Tag Archives | Handstand Pushup

10 Progressive Bent Arm Handstand Presses

Bent arm handstand presses, of the various sorts we’ll cover below, are an awesome show of strength and skill.

The hard part about that is that they require lots of strength and lots of skill to do. That’s probably part of the allure, but it is also what makes them unattainable for most, unless they spend the dedicated practice required.

The difficult part of the skill equation is that you must balance the whole time while doing these. They’re a far cry from doing handstand pushups against the wall. I would recommend to anyone that really wants to get great at these, to spend your time building a solid free handstand first. I would say until you can hold a handstand consistently for at least 20 seconds that you should build your strength another way, as you focus on that skill. (On that note, my Secrets of the Handstand System will help you get there.)

The difficult part of the strength equation is that they have you handle your entire bodyweight with your upper body strength. If you’re a hundred pound gymnast this may not be a big problem. For the rest of us it is.

I remember working on the frogstand press early in my hand balancing career. Not only was the balance hard but each rep was like a max effort press. This makes it hard to work on the “skill” of the movement when it takes everything you’ve got to do it. And it limits the total reps you can do for practice, whether you make them or not.

All bodyweight exercises need to be progressive. That’s one of the hard parts about these. There is no clear progression. You can’t just unload your bodyweight unfortunately. So what I’ve set out to do in this article is give you ten progressively harder presses to work with.

Note: These are all BENT ARM presses. Straight arm presses are an entirely different animal, requiring more flexibility as well as a different kind of strength to do.

We start with the easiest one. Of course to do this you need to have a minimum of strength and balance. We talked about the balance part. As for strength I would recommend being able to do at least 5 handstand pushups against the wall before starting here.

The order of this list is open for some debate. Due to leverages and other factors some people may find that certain skills are easier than others. But I’ve worked with this awhile to find that it works well for me and others I‘ve trained.

1. Frogstand Press

The frogstand is known by a few different names like the crow in yoga. it’s a basic hand balancing skill that can help you on working towards the handstand. So on that note, its great that its also, the starting place for the bent arm presses. From a frogstand, with the knees on the outsides/backs of the elbows, tip forward more and press up into the handstand.

2. Straddle Press

Usually the straddle press is done with the arms locked out, but that doesn’t mean it can’t also be used in a bent arm variation. Spread your legs fairly wide with the hands placed on the ground. Bend the elbows, taking your full weight onto the hands. Bring the legs around and up as you push up into a handstand.

3. Headstand Pushup

Start in a tripod headstand position with your legs straight overhead. From here press up with the hands until you come to a handstand. To make the press a little easier put the hands a little wider than shoulder width.

Learn How to Back Flip in 31 Days
Learn How to Back Flip in 31 Days on Amazon
Headstand

The starting position for this press.

4. Pike Press

Similar to the straddle press, the only difference in this movement is that you’re legs are kept straight and together. This decreases your leverage, forcing you to counterbalance out further and makes it harder to do.

Bent Arm Pike Press

Just after the start when the legs raise off the ground.

5. Handstand Pushup

Kick up into a handstand with the hands shoulder width apart. Lower down touching your nose to the ground and press back up. This can be done with a straight or a curved back, they just change the angle of the press slightly.

6. Tuck Press

Start sitting on your knees (seiza position) on the ground. Press your arms into the ground lifting your body off. Tilt forward, bending the arms then press all the way up to a handstand. This move forces you into a lower starting place and is thus harder to do.

The starting position of the tuck pressup.

The starting position of the tuck pressup.

7. Belly Roll Pressup

There is some skill involved in this movement. You need to learn how to use your momentum and make a good transition as you do it. This is best to do on a padded surface. Start on your knees with the hips straight. Roll forward, arching the back. Your hands will come touch the ground above your hips. Use the momentum to help you press up into the handstand.

One of the steps in the belly roll to handstand.

8. Tiger Bend

Start in a forearm stand, that is balanced across the length of your forearms and hands. This requires a curved back position. Shift your weight forward so that you can come onto the hands in the bottom of a freestanding handstand pushup position. Press up. This requires a more narrow stance of the hands and thus requires significantly more strength.

9. Elbow Lever Press

Start in an elbow lever position with the body held horizontal over the ground your weight resting fully on the elbows. Raise the legs up as you start to press with the hands. The hands will need to rotate on the ground to move towards a regular position as you press up.

Elbow Lever

From here press up to a handstand, rotating your hands along the way.

10. Prone Press

Start laying on the ground stomach down. Place your hands by your hips. Lift your whole body and press up to a handstand in much the same way as the lever press. Since you’re starting lower and must support your entire weight, without the elbow support, this one is quite a bit tougher.

This list was made to exist without any tools, like stacked objects or handles. With those added in, you could build out the list a lot further. Also there can be more intermediate steps like playing with hand width more to make each move more or less difficult.

Also note I have not yet personally achieved steps 9 and 10. As I work more towards these I may find some better intermediary steps.

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How to Do a Handstand Pushup

We’ve all seen them. They looked real cool and impressive. Here are some ideas on how to do a handstand pushup.

The first thing to do is to warm up your shoulder muscles. You can do this by simply shrugging your shoulders several times. Continue by making your arms into wings and flapping them up and down. A final exercise is to swing your arms in a circular motion around the shoulder socket. These will get your shoulders in the correct condition. Once you are warmed up, you are ready to begin the handstand pushups.

Beginners who want to know how to do a handstand pushup should use a wall or spotter for support. Start by placing your hands about a foot from the wall. While locking your arms, kick your feet up and over until you are touching the wall. Once you are in the vertical position, slowly lower your body down to the floor. It is a good idea to put a towel or pillow under your head to avoid injury or banging your head on the floor.  Lower your body to the floor as far as you can go. Make sure you do this slowly. A fast movement will not train your muscles properly. Do as many reps as you can. If you kick out of a handstand after each repetition, you will help train your muscles to prepare for the weight load when you do your handstand pushups.

If you have done a handstand pushup before, you can try a more challenging approach by getting into a headstand position and raising your legs up to your elbows.  From here, you can lift your legs vertically to form the handstand shape.  Another good strategy is to simply walk over onto your hands while your arms are fully extended above your shoulders. You just lean forward and walk your legs up to the upright position. From there, you can press down and up. If you’re looking for a real challenge, try doing a handstand pushup with your legs at a 90 degree angle. Be careful not to put too much stress on the shoulders. They are easily torn.

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Once you know how to do a handstand pushup, you will be hooked.

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More Questions Answered

I figured I’d dive into the email file and answer a few questions today.

“I’ve been working on the one armed handstand pushup and have gotten one armed handstand planks. Do you have any tips for faster progression with the one armed handstand pushup. I’m at partial ROM at the moment.”
Jesse

First off congratulations Jesse, you are much further along then most everyone, including myself.

I can’t give you my personal experience as I haven’t got to that point yet. But I can offer what others have said will work.

The basics of progressing from two hands to one would be to use your off hand less and less. You can do this by raising it on an object or just using less pressure (like going on to the fingertips. This way your ‘working’ arm must do more work.

Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups
Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups on Amazon

For more on the one hand handstand pushup I recommend you check out the book Convict Conditioning by a man who was able to work up to this awesome move. You can read my full Convict Conditioning review here.

“I only started hand balancing because I thought it will make me taller??? I’m 16 and 5’9 will I be 6 ft if I do hand balancing???”
Naqib

This is the first time I got this question. And its interesting. Does hand balancing make you taller? Probably not. Hand balancing and inversion can offer many benefits and keep the spine straight and aligned. This probably won’t make you taller but it certainly won’t make you shorter. Considering that you’re young its likely that you’ll still keep growing.

“I have been practicing handstands for 3 years. I probably practiced it the wrong way because I can barely hold it for 5 seconds. What can I do to extend the life of my handstands?”
Brian

Don’t mean to be harsh but yes you must be doing something wrong. It took me about a year to work up to thirty seconds and I think that was too long!

You must be neglecting something basic like keeping the body tight. Without seeing you do a handstand I can’t advise you better than that. No matter what it is though, I encourage you to revisit the lead-up stunts as described in the Secrets of the Handstand Quick Start Guide.

Sir I am practicing yoga since 1 & 1/2 years. I can do difficult postures excluding this handstand. In yoga all boys generally perform curved Handstand instead of straight Handstand. Sir I have one question, What is the role of our back while performing handstand? Is it responsible for balancing Or Handstand is only depends on power in our hands? Also I am 20 year old. I listened that age is one of the barrier in practicing the handstand. Is it true? If possible Please tell me sir, at what age you have started the Handstand?
Aniruddha

Whether you have a straight or curved handstand the back is not involved in the balance. IT is used to keep you stable, but you do not arch more or less in order to stay balanced. Balancing comes from the hands and also the shoulders. (For beginners I recommend keeping the shoulders immobile and focusing on the hands.)

As for age there’s a few things going on. Kids are better off at gaining skills. They have more myelin which allows them to gain skills quickly. And by starting early you have more time to build your skill. (Full details on this can be found on the Skill and How to Build It CD found in the Hand Balancing Mastery Course.)

They also weigh less and are closer to the ground. So yes, younger people are much better off at hand balancing. But age is no barrier. You can become good, even great, if you’re dedicated.

That’s enough questions for today. Pay attention to the next post for something special. Until then…

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

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Handstand Pushup Book

The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups is now available.

I know a number of you have been waiting for it, and for the launch you can get it now for $10 off the regular price.

Those who ordered during the pre-publication offer should already have their copies, or at least they are on the way.

How to do the One Hand Handstand by Professor Orlick
ow to do the One Hand Handstand on Amazon

For those of you that missed out, now’s your chance.

You can see the full details on handstand pushups here.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. The main focus of this guide is one building strength, but Chapter 10 that covers the freestanding handstand pushup as well. Get your copy of The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups.

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Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups FAQ

The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups in flying of the shelves…

…I guess that’s not technically true, since it’s not done yet and there are no shelves for it to fly off of. 🙂

But tons of people are taking action and ordering now. I don’t think I’ve ever had so many orders come in on one day. It looks like many people really want this information.

Besides the orders many people have sent in a bunch of questions. In case you have those too I’ll answer them here.

‘Why are you doing a pre-publication sale?’

This is a way to make sure people want what I’m working on.

There’s nothing worse then working hours on a project to bring it to life and find that no one is really interested.  Yeah, unfortunately its happened before.

Because its not ready to ship yet when you buy now you’ll pay less then when its ready. Probably $49 later but only $29.95 now.

‘Are there going to be DVD’s?’

Yes.

My original plan was to have a course with the book and DVD’s. But I decided, since it takes less effort, to do the book first (actually a rough draft of the book was sitting on my hard drive for a long time).

How to do the One Hand Handstand by Professor Orlick
ow to do the One Hand Handstand on Amazon

There will be DVD’s down the line, probably a few months from now. Anyone who buys the book now or later will get a special deal on these when they come out.

‘Do you ship internationally?’

Absolutely.

‘Can I order my check, money order, paypal, or over the phone?’

Yes. Visit the Order Info page for details.

‘I can’t wait for the book. When will it be ready?’

The books will be shipped out in less than a month barring any unforeseen accidents. I have a tight schedule and I’m committed to keeping to it so it’s finished fast.

In fact, as soon as I send this out I’ll be writing more in the Advanced Handstand Pushup Exercises section. Gotta go!

Good Luck and Good Handstand Pushups,
Logan Christopher

P.S. I don’t have much to say here. Just go check out the guide and see all that you’ll learn about handstand pushups.

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Parkour Terrain and How Much to Practice Handstands

Thought I answer a couple more questions today. Lots of them have been coming in recently. While I can’t get to every one individually I’ll try to answer them in these posts.

“I always wanted to start parkour and didn’t know how to start. When I saw the dvd that your selling I thought this is an excellent starting point, but the problem is that there is no vaults, rails etc… in the place that I live in. Any suggestions?”
Ahmed

Unfortunately, Parkour does require a certain kind of terrain in order to really practice the moves. My advice is to just be on the lookout for anything you can use.

The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing
The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing on Amazon

While most people practice in cities even small benches and fences can give you a few obstacles to overcome. Most places should have some walls you can climb and areas to jump off of.

The most basic moves can even be practiced with nothing like jumping and rolling.

But in the end you may have to travel a bit to get the best results.

To learn all the Parkour basics get the Parkour Tutorial DVD.

“I have training towards the goal of achieving a full range of motion handstand pushup, I am currently still doing the regular hand stands, which I have not mastered yet. How often would you advise to train handstands.”
Ashley

To keep it short, the more practice you do the better you’ll get.

Handstands are a very tough skill. Getting to the point where you can do them easily and consistently is going to take many hours of practice.

So to get best results you should practice them every single day. How much you do it is up to you. You can do one long practice or spread it out over the day.

And if you’re just beginning you may have to work up to this volume of training.

Before working on the handstand pushup you should be consistent with your handstands. And because this move can also be taxing on your muscles you may have to practice it a bit less.

I hope that helps. Later this week I’ll have another video or two to show you.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. On another topic, I’m doing a free teleseminar on hitting your training goals this Wednesday. Its more focused on strength training but will cover practicing skills as well. If you want to sign up for the Goal Teleseminar click here.

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Mako Sakamoto's Handstand Pushup Record

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.

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Freestanding Handstand Pushups

One of the moves that got me into hand balancing in the first place was the freestanding handstand pushup. I had built up to doing handstand pushups against the wall and I always wanted to do them balancing on my own.

Well, having the strength to press yourself up and the balance to maintain the handstand are two completely different things. And to do the free handstand pushup you need both.

I hadn’t practiced this move much, at least not in recent times. But, just over a month ago I decided to really go after it. In my training I used three different methods to work on the move. Below you can watch one of those three.


Freestanding Handstand Pushups

This clip is from the December issue of Acrobat Accelerator. On top of the three primary methods of training you’ll learn about little shifts you can do in your position to make this move much easier or harder to suit your level.

I wouldn’t say I completely mastered the move yet, but that’s just a matter of more work. Stay tuned for next time when I’ll be sharing a story of someone who has.

Plus in this month’s Acrobat Accelerator, I share a warm-up routine I’ve been using everyday before hand balancing. Plus some startling studies on stretching that may have you re-thinking what you’ve been doing.

Hand Balancing Made EasyHandBalancingMadeEasy_on_Amazon

If you’re not already a member you can get this month’s issue for free with any of the following products:

Hand Balancing Mastery Course
Secrets of the Handstand Quickstart Guide
Tumbling Course

Or just by itself here – Acrobat Accelerator

But there’s only a few copies left and when its gone its gone. If you want to master the freestanding handstand this is the one to get.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

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The Biggest One Hand Handstand Tip

The one hand handstand is probably the most amazing skill in hand balancing. Sure there are more difficult ones and variations of the move but everyone can understand just how remarkable the one hand handstand is.

Walking and Jumping On Your HandsWalking and Jumping On Your Hands on Amazon

If you can hold a one armer you’re doing something right. If you can’t do it, you’re likely dreaming of the one day when you can.

On the following page you’ll find Bob Jones biggest tip for accomplishing this goal. Too many people gloss over this as it seems too simple (myself included).

Tips on the One Hand Handstand

This is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact The True Art and Science of Hand Balancing has not one but two chapters on this one arm balancing.

I received several comments from people who are loving the videos. If you want to add your name to the list you can go directly to the youtube pages and post your comments there. And while you’re at it, give it a good rating for me.

Here’s the videos from the previous three days:
One Hand Handstand
Handstand Pushup Tips
Handstand Shoulder Weaving

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

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On Handstand Pushups

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

Tumbling Illustrated
Tumbling Illustrated on Amazon

There’s much more on pressing where that came from.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

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