Tag Archives | handstand against wall

How To Do a Handstand and Stay Up

By Sharon on September 6, 2012 in Handstands, Yoga

Most of us dreaded gym class in school. One of the hardest tasks was learning how to do a handstand and stay up. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be on the US Olympic Gymnastics team to perform a steady handstand. It takes patience, practice and good technique.

This video shows getting up into a handstand from a yoga perspective. I’d approach it differently but there are some good tips here.

If you have never attempted a handstand before, have a friend hold your legs as you kick up into a handstand. You can also practice against a wall. Whichever route you choose, make sure to follow the same guidelines below on how to do a handstand and stay up:

Place your hands on the floor in front of you. Make sure they are about shoulder width apart. If you get too wide, you will fall and not have a good balance.
Another tip is to spread your fingers out to make a wider base. It is essential that you lock your elbows once you begin the handstand. This is crucial for a good platform.
Begin by placing your hands on the floor in front of you with your elbows locked.
Place your dominant leg forward and kick up into a handstand with your weaker leg.

You may need to practice doing a few kicks to get the right balance. If you are worried about falling over, try to use a softer surface to practice your handstand on. Grass is good to start. Once you are able to get yourself up into a vertical position, look at your hands to keep yourself balanced. Avoid moving your head around and keep your legs locked together. It is a good practice to point your toes to the sky. This helps your balance and presents a nicer image. Allowing your legs to dangle over your head is not a good technique because it could throw you off balance and it doesn’t look good. Use your palms for balance. If you start to fall forward, push with your fingers. If you find yourself falling backwards, push on your palm heels for balance. Staying up in the correct shape requires a lot of strength, which can be achieved through practice.

Finally, watch the video and take notes on things that you should not do if you want to stay up when doing a handstand. Like most things, it will take time and practice to know how to do a handstand and stay up.

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One Arm Handstand Series Part 2

By admin on June 10, 2010 in One Hand

This is the second in the series on progress towards the one arm handstand series.

In the Secrets of the Handstand Quick Start Video I show four lead-up stunts that work the skills necessary to do a handstand.

The one arm handstand has lead-up stunts too.

One Arm Handstand Against Wall As was discussed previously in part 1, the most important lead-up stunt is to build a stable and consistent handstand that you can hold with ease. Only once you are at this point should you begin work towards that one arm version.

Just like for the regular handstand, a handstand against the wall can be used. In using it to lead-up to the one arm handstand, you’ll obviously do it on one arm.

This can help to build your strength. Plus you’ll be able to work on your position, to make sure you get exactly as you want. This is excellent as I find in my practice that as I fatigue it becomes harder to stay in the locked out position. Much easier to work on building this up without focusing on balancing, by using the wall. With a stronger position you will be able to practice longer and more.

When you do that one arm handstand against the wall you should do it in the same form as you’ll be working on the balance. If your legs are spread, do it legs spread. If you’re working on the one hander with legs together, do that against the wall. Try to minimize your lean as much as possible as you strive for the best position.

Being able to hold the one arm handstand against the wall for 45 seconds to a minute is a good goal to shoot for. This is one important step in the journey towards success.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. Want more help for the one arm handstand? Be sure to check out How to do the One Hand Handstand by Professor Orlick.

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One Arm Handstand Shrug

By admin on April 9, 2010 in Handstands, One Hand

When talking to Jim Bathurst the other night we we’re discussing the one arm handstand. Several points came up but I want to focus on one of them right now. And this actually applies to any hand balancing you do.

That point is shrugging up your shoulders.

When you go into a handstand you want to reach your shoulders towards your ears. Do not let gravity depress your shoulders. Why? This makes it so that your body is fully locked out. This improves your position as well as your endurance.

Shrugged vs. Not Shrugged

This is even more essential in the one arm handstand. But here’s the thing. Some people may not even have the strength in the shoulder girdle and scapula to do it properly.

As is many times the case in hand balancing it’s a good idea to go back to the wall for this one. Doing the one arm handstand against the wall, where you don’t need to worry so much about balance, you can focus on getting the shoulder shrugged.

In The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups there’s an exercise called the Handstand Shrug. This is just to repeat this shrugging motion over an over for reps. While I didn’t think about it at the time, you could do this exact same exercise on just one arm. (I just tried it against and found it to be quite fun.)

This will strengthen the area, giving you the strength to really begin to progress toward the one arm handstand.