Advanced

Straddle Planche Push-Up

The straddle planche push-up is one of the hardest bodyweight presses there is: you press your whole body while it floats horizontal, with only the wide straddle shortening the lever. It requires elite anterior deltoid and chest strength plus bulletproof straight-arm scapular control. This is a peak-level goal reserved for advanced hand-balancers.

Equipment
Body Weight
Body part
Chest, Shoulder
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Horizontal Press
Muscles worked
Target
Deltoid Anterior, Pectoralis Major Sternocostal, Triceps Brachii Long Head
Secondary
Triceps Brachii Lateral Head, Triceps Brachii Medial Head, Biceps Brachii Long Head, Lower Rectus Abdominals
Tertiary
Pectoralis Major Clavicular, Abdominal External Oblique, Erector Spinae, Trapezius Lower

How to do it

  1. 1

    Press into a straddle planche: body horizontal, legs spread wide, shoulders leaning well past the hands.

  2. 2

    Lock the arms straight and set the shoulder blades protracted and depressed.

  3. 3

    Bend the elbows and lower the whole body as one rigid line toward the floor.

  4. 4

    Keep the legs wide and the hips level with the shoulders, resisting any pike.

  5. 5

    Press back to the planche by pushing the floor away and driving the shoulders forward.

  6. 6

    Hold the horizontal line steady before beginning the next rep.

Tips

  • Widen the straddle to reduce the lever if you cannot complete the range yet.
  • The body must stay parallel to the floor; letting the hips rise makes it a different, easier move.
  • Train straddle planche holds and tuck planche push-ups first to earn this pattern.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • The legs flutter or kick at the bottom to help the press, and any leg momentum in a straddle planche push-up is a rep the shoulders did not do.
  • Knees bend as the press gets hard, folding the straddle into a half-tuck and changing the exercise mid-set; keep the legs locked and the toes pointed out along the line of the straddle.
  • Hands get turned out to spare the wrists, which also rotates the elbows outward under a heavy forward lean. Keep the fingers pointing forward, or use parallettes if the wrists are the limit.
  • Frequency is the quiet mistake here: elbows and wrists accumulate this load over weeks rather than sessions, and planche elbow pain almost always follows a jump in how often it is trained.
  • The rep gets attempted before the straddle planche hold is steady, and pressing out of a position you cannot hold still is how a set ends with the chest on the floor.
  • The hands creep forward toward the chest across a set, shortening the lean, because that is where the press feels possible; reset them beside the hips every rep.

Frequently asked

How many straddle planche push-ups should I do, and what do I need first?
Singles, mostly: 5 to 6 attempts with three or more minutes of rest, once or twice a week, always first in the session. The honest prerequisites are a 10 to 15 second straddle planche hold, clean tuck planche push-ups, and pain-free elbows and wrists under a deep lean. Progress by narrowing the straddle a little, by adding depth, or by adding one rep, and only ever one of the three at a time.
How do I make the straddle planche push-up easier or harder?
Easier: spread the legs wider, which shortens the lever more than anything else you can change, reduce the depth, or drop back to a tuck planche push-up. Slow negatives from a straddle planche down to the floor are the most productive regression. Harder: narrow the straddle, hold the bottom for a second, or press on parallettes so the shoulders can travel below the hands. Bringing the legs together is the final step and a much bigger jump than it looks.
What is the straddle planche push-up for, and who should skip it?
It is a peak-level display of straight-arm and pressing strength, trained by hand-balancers, gymnasts and advanced calisthenics athletes as a goal in its own right. For anyone else it is a poor investment, since the time and joint stress buy a skill rather than muscle or general strength. Skip it unless a straddle planche hold is already comfortable, and stop training it if the inner elbow or the front of the shoulder starts complaining, because those are the two tissues it works hardest.

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