Shoulders · Bodyweight
Handstand Against the Wall
How to do the handstand against the wall, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- VerticalPush
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Place your hands on the floor about one leg's length from a wall, shoulder-width apart, and kick up one leg at a time until your heels rest gently against the wall. Press hard through your hands with straight arms and brace your core to hold a tall, straight body line. Lower one leg at a time to come down.
- 1Shoulders, triceps, and core stabilizing the balance
- 2Pressing through the hands with glutes squeezed
- 3A tight hollow line from hands to heels
Common mistakes
- Arching the back away from the wall
- Letting the elbows bend out of the lockout
- Collapsing weight into the wrists unevenly
Muscles worked
The handstand against the wall mainly works the front delts, triceps, forearms, upper abs, and side delts, with the lower abs, upper chest, upper traps, and obliques assisting.
- Front DeltsPrimary
- TricepsPrimary
- ForearmsPrimary
- Upper AbsPrimary
- Side DeltsPrimary
- Lower AbsSupport
- Upper ChestSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- Lower TrapsMinor
Kovo programs the handstand against the wall for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More shoulders exercises
- How to do the battle rope alternating waves
- How to do the arm circles
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the resistance band front raise
- How to do the resistance band lateral raise
- How to do the resistance band overhead press
Last reviewed June 2026.