What is Planche Lean Push Up?

The Planche Lean Push Up is a hard calisthenics push variation that shifts your weight forward to intensely load the shoulders, triceps, and core. It emphasizes scapular protraction and depression, strict core and glute tension, and requires progressive training and strict form due to its high difficulty.

How to Do Planche Lean Push Up

  1. Set hand position: Place hands slightly wider than shoulders, wrists under shoulders. Rotate wrists about 45° outward if needed. Ensure shoulders sit over wrists before leaning.
  2. Protract and depress: Push shoulder blades apart and down, drive your sternum up, and engage lats. Maintain both protraction and depression throughout every rep.
  3. Brace core and glutes: Tighten your core, squeeze glutes, and shorten the distance between ribs and hips. Point toes to help shift weight forward.
  4. Lean the shoulders: Shift shoulders past the wrists by leaning the chest forward while keeping a rigid body line and avoiding hip hinge.
  5. Lower with control: Bend elbows and lower until your body is close to the floor, keeping scapular protraction, hips level, and no sagging.
  6. Press and reset: Drive back up to the top, reset scapular and hip alignment between reps, and limit sets to low repetitions (≤8) for quality.

Muscle Groups

Triceps, Core, Shoulders

Description

Setup:
Get into a push up position, with your shoulders above your wrists and hands past shoulder width. If you struggle with tight wrists, twist them outwards by approximately 45 degrees. Protract your shoulders (separate the shoulder blades, drive sternum into the ceiling), activate your lats to depress your shoulders away from your eares. Make sure you maintain extreme positions of these two scapula activation cues (protraction and depression) at all times - this is your main priority when working towards planche. Carry on with shortening the distance between your ribcage and hips by tightening your core. Squeeze your glutes inwards. Point your toes to move your shoulders past your wrists.
Execution:
Keep your body fixed and still throughout the movement, proceed by bending your elbows and get your whole body as close to the floor as possible. Reinforce your protraction, depression, core and glutes and press back up into the top. Make sure to reset each repetition to avoid hips saging, scapula relaxing or hips coming up too high. This exercise should feel extremely heavy when performed with perfect form. Limit your repetitions to maximum 8 reps per set.

Movement Group

Push

Required Equipment

None (bodyweight only)

Progressions and Regressions

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of Planche Lean Push Ups?

They build shoulder and triceps pressing strength, improve scapular control and core stability, and teach the forward weight shift needed for planche progressions. They also increase full-body tension and joint tolerance for advanced calisthenics skills.

What common mistakes should I avoid?

Avoid relaxing the scapulae, letting hips sag or rise, flaring elbows, poor wrist alignment, and rushing reps. Reinforce protraction/depression, maintain core and glute tension, reduce lean angle if needed, and perform slow controlled repetitions.

How can I progress or regress this exercise?

Progress by increasing lean, reps, or advancing to tuck planche push-ups. Regress with incline planche leans, band-assisted variations, knee-supported push-ups, and targeted shoulder, triceps, and core strength work or isometric holds.