Reply With QuoteWhere did you get the idea that HSPU's are part of the SS program?
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Handstand pushups and increasing ROM
Rippetoe, sir, I am confused.
How exactly do HSPUs work? Do they work delts and triceps like OHP does (ignoring the transfer-of-force-from-floor-to-barbell)?
Do HSPUs with hands on the floor roughly equate to lighter OHP (something like "if I do 1 HSPU at 225lbs bodyweight that is kinda equal to 1 OHP with a 180lbs barbell")?
And what changes as I increase the ROM on HSPUs by using parallettes and such?
And if the number of my HSPU reps increases from say 3 to 8, will my OHP numbers increase?
Will the OHP numbers demonstrate a bigger increase if I take HPSUs from parrallettes reps from 1 to 3 compared to floor HSPU reps going from 3 to 8?
Please explain!
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Where did you get the idea that HSPU's are part of the SS program?
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If you can lift more, and have greater range of motion, with the entire kinetic chain of your body under stress with a two-handed overhead press, why would you want to do hand stand pushes? If it's for a skill/sport like parkour then fair enough, but then, practice the skill and use the press for what it's best for. No?
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Handstand pushups with full rom are awesome, they should have greater respect on this forum. Not gonna focus on these myself, but wanna be a slim, strong bastard who could do these in the future. As I understand it, you start being strong enough to do these once you can press >0.9bw from what someone on this forum said. Being able to rep these out at a non-concentration camp weight is a solid feat of strength.
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Not true. With some practice I was repping out sets of 5-8 for 25+ total reps when my max press was 145 @180 BW. Probably a lot easier for lighter guys. I do have long pitchers arms though.
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I don't think any of you are operating under the same concept of 'handstand pushup'.Originally Posted by Nardaq
1. Head to floor or a parallette setup that allows for full ROM?
2. Feet against a wall or freestanding? If the former, how far away from the wall?
3. How far apart are the hands?
There are many ways to make these much harder or easier. I can press a bit more than bodyweight but still am not quite at a full ROM (head far below hands) handstand pushup on parallettes as close to the wall as possible.
Starting Strength Coach
The handstand pushup is a great exercise. That being said, I doubt it'll ever be part of the program for a few reasons:
When leaning against a wall or other support, the load is too variable
Coordination requirements for freestanding delay the novice achieving the lift
Progressively adding small load is a PITA, especially after the lifter can complete 1 at BW.
Higher mobility requirements in the wrists
The greater the balance requirement, the more limited force application will be, especially in the novice.
That being said:
The kinetic chain is incredibly similar as well as the direction of force, so... yes. Assuming You're doing the movement with a rigid body over a full ROM and not using a great deal of layback.
[QUOTE=whosthere]Do HSPUs with hands on the floor roughly equate to lighter OHP (something like "if I do 1 HSPU at 225lbs bodyweight that is kinda equal to 1 OHP with a 180lbs barbell")? [QUOTE]
No. I was able to do 4 or 5 full wall-leaning handstand pushups (plates elevated on hands for full ROM) before I could do a full BW press. YMMV.
Not sure what you're asking here. Your ROM increases, you do more work over a greater ROM, they were forced to eat Robin's minstrels, and there was much rejoicing. Yay.
Maybe. Probably not.
If your limiting factor in the HSPU is a skill issue: maintaining core stability, keeping active shoulders, getting comfortable upside, these are domain-dependent and won't transfer.
If your limiting factor is strength, it may transfer, but you'll get to a point when the HSPU is too light to develop greater pressing strength without some kind of modification (this point will come faster than you expect).
This kind of comparison is impossible. If you want the greater transfer, match the ROM requirements and do your HSPU to paralletes where your hands come all the way to the shoulders. Or you could just press and use HSPU as a S&G assistance exercises for fun... because they are fun...
Depends on what you want out of it. If you're a Constantly-Varied-Exercise-Done-At-High-Intensityer, head to floor will allow for more reps and is the community standard for workouts. If you want to develop greater strength and transfer to later gymnastics movements and overall strength, work your way towards the greater range of motion without support.
I personally go press-width (just underneath the shoulders) or a hair outside of that.
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My hands were about shoulder width apart, feet against the wall. Touched head to ground and back up. Yep, parallettes make them much harder, could only do singles for a few.
Member
Head to ground is not full ROM from what I meant though, you need handles for hands so that your head can go below your hands. So you were indeed talking about a different thing from me. Though if you could do a single with full ROM when you had 0.8 bw press, 0.9 bw might indeed be wrong as a thumb rule. Wouldn't shock me if that random dude that said 0.9 didn't have accurate empirical science as a basis for that number...
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What's your height?
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