Push-up to tuck handstand

Shouldershardrepsno equipment

From the bottom of a bent-leg push-up the arms press straight and the hips rise high over the shoulders until the knees are tucked against the chest in a tuck handstand with the head between the arms; then the body lowers back to the chest-down push-up. A strong shoulder and balance skill: keep the knees on the chest and the arms locked.

How to do it

1. Start in a bent-leg push-up, hands flat shoulder-width apart, knees bent about 90 degrees with the feet off the floor, chest a few centimetres above the floor.
2. Press the floor away and, as the arms straighten, walk the shoulders forward over the hands and lift the hips up and back over the shoulders; the knees come toward the chest.
3. Pull the knees tightly to the chest and keep the arms straight with the shoulders pushed up into the ears and the head between the arms, hips over the hands, in a tuck handstand. Hold the top for a moment.
4. Lower under control: hips come back down and forward, the knees leave the chest, and the chest lowers to the floor in the bent-leg push-up again. Repeat. Use a wall or a spotter if you are not yet able to balance a tuck handstand.

Muscles worked

Main: shoulders, triceps, chest
Supporting: abs, traps, forearms