Tag Archives | Handstand Pushups

Benefits of the Basics

By admin on March 24, 2010 in Handstands

I got an email the other day from a student who had purchased the Hand Balancing Mastery Course.

I’ve started dreaming about holding handstands, which for me is good sign that I’ll eventually get it, LOL!

I teach a Crossfit-style strength and conditioning class at a Krav Maga school in Dallas, and I’ve added 1 minute of crow stands to our warm-up every time. It is working nicely. A few students have remarked how their striking has improved with the enhanced wrist/forearm strength. People are kicking up into handstands against the wall, and showing progress in their handstand pushups. I have a yoga instructor as a student who has some amazing handbalancing skill, so everyone sees what is possible. Granted it will be even more impressive when I get it at 225lbs! My class is kick butt and your handbalancing course is one of my secret weapons.

Best regards,
Jon Burroughs

How to do the One Hand Handstand by Professor Orlick

Crowstand AKA Frogstand or Knees-on-Elbows Stand

Thanks Jon. Its amazing what even the most basic hand balancing skills can do for people.

Not everyone may want to be able to do a one handed handstand or a planche, but I think everyone should be capable of holding a handstand at least against a wall. And with a bit more practice the free standing handstand is not too difficult.

The benefits of working on these basic skills make them worth it for virtually anyone.

This is something I discussed in the teleseminar with Jim Bathurst last night.

You need to choose how far you want to go. You can reach the basic skills in a relatively short time, especially if you train smart. It also won’t take much time. But if you want to go for the advanced skills, realize that you’re going to have to prove your dedication. (The proper roadmap and coaching on these is now next to essential.)

For the basics or advanced skills I try to offer the best resources available. There may even be some more personal help available soon…

Stay tuned for that and I’ll also be providing a few more takeaways from that call soon.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

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How to Handstand Longer

By admin on August 26, 2009 in Handstands

Today’s question addresses how to build a longer handstand.

“Is it possible to add 2 seconds to my hand balancing every week? If it is how long would I have to practise for weekly?”
Lucy

I think this is a great way to approach holding a handstand longer. Set a goal to add two seconds each week. It is certainly a reasonable goal and should easily be accomplished.

If you practiced each day you could start off just working on the handstand. When you did reach your goal for the remaining days in the week you could work on other skills. Once the new week comes you again try to add two seconds.

Overall, I don’t think it would require much time but this does depend on where you are at. If you are stuck at six seconds that is different then being stuck at two minutes.

This same approach would work well for any timed hold you are seeking to increase.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. Don’t forget The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups has just been released and is selling strong. Get your copy and be on the way to much more strength.

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Handstand Pushup Book

By admin on August 24, 2009 in Uncategorized

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.

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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Give Me Your HSPU Questions?

By admin on July 28, 2009 in Uncategorized

I’m nearing completion of the second draft of The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups. And I could use your help.

You see, Chapter 11 addresses all the common problems people may have when doing handstand pushups. I have a bunch of questions already from a survey I did awhile back, but I want to make sure I cover all the bases.

Read the questions I have so far below then comment below with any others you have.

********************

How do you combine handstand training with other exercises?

How can I train HSPU’s with an injury?

How often should I workout?

How long should I rest in between sets?

How should I warm-up before HSPU’s?

What do I do if I cannot lock out my arms?

I seem to be stuck at a plateau. How do I break through it?

I don’t have a good place to practice HSPU’s. What should I do?

I seem to have problems just kicking up to the handstand. What should I do?

Handstands seem to make my wrists hurt? What should I do?

How should I include HSPU’s into my training schedule?

My back seems to arch a lot when I try HSPU’s and I fall out of the handstand? What should I do?

When I try a harder variation of the HSPU I find it difficult to maintain my form?

I don’t think I’m working on HSPU’s enough to really get better at them? What is the minimum amount I need to do?

I have problems with my feet sliding up and down the wall. What can I do?

*********************

There is much else covered within the other chapters of the book, but I want to make sure I get everything you need to really make this the ultimate guide.

And something equally important.

I’m closing down the pre-publication sale in 48 hours. Consider this your last warning to save almost $20 off the retail price of this book.

Oh yeah, and stupid me, on the page I forgot to mention my guarantee. Everything I offer includes a 3 month money-back guarantee. That includes this guide and the three months won’t start until the day you receive it.

So send in your questions and if you haven’t already, join the many others who’ve taken advantage of this special off before its too late.

The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups

Good Luck and Good Handstand Pushups,
Logan Christopher

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Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups FAQ

By admin on July 28, 2009 in Uncategorized

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).

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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Pre-Sale on Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups

By admin on July 28, 2009 in Uncategorized

It’s been a long time in the works. And its finally ready…well, almost.

I’m talking about The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups. I’m making a special pre-production offer for the book.

And you can get it for far less than I intended to release it for.

Everything you could ever want to know about handstand pushups. If you’ve never done one before or if your working up to reps in full-range.

Check it out – The Ultimate Guide to Handstand Pushups.

Good Luck and Good Handstand Pushups,
Logan Christopher

P.S. I’ve overloaded this with every piece of information on using handstands and handstand pushups to build strength. But there’s extras too like freestanding handstand pushups, building parallettes, and tons of workouts too.

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One Small Change = One Big Difference

By admin on July 22, 2009 in Uncategorized

I remember one day in 2005 when I was working out in my garage in San Luis Obispo, California.

I was doing a circuit combining chinnups and handstand pushups (an awesome combo, by the way). I had hit my goal number of reps and sets in the handstand pushups so I thought I was ready to start adding some height to extend the range of motion.

Boy, I was wrong.

You see in order to increase the height, I had to do a new setup which ended up changing my position in the handstand. When I tried I couldn’t do a single rep in this new form when I was suppose to be doing sets of three.

Even after I eliminated the new height and replicated the same position I still found these handstand pushups dramatically harder then the version I had been doing before.

What was going on here?

That was my first realization that by changing your position in the handstand and for the pushups you can dramatically increase or decrease the difficulty of the move. And this is without adding any height or weight!

It’s funny when people say they can do 15 or 20 handstand pushups. That’s all great but HOW are you doing those reps?

I can tell you how to make handstand pushups as easy as possible or so hard it’ll cut your reps by at least half, again without doing anything but changing the position of your hands, arms, head and body.

And on that note I have a very special announcement coming tomorrow.

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. Handstand pushups really are one of the best exercises you can do for many reasons. Why not go deep and learn all you can about them?

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Bad Handstand Habits, Training Frequency + More

By admin on May 26, 2009 in Flexibility & Contortion, Handstands, Walking & Jumping

Thanks for all the suggestions after my last message. Going to answer a number of them today.

“I am just started handstands and I notice that my arms are bent it seems I have a bad habit, ideas?”

You know this is something I battled with for a long time. When doing a handstand you want to have your arms locked out the entire time.

Should you overbalance you can bend your arms to save yourself but this should only be used as a last resort. And when you’re starting out you are better off not doing it so that you learn to use your hands to balance.

So how do you break this habit? Returning to the wall and doing handstands there with locked out arms would certainly help.

Also, any time you kick-up into a handstand have your arms straight from the very start. Extend them fully and imagine they have a splint wrapped around them that forces you to keep them that way.

“Actually I am interested in high wire walking or rope walking. And in the future also slacklining. I live in Finland and I would like to know where I could buy a slackline? Sorry my bad english. Thank You for your inspiring messages.”
Taina

Its funny that you should mention this, Taina as a friend just brought to my attention trying out slack lines.

Its something I’m looking into and may feature on the site in the future. As an informal poll how many out there are potentially interested in learning this art? And who out there currently does it?

“I would like to know some good ways to build up to walking up stairs on my hands.”

Before starting to walk up stairs you need to have a good base. You should be proficient in walking on flat ground, walking down stairs, and be strong.

Because you’re walking up the stairs on your hands you are having to push your bodyweight up with mostly a single arm at a time. I’d say being able to do three freestanding handstand pushups in a row is the bare minimum.

If you’re there its just a matter of starting small and working your way up. Literally. Find small stairs and master those before moving up to large steps. The more incremental you can make it the better.

“I started trying some headstands and handstands today after perusing this site + I really enjoyed it. I lift weights regularly and was wondering how frequently i should train hand balancing, do I do it as with weights(every other day) or can I practice every day?
Thanks very much.
Stuart

This is a fairly common question. Because hand balancing requires very fine skill it is best to practice it every single day. A little practice each day is much better than a two hour session once a week.

Of course starting out you’ll need to give some time for recovery, also depending on what moves you are practicing and how tough your other workouts are.

But once you have a foundation some practice every day is the best way to go. If for some reason you are unable to train everyday, not to worry cause you can still make progress with less practice.

Well that’s plenty to chew on for one day. So until next time…

Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher

P.S. Many of these topics are covered in much more detail in Professor Paulinetti and Bob Jones’ hand balancing book.

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Will Wall Handstands Help Balance? How Often to Train HSPU's?

By admin on April 6, 2009 in Uncategorized

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.

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Mako Sakamoto's Handstand Pushup Record

By admin on December 11, 2008 in Uncategorized

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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