Pseudo Planche Push-up Guide: Build Elite Shoulder Strength
Learn how to perform the pseudo planche push-up with proper form to build shoulder strength and progress toward advanced calisthenics skills.
How to Perform
- Begin in a standard push-up position on the floor with your fingers turned slightly outward to reduce wrist strain.
- Lean your entire body forward until your shoulders are well ahead of your wrists while keeping your arms locked straight.
- Protract your shoulder blades by pushing the floor away to create a slight rounding in your upper back.
- Inhale and lower your chest toward the floor while maintaining the forward lean and keeping your elbows tucked close to your ribs.
- Pause briefly at the bottom of the movement without allowing your hips to sag or your shoulders to lose their forward position.
- Exhale and push back up to the starting position, ensuring you finish with a full protraction of the shoulder blades.
Common Mistakes
- Allowing the hips to sag which places unwanted stress on the lower back.
- Losing the forward lean during the ascending phase of the repetition.
- Flaring the elbows out to the sides rather than keeping them tucked.
- Retracting the shoulder blades at the top instead of pushing through the floor.
Muscles Worked
Primary movers
- Shoulders
Stabilizers
- Triceps
- Chest
- Core
- Serratus Anterior
Related Guides
- Arm Raises (T/Y/I) — Shoulders
- Arnold Press — Shoulders
- Australian pull-ups — Shoulders
Shoulders · Shoulders