Wall Handstand Press Lean
The Wall Handstand Press Lean is a straight arm press drill where you lean into your shoulders as far as you can from a chest to wall handstand, then press back into the full handstand. It trains the part of the press from the leaned position back to the handstand, with the wall holding your legs so balance is not a concern. In the Advanced Wall Handstand Press Lean you lean further until the feet come off the wall, while here they stay on it.
The Wall Handstand Press Lean is a straight arm press drill where you lean into your shoulders as far as you can from a chest to wall handstand, then press back into the full handstand. It trains the part of the press from the leaned position back to the handstand, with the wall holding your legs so balance is not a concern. In the Advanced Wall Handstand Press Lean you lean further until the feet come off the wall, while here they stay on it.
How to Do Wall Handstand Press Lean
1. Turn Your Fingers Slightly Out
Warm up your wrists properly first, because they stay bent back under load for many reps. Then, before you go up, rotate your fingers slightly outwards. This puts less pressure on your wrists, gets your shoulders into a stronger position and asks less of your shoulder mobility.
Fingers slightly out.
2. Walk Up Into A Chest To Wall Handstand
Stand with your back to the wall, put your hands on the floor and walk your feet up the wall, then walk your hands in until you are in a full handstand with your chest facing the wall. Stop with your hands about 20 to 25 centimeters from the wall and hold there. Your feet stay on the wall for the whole set.
Chest to wall, hands out a little.
3. Lock In The Straight Line
Put your feet together and squeeze your legs. Activate your core and suck in, drawing the belly button toward the spine, and squeeze the glutes so your body is one hollow line. Push away from the floor so your shoulders lift up out of your hands, and lock your elbows.
Feet together, squeeze, suck in.
4. Lean Forward Into Your Shoulders
Lean forward into your shoulders as much as you can, so they move out past your hands and away from the wall while your feet stay on it. Keep the elbows locked and your head in between your arms instead of sticking it out. Stop where it gets hard and hold there for 2 seconds.
Lean into the shoulders.
5. Press The Shoulders Back
Push the shoulders back over your hands and get back up to the full handstand. This is the part of the press the drill is built for, so keep the elbows locked and the body straight the whole way.
Press back, stay tall.
6. Repeat, Then Walk Down
Lean forward, press back, and repeat for the reps you have planned. End the set when you can no longer hold the hard spot for the full 2 seconds or your body stops being one straight line, since a rep with a broken shape does not train the lean. Then walk back down under control.
Lean forward, press back.
Judge this drill by where the hard spot is, not your rep count: over the weeks it should move further forward with the elbows locked, head in and body straight. Feet leaving the wall on their own as you lean are a good sign, and exactly what the advanced version asks for. Do it first in the session, because the press is a coordination skill and fatigue ruins coordination.
Muscles Worked During Wall Handstand Press Lean
Primary Muscles:
Secondary Muscles:
Primary Muscles
Anterior Deltoid (Front Deltoid) - The front deltoids hold the lean, carrying your weight with the arms close to overhead as the shoulders move past your hands, and drive the push back to the handstand.
Trapezius (Trapezius) - The trapezius lifts the shoulders toward your ears, which is what pushing away from the floor means, so you lean from the shoulders instead of sinking into them.
Secondary Muscles
Serratus Anterior (Serratus Anterior) - The serratus anterior holds the shoulder blades against the ribcage and rotates them upward together with the traps, keeping the shoulders stable while you lean forward and press back.
Triceps Brachii (Triceps) - The triceps keep the elbows locked through every lean and every push back, which is what makes this a straight arm drill and not a handstand push up.
Rectus Abdominis (Abs) - The abs pull the ribs down and hold the body in one hollow line, so the chest does not open and the back does not arch as you lean.
Gluteus Maximus (Glutes) - The glutes keep the hips in line with the shoulders and feet, so the lean comes from the shoulders and not from the hips tipping or folding.
Forearm Flexors & Extensors (Forearms) - The forearms and fingers work against the floor to steady you, and they take more of the load the further you lean past your hands.
Benefits of Wall Handstand Press Lean
- Trains the forward shoulder lean a straight arm press depends on, with the wall holding your legs so balance is not the limit.
- Builds straight arm shoulder strength with the arms close to overhead, the angle where most people are weakest and where the press happens.
- Practices the finish of the press, pressing the shoulders back from the leaned position into a stacked handstand.
- Teaches you to keep one tight line with the legs squeezed and the core drawn in while only the shoulders move.
- Lets you start press work early, before your pike and pancake are ready for the full press.
Who Is This Exercise For?
You should be able to walk up into a chest to wall handstand, hold it with locked elbows, legs together and a tight core, and walk back down under control. If not, build it with Wall Walks and the Wall Handstand Hold first. Your legs stay straight on the wall, so you do not need a deep pike or pancake and can train this alongside that work, not after it.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Opening the chest and arching the back: As you lean, the ribs tend to flare and the back arches, turning the rep into a banana shape instead of a lean. Pull the ribs down and hold the abs tight so the body stays one line from your hands to your feet.
Letting the hips tip out of line: If the hips tip forward, the lean stops being a clean shoulder movement. Squeeze the glutes and the hips will sit back in line with your shoulders and feet.
Folding at the hips to fake the lean: If you break at the hips, the fold does the work instead of the shoulders. Stay straight and lean only as far as you can while keeping that line.
Hands too far from the wall: Standing too far out makes the body more and more horizontal, which turns the drill into a planche, a different exercise. Walk your hands back in to about 20 to 25 centimeters from the wall.
Bending the elbows or sinking into the shoulders: Push away from the floor before every rep and keep the elbows locked through the lean and the press back. If they start to bend, you have leaned further than you can control, so shorten the lean.
