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Bent-arm press: spot and fix your mistakes

In the bent-arm press, SkillTrack checks whether your shoulders are far enough ahead of your hands at lift-off, and how you arrive in the handstand at the top. If an attempt fails, SkillTrack shows why: your feet don’t come up, you sink back down, or you don’t hold the handstand at the top. SkillTrack is a web app that analyzes your phone video on your device.

How do I spot a mistake in my bent-arm press?

A video of yourself shows which point is off:

• Too little forward lean at lift-off: the shoulders are not far enough ahead of the hands (tuck from the floor).
• Banana at the top: in the handstand after the press the hips bend and the lower back arches.
• Shoulders not fully open: the upper body still leans over the hands at the top.
• Knees bent: the legs are not straight when you arrive at the top.
• Failed attempt: your feet don’t leave the floor, you can’t press out of the frog stand, you sink back down, or you don’t hold the handstand at the top.

Why don’t I lean far enough forward in the bent-arm press?

Pressing strength in the lean: your shoulders have to get ahead of your hands and stay there with bent arms.

Tip: shoulders far forward, head past your fingers, only then lift your feet.

These exercises help against too little forward lean

• Push-up tuck slides: socks on, slide your feet under your belly while pushing your shoulders ahead of your hands.
• Pike push-up, head past the fingers: as you lower, bring your head forward until your nose touches the floor ahead of your fingers.
• Push-up to pike slides: pull your straight legs towards your hands and lift your hips high over your wrists.

Why do I end up in a banana after the press?

Tension, like in the handstand. Plus the shoulder, which is not fully open yet after pressing.

Tip: lock your arms, shoulders to your ears, belly and glutes tight.

These exercises help against the banana at the top

• Hollow Body Hold: exactly the tension that is missing at the top.
• Handstand shrugs against the wall: practise pushing your shoulders all the way to your ears, which straightens the press at the top.
• Wall handstand push-up with a hold at the top: practise the transition from pressing into a straight handstand.

Why are my shoulders not fully open at the top of the press?

Your upper body still leans over your hands. Push the floor away until your arms and upper body form a straight line.

These exercises help you open your shoulders

• Handstand shrugs against the wall: push your shoulders to your ears without bending your arms.
• Elevated Pike Hold: hips high over the hands, shoulders open.
• Wall Angels: shoulder mobility with your back against the wall.

How does SkillTrack check your bent-arm press?

You film yourself with your phone from the side or pick an existing video. The analysis runs on your device: the video and body points never leave it.

SkillTrack detects the angle you filmed from and only checks mistakes that can be measured from that angle. If the angle doesn't fit, the app rejects the recording instead of judging wrongly.

You get the finding in one sentence, the reason behind it, and matching exercises.

What comes next?

In SkillTrack, the path to the bent-arm press has two stages: tuck from the floor and straddle. Which mistakes are measured depends on the stage.

What does SkillTrack cost, and what can it not do?

• Free: every skill for 7 days from your first result, as often as you like.
• After that, currently a one-time payment of €9.99 (founder price), no subscription. Then you can keep checking as often as you like, for every skill.
• SkillTrack does not replace a coach and is not a medical product.
• You need a phone with a camera or an already filmed video. On first start the app downloads the recognition model once.

Frequently asked questions

Check my bent-arm press in SkillTrack

Last updated: 31.10.2026