Using the Pike Pushup to do a Handstand Pushup (Part 2, The Results!)
In October 2018, I started doing feet-elevated pike pushups to build the strength necessary for a proper handstand pushup against a wall which I wrote about in a previous blog post here. Did I reach my goal? Let’s delve in and find out, shall we?
Recap: Goal was to achieve at least 9 reps of these feet-elevated pike pushups
Why 9? Well, the question was… since those pike pushups are around 75% intensity of full bodyweight, and the 1RM (1-rep-max) table says you need to be able to do 9 reps of something at 75% intensity to potentially exert 1-rep at 100% intensity, will I be able to do one clean, proper handstand pushup if I can do at least 9 of these pike pushups with perfect form? That was the test.
So I did pike pushups almost everyday for 6 weeks to get to those 9 reps.
Initially it was simply a matter of getting used to the exercise and it was great that I was doing it so often. It felt truly difficult pushing in that vertical direction and it was quite humbling overall as to how difficult the true HSPU must be. In just 6 weeks, I tripled the volume!
October 22, 2018: 4, 3, 2, 1, 1 reps (11 reps in a session)
December 7, 2018: 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 reps (35 reps in a session)
Click here to expand and see the detailed training log
Each day, I simply add only one rep to only one set of the previous day with ample rest (5-60 minutes between each set, usually about 5-15 minutes). I also log my rate of perceived exertion (RPE) on a scale of 1 to 10 and any other notes.
Date: Reps (over 5 sets), and [Rate of Perceived Exertion and any notes]
10/28: 4, 4, 3, 2, 1 [5, tried to be explosive, but had zero effect on tempo.]
10/29: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 [6, failed 4th rep on 1st set but ended up with low 6 RPE]
10/30: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 [4]
10/31: 5, 4, 3, 2, 2 [3, feeling really easy now]
11/1: 5, 4, 3, 3, 2 [3] 18 reps, felt easy peasy.
Notes: Initially I noticed I cant even push out of this move FAST when I try to explode up. So, hopefully in a month that will be very different. Already 8 training days in and it’s starting to feel really easy as the nervous system is able to fire up the muscles in coordination. There’s a saying that strength is a skill and it definitely is, especially for a lot of these compound bodyweight exercises as they are somewhat technical and the body needs to work it repeatedly, like a skill, to refine it and be able to execute it easily.
Three days off
11/5: 5,5,4,3,2 [3]
11/6: 6,5,4,3,2 [3, felt cool achieving 6 reps in a set for the first time]
11/7: 6,5,4,3,3 [6]
11/8: 6,5,4,4,3 [5]
Four days off, long weekend
11/13: 6,5,5,4,3 [7]
11/14: 6,6,5,4,3 [9, Failed reps 5 & 6 of 2nd set. Failed 4th rep of 4th set.]
11/15: 7,6,5,4,3 [7, also did rings + OMB, hit 7 reps in a set first time!]
Day “off” (went swimming and stand up paddleboarding)
11/17: 7,6,5,4,3 [8, pushing faster for first time, actually faster! + 30 mile bike ride.]
Two days off
11/20: 7,6,5,4,4 [8]
11/21: 7,6,5,5,4 [7, felt like I could explode up even more!]
11/22: 7,6,6,5,4 [6]
Five days off
11/28: 7,7,6,5,4 [7]
11/30: 8,7,6,5,5 [7, last rep was grind like no other!]
Two days off
12/1: 8,7,6,6,5 [9, failed last rep of 3rd and 4th sets = sign to take day off]
Two days off
12/4: 8,7,7,6,5 [7, paused reps + 20 mile bike ride]
Day off
12/6: 8,8,7,6,5 [8, Quality is changing. I man muster through reps where otherwise it would’ve failed.]
12/7: 9,8,7,6,5 [7.5, 2nd set was my fastest set ever + hit milestone of 9 reps]
By this point, the last set on the last day was more reps than the first set of the first day! (From “4,3,2,1,1” to “9,8,7,6,5” in 6 weeks)
Final notes: In those 6 weeks I got very good at doing pike pushups and developed the ability to push faster, too. Also, in the first couple weeks, if I was going to fail a rep, I would put a foot down abruptly to stop. But as time went on and I got stronger, I found myself being able to grind through some really difficult reps without letting my feet drop.
So after I achieved that, the time came to test if I could do one HSPU. What were the results?
Not really a success, but not really a complete failure either considering this was only one training cycle in just 6 weeks.
I was able to do 1 rep with bad form. Then, a clean negative but couldn’t press out of it. And then a couple partials which felt really good.
Lucky for you, I took video of these candid attempts complete with laughter at my graceful fails:
So I couldn’t muster up a clean, proper HSPU yet from this single training phase, but I am very close. I feel stronger than ever and the negative felt super solid and I knew I could push back at any earlier point. It’s that final point where the nose boops the ground where it’s hardest. Note that, I’m also doing my darndest to make sure my forearms never move backwards. Also, if my hands were further away from the wall, it would’ve been much easier probably, but I’m doing it with my hands close to the wall because this mimics the true HSPU.
So what now? More Pike Pushups?
I spent a couple days to rest and research how to proceed:
Do I do more reps of pike pushups with the feet at the same height?
Nope, I’m way too bored of this exercise already.
Do I do partial-ROM HSPU and increase reps/range?
It sounds nice but a failed rep would mean my head hits a wooden yoga block.
Do I raise the feet up higher to increase intensity and build the reps up?
This was the winner!
New cycle: Pike Pushups with feet elevated even higher (and hands on blocks for more range)
This is my life now:
Fun Fact: With feet at hip height, it’s 6-7% harder than when my feet are at knee-height.
OLD: Pike Pushup with feet elevated to knee height (18″/46cm) = 135lbs / 61kg (77% of 180lbs)
NEW: Pike Pushup with feet elevated to hip height (30″/76cm) = 150lbs / 68kg (83% of 180lbs)
I thought 6% was not going to be a big difference, but the exercise felt significantly more difficult.
The decline blocks elevate my hands by 1.5″ which results in a solid 13° increase in range due to the elbow angle bending further!
And now, with the blocks elevating my hands, I know that I’ll be stronger in a fuller range, more akin to an overhead press using weights or a handstand pushup using parallel bars. Also, a 13° gain in range is great! Strength is built in the range you train it in (+7°) so I know that one day I could just go into a tripod headstand and push myself up into handstand. (Oh boy that’s gonna be cool!)
Side Note: The decline blocks are one of my favorite tools. They help reduce all wrist pressure off any hand-balancing endeavors. (By the way, should I make and sell these decline blocks? If anyone would be interested, let me know. I might make a limited batch of them.)
So according to the 1RM calculator table, at 83% intensity, I might be able to perform at least one HSPU if I can do 7 of these pike pushups.
Source: NSCA’s calculations from their book Essentials of Strength and Conditioning 4th Edition.
Click here to expand and see the latest training log for decline pike pushups with feet elevated to hip height
With this new, more difficult setup, I had to find out how many sets and reps are appropriate. I figured it’s only 6-7% harder so I could do close to what I was doing before… so I started with 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 (25 reps) but I could feel it was extremely difficult and the next day I couldn’t even perform the same number of reps.
So that was a blow to my ego because I started with too high of a number. Plus, I noticed I was feeling a bit burned out from doing pike pushups for nearly everyday for 6 weeks. When you notice you have a lack of motivation and feeling more tired than usual, it’s a sign of overtraining, so I took a long break for three weeks which coincides with the holidays, until the new year came up to get reinvigorated with it naturally.
Volume Discovery Phase for these pike pushups
12/14: 4,3,3,6,7
12/15: 6,5 –
12/16: 7,6,54,4,3,2
Two days off
12/19: 7,6,5,4,3 + 40 mile bike ride
12/20: 5,5,4,4,3, repeated yesterdays workout and failed reps of first 3 sets! Thought ran through my head: “I want to give up.”
^ This lack of willpower was a sign of burn-out creeping in so I took 2 weeks off, which coincided with the holidays anyways.
New cycle for decline pike pushups with feet elevated to hip height (2019)
1/4: 4,3,2,2,3 [10, decided to start with 4 reps instead of 6 or 7 to make it far easier than before and ensure no recovery issues. less is more! But it still felt abysmally difficult.)
1/5: 4,3,3,2,1 [8]
Day off
1/7: 3,4,3,2,2,1 [8, must squeeze butt before each rep to protect lower back with the feet elevated this high.]
1/8: 5,4,3,2,1 [0, despite failing the first set yesterday, I decided to pretend I didn’t fail a thing and added one rep and was able to hit 5 reps.]
Day off
1/10: 5,4,3,2,2 [7]
1/11: 5,4,3,3,2 [8] Grinding reps more hardcore now
1/12: 5,4,4,3,2 [8]
Day off
1/14: 5,5,4,3,2 [7] Grinding reps
1/15: 6,5,4,3,2 [9]
1/16: 6,5,4,3,3 [6] Felt really good.
Day off
1/18: 6,5,4,4,3 [6] Felt boss as fuck.
Goal: Get to “7,6,5,4,3” reps and test if I can do one HSPU.
It’s been exactly two weeks and in another week I’ll be at my goal of hitting 7 reps with these new pike pushups.
If that’s not enough, then I will probably go until 9 reps and then test again. We will see. I’m trying to keep the exercise selection to a minimum to see what has the most direct approach with the least number of changes.
In conclusion, in 6 weeks, I tripled the amount of pike pushups I could do with the feet elevated at knee height. When I got to 9 reps, I tested to see if I was strong enough to do a single HSPU. I wasn’t, so I continued the pike pushups, but with the feet higher up, making it about 7% more intense. When I get to 7 reps of that, I will test to see if I can do one HSPU and then this experiment will be over. But the journey never ends and by that point I’ll have a goal of hitting at least 5 HSPU’s, which I will probably methodically document as well!
Hope that was helpful or inspirational in some way! In the meantime, I’m almost done with my Hip Flexibility Program, woohoo! It’s one of the most progressive, feel-good videos I’ve ever made that includes fantastic passive and active flexibility including functional flows that end up stretching nearly every muscle of your lower body all in a nice flow. (Yep I’m kind of proud of it!) Anyhoo… see you soon! (Update: Here’s the hip flexibility program, too!)
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