Pike push-up: form, muscles worked and progressions.

Short answer: a pike push-up is a bodyweight shoulder press. Start in a push-up position, walk your feet in until your hips are high and your body makes an upside-down V, then bend the elbows to lower the crown of your head toward the floor between your hands and press back up. It mainly works the front deltoids and triceps, with the upper chest and upper back helping to stabilize.

Muscles worked. The pike push-up shifts the push-up's angle so the shoulders do most of the work. Primary: front (anterior) deltoids. Secondary: triceps, upper chest, and the upper back and core, which keep the position stable.

Step by step. 1) Hands slightly wider than shoulders, fingers spread. 2) Walk the feet in and lift the hips high. 3) Keep the legs as straight as your hamstrings allow. 4) Bend the elbows and lower the head toward a point just in front of your hands, so head and hands form a triangle. 5) Press the floor away until the arms are straight.

Coaching cues. Hips high, crown travels to the floor. Elbows track back at roughly 45 degrees rather than flaring straight out. Exhale as you press.

Common mistakes. Letting the hips drop so it turns into a regular push-up. Flaring the elbows wide. Lowering the face instead of the crown. Rushing the bottom position.

Progressions. Start with a box pike or an incline version if the floor version is too hard. Then floor pike push-ups. Then feet-elevated pike push-ups on a bench, which move you closer to a handstand push-up. Move up when you can do three clean sets of 8–10.

Programming it. Two or three sets of 5–10 reps, two or three times a week, is a sensible starting point. Stop a rep or two before form breaks; the free 12-week programs use the pike push-up this way in their push sessions.

Safety. If you feel pinching at the front of the shoulder, shorten the range or go back to the incline version. Anyone with a shoulder injury or high blood pressure concerns about inverted positions should check with a qualified professional first.

The full pike push-up demonstration is in the exercise library. For the complete push-up system — technique, progressions, variations and a workbook — The Push-Up Blueprint is available now on Amazon.