Planche Press vs Straddle Press. Same goal, opposite intention. I am a strong believer in understanding opposing extremes to provide clarity of why we use a specific technique. These two press handstand variations are a great example of this. In the planche press, the intent is to maintain extension of the body, and in doing so the shoulders have to travel very far from the base of support. In the straddle press, the intent is to compress the body to minimize the shoulders traveling off the base