The Perfect Warm Up for Handstand Push Ups

By: Briana Siegert

When athletes say, “My first round felt the worst” or “I just felt so tight”, I immediately think, “ahh. So, we didn’t warm up well enough.” If you or someone you know is guilty of a less than adequate warm-up then this one is for you. 

This one’s specifically for handstand push ups, but can really transfer to anything overhead: jerks, snatch, handstand walk, or even wall walks. And any of these might come up in 26.3 tomorrow given who our athletes are that are doing this announcement: DB, Olivia, and Arielle Lowen who are all masters on their hands. 

Handstand push ups demand a lot from your body. They require shoulder strength, thoracic mobility, scapular control, midline stability, and wrist tolerance for being upside down. When we skip a proper warm up, we’re asking our shoulders to go from zero to maximal load in an inverted position.

Not ideal, but  simple, intentional warm-up can make your handstand push ups feel stronger and smoother.

Step 1: Mobilize the Shoulders and Upper Back

2-3 Rounds:

• 5/5 Foam Roller Open books

• 10/10 kneeling banded thread the needles

• :30 foam roll lats

  
  

2-3 Rounds

• 1:00 Ski

• 10 Crossover Symmetry shoulder scaption

• 10 supinated band pull aparts

  
  

Step 2: Activate the Pressing Muscles

Now we begin to activate the muscles that will actually drive the handstand push up. Just as you wouldn’t jump right to your 100% strict press, you shouldn’t just jump right into a handstand push up. 

2-3 Rounds

• 5-8 Pike Push ups (box or floor)

• 10 Barbell bradford press (light)

• 10-20 Plank shoulder taps

  
  

Step 3: Prep the Inverted Position

Before going upside down under fatigue, your body should feel comfortable being inverted.

2 Rounds

• 20-30 second Handstand Hold

• 2-3 Handstand negatives (focusing on being stacked and keeping your core tight)

Then, hit 2-5 strict handstand push ups with :30-:60 rest to prep the movement under a little fatigue

Why This Warm-Up Works

This progression prepares three things that you need for strong handstand push ups:

1. Scap Stability

Your shoulders need to be stable before they can be strong.

2. Thoracic Mobility

Without upper back mobility, the shoulders compensate leading to inefficient pressing or doing an upside down bench press

3. Midline Control

This will help keep the shoulders healthy and improve your handstand push ups by learning to break the habit of breaking at the midline.

Apply This Beyond Handstand Push Ups

This warm-up is money for any movement where your body is stacked overhead.

Use it before:

• Heavy strict press

• Push press or jerk days

• Wall walk workouts

• Handstand walking practice

• Overhead stability work

Most athletes treat warm ups as something to rush through, but the best athletes understand that your warm up determines how your workout feels.

If you take some time to prepare the right way, your handstand push ups will feel smoother, your shoulders will stay healthier, and your pressing strength will go up.