10 Best Handstand Push-ups Alternatives for Building Shoulder Strength
If you can't do handstand push-ups, choose alternatives that preserve vertical-press mechanics and target the delts. Start with pike push-ups—hands shoulder-width, hips high, lower the head between your hands—or perform wall-supported negatives with a controlled 3-second descent to build eccentric deltoid strength.
Original Exercise: Handstand Push-ups
How to Perform Handstand Push-ups
- With your back to the wall bend at the waist and place both hands on the floor at shoulder width.
- Kick yourself up against the wall with your arms straight. Your body should be upside down with the arms and legs fully extended. Keep your whole body as straight as possible. Tip: If doing this for the first time, have a spotter help you. Also, make sure that you keep facing the wall with your head, rather than looking down.
- Slowly lower yourself to the ground as you inhale until your head almost touches the floor. Tip: It is of utmost importance that you come down slow in order to avoid head injury.
- Push yourself back up slowly as you exhale until your elbows are nearly locked.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Pro Tips
- Category: Strength
- Force: Push
- Movement type: Compound
Best Handstand Push-ups Alternatives
1. Exercise Ball Pike Push Up
82.3% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Start in a push-up position with your hands on the floor and your shins resting on the stability ball.
- Engage your core and lift your hips up towards the ceiling, rolling the ball towards your hands.
- Keep your legs straight and your body in a pike position, forming an inverted V shape.
- Bend your elbows and lower your upper body towards the floor, keeping your head in line with your hands.
- Push through your hands and extend your arms to return to the starting position.
2. Barbell Thruster
67.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell at shoulder height with an overhand grip.
- Lower into a squat position by bending your knees and pushing your hips back.
- As you reach the bottom of the squat, explosively drive through your heels to stand up, simultaneously pressing the barbell overhead.
- Lower the barbell back to shoulder height as you lower back into the squat position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
3. Clean And Jerk
65.9% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- With a barbell on the floor close to the shins, take an overhand or hook grip just outside the legs. Lower your hips with the weight focused on the heels, back straight, head facing forward, chest up, with your shoulders just in front of the bar. This will be your starting position.
- Begin the first pull by driving through the heels, extending your knees. Your back angle should stay the same, and your arms should remain straight. Move the weight with control as you continue to above the knees.
- Next comes the second pull, the main source of acceleration for the clean. As the bar approaches the mid-thigh position, begin extending through the hips. In a jumping motion, accelerate by extending the hips, knees, and ankles, using speed to move the bar upward. There should be no need to actively pull through the arms to accelerate the weight; at the end of the second pull, the body should be fully extended, leaning slightly back, with the arms still extended.
- As full extension is achieved, transition into the third pull by aggressively shrugging and flexing the arms with the elbows up and out. At peak extension, aggressively pull yourself down, rotating your elbows under the bar as you do so. Receive the bar in a front squat position, the depth of which is dependent upon the height of the bar at the end of the third pull. The bar should be racked onto the protracted shoulders, lightly touching the throat with the hands relaxed. Continue to descend to the bottom squat position, which will help in the recovery.
- Immediately recover by driving through the heels, keeping the torso upright and elbows up. Continue until you have risen to a standing position.
4. Double Kettlebell Snatch
65.9% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Place two kettlebells behind your feet. Bend your knees and sit back to pick up the kettlebells.
- Swing the kettlebells between your legs forcefully and reverse the direction.
- Drive through with your hips and lock the ketttlebells overhead in one uninterrupted motion.
5. Double Kettlebell Jerk
63.8% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Hold a kettlebell by the handle in each hand.
- Clean the kettlebells to your shoulders by extending through the legs and hips as you pull the kettlebells towards your shoulders. Rotate your wrists as you do so, so that the palms face forward. This will be your starting position.
- Dip your body by bending the knees, keeping your torso upright.
- Immediately reverse direction, driving through the heels, in essence jumping to create momentum.
- As you do so, press the kettlebells overhead to lockout by extending the arms, using your body's momentum to move the weights.
6. Dumbbell Standing Overhead Press
62.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level with your palms facing forward.
- Press the dumbbells upward until your arms are fully extended overhead.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the dumbbells back down to shoulder level.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
7. Barbell Standing Close Grip Military Press
62.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly closer than shoulder-width apart.
- Lift the barbell to shoulder height, keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Press the barbell overhead, extending your arms fully.
- Lower the barbell back to shoulder height.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
8. Anti-Gravity Press
62.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Place a bar on the ground behind the head of an incline bench.
- Lay on the bench face down. With a pronated grip, pick the barbell up from the floor. Flex the elbows, performing a reverse curl to bring the bar near your chest. This will be your starting position.
- To begin, press the barbell out in front of your head by extending your elbows. Keep your arms parallel to the ground throughout the movement.
- Return to the starting position and repeat to complete the set.
9. Barbell Shoulder Press
62.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Sit on a bench with back support in a squat rack. Position a barbell at a height that is just above your head. Grab the barbell with a pronated grip (palms facing forward).
- Once you pick up the barbell with the correct grip width, lift the bar up over your head by locking your arms. Hold at about shoulder level and slightly in front of your head. This is your starting position.
- Lower the bar down to the shoulders slowly as you inhale.
- Lift the bar back up to the starting position as you exhale.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
10. Dumbbell Scott Press
62.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Sit on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward.
- Raise the dumbbells to shoulder height, with your elbows bent and palms facing forward.
- Press the dumbbells upward until your arms are fully extended.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Why You Might Need a Handstand Push-ups Alternative
You may substitute handstand push-ups because of limited balance, wrist or shoulder pain, lack of wall space, or the need to prioritize hypertrophy over skill. Alternatives let you keep vertical loading on the anterior and medial deltoids while reducing cervical and glenohumeral compression. They also allow progressive overload with safer scapular and thoracic positions. Choose movements that maintain scapular upward rotation and core anti-extension; for example, perform slow wall negatives with a packed neck—chin slightly tucked and scapula protracted—to reduce shear and train deltoid control.
How to Choose the Right Substitute
Match the substitute to your limiting factor: if balance is the limiter, use wall-supported holds and negatives; if pressing strength is weak, use weighted overhead presses or slow eccentrics; if pain exists, select neutral-grip or incline presses. Assess mobility (ability to achieve ~90° shoulder flexion with thoracic extension) and scapular control via scapular push-ups. Prioritize vertical-plane loading to recruit anterior/medial delts and keep a tight core to avoid lumbar extension. Use tempo cues—3-second eccentrics and 1-second pause at the bottom—to increase time under tension and strengthen stabilizers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles does Handstand Push-ups work?
Handstand push-ups primarily load the anterior and medial deltoids and heavily involve the triceps, upper chest, and scapular stabilizers. They also demand core anti-extension and neck stabilization; cue yourself to press through the palms and maintain scapular upward rotation to maximize delt recruitment.
What is the best bodyweight alternative to Handstand Push-ups?
Pike push-ups are the best single bodyweight alternative because they preserve the vertical press angle and deltoid activation. Perform them hands shoulder-width, hips high, and descend with control so your head reaches roughly an inch above the floor to overload the delts safely.
Can I build muscle without doing Handstand Push-ups?
Yes—you can build the delts without handstand push-ups by using progressive overload, tempo control, and varied vertical-press alternatives. Use slow eccentrics (3–5 seconds), increase reps or add external load (a weighted vest or backpack), and cue full scapular upward rotation to ensure proper delt activation.
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