoid, anterior delt, front delt, anterior deltoid, tricep, triceps.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Handstand Push Ups

1. Set two parallettes shoulder-width apart and kick up into a freestanding handstand on them.
2. Brace your core and keep your body straight, legs together.
3. Bend your elbows to lower your head between the handles.
4. Go down until your head is about level with the handles.
5. Press through the handles back to straight arms, keeping your balance.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Lower under control instead of dropping into the bottom position.
• Keep the ribs down and the body stacked over the hands so the back does not arch.
• Learn it against a wall and through pike push-ups before going freestanding.

At a glance

Handstand Push Ups in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Archer Push Ups
• Balance Dome Push-Up
• Clap Push-Ups
• Close Grip Push Ups
• Decline Push-Up
• Deficit Push Ups
• Diamond Push Ups
• Incline Push-Up

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "handstand-push-ups",
  "name_en": "Handstand Push Ups",
  "name_de": "Handstand Push-Ups",
  "name_es": "Flexiones en Pino",
  "description_en": "An inverted press in a freestanding handstand on parallettes, lowering the head between the handles and pressing back up to straight arms.",
  "description_de": "Ein Drücken über Kopf im freien Handstand auf Parallettes: Der Kopf wird zwischen die Griffe abgesenkt und der Körper zurück in den Handstand mit gestreckten Armen gedrückt.",
  "description_es": "Un empuje invertido en pino libre sobre paralelas bajas (parallettes): bajas la cabeza entre los agarres y vuelves a empujar hasta tener los brazos extendidos.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "advanced",
  "body_part": "shoulders",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "lateral_deltoid",
    "rectus_abdominis",
    "trapezius"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "no_axial_load"
  ],
  "variation_group": "push-up",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Set two parallettes shoulder-width apart and kick up into a freestanding handstand on them.",
    "Brace your core and keep your body straight, legs together.",
    "Bend your elbows to lower your head between the handles.",
    "Go down until your head is about level with the handles.",
    "Press through the handles back to straight arms, keeping your balance.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stelle zwei Parallettes schulterbreit auf und schwinge dich auf ihnen in einen freien Handstand.",
    "Spanne den Rumpf an und halte den Körper gerade, die Beine geschlossen.",
    "Beuge die Ellbogen und senke den Kopf zwischen die Griffe ab.",
    "Gehe so tief, bis der Kopf etwa auf Höhe der Griffe ist.",
    "Drücke dich über die Griffe zurück, bis die Arme gestreckt sind, und halte dabei die Balance.",
    "Für die gewünschte Wiederholungszahl wiederholen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Coloca dos paralelas bajas (parallettes) a la anchura de los hombros y sube a un pino libre sobre ellas.",
    "Contrae el core y mantén el cuerpo recto, con las piernas juntas.",
    "Flexiona los codos para bajar la cabeza entre los agarres.",
    "Baja hasta que la cabeza quede más o menos a la altura de los agarres.",
    "Empuja con las manos en los agarres hasta extender los brazos, manteniendo el equilibrio.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Lower under control instead of dropping into the bottom position.",
    "Keep the ribs down and the body stacked over the hands so the back does not arch.",
    "Learn it against a wall and through pike push-ups before going freestanding."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Senke dich kontrolliert ab, statt in die untere Position zu fallen.",
    "Halte die Rippen unten und den Körper senkrecht über den Händen, damit du nicht ins Hohlkreuz fällst.",
    "Lerne die Übung zuerst an der Wand und über Pike-Liegestütze, bevor du sie freistehend ausführst."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Baja con control en lugar de dejarte caer a la posición inferior.",
    "Mantén las costillas abajo y el cuerpo alineado sobre las manos para que la espalda no se arquee.",
    "Aprende el movimiento contra la pared y con flexiones pike antes de hacerlo en pino libre."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/handstand-push-ups-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/handstand-push-ups-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "handstand-push-ups");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.