Handstands have been a lifelong journey for me. I did competitive gymnastics as a child therefor handstands were a key shape in my daily practice. However I did not start practicing handstand holds until I was an adult (only the past two years).
Two years to now I am able to do a press to handstand and straddle down as well as have a personal best static handstand hold (with no walking of the hands) of 27 seconds. When I am allowed to walk my hands that is a different story as I have a natural arch in my handstand which actually makes me want to move while in a handstand. Static has always been much trickier.
Here is a progress comparison of my handstand shapes from September 2018 to July 2019:
All three of these handstands are held in the double stag pose which sometimes helps balance do to the displacement of weight (straddle also helps). As you can see in the first picture my shoulders were extremely closed, therefor I had to arch my back making crazy shapes that are difficult to balance in. This was when I had first moved to Victoria BC - which is where I found a community that practiced strength and conditioning weekly. This was a key factor that helped me straighten and majorly get me on track to balancing in my handstand for a longer amount of time (statically) and I am here to share some of these tricks with you.
FLEXIBILITY
Personally, this was not much of an issue. However if you are tight through your shoulders/Lats this could be preventing you from... progressing at all. Stand with you back to a wall and engage your core so that your entire back is touching the wall - making a straight line. Raise your arms and see if you can get them over your head and also to the wall. This should be your goal (it might be harder than you think). To increase flexibility in this area you can practice dynamic stretched such as arm swings and circles, static stretches such as the bent over lat stretch, behind the neck tricep stretch, etcetera. I have images of these stretches on my begin to handstand guide located as a free download on my homepage.
STRENGTH
Personally, this aspect is what helped me the most. Once I developed much more strength this is what truly brought me to where I am today. For myself, it was a lot of arm development however core (as in your whole core, not just your abs) is extremely important as well. In a handstand, you have your entire weight flipped upside down on your arms. Your wrists and forearms act as stabilizers as your feet naturally do when you are right side up. Your joints should be stacked on top of each other meaning that your tummy and back are squeezing straight. I did a lot of high rep work with exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, overhead press and much more. Please check out my free guide for some specific recommendations I would give for starting out.
CONSISTENCY
As with all fitness goals; consistency is key. It would be better to do a little bit four days a week over a huge workout once every two weeks. Make a schedule and stick to your goals; this is how you get results.
KEY POINTS
- LOOSEN YOUR SHOULDERS
- STACKING YOUR JOINTS
- STRENGTH AND WRIST SUPPORT
- CONSISTENCY AND SHAPES
Find clear instructions and photos on my free handstand guide download located on my homepage.
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