Handstand push-ups…the best exercise in all of the world of CrossFit.
There is no argument; there is no discussion. This is a fact of life.
Whether you (like me) love to revel in those magical days where handstand push-ups are programmed into the workout or the mere thought of them gives you severe anxiety, you can’t really hide from them. CrossFit loves to program them in one way or another.
Today, we’re going to look at the most beloved (or, conversely, most hated) handstand push-up WODs. You know they’re going to show up eventually; may as well start practicing now!
Table of Contents
The 9 Best Handstand Push-up Workouts
Some of these are famous. Some of these are obscure. Regardless, prepare to spend a good bit of the next 2 to 45 minutes upside down!
Diane
Equipment: Barbell, bumper plates
One of the most well-known “CrossFit Girls”, Diane doesn’t allow you to waste a second! While I’m usually on board with the “times to beat” from WOD Time Calculator, they are way off with this one…
…just ask Dan Bailey…
I mean, you know you’re elite when you’re smoking Rich Froning!
You don’t gotta match his 1:40 to be in the top tier, but you gotta be really good at handstand push-ups.
Brehm
Equipment: Climbing rope, barbell, bumper plates, Concept2 Rower
From CrossFit girls to CrossFit heroes, this is another one where, depending on how well you perform certain movements (most notably rope climbs), you could easily beat the WOD Time Calculator’s “elite” time prognosis.
Of course, if you blow your arms out on the rope climbs (make sure to really use your legs on these!) the handstand push-ups will be significantly more difficult.
J.T.
Equipment: Gymnastics rings, pull-up bar
Another very gym-nasty hero WOD, J.T. requires a lot of upper body strength to get through…even for the best of athletes.
This is one of those WODs that looks slightly challenging on paper, but when you actually get to it…good night. By the second round of push-ups, my arms often feel like they’re completely shut down (if I can feel them at all). It may take a little more time, but kip where and when you can here.
2019 CrossFit Open Workout 3
Equipment: Dumbbell, plyo box
The greatest CrossFit Open workouts ever?
I would say so; I had my best ever performance on this bad boy!
This one is as tricky as it looks. The first lunges and step-ups are certainly part of the slog, but they are merely the appetizer for the main event (the strict handstand push-ups). You look at those scores above…25 percent of men and half of women couldn’t get a single handstand push-up rep; only 5 percent of men finished all 50!
…yeah…”tricky”…
Marco
Equipment: Pull-up bar, barbell, bumper plates
A less well known but sufficiently intriguing hero WOD, Marco combines basic gymnastics with more difficult gymnastics with heavy-ish thrusters.
I would say you should approach this one like a sprint WOD…but I say a lot of things. Worst case, remember: you only gotta make it through 3 rounds!
Mat Fraser’s 50-Rest-30
Equipment: n/a
This is a fun one, although it annoys me that the video below only shows the first 50!
You don’t see Davidsdottir here, but she actually beats Richey at this one!
Having done this one a few times, I can assure you that those second 30 feel exponentially more difficult than the first 50. Those 3 minutes of “rest”…ha..ha…ha.
Best part of this one? As long as you got a wall, you’re golden!
Nate
Equipment: Gymnastics rings, pull-up bar, kettlebell
Truth be told, Nate can get a little monotonous…but that’s also what makes it awesome. If you can handle the heavy kettlebell and have your gymnastics on point, the rounds will pile up as the time flies by.
…but if you hit a hitch on this one…good luck. Those will be 20 long minutes!
2022 CrossFit Games Quarterfinals WOD 1
Equipment: Dumbbells
If you made it to quarterfinals back in 2022, congratulations! You were rewarded with this descending rep/ascending difficulty scheme that got more “grippy” than anything else.
You know the workout is gonna get tough when the strict handstand push-ups are the “relief” (after having to gut through those dual overhead walking lunge steps!)
Damn Diane
Equipment: Barbell, bumper plates, parallettes
No commentary here. Just take a watch at what this workout does to the 2023 Fittest Woman on Earth:
Good luck!
…the Best CrossFit Movement
We’ve come to the end of our array into the best handstand push-up workouts.
If you’re like me, you’re licking your chops to tackle a few of these (well, if you’re really like me, you’ve done them all a few times already!)…and I don’t blame you. Handstand push-ups are awesome.
If you still need a little work, don’t put things off! We didn’t see them in the 2024 CrossFit Open workouts…so they’re probably going to pop up in 2025.
…don’t say I didn’t warn you!
