It’s been awhile since I’ve put up a full article on the site.
Well, there’s a new one up there now. This one shows you an exercise to build stronger wrists specifically to help you balance better.
Give it a try and let me know how it works for you. And its just the first of many more articles to come.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. If you missed the announcement of the new Trampoline Handbook be sure to go check it out.
I have some cool things in the work for this month. One of them is nearing completion. More on that subject later.
In the meantime let’s tackle a few more questions that have been sent in.
First off from Carol.
“If I keep practicing kicking up to a handstand against the wall, and holding it as long as I can with a tight body, will I eventually be able to do the handstand without the wall?”
The handstand against the wall is an important lead-up stunt I advise beginners to do when starting out with the handstand. It is great to work up to holding for at least one minute while maintaining a good position.
However, although you can learn how to keep your body tight and up in space you will not learn how to balance from this position. This requires a few other moves as well as practicing at the freestanding handstand itself.
And next from Ashley.
“Hi there. I consider myself to be a quite a physical culturist. I have made handstands a staple exercise in my upperbody workouts. I am currently working towards handstand push ups with my hands elevated to get full range of motion. How often would you recommend to train handstands to get to the desired standard?”
First off congratulations. Handstand pushups are often no more then a dream to most people, especially when you start going after the full range of motion.
I just happened to be working on a few myself today. In all honesty, depending on how you train with them you could do them everyday or just twice a week. And either way you can make progress.
If you just do a few sets each day and none of them are an all-out effort, you could do them every day.
But in most cases I would advise two or three times a week. Train them hard and eventually you’ll be able to do many full range reps. The important thing to look at is if you are moving forward. If your are then your training is good and you should continue.
If you’ve been training handstand pushups whether just starting out or doing them with ease I’d love to hear about your training. Send in questions, concerns, workouts or specific exercises you’ve come up with. Just hit the reply button up above.
That’ll wrap it up for today.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. About that first thing I mentioned. If you’re following me on facebook or twitter there was a big hint just put up there in the form of a question. If you aren’t already become my friend on facebook or follow me on twitter by clicking the links.
“Study the science of art and the art of science.”
-Leonardo da Vinci
Hand balancing is an art. Hand balancing is a science. Which do you practice?
It is very helpful do break down what needs to be done with the handstand to make it as easy as possible for people to do. To understand all the principles of leverage and positioning.
But on the flip side sometimes you want to get lost in the flow of practice. Just get into a handstand and FEEL it. Not worrying about trying to hold it for longer, but enjoying the moment.
If you’ve been working in one direction play around with the other.
By treating hand balancing as an art form you’re likely to have more fun. Plus by going deep inside you’ll learn about subtle changes you should be making.
Looking at the science behind hand balancing and you’ll know the best ways to advance your skills. How to progress. What you need to work on to master any one move.
Add them together and you get the best of both worlds.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. Professor Paulinetti knew this. That’s why his book was named The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing. If you want a big dose of both the art and science grab your copy now.
Mako Sakamoto is not likely a name you have heard. He was a US National Champ in the 1960’s and has coached many successful gymnasts, including Olympic Gold Medalist Peter Vidmar.
One day during the athletes training they decided to find out how many freestanding handstand pushups they could do on the parallel bars. Mind you that these were full range, dropping down to the shoulders, not the head, and pressing back up. Coach Sakamoto got 19 on that day.
But he continued to train for many years. Twelve more to be exact, when he was 50 years old he set a new record. 163 consecutive full range freestanding handstand pushups.
One Hundred Sixty-Three!
He is over 60 years old now and still trains every morning. Though he won’t be breaking that record he can easily do 75 handstand pushups in the same manner which is far and beyond what most people would dream of doing.
To most people who can’t do a single rep or hold a handstand, that number seems unfathomable. But with the right training and true dedication it can be done.
I learned of this amazing feat from Coach Sommers over at www.GymnasticBodies.com. Check out his site and especially the new book Building the Gymnastic Body for great gymnastic training information.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. If you want to get started on your first freestanding handstand pushups you can get it in this month’s Acrobat Accelerator.
Recently, I haven’t had a lot of time to devote to hand balancing. What with family visiting, traveling around and all that entails.
So I had to cut down on the time I practiced hand balancing. Especially when you factor in that hand balancing is just one aspect of training I’m going after.
I know there are some that want to become world class and are willing to train hours each day. They are the ones that will get to the top. All the more power to you, if that what you’re going after.
Then there are those who just think hand balancing is fun and a challenge. Something they’d like to get better at, but its not a major thing they do.
Even in this second category, over time you can reach skills that most people would never think of doing.
The point of all this is that even with limited time and practice you can still progress.
I’ve come to the conclusion that when you do, you’re better off focusing on one or at most two different skills.
When you got plenty of time you can work on everything. But when you only spend 10 minutes a day you need to go after one thing and go after it hard.
Make it your goal and you’ll get there quickly without being distracted by all the other things you could be doing.
This same idea works behind everything, not just hand balancing. The more you focus the better results you’ll get as your energies won’t be spread too thin.
So if you’ve been working on every different possible skill, now may be the time to pick one and really go after it. What can you accomplish before the year is over?
After all, you can always change your goal later on after you‘ve hit it. And since all the skills require balancing they will carry over to the other exercises.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. Even if you focus on one skill there are multiple ways to work towards it. This Quickstart Guide will give you all the tools you need to reach the basic handstand quickly.
One exercise that brings more people into hand balancing more than any other is the handstand pushup. Many people do them against the wall to build up strength. Sooner or later they figure how much better it’d be without using the wall for balance.
Even if you have the strength to do them against the wall and the balance to hold a handstand the free standing handstand press can be a bit more challenging.
In this new video Bob Jones tells you what you need to do to make the move easier…or harder!
Bob Jones on Handstand Pushups
There’s much more on pressing where that came from.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
September 22nd marks a special day. From here there are exactly 100 days left in the year.
Think about what can you accomplish in 100 days?
Here is my encouragement to set a big goal for the end of the year. Pick one thing and go after it with a fury. One hundred days may seem like a long time but it’ll pass quickly. You can use that time to do the same old thing every day or set a new lofty goal to conquer.
I am issuing a challenge to you who have not yet held a free standing handstand. If you’ve been thinking about starting to give it a try, or have only dabbled in the exercise, now’s the time to go after it full force.
Get my Secrets of the Handstand Quickstart Guide now and by the end of the year you’ll be holding the handstand with ease.
If you follow the system you will get there. I guarantee it.
And if for some reason you don’t succeed in just over three months, you can get a full refund. I’ll even let you keep the guide for giving it a shot.
It takes work to master the handstand, but more than that it takes an intelligent program to get there.
The Secrets of the Handstand Quickstart Guide has that intelligent program. The handstand itself is too difficult to do in the beginning. You need other exercises that lead up to it to build your strength and skill.
You’ll also get this month’s Acrobat Accelerator featuring some of the best drills and exercises I’ve learned from an accomplished gymnast.
If you can’t do the handstand take me up on my challenge.
If you already can choose your own goal and use this last 100 days of 2008 to make a difference.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. A new version of The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing will be in stock soon. Just placed a large order at the printers today after seeing the proof copy. I’ll be holding something of a special event to celebrate the re-launch.
The wood chips and sawdust flying. Loud noise as wood is sanded down and bolts are screwed in. A couple hours of work from buying the supplies to a finished product. Overall a successful rebuilding of the hand balancing stands.
It’s not exactly done yet. There’s a couple changes that need to be made to the base but this is close to the final product in design and functionality.
The big improvement was in making the stands at changeable heights. Currently, there is 5” and 14” possibilities. It’s a snap to change between them too. And depending on what exercises you’re doing you can change it up.
I’ve been having lots of fun using them off-set to work on the one hand handstand. Keeping one low and one high instead of at the same height.
The blocks where your hands will rest are made of quality oak, sanded down to a smooth finish and with all the edges removes to permit maximum comfort.
Another big advantage is that these are highly portable. The stands can be disassembled to save room. This also means shipping is not expensive, even overseas.
Having figured out the cost of materials (which was unfortunately more than expected) and the time and effort that goes into making the stands I am now making them available on the site.
This is a pre-production offer. If you order now the stands will be manufactured and shipped out near the end of the month at the latest. Possibly sooner.
For that reason you can order now at a discount as the initial supply is made. They’re $80 if you order now in this one-time offer. If you wait to order until they’re in full production they’ll probably be closer to $100 per pair.
Along with every order will be a guide to using the stands for the best benefit. Even including how you can make more and different heights available.
If you were one of the many who were clamoring to get your hands on these stands (no pun intended) now is your chance. Click here.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. A few people expressed interest in a how-to-build-your-own guide. Those instructions may come along with the guide on how to use them and made available separately later on. But unless you have the tools necessary to do the job and the time to do it, this is the best and only deal you’ll find.
As it stands right now there are over two to one people for making the hand balancing stands.
Firstly, I want to thank everyone who took the time to reply to my last email whether you were for or against the idea.
Besides the results there was lots of confusion. A number of people thought I was talking about parallettes, which is not the case. I own and use a pair of parallettes but this is different from the hand balancing stands.
Obviously, instead of trying to tell you what they are I’m going to show you.
There’s a video of me talking a bit about the stands as well as putting them into use. Then you have the straight up photo.
[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiBkpPwDia0]
So once again if you didn’t already answer, whether you‘d be interested in getting a pair of hand balancing stands similar to these. You can comment below or shoot an email to [email protected].
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
The other day I went to a park that’s only a couple blocks away to do a little bit of training.
Nothing scheduled, just to work on some skills and have a little fun.
Various acrobatic moves. I’m always working on the backflip in order to get better. Plus walking around on the hands and the like.
On top of that I brought along a kettlebell. Not a heavy one, only 35 lbs., to do some kettlebell juggling.
I always enjoy this combo. Acrobatic work along with the kettlebell juggling.
Besides them both being fun I find that the juggling tends to work the body in ways hand balancing and tumbling doesn’t.
Toss the weight around. Do a few backflips. Toss it around some more. Work on a one hand handstand. And so on and so forth.
Thirty minutes will blow by so quick and in that time you’ll achieved much. Get a decent workout without trying hard at all. But most importantly you’ll quickly improve your skills. Especially if you string a few practices like this together on a consistent basis.
Now I know that kettlebell juggling isn’t for everyone, nor is hand balancing for that matter. But if you like one I think you should at least give the other a spin.
Over the years I’ve gotten quite good with the kettlebell juggling. And now I can teach you all my moves.
I just released a two DVD set covering everything I know about kettlebell juggling.
I like to keep the various sites I have separate because I know some people are only interested in certain aspects of training. Which is fine and why in general I do just that.
But I just wanted to put out this one notice in case anyone who would be interested missed my other websites.
Like I said before I think they go well together. So give it a shot, you’ll be glad you did. Click here for The Definitve Guide to Kettlebell Juggling
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. Of course you need a kettlebell to get started and if you don’t have one you can get the best here.
© 2024 Lost Art of Hand Balancing. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by WordPress. Designed by 
