# Pike Push Up (On Bench) (Version 2) - Canonical: https://fitwill.app/exercise/7426/pike-push-up-on-bench-version-2/ - Media ID: 7426 - Primary muscle: Shoulders - Body part: Shoulders - Equipment: Flat Bench - Video: https://fitwill.app/videos/7426/pike-push-up-on-bench-version-2.mp4 ## Description The Pike Push Up (On Bench) (Version 2) is an overhead-pressing body weight exercise that uses a flat bench to elevate your feet while your hands stay planted on the floor. From an inverted V position, you bend your elbows and lower the crown of your head toward the floor in front of your hands, then press back up. Because your feet are raised, a large share of your body weight sits directly over your shoulders, making this one of the most demanding body weight pushing variations short of a handstand push up. This movement is a go-to for anyone building shoulder strength without equipment beyond a bench. It suits lifters who want a vertical-pressing pattern on days when they cannot access dumbbells or a barbell, and it works well as a progression step for people working toward wall handstand push ups. Calisthenics athletes, home trainees, and lifters looking for a high-rep shoulder finisher all get solid value from it. The main work falls on the front shoulders, with strong support from the triceps as you extend the elbows, and from the upper back and traps as you stabilize the overhead position. Your core, hip flexors, and legs stay engaged throughout to hold the pike shape, so you also get a meaningful stability demand through the trunk even though the legs are not pressing. Setup details matter more here than in a standard push up. Foot height on the bench determines how much load shifts onto your shoulders: the higher your hips sit, the steeper the press. Your hand position relative to the bench also sets the path, so placing your hands too far or too close changes whether the movement feels like a press or a push up. Take a moment to get the geometry right before your first rep. Execution quality comes down to keeping the hips high and the spine long as you descend. The elbows should travel back toward the bench rather than flaring straight out to the sides, and your head should lower to a point slightly ahead of your hands, not between or behind them. Press back to the starting pike by driving the floor away and pushing your hips toward the ceiling. Because the head travels toward the floor, control is the main safety concern. Crashing down on the crown of the head or losing the pike and turning the rep into a decline push up are the two most common faults. Start with a modest range of motion, keep the descent slow, and only deepen the rep as your shoulder strength and control allow. ## Instructions 1. Set a flat bench on a non-slip surface and place the balls of your feet on the edge of the bench pad with your toes curled over it. 2. Walk your hands back until your hips sit directly above or slightly behind your shoulders, forming an inverted V, with your hands on the floor about shoulder-width apart. 3. Spread your fingers, grip the floor, and turn your elbow creases slightly forward so your elbows can track back during the descent. 4. Brace your trunk, squeeze your legs together, and push your hips toward the ceiling to lock in the pike before each rep. 5. Inhale, then bend your elbows and lower the top of your head toward a spot just in front of your hands, keeping your hips high and your elbows tracking back at roughly 45 degrees. 6. Descend until your head lightly touches or nearly reaches the floor, or until your shoulders reach their comfortable depth. 7. Exhale and press through your palms to straighten your arms, driving your hips back toward the ceiling as you rise. 8. Pause briefly at the top with arms locked and the pike restored, then reset your hip position before starting the next rep. 9. Keep your neck relaxed and in line with your spine throughout so your head leads with the crown, not the forehead. ## Tips & Tricks - If your head misses the target and lands behind your hands, you are leaning back too far; walk your hands a few inches closer to the bench to shift the path forward. - Elbows flaring wide is the most common fault on this exercise and it stresses the shoulder joint; cue yourself to squeeze the elbows back toward the bench as you lower. - The pike collapses quickly under fatigue, turning the exercise into a decline push up; if your hips drop, end the set rather than grinding through reps with a flatter torso. - Touch the floor as lightly as a feather at the bottom; a heavy head contact usually means the descent speed is too fast for your current strength. - Shorten the range first if full reps are too hard by only lowering halfway, rather than moving your feet lower on the bench, so the loading stays overhead. - Keep your heels pressing toward the back edge of the bench; letting the feet slide forward flattens your hips and steals tension from the shoulders. - Warm up your wrists with a few gentle extensions and circles, since this position loads them at a sharp angle far more than a regular push up. - Press the floor apart with your fingers at the top of each rep; this engages the upper back and keeps the shoulder blades stable in the overhead position. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What muscles does the Pike Push Up (On Bench) (Version 2) work? The front shoulders do most of the pressing, assisted by the triceps and side shoulders. The traps and upper back stabilize the overhead position, while your core holds the pike. ### Why are my feet on a bench instead of on the floor? Elevating the feet shifts more of your body weight over your shoulders and steepens the pressing angle, making the exercise much harder than a floor pike push up and closer to a vertical press. ### Is the Pike Push Up (On Bench) (Version 2) suitable for beginners? Not usually as a starting point. Beginners should build capacity with regular push ups and floor pike push ups first, then move to the bench version once floor pike reps feel comfortable. ### How far should I lower my head at the bottom? Lower until the top of your head lightly touches or nearly reaches the floor in front of your hands. Stop earlier if your shoulders or neck feel strained, and build depth gradually over weeks. ### Can this exercise replace an overhead press? For general shoulder development it covers a similar vertical-pressing pattern, though the resistance is fixed by your body weight. It works well as a substitute when you have no weights, and pairs nicely with pressing later as a volume builder. ### Where should my head travel during the rep? Aim the crown of your head at a spot just in front of your hands. If your head lands between or behind your hands, your torso angle is too flat and you are drifting into a decline push up. ### My wrists hurt when I do this exercise. What can I change? Warm up the wrists thoroughly, spread your fingers to distribute the load, and consider gripping the edge of a folded mat or using push up handles to reduce the wrist extension angle. ### How do I make the Pike Push Up (On Bench) (Version 2) harder? Raise your hips further by walking your feet toward the top edge of the bench, add a pause at the bottom, or progress to wall handstand push ups once bench reps become easy. ### Should my elbows stay tucked or flare out? Let them track back at roughly 45 degrees to your torso, similar to an overhead press. Fully flaring to 90 degrees places unnecessary strain on the shoulder joints at the bottom.