2.Hold and Balance Your Handstand With These 2 Fundamental Drills

Now that you have an effective warmup and some strength from the chest to wall holds and other drills. We can now move onto the next layer.

 

How you stop yourself falling over - Wrist drives 20-30 total reps broken up into as many sets as needed (try 4-6 x 5)

In a two arm handstand you can either fall over, towards your back (over balancing). Or under, towards your belly (under balancing).

This nifty drill will develop your ability to correct the first.

Prerequisite’s :

  • Able to do a 60s chest to wall handstands at least 2 hands distance away.

  • Able to kick up to the wall without assistance. ( I will teach you how in a later lesson, don’t worry!)

1. Kick up back to the wall one hand distance away. This is very important. If we are too far from the wall the tendency is for our body to assume an arched banana back handstand. And secondly the wrist will have to work too hard to lever the body from the wall.

2. Do a “body check” , Shoulders elevated and elbows locked out, ribs in, posterior pelvic tilt (PPT) glutes and quads squeezed. Generate as much tension as you can.

3. Now hinge at the wrist by pushing the front of your hand and fingers down into the floor to “open” the joint angle. At first the feet may just get a little lighter on the wall and that's fine. With practice they should briefly hover for a second or two and then fall back into it as you relax the wrist and hands.

4. You can try this on your feet chest facing the wall as demonstrated. let the body lean forward from the ankle and push with the feet to center yourself. This is very similar to what we are trying to achieve in handstand.

5. You can also try this from an A-frame position on the floor as well as demonstrated if your struggling to understand the mechanic.

TOP TIPS : You can come as close as half a hand distance to the wall if you are struggling to get the feet to float.

Keep the shoulder elevated, engaged and directly over the palm of the hands. Opening the shoulder angle too much and loosing the weight back to the heel of the hand will result in a fall to the feet (under balance) conversely closing the shoulder angle too much will make it impossible for the wrist to exert enough force to be successful.

Do not Kick or “buck” with the legs and hips to come off the wall. This will not teach the proper mechanics and sensation of the hands being able to influence the body in space.

GOAL 1 : 10 x 1 second reps on and off the wall in 1 set.

GOAL 2 : 5 x 3 second reps ( balancing off the wall) in 1 set.

Some people require very specific instruction to get this one right. Click the button below to organize a free 15 minute chat with me

How to stop yourself falling under - Chest to wall balancing 20-30 total reps broken up into as many sets as needed (try 4-6 x 5)

Now we are really getting somewhere!

This drill will help teach you how to stop falling back to your feet. Which can be very frustrating!

Prerequisite’s :

  • 1 minute chest to wall handstand 1 hand distance away.

  • Safe and comfortable falling over. (I will show you some options in the next lessons if this is an issue!)

  • Able to do 5 reps of wrist drives with good form.

1. Start off in a chest to wall handstand 1-1.5 hands distance away. Do a body check.

2. Begin leaning the shoulders over the hands slowly by closing your shoulder angle a small amount whilst maintaining the push.

3. Fold at the hips by closing the hip angle till the feet hover off the wall.

4. Reopen your shoulders and hips to catch in a straight line handstand.

5. Drive with the wrists and fingers to stop yourself falling over. And bring your body back to the wall. That's one rep.


TOP TIPS : Do not kick off of the wall. The motion is slow and controlled.

You shouldn't lean the shoulders too far over the hands.

Another variation of this drill is to flex the feet once in the chest to wall handstand. This brings the legs more into the vertical line with the torso, shoulders, arms and hands. And requires less shift to get off the wall.


GOAL 1 : 5 x 1 second reps on and off the wall in 1 set.

GOAL 2 : 5 x 3 second reps ( balancing off the wall) in 1 set.

All done for this one!

Although with persistence and self awareness great progress can be made with the information above.

A second set of trained eye’s can correct flaws in technique. And take the guess work out of creating a training routine. Which makes a world of difference.

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Is the drill above a little “scary”? Stay tuned for part 3 where we will explore how to fall.

Handstand Classes, Workshops and Short Courses Melbourne

For all things related to the wonderful world of hand balancing and handstands, handstand classes, handstand workshops and handstand short courses Suby Handstands has got you covered in Melbourne.

Whether you want to work in a group setting with Melbourne based handstand classes or Melbourne based handstand short courses or on a one to one basis with private handstand lessons you are going to experience growth in your practice.

Many people believe that the best way to progress their handstand is to repeat the same thing over and over again thinking that one day it will lead to some sort of miracle and finally click. I can tell you best way to progress is in fact to practice, but to practice the RIGHT things for your specific level, awareness and body. This is the way forward in your handstand training.

Participating in handstand classes or private handstand lessons is the best way to find the keys to unlock the gates to progress and stop experiencing frustration and fear in your handstand practice.

So you’ve mastered handstand at the wall and are ready to take it to the middle of the room? But every time you hop up, it feels like you can only hold the pose for a nanosecond. What gives? How can you learn to stick your balance in the center of the room?

If you’re looking to move your handstand away from the wall, odds are you’re already familiar with kicking up into the pose. Even so, starting with a solid, well-aligned foundation and kicking up with confidence can strongly increase your chances of balancing in handstand.

Press handstands are one of the coolest gymnastics/acrobatic skills out there

They are a demonstration of control, power and body awareness that can be done virtually anywhere.

Press handstand is a beautiful skill but one that is made up of many physical attributes. Flexibility, core strength, shoulder strength, skill and technique all equally play an important role. Having coaching to assess which area's you individually need to develop is vital to learn press to handstand safely and efficiently. I can help you put together a training plan to achieve your inversion, arm balance and hand balancing goals.

Tuck handstand is another awesome skill to work on.

As the name implies, a Tuck handstand is a bent leg position where the knees are pulling towards the chest, versus a handstand where the legs are fully extended with toes pointing directly towards the sky.

It helps to develop correct should alignment, shoulder strength, shoulder flexibility and is the gateway to many other cool handstand shapes. There is 2-3 amazing handstand drills that drastically help develop tuck handstand.

What about handstand pushups? A brilliant display of body control and raw power.

Just like you wouldn’t want someone performing a ton of kipping pull-ups when they don’t have the strength to do one strict pull-up, we don’t want someone doing a ton of kipping handstand push-ups if they don’t have the strength to do a strict handstand push-up. The shoulder strength required to complete a handstand push-up is great, and some may not have that strength just yet. Have no fear, I have created a simple training program to help you build your upper body strength to reach the goal of obtaining a strict handstand push-up. With dedication, patience and hard work, you too can successfully attain the handstand pushup.

As soon as you’re able to balance a handstand by the wall for just a few seconds without using the wall for support, it’s time to start adding some freestanding handstand exercises to your practice. BUT don’t leave the wall behind entirely just yet, it will still be one of the most useful tools for awhile to help maintain your conditioning and continue developing sound balance mechanics.

It can seem both terrifying and impossible to move your handstand practice away from the wall. Because what’s gonna happen if you fall? Some parts of the fear of falling out of a handstand are rational, others are entirely irrational.

let me help you address and overcome the rational fear of falling when you practice the freestanding handstand.

Learn how to handstand by learning :

How to fall

The benefits of going upside down

The muscles worked in a handstand

How to warm up before doing a handstand

Step-by-step directions for doing a handstand

Common handstand mistakes to avoid

As for how long it'll take you to master a handstand? It's pretty individual. Some will get it right away, while it takes a lot longer for others. Remember that it’s as much a mental discipline as a physical one and keep trying, knowing that you will get there.

So let get started. Click on the Handstand classes Melbourne page and take your practice to the next level whilst cultivating discipline and self understanding.