There’s just something about old hand balancing pictures that I really enjoy. Maybe its hearkening back to a time when physical culture was simpler (…when everything was simpler.)
When you see a group of guys and gals doing some hand to hand balancing you know that they were having a blast doing that. Having fun while becoming stronger and more skilled then before.
Here are a few photo’s from Rafael Guerrero’s collection with him and two friends doing all the above at the beach.
Klein trained in a very precise, scientific fashion. He reminded Jim of an Old World
Of all his exercises, Klein’s Handstand press-ups were the most remarkable. Jim had never seen anything like it.
Klein performed the exercise on an old piano bench. He began placing his hands in the center of the bench. From there, he leaned forward and effortlessly kicked up into a free-standing, unsupported handstand. Klein had begun his career as a hand-balancer and stage performer, and he had no difficulty in maintaining the handstand position for as long as he wanted.
Once in the handstand position, Klein bent his arms and slowly lowered his body until his upper chest touched the edge of the piano bench. He then reversed the movement slowly and effortlessly, pushed himself back to the handstand position. He performed 15 reps with ease.
“What’s your best in that?” asked Jack.
Klein wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Nineteen,” he replied.
“That’s a lot of press-ups!”
“I believe it’s more than anyone else has ever done in that style. I’ve often wondered how many reps Maxick or some other old timers could perform.”
“You’re awfully good at them, Sig.”
“Thanks, Jack. It’s like anything else – it’s just a matter of practice. Press-ups are one of my favorite exercises, an I include them in almost all of my workouts. They’re one of the very best for pressing power.”
—–
This is an excerpt from Brooks Kubik’s new book Legacy of Iron, which I just finished this morning. If you want to learn how many of the old-timers trained this book is for you. While most of it is concerned with weightlifting and competitions surrounding the York Barbell Club, you get a mix of all the various means of physical culture.
Back in that day hand balancing went right along with lifting iron. Even Bob Jones makes an appearance earlier in the book as one of the contest’s judges along with a few other famous hand balancers.
If you want to read more go check out the new book, Legacy of Iron at www.BrooksKubik.com and prepare to get transported back in time.
Good Luck and Good Hand Balancing,
Logan Christopher
P.S. Just a few issues left of December’s Acrobat Accelerator where I cover free-standing handstand pushups in depth. If you want one you have to order before the new year comes in. Get it along with one of several other hand balancing courses.
Wanted to start off today’s message with a powerful comment from a subscriber.
Logan,
Your website is absolutely fantastic and it has helped me learn a whole new approach to physical-culture training. Over the last few months, I have incorporated handstand push-ups and some elementary handstand training into my weightlifting routine, and the results have been nothing short of incredible.
A while back you received a comment from somebody who was upset that you are putting acrobatic videos on the Internet for all to view. He was apparently concerned that some people may develop bad form or bad training habits without direct supervision from a qualified trainer. While I’m sure this gentleman meant well, I must say that I have benefited enormously from watching the videos you have posted. I suspect that many other people have too.
Viewing your videos and reading your articles helped me to refine my views of what is possible with physical culture training. Before I made a visit to your site, I paid virtually no attention to the athletic side of physical training, and I new very little about the many benefits which can be derived from doing handstands and related movements. I have no desire to become a professional gymnast or acrobat, but I find that the type of training which you promote on your site improves my athleticism and strength tremendously.
Thanks for running a great and innovative site.
Rob Drucker
Thank you, Rob. Comments like these really make my day. It brings a smile to my face to read about the success of people like you.
Handstands have been proven over and over to strengthen the body. If you have to start against the wall, you’ll still get many of the benefits. The truth is going from handstands against the wall to free standing is the transition many people make, myself included.
As far as athleticism though, that is just the beginning. Can you imagine where you’ll be at if you add just a few of the following into the mix?
Forward Rolls, Backward Rolls, Diving, Head and Hand Balancing, Hand Balancing, Forearm Balancing, Cartwheels, Roundoffs, Head and Hand Springs, Hand Springs, Backward Hand Springs, Back Bends, Upstarts (Kips), Somersaults (Flips), Combination Rolls, Combination Hand Springs, Combination Hand Springs and Somersaults, Combination Hand Springs and Rolls, Combination Balancing and Rolls, Miscellaneous Combinations, and Novelties.
Those are the 21 chapters found in the soon to be released Tumbling Illustrated. As of writing this it’ll be available in 4 days, 23 hours, 57 minutes, 34 seconds. To find the updated time go to https://lostartofhandbalancing.com/tumbling.html
I wish it was ready now, especially since a few people have inquired about buying it already. But I’m still waiting on the printers for the main book. Plus I want to be able to ship it out the day you order it.
You don’t have to be a professional gymnast or acrobat to get the benefits of this training. (If you are though, more power to you.) Even if you work on just a few of the 248 different moves you’ll learn how to control your body to a extraordinary degree.
Tomorrow I’m going to reveal a few details on the companion workbook to Tumbling Illustrated and how you can use this workbook will increase your skills even faster.
Good Luck and Good Tumbling,
Logan Christopher
P.S. I’ll try to get another video up showing some acrobatic conditioning in action before the launch. Maybe even a sneak peak of the workbook.
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