Strength Training · Calisthenics
Pseudo Planche Push-Up
The pseudo planche push-up is a push-up with your shoulders leaning ahead of your hands. This forward lean increases the demand on your front shoulders while also training your chest and triceps.
- Intermediate
- Compound
- Moderate injury risk
- Rest 1 min 30 sec
How to do it
- Kneel with your palms shoulder-width apart on the floor, fingers pointing forward or slightly outward.
- Extend your legs into a straight-arm plank with your toes on the floor.
- Shift your body forward until your shoulders are ahead of your wrists.
- Lower your chest toward the floor while keeping your forward lean.
- Press back to straight arms without shifting your shoulders backward.
Form cues
- Squeeze your glutes.
- Spread your shoulder blades at the top.
- Exhale as you press.
Common mistakes
- Elbows flaring sidewaysAngle your elbows back toward your hips rather than straight out to the sides.
- Reaching down with your headKeep your neck aligned with your torso so your chest leads the descent.
- Bouncing out of the bottomLower slowly enough to reverse direction without using momentum.
Safety
The forward lean places substantial load on your bent wrists and front shoulders. Excessive lean or fatigue can strain these areas or cause you to collapse toward the floor.
- Warm up with gentle wrist movements and easy standard push-ups.
- Begin with a small lean, increasing it gradually across sessions.
- End the set when you cannot control the descent or maintain your body position.
- Stop if you feel sharp wrist or shoulder pain.
If you have ongoing wrist or shoulder symptoms, use an easier push-up variation and seek advice from a physiotherapist before adding a forward lean.
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
Secondary muscles
Equipment
No equipment needed.
Sets and reps
- Sets
- 2–3
- Target
- 4–8 reps
- Rest
- 1 min 30 sec
Choose a lean that leaves you able to perform about two more controlled repetitions at the end of each set.