HOW TO PRACTICE HANDSTANDS

Practice structure

I see confusion, particularly among beginners. When it comes to knowing how often to practice the different elements that make up a healthy handstand routine. This is important to get right. And luckily it is rather straightforward! 🙌🏽

To start with lets lay out some of the main parts that make up a handstand practice

Skill. Flexibility. Strength/Endurance.

Now lets talk about the frequency and order of doing these things. Keeping in mind that this is a generalisation.

Skill

This can be the practice of balance itself. Body awareness and “tricks”. Balance mechanics and drills that develop this on the wall fall under this category as well as entries. Getting familiar with a new shape etc.

This is what should get the highest frequency. Though all the elements above are going to be involved and at times also developed during skill practice.  A ball park figure would be 3-4 times per week for a beginner and more for an intermediate student. (though you would build up to this gradually)

And order wise, you definitely want to work on skills as early as possible in your practice. And if possible earlier in the day too.

In your sets of skill work you should not be going anywhere near failure/exhaustion. Lots of sets of less time, and adequate rest will let you “practice well” and progress much quicker. Sloppy practice equals sloppy results.

To do something often, and to do it well, requires that you keep the intensity fairly low.


Flexibility

Think, opening your shoulders for a straighter handstand line. Working on your splits. Or deepening your forward fold. In terms of order, myself and a fair few other full-time handstanders prefer doing some flexibility work before our skill work begins.

Though I usually only spend around 15-20 mins on this which is less than when I started (and needed it more). This helps to prepare the body for the most efficient  alignment and makes your lines look cleaner!

I also find it quite relaxing and meditative which helps get me in a good headspace for balancing.

In terms of frequency I find I get the best results by stretching most days before handstands but not always. If I practice 4 or 5 times in a week I usually stretch 3 or 4 times beforehand. I do also spend a lot of time in my daily life sitting in some kind of stretch when coaching or reading!

Experiment and see what your body responds best to. Too much can often make you feel tighter. Stretching to improve range is tiring and gives your muscles a pretty good workout, so you will need to rest to improve.


Strength/Endurance

This is a very broad element, that is ever present when performing handstands. but think things like pushups and pull-ups. Variations difficult enough that you can only perform 5-10 reps in a set (strength).  An example of endurance would be holding your handstand on the wall or freestanding for as long as you can.

There is no 100% correct way of doing this  (just different levels, approaches and priorities). But I will give you some things to look out for here.

Dont do strength before skills training. This shouldn’t need much explaining. You will be knackered and unable to practice your skills properly. Work them either at the end of handstands, a few hours later, or on a “non handstand day”

You can make very good progress on 1-2 strength sessions per week. When speaking about working the same exercise (IE push-ups, pullups)

And dont try for a PB every time you do strength or endurance. Just because you didnt flood the floor with sweat and grunt louder than one of Saruman’s orc’s does not mean you wont make progress. Infact, You can quite easily screw up the next days handstand practice by going too hard with this the day before. Leave a little left in the tank.

Give each of these parts of your handstand training the right amount of focus and effort. You will be surprised at how much of a difference it makes.

For coaching you can drop me a line using this form https://www.subyhandstands.com/private-handstand-lessons

=)

Happy Handstands,

Sundi

sundi pereira

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.