How to Learn the HSPU Fast and Effectively
If you want to learn crazy superhuman moves like the HSPU, you are in the right place. I’m going to be talking about form, hacks, and key exercises that you need to know to learn the HSPU fast and effectively.
How not to train for HSPU
Alright so the HSPU is more of a shoulder exercise than your typical push movement is. So exercises like push-ups won’t help you as much as they need to, so you have to do the different variations that I’m going to discuss below.
It’s important to be able to do a decent amount of push-ups about 40. And to but proficient with your pike pushups before starting to learn the HSPU. And the biggest prerequisite is you need to be able to do a handstand.
Exercises you can use
First off is Pike push-up. Get into the downward dog position, keep the elbows tucked, and depress and protract the scapula for each rep. Once you have become proficient with pike pushups(10–15 clean reps) I would advise going to the elevated pike push-up because it increases the range of motion you work in.
Elevated pike push-ups: Elevated pike allow you to get that increased range of motion. So once you get enough strength from pike push-ups you can move on to elevated pike push-ups
Wall HSPU: Wall HSPU is one of the greatest exercises to build strength for the HSPU, there are two different variations: back to the wall and stomach to the wall. If you're going to the back-to-the-wall variation you might as well CrossFit membership and call yourself the next Adam Frazer, because that’s not what we do in over in Cali land. It doesn’t allow you to depress and protract the scapula like the stomach to the wall position does, so if you can, do the latter.
Press to handstand
There are also two different variations. First is pressing to handstand as the name suggests, or if you haven't progressed that far yet, you can press and hold the position for a second and do the next rep.
Negative HSPU
This is a great way to learn the HSPU movement without putting too much stress on the body. You go into the handstand position, lower the body into an eccentric HSPU, and hold for a few seconds. Kick up and repeat.
Overhead Press
The reason this exercise is so great is because it provides a greater range of motion than that of a HSPU because your head decreases the range of motion in the HSPU. So you might find the amount of weight you can press on an Overhead press is lower than that of an HSPU.
HSPU
Every two weeks I would test to see where you at just to make sure you are progressing.
When you're doing these exercises make sure you depress and round your back. You're going to want to go as deep as possible. Once you perfect that, you can increase TUT to progress rather than adding extra reps.
Accessories exercises
You can add accessory exercises to target specific muscle groups
Superman: This exercise helps target the erector spinae. It can be useful if you're having trouble lifting your legs off the ground during press to handstand.
You can also add in rotator cuff exercises that I discuss in this article.
Hacks
Keeping your heads placed shoulder-width apart makes the HSPU easier because you're involving more muscle groups. As you get better you can narrow your handstand placement, putting more work on the shoulders.
You can also change the variation of the handstand push-up. Straddles HSPU are a lot easier to do because they shift weight into both sides of the body. Or you can use a resistance band to help.
You can also do partial reps to get a feel of the movement before performing full repetitions.
Weight
The less you weigh the easier calisthenics exercises are. So if you're on a bulk, or if you still got a few extra pounds from COVID-19, it might be a good time to lose a little weight because it may help.
Not a hack but the better you are at handstands the easier the balance portion of the movement will be.
Here’s a workout that you can do if your an intermediate athlete to learn the HSPU:
Warmup
Set of handstands
3x10 of partially HSPU ( to get a feel of the movement without the wall)
Main workout
Press to handstand 3x5
Wall HSPU /Elevated 3x8 1–3–1–1
Elevated HSPU 3x6–8( Bette than pike push-ups because
3–5 minute rest
Conclusion
Make sure to follow the exercises that I listed above, special elevated pike pushups and wall HSPU. These exercises are a must-have if you want to learn the HSPU. If you enjoyed the article, please share it with a friend.
