Also known as: lean push up, lean pushup, leaning push-up, bodyweight leaning push-up

What is Planche Lean Push Up?

The Planche Lean Push Up is a challenging bodyweight push variation that leans the shoulders past the wrists to heavily load the triceps, shoulders, and core. It requires strict scapular protraction and depression, tight core and glutes. Difficulty: hard - progress gradually with regressions.

How to Do Planche Lean Push Up

  1. Set up position: Start in a high push-up with hands slightly past shoulder width and shoulders over wrists; turn hands 45 degrees outward if wrists hurt and point your toes.
  2. Activate scapula: Protract and depress the shoulder blades by engaging the lats and driving the sternum up; hold both cues consistently to protect shoulders and increase stability.
  3. Brace core and glutes: Draw ribs toward hips, brace your core and squeeze glutes. Keep a straight line from shoulders to heels to prevent hip sagging or excessive piking.
  4. Lean forward: Shift shoulders forward so they move past the wrists while maintaining full body tension. Increase lean gradually to add load and avoid sudden overreach.
  5. Lower with control: Bend elbows and lower slowly until chest nears the floor, maintaining scapular cues and core tension. Stop if form breaks and reset each repetition.
  6. Press back up: Drive through your hands, keep scapula protracted and depressed, and extend elbows to return to start. Limit sets to low reps and prioritize quality over quantity.

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
Equipment: None (bodyweight only)

Progressions and Regressions

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of the Planche Lean Push Up?

It builds triceps and shoulder strength, improves scapular control and core stability under horizontal load, and develops the body tension required for planche progressions. It also reveals weak links to target with accessory work.

What common mistakes should I avoid when doing this exercise?

Common errors include losing scapular protraction/depression, allowing hips to sag or rise, collapsing at the shoulders, and rushing reps. Fix by bracing core, cueing scapula, reducing range or lean, and using slow controlled reps.

How can I progress or regress the Planche Lean Push Up?

Regress with incline leaning push-ups, knee lean push-ups, or partial leans. Progress by increasing forward lean, lowering to full range, using tuck planche leans, or weighted holds. Use bands or parallettes for assistance and gradual overload.