3 Things to Improve Handstand Pushups (HSPU’s)

Learning how to do Handstand Pushups can be frustrating. You’re upside down, there’s a chance that your head will crash against the floor, and the kip can be super confusing.

Check out these three tips to shed some light on the basic technique used for Handstand Pushups, and learn some important drills to help you along to either getting your first one, and/or improve efficiency.

1. Where’s Your Head?

• When you kick up on to the wall, take a second to see where your hands are positioned in relationship to your head. A lot of times we will find ourselves with our hands in line with our head, as opposed to where they should be, in front of it. Think about creating a triangle on the ground, with your head being the point, every time you bring yourself down for a rep.

2. Where’s your midline?

• Watch for over-extension! At the top of the handstand pushup, with arms locked out and legs straight, many people have an urge to over extend their back. When you descend for a second rep, your back will either continue to be over extended, which takes away your ability to stack joints and create max drive out of the bottom with your kip, or it will go back to neutral or flexion, which will fry your lower back out. Think about crunching down your abs at the top of each rep which will help you maintain a neutral spine throughout the movement.

3. More kip!

• The more hip extension you have the more power out of the bottom, and the less you have to use your arms to complete a rep. Try bringing your knees all the way to your chest before aggressively shooting your toes toward the ceiling. The closer you can bring your knees to your chest, and then drive through each rep, the more reps you will be able to do.