Martial Conditioning: Handstand Pushup

Intro: The handstand pushup is the single hardest bilateral pushup variation.  This author ranks it as the single most beneficial upper body calisthenic exercise which is outranked only by the heavy single armed overhead press.  Coach Summers of Building the Gymnastic Body fame also ranks it as the most important strength development tool for gymnasts, so this opinion is hardly unusual in the world of bodyweight strength training.  To reap all the benefits of this movement using other exercises would require a trainee to make time for pullups, pushups, and headstands.  Just performing the handstand pushup alone delivers all the strength benefits of those movements in addition to greatly improved balance, core stability, and shoulder stability.

Muscles Worked: Handstand pushups develop the outer frame of the upper body, defined as the outer portion of one's upper body outline to an observer: the triceps, shoulders, upper back, and neck.  They also develop the lats due to shoulder stabilization demands and the abdominal muscles due to core tension requirements.  With reference to the regular pushup, the handstand pushup directly targets all the weaker and smaller muscles which tend to fail first during long pushup sets.  Therefore, any gains in handstand pushup strength have direct carryover to every other pushup variation. A future post will detail the martial importance of outer frame and inner frame upper body development.

Why Do Handstand Pushups? Handstand pushups are one of the only ways to build the outer frame of the upper body without lifting external weights.  They are the upper body analogue to the bodyweight squat and will quickly increase upper body strength and muscle.  Unfortunately, they require a solid base of experience with pushups, pullups, and inverted holds to train them comfortably and safely.  For this reason, this blog classifies them as an upper tier exercise: one that requires an extensive prerequisite base of strength training.

The progression for handstand pushup strength includes the following, which is only to be attempted after mastering the regular pushup, pullup, and headstand.

Headstand Pushup: When most people think of a handstand pushup, they are actually envisioning a headstand pushup: touching one's head to the ground and pushing back up.  This movement is usually performed for high repetitions against a wall, specifically to build the outer frame.

Nose to Ground Handstand Pushup: By touching the nose to the ground instead of the head during the HS pushup, the range of motion is increased as well as the strength requirements.  There are individuals who can perform 10-15 headstand pushups that cannot manage even 1 Nose to Ground HS pushup.

Full Range Handstand Pushup: By elevating the hands on blocks, parallettes, books, or bars, the handstand pushup becomes possible with a complete range of motion: from the shoulders to full extension.  This movement is an elite display of physical strength, with or without a wall for assistance.  This is also the only handstand variation with direct carryover to the overhead press.

Note: No handstand pushup repetition of any variation is complete without fully shrugging the shoulders to the ears at the end of each repetition.  Failing to shrug the shoulders leaves the neck and upper back underdeveloped and may result in muscular imbalances.

The HS pushup can serve a variety of purposes, outlined below:

Strength: By keeping repetitions low and attempting to continuously increase the range and quality of motion of each repetition, a martial artist can develop superb upper body strength without needing to ever touch an external weight or build excessive muscle mass.  Sets of 1-3 repetitions with an emphasis on difficulty and quality over quantity will yield quick progress with great carryover to unrelated movements.

Muscle: Those who wish to develop big slabs of muscle fast should stick with headstand pushups and pump out as many sets of 6-8 repetitions as possible.  This will bulletproof the shoulders, neck, arms, and back with thick layers of muscle. 

Proprioceptive Awareness: The handstand pushup without a wall for support will teach how to forward roll out of a fall, how to balance on the hands, and how to use core tension to maintain an inverted body position.  Training with freestanding handstands will develop a feeling of overall bodily lightness and quickness due to the neurological balance demands of the movement which greatly exceed the everyday balance demands of walking, running, and carrying.

Likely Results of Handstand Pushups: Below are pictures of handstand pushup enthusiasts.  Notice the leanness and lack of excessive size.  In particular, the musculature of the upper frame and lats consist of dense, thick, small muscles that are well striated from exertion.