There apparently is a big joke about doing a handstand on the South Pole. That if you go there and do a handstand that you are holding the world up.
If you go to the south pole and do a handstand are you holding up the earth? - Philosoraptor
Here's another one that basically says the same thing.
Finally I like to see someone that has actually done it. So here you go a real south pole handstand.
Chaz Firestone does a Handstand at the South Pole
(By the way you can tell he’s just about falling in an under balance. My guess is he’s not great at standing on his hands.)
So the answer is no you would not be holding the world up, but yet if you’re at the south pole go ahead and do a handstand anyway so you can tell people you’ve done it.
Handstand shrugs are a seldom used exercise yet they can be quite important.
Ask any professional hand balancer, or just watch them at work, and you’ll see how much their shoulders are shrugged up towards their ears. (Here is an example of Cai Yong.) This is necessary to get the locked out position that makes balancing much better.
But this isn’t necessary to do just a regular handstand. Handstands can be done even with the shoulders packed in, but this is not optimal.
Shrugged vs. Not Shrugged
Kick up into a handstand against the wall. Keep your arms locked at the elbows the entire time. Just using the muscles of your shoulder girdle and traps, shrug up, trying to make yourself taller. Stretch as far as you can go. Then lower using the same muscles and repeat.
The most important thing is that this exercise can help build the shoulder flexibility you need to get into the best handstand position possible.
The handstand on forearms is commonly called the forearm stand.
There are also a number of other names like the lion or tiger stand. In yoga it has been called Pincha Mayurasana or the Feathered Peacock pose.
It is a great exercise for opening up the upper back and shoulders. It can also be used for lower back flexibility. In the following video you’ll see a woman doing just that. Pay attention to the different positions she takes with her legs, and also how she starts off with support in this position. If you’ve never done the forearm stand before I would highly recommend doing it against a wall the first time.
I typically teach the handstand on forearms as one of the lead-up stunts towards the true handstand, as once you’re use to it, it’s quite easy to balance in. For more details check out the Secrets of the Handstand Quick Start.
This post is about moving from a handstand to crow position. The crow is the common name used in yoga, for what I generally refer to as the frogstand. It is also called a bakasana.
You’ll notice here the strap around her arms. This is a prop used to help keep the arms in the proper alignment. I’ve never tried it out myself, but it looks like it could be helpful in preventing the arms from flaring out.
Moving from the handstand to crow is easier then going the opposite way, the crow to handstand as is shown in the following video. Of course this can then be done with lowering back down in the same manner.
The handstand to crow and vice versa can be done with straighter arms or arms with more bend.
If you don’t have the strength to support yourself in these positions yet, you can also do animal movements, which take some of the weight onto the hands which will build up your ability until you can support yourself.
Are you asking is a handstand easier than a headstand?
The short answer is NO! (Although there are some exceptions.)
Let me explain why.
The handstand has a smaller base of support, i.e. your two hands, rather then the two hands and your head that are commonly used in the headstand.
The leverage of your body is also longer in the handstand then in the headstand, making your center of gravity higher, and thus it harder to balance.
For these two reasons handstands are not easier then headstands.
Here are the exceptions:
1 – You have cervical problems that don’t allow you to put weight on your head. If it causes pain or injury then a handstand may be easier then a headstand.
I just finished up the Animal Flow Certification put on by Mike Fitch of Global Bodyweight Training. Mike is a good friend of mine and I’m happy to say I lent a helping hand in getting his website and business off the ground. So to see the great success he’s had so far is amazing.
After finishing up the weekend I asked Mike to do a short interview. It would have been longer but I had to hit the road and drive 6 hours home.
In this interview we talked about his background, how the animal flow movements came about, how the build the exact strength, flexibility and skill needed for hand balancing, and what it takes to become good.
This is a collection of the best handstand fail sources I could find on the web.
Before we dive in it’s important to note that hand balancing can be practiced safely but injury is possible, especially if you do stupid things. You can read this article for handstand safety tips. It’s not fun but its important to know and do.
Handstand Treadmill Fail
This is probably the most classic handstand fail video where a man attempts to stand on his hands on a speed treadmill. OUCH!
Don’t Hand Balance in the Kitchen
Wow this one was funny. When walking it’s common to overbalance. Make sure you have room to fall.
Cat interferes with Handstand Practice
If you have animals around, who hasn’t had this happen to them in this or other exercises?
Handstand Destruction
Unfortunately this can be a common issue. Not having control you end up stumbling and crash into something. Sometime it’s not problem, sometimes you break something like in this video.
Car Headstand Fail
There’s a couple hundred bucks. You can feel the guy thinking wow that was stupid after he falls.
Sad Attempts at Handstands
This guy is scared of getting vertical. He definitely needs to do easier moves first before trying a handstand.
Crutch Handstand Fail
This could have been a cool trick if he pulled it off.
Drunk Handstands
When you can barely walk on your legs you should try it on your hands.
Why you should lock out your arms
When doing a handstand in the open or against a wall you should keep your arms locked to avoid looking like this guy.
The Neckstand
I think that’s enough handstand fails for now.
If this page made you laugh please share it.
If you have seen some even better handstand fails be sure to link to them in the comments below.
The bboy world has a lot of crossover with the hand balancing world. It starts with as simple as the handstand freezes. This video gives you some training tips on doing just that.
Handstand Freezes
There is a decent progression shown in this couple on minutes.
1 – Do a handstand against the wall
2 – Do a one handed handstand against the wall
3 – Do handstands freezes out in the open
4 – Do one arm handstand freezes out in the open (this isn’t shown but is implied)
In bboying the handstands aren’t held for long, but are short stalls, hence the name freeze, as you move from one move to the next.
Still by training in the handstand as you’ll find on this site you could do a lot to improve you bboy skills, especially in handstand freezes.
If you’re looking for a handstand bow and arrow there may be two things you’re looking for.
The first one is an amazing skill done by some acrobats where they shoot a bow and arrow at a target with their feet while in a handstand. This woman does it blindfolded too.
The second option which I only became aware of when looking for the first, is a pole dancing move known as the handstand bow and arrow. Don’t worry this is PG rated.
You can do the same skill without a pole, just using a wall instead. It could be used as a great way to improve your dynamic flexibility in the leg.
While the second skill isn’t as hard as the first, they’re both great handstand skills. Feel free to try them.
