I was hand balancing for a long time before I realized this tip. And when I did I immediately improved my abilities.
We’re talking about almost doubling the amount of time I could hold a handstand. Being able to do multiple complete pirouette turns versus falling after just turning 180 degrees.
By paying attention to the furthest point from where you are balancing (i.e. your toes) you’ll be able to correct any shift in your balance before its too late.
To really drive this home do a little experiment with me. Go ahead and try a handstand while putting all your attention on your hands.
Now try it while paying attention to your feet.
After you’ve done that report your results by commenting below.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
Great tip! I had never thought about focusing on the feet before, I usually focus on flexing my fingers and hand muscles to correct balance. I am a diver and do handstands on the edge of the tower for platform diving.
I can’t test out the technique right now because i’m at work, but I’ll try it when I get home.
Logan, you’re right! Even more important is a tip you only mentioned slightly… to keep the legs and abs *tight*. As soon as I shifted my attention to my toes, it made me aware of how loose my legs were, I tightened the legs and abs, and *bam* was able to hold balance much longer! Thanks again for your awesome insights!!! *Love* The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing !:)
Can’t wait to have my gymnasts try this. One of them can walk on her hands but can’t hold her handstand for more than 5 seconds. She always looks at her hands! I will share this tip with them soon!
Wauw Logan that was a nice tip! Can’t wait to try it out 😀
Thanks. I’ll try it today.
Hi Logan,
I tried this over the weekend and managed several 40+ second handstands each session! I was doubtful that it would really help but by paying attention to my feet, I became aware that my legs were not always perfectly straight. Contacting my core, I was able to realign my legs and found the balance sweet spot and can now hold it quite consistently.
I was taught to focus solely on the hands but a more general focus across the whole body seems to work better. Thanks for the tip.