You know what a pushup (PU) is, don’t you? Sure you do. So exactly what is a pike PU (PPU)?
A PPU is the midway point between the PU and the holy grail, the handstand PU (HSPU). A HSPU is – you guessed it – performed while in a handstand, either freestanding or up against a wall.
In the PPU, in lieu of your body being in a handstand your toes are on the ground and your body is piked, e.g. arched at the midsection with your glutes in the air.
Because more of your body’s weight is over your hands, PPU’s are generally more demanding than ordinary PU’s. The PPU transfers more load from your chest to your shoulders and is an excellent strategy for mixing it up if PU’s are a standard part of your waist exercise program.
The Starting Position
Lie on the floor facedown and put your palms on the floor right alongside your shoulders. Push your body from the ground and keep your stomach taut so you are in the plank position.
Next, keep your legs straight and step your feet in towards your hands, bending at the waist. Keep your head in a fairly neutral position (not lifting or lowering your chin relative to your chest) and stop when the top of your head is pointing roughly between your two hands.
Your shoulders should be “active”, that is, shrug and hold your shoulders so they are right up around your ears.
The Movement
Continuing to keep your shoulders active, use your arms to lower the top of your head to the ground until it touches in between your hands. As you lower yourself aim to point your elbows towards your feet just like you would with a standard PU, as opposed to in an outward direction.
Once your head (carefully!) touches the floor, reverse the motion by driving away with your arms until you reach your opening position.
Scaling the Pike Pushup
To make the PPU easier to perform, move your feet a greater distance from your hands so you are in a “less piked” posture, closer to a typical PU.
To make the PPU harder, shift your feet nearer to your hands or stand on tiptoe. The movement can be made even more demanding by setting your feet up on a box, bench, or steps so that your hips are straight over your head.
Continue to rest your feet on taller and taller objects and shortly you’ll be rocking HSPU’s. Your buddies will be jealous.
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