Balance - Handstand (hand balance) and feet

Uncomfortable Athletics, handstands.

Train yourself to achieve 3 x 5 second handstand holds in 60 seconds.

(Tutorials to come for those wanting to achieve this target who don't have a baseline)

Focus on 3 drills that make the most sense for your current level.

Why handstands?

“Try not liking something you’re good at.” Ido Portal

If you’re ever going to land on your head it’s good to know where the ground is and how to orientate yourself.

In old-time strength culture everyone did hand-balancing and handstand push-ups.

They are universally fun and understood for the challenge they present. If you start doing handstands in the park or at the beach the chances are someone else will start doing them too!

Handstand Philosophy

Handstands as a tool for personal development.

Getting Started

Pre-requisites & bonus’

Wrists that can hold your bodyweight or p-bars. Wrists are more likely to become painful if you’re attempting to get to the handstand through trial and error because you’re likely to put full bodyweight on one wrist in an awkward position. Stronger wrists will give you more area to save in

Consistency. Anyone with a 60 second handstand knows how to persist through discomfort

Bonus - Great mobility gives more options and allows faster progress

Bonus - A bodyweight barbell press will give you more options and possibilities

Biggest handstand mistakes

Not doing low centre of gravity hand balancing

Not getting a feel for the front and back extreme positions for re-balancing. The hands must be strong and active to balance!

Not using the wall enough for kick-ups and rebalancing drills

Thinking that “trying” every now and then is going to get you a consistent handstand

Making it all about endurance and pain tolerance

Not working on being light on the wall for nose to wall and heels to wall handstands eg. overly relying on the wall

Not learning how to fail safely. Like the snatch we should be able to get out of the handstand safely when we over-balance.

Hands too wide

Pro Tricks

Get a pinky toe spot once you’re getting close to good handstands

Spot yourself with a band or bar at foot height to get more time and more rebalancing. Doorways also work well for this.

Spot yourself in a thin hallway by pressing laterally to straddle against the wall

Progress any position by

Closing your eyes

Moving your head

Rocking to the front of your balance and then the back

Endurance Testing

Testing

Training Handstands

The method

Identify 3 key drills to work on. Progress them for 2 weeks and then re-evaluate if any of the drills need to change

Complete 15-30 second holds consistently

Don’t practice missing the target every repetition

Get at least 15 seconds of each position each day, do more if handstands are a focus

A Path To Handstands

This path would suit someone who’s played with some handstand walking and can do strict push-ups.

X. Feeling upside down

Frog stand - 15 seconds (this is a very low handstand and shows how easy it really is. The challenge is to learn to keep the body calm so the wrists can do their work.

Kick-Up to the wall

Nose to wall holds (be lighter and lighter on the wall). Learn to fail safely to the side.

Heals to wall handstand holds. Get progressively closer.

Wrists

One of the biggest barriers to handstands is wrist health.

Rebuilding the wrists to tolerate weight might take months if you’ve had injuries.

Using the P-Bars to decrease volume on the wrists is a good compromise while learning handstands

1. Entry Drills

Fail Safely

Fail a handstand safely

Failing a handstand forwards

Scissor - Kick-up with a scissor to the wall. Keep one leg down and the other up. This helps to arrive to the wall with a KISS rather than a THUMP.

Straight handstand entry

Tuck Entry

Kicking to the wall with both feet reaching the wall takes more skill and awareness but is easier to balance because of the shorter lever. Practicing forwards rolls can help people to feel comfortable