This article is the third in our series with gymnastics athlete and coach Pamela Gagnon. The first was on kipping pull-ups, the second on toes-to-bar. Now, let’s move on to handstand push-ups.
We all love to hate some of the skills we see in a workout, and handstand push-ups (HSPU) are no exception. They look fun, yet the people having fun seem to have some superpower strength that feels impossible to unlock. Often, we’ll see people stack three AbMats against the wall, shortening their range of motion, which is the equivalent of telling an athlete to do a quarter-depth squat with heavy weight vs. de-loading and working toward strength in full depth.
The good news is YOU can unlock the “secrets” to doing handstand push-ups and become your own superhero.
Maybe I Just Need More Chalk
So what’s the secret? I wish there were a juicy secret to get you the desired result more quickly, but proper technique, strength, and consistency are the only secrets you need. When it comes to getting your first HSPU, nothing will get you there faster than good old hard work and consistent practice. However, hard work doesn’t have to be synonymous with boring. Working toward an HSPU can be a lot of fun. It’s simply the evolution of a skill. So, let’s break it down to learn each part of the whole.
Breaking Down the Handstand Push-Up
The HSPU combines two skills: the handstand and the push-up. While this seems obvious, most athletes do not train both parts separately. The handstand is the foundation for shoulder stability, and the push-up is the pressing strength portion. You will struggle if you are strong at one but don’t practice the other part of the skill.
Think of it like this: if you have strong squat mechanics but don’t have overhead stability, your overhead squat will suffer. You may be able to squat the weight, but your arms aren’t stable enough to hold the weight safely overhead. Therefore, if you can kick up to the wall and hold a handstand but don’t have any pressing strength, you won’t be able to execute the skill safely.
And Along Comes Diane. Now What?
You show up to class and see Diane is the Workout of the Day, which is;
21-15-9 reps for time of:
Deadlift
HSPU
You feel the frustration boil before you even get into the workout. Take a beat. I have great news … you don’t have to feel like you aren’t doing the “fun” stuff just because you can’t do the HSPUs. I will give you a way to “play on the playground” with all the other kids while getting stronger and more skilled. When scaling, we often miss out on the fun part of the HSPU, which is the handstand! So, let’s train both.
Approaching the Workout
The Beginner Athlete:
For the round of 21, you will complete:
11 seconds of a handstand hold [explained below]
10 strict tricep push-ups [explained below]
For the round of 15, you will complete:
8 seconds of a handstand hold
7 strict tricep push-ups
For the round of 9, you will complete:
5 seconds of a handstand hold
4 strict tricep push-ups
Essentially, we are splitting up the strength and technique portion of the HSPU.
Beginner Handstand Holds and Tricep Push-Ups
For the inverted hold, these are my two favorite options:
- Option 1 is to do a wall walk to a spot that feels challenging yet doable and safe for you. You may only take a small step up the wall to a 45-degree angle, or you may feel comfortable enough to touch your stomach to the wall.
- Option 2 is to do a kick-up to a handstand with your back against the wall.
No matter the option, you are working on the “skill” portion of the handstand push-up, which is, let’s be honest, the fun part!
For the tricep push-ups, place your hands on a high box, low box, or the ground. As you decrease the angle of your body, you increase the “load.” This is a great concept to remember when training bodyweight skills. As you increase or decrease angles, you can add or subtract load without compromising the skill’s integrity, just like you would for a barbell lift.
The Tricep Push-Up
Set-up: Begin in a high plank (or on a low or high box) with your hands under your shoulders, your legs extended, your body in a straight line, and your neck in a neutral position.
Execution: Keep your elbows tucked close to your body as you descend and stop when your shoulders align with your elbows. Keep your hips in line with your shoulders, maintain a neutral spine, drive through your palms until you reach lockout with your arms, and keep your abs engaged throughout the movement.
The Intermediate Athlete:
For the round of 21, you will complete:
21 seconds of a handstand hold [explained below]
5 box handstand push-ups
For the round of 15, you will complete:
15 seconds of a handstand hold [explained below]
5 box handstand push-ups
For the round of 9, you will complete:
9 seconds of a handstand hold
5 box handstand push-ups
Intermediate Handstand Holds
At this stage, you are increasing your hold time to build strength and skill, and slowly work toward the most challenging version of the box handstand push-up with just the toes on the box. That said, you want to stay consistent with the strength portion for each round, which will help you keep the intensity up during the workout. You don’t want to be stuck on the box handstand push-ups for too long, and if done on your toes to full depth, they will be taxing after holding the handstand. If you need to start with box handstand shoulder taps or knees on the box to full depth to move through the workout as intended, do that and make your toes on the box to full depth your next goal.
Staying Stuck
You’ve been working these scales for quite a while, and now you can do the beginner and intermediate scaling with relative ease, but you still can’t complete a strict HSPU against the wall.
This can be frustrating, but building strength inverted takes a lot of time, so commit to the process. If you try to take shortcuts by shortening the range of motion or not training parts of the whole, you will halt your progress and continue riding on the “frustration bus.” One day, you will become so proficient and strong, you’ll have even more variations to play with.
Mixing It Up
As you train for your first handstand push-up, you could:
- Add a deficit to the box HSPU by placing your hands on plates; this extra range of motion will pay off.
- Add Tabata handstand holds and/or box handstand push-ups to your before and after class routines.
- Follow an organized plan, so you have short but frequent exposure to the movement, which is how you build strength and technique. If you only lift once a month, you won’t see significant gains. The same mindset applies to gymnastics skills. If you only do HSPU skills and drills once a month during a workout, you won’t see significant gains there either.
Practice
Success in the gymnastics portion of CrossFit requires regular practice, not just attempts during the workout. Therefore, doing drills and warm-ups outside class will help you feel even more prepared the next time handstand push-ups appear in the workout.
Do these movements three times a week for the next three weeks.
Day 1
6 rounds [3 rounds of each skill below] of 30 seconds work/30 seconds rest:
- Beginner – Alternate between box pike to hollow walks and tricep push-ups [hands on a box to elevate or floor]
- Intermediate – Alternate between handstand hold and pike handstand push-ups
Day 2
6-5-4-3-2-1 – Rest as needed to be successful at all sets [approx 30-60 seconds]
- Beginner – Box pike to hollow walks
- Intermediate – Wall walks
Day 3
3 rounds x 1 minute of rest between sets
- Beginner – Tricep push-ups [hands on a box to elevate or floor]
- Intermediate – Pike handstand push-ups
Drills and Warm-Ups
A few quality drills and warm-ups include:
So, let’s stop using an absurd amount of AbMats for Handstand Push-Ups and build strength and technique in a fun and effective way!
3, 2, 1 … go!
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About the Author
Pamela Gagnon is the co-creator of Performance Plus Programming and the free e-book “5 Key Points to Great Toes To Bar.” She is a four-time Masters CrossFit Games athlete and a former D1 Gymnast. As a CF-L2, she was a lead coach for eight years with the CrossFit Gymnastics Course. She also currently writes gymnastics programming for CrossFit Mayhem.
Get Your First Handstand Push-Up