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Several books could be written on handstands alone. The information presented here is condensed and will focus only on the most important points of each technique. Many of the finer details are so physical, so individual, so movement or balance related, they cannot be understood simply through written words. A good coach with hands-on experience trumps all.
It is important to maintain proper technique while performing any type of handstand, and not just for aesthetics. Proper handstand technique stacks all of your joints in alignment and reduces the amount of muscular effort required to perform the movement. This makes the handstand significantly easier, and also improves body awareness and positioning for other skills you will learn in bodyweight training.
In the same way that the squat is foundational to human movement, handstands are one of the fundamental positions in bodyweight training. If your execution of an unweighted or air squat is lacking, you will likely not be able to execute loaded techniques like front squats, weighted back squats, overhead squats, and Olympic lifts. Without a solid foundation in the squat, all of your other exercises will fail to develop correctly. Proper handstands carry the same effect with many other bodyweight training techniques.
The handstand is the one skill that should be trained almost every day if you desire to become proficient in bodyweight training. Certain variations like the wall handstand make it very easy to log quality skill work without jeopardizing rest and recovery. Constant practice and refinement of handstand technique will yield consistent rewards in the future.
Note that performance on skill-based movements will typically fall into a bell curve based on consistency and progression. For example, when you begin practicing handstands you will normally fail all the timethen, as you improve, you will begin achieving two-second holds here and there. Further improvement will lead to consistent two-second holds, as well as occasional holds of around nine seconds. From this we can conclude two things:
Do not focus on the outliers. When it comes to practicing skills, the key is to make them consistent. Raise the consistency of your holds by aiming toward the goal of performing the skill well all the time. In a sample group of ten handstand holds, you may perform zero seconds once, two seconds once, four seconds six times, eight seconds once, and ten seconds once. Your goal is to focus on obtaining the four-second range consistently and then improving upon it, rather than aiming for ten seconds all the time with mixed results.
The human condition is to focus on the best (and post videos of it to YouTube or Instagram) and push the worst out of the mind. Instead, focus on becoming consistent. Consistency is key to developing greater static and dynamic body awareness. If you become fatigued and inconsistent in your holds, take a break. Don't push yourself too hard for that one ten-second hold, because that is not as important as overall consistency.
Additionally, it is imperative to minimize the roll out or pirouette fall as you exit the handstand position. Falling over in any handstand position tends to reinforce bad habits. It tells your body, "When I hit the point where I cannot hold a stable handstand, I need to bail out." Instead you should be fighting for every inch and every position, especially when you are learning. You obviously want to emphasize form, but if you do not learn how to fight for the handstand position you (1) do not build the strength-stability in your muscles to fight for it, and (2) you teach yourself bad habits.
To summarize, here are the concepts to focus on for handstands:
You may encounter psychological issues with maintaining focus or fighting frustration if your holds aren't where you'd like them to be. If this occurs, step back, take a rest break, and calm yourself by practicing deep breathing (in through your nose, out through your mouth). This will slow your heart rate and increase concentration. Take time to visualize the movement in your mind before attempting it again once you are calm and rested. This practice can be used for any type of skill work, not just handstands.
Handstands are a critical component of bodyweight training, as they lay a solid foundation for all gymnastics moves and many bodyweight movements. It is important to properly develop this movement, which is why it is first in the skill category. Wall handstands (which can be abbreviated "WallHS") are a category all to themselves for the first four difficulty levels. Wall handstands should be performed with the following technique notes in mind:
All of these body cues summarize the ideal position for a handstand: a straight line with no bending anywhere in the body. Since your body is going to be a rigid like a plank of wood, small movements will control the portion that is in the air. Your forearms and hands (which are on the floor) will perform all of these small movements. To allow for the greatest amount of control, spread your fingers out as far as possible and exert pressure through your fingertips in order to maintain balance. Hand positioning against the floor will be further addressed in the grip section.
As you can imagine, using only your wrists to control a handstand will be difficult initially. New athletes who are learning the handstand will often use their shoulders and hips to change their body shape and balance a handstand. This will cause their shoulders to come out of alignment with their head and the rest of their body, and their feet will move around a lot while in the air. Resist this temptation-it will instill bad habits that are hard to break. A proper handstand held for a minute or longer should primarily work your forearms (if you have the requisite strength). The rest of your body should be relatively unused except maybe some endurance bum in your shoulders.
The sequence above illustrates the technique to move into the stomach-to-wall wall handstand. Begin in a pushup position and slowly walk your legs up the wall while you simultaneously walk your hands closer to the wall. Keep your body straight and do not arch your back (doing so will force you out of the position via a forward roll or pirouette). If you are new to wall handstands, you may not be ready to perform this to the full extent that your stomach is against the wall. Only go as far as you are comfortable. If you are a beginner, you should only touch the wall with the tips of your toes. Over time, you will feel more at ease with this exercise and can conquer your fears by moving your stomach closer to the wall.
Once you become proficient with wall handstands, there will come a time where you barely push your toes off the wall. You will use your wrists to correct the overbalance by digging down with your fingers. This will keep you from tipping over. Avoid arching your lower back in order to compensate for when you push your toes off. Any adjustments should be made with your wrists.
You can also push off from a handstand with split feet (shown above). To do this, begin with a balanced handstand position and split your feet apart with one foot remaining on the wall. Next, slowly move your remaining foot off the wall, bringing both feet together while maintaining balance. Hold this position for as long as possible.
As you become more proficient with this, you will be able to balance with both feet away from the wall for longer and longer periods. When you can hold this position for fifteen to twenty seconds, split your handstandworkout into two pares: 1) kick up to freestanding handstands and 2) continue towork on your balance with freestanding wall handstands. Once you can consistencly hold the position for thirty seconds or more (while maintaining proper balance with your body straight), it is time to solely focus on your freestanding kick to handstand movement.
There are two basic techniques to suddenly end (bail from) a handstand: rolling out and pirouetting. Rolling out is the best mechad if you are working against the wall-it correlates better to maintaining body positions. Using the pirouette movement to bail from a handstand as a beginner can lead to the development of bad habits. Stick with the roll out.
Rolling out of a handstand is an extension of the forward roll on the ground. If you are not proficient in the forward roll you should first practice it on a soft mat or grass. Apply pressure through your hands such that when you tuck your chin to your chest you will be able to put your weight on the back of your neck and roll smoothly out of a movement.
Working from the handstand position, bend your arms slowly so that you lower toward the ground in a controlled manner. From there, tuck your chin to your neck and curl your body into a fetal position as you allow gravity to move you through the roll. Above are some sequences you can practice to become more proficient in rolling out.
If you are unsure of how to do this correctly or fearful of rolling out from the handstand position, there are two options. The first option, which is preferred, is to ask far help from a spotter. They can hold your legs or ankles up and help you execute the roll in slow motion until you feel more comfortable. The other option is to learn how to pirouette out of a movement by twisting your body.
The lunge to handstand (shown above) is often performed improperly. To get a sense of how much force is needed when kicking up to a handstand, start by practicing against the wall with your back to the wall. Make sure the movements are as consistent as possible. Mechanically, here is a set of instructions that beginners should follow:
If you can execute the lunge to handstand correctly, you are in good shape. From there, all you have to do is exert the force necessary to hit the correct position during the kick up and be sure to apply the pressure from your fingertips. You may find it useful to use a wall at first to figure out how much you power should be in your kick. Once you become proficient at kicking up, you should feel like you can lock into a perfect handstand at the top of the movement without wobbling.
Note that the back to the wall handstandi is a technique that can be used to teach a proper handstand. This is especially helpful if you lack the strength or technique to bail out of a handstand with your stomach to the wall. If you do use this technique, try to phase it out as soon as possible.
There are a few different ways to grip the ground: flat hand, arched hand, or cambered hand. There is nothing wrong with the flat and arched hand positions, but if you are working toward high-level handstand movements you should use the cambered hand position. This hand position allows you to generate more tension in your hand, enablingstronger, more precise corrections that are useful for advanced movements.
If you are falling forward, dig your fingertips into the ground. if you are falling over backward, distribute your weight through your palms. The additional control from the cambered hand grip may help those of you who are having problems with balance in the skill. Note that getting used to the new position may require some practice.
This movement is not on the charts, but is important to recognize. While it has its uses, the same body positions can be built more thoroughly by performing a correct wall handstand. Headstands place an enormous amount of pressure on the neck. It is not a recommended position for beginners and is best performed under a coach's supervision.
If you decide to perform headstands anyway, here are a few things to know: Body positioning is the same as for a handstand, except for how you set up the movement. With a headstand, weight is placed on your head and hands in a tripod position. This means you can draw a triangle on the ground and place your head and hands at each of the three points. You can then use your head and the handstand position to keep your center of mass between those points as you move your legs overhead.
A freestanding handstand (which can be abbreviated Free HS) is essentially a wall handstand without the wall. All of the same techniques used to perform a wall handstand apply. Because wall handstands are easier, most beginner athletes start there and work up to freestanding handstands. Scapular Positioning: Your scapulas should be fully elevated. At the height of elevation, retract them slightly for stability.
If you walk into any gymnastics gym and tell every person present to kick up to a handstand and hold it, here is what you will see: Those with the best handstands are the most skilled overall, while those with the worst handstands are the least skilled overall. Handstands are one of the most fundamental movements in gymnastics and in bodyweight training as well. It is critical to become proficient in them, as it will make flipping, twisting, and other body movements that occur between being upright and being inverted much easier to execute. They provide an overview of an athlete's proprioceptive and kinesthetic awareness in the inverted position, which is counter-intuitive to normal body positioning. In a word: they are a critical skill to acquire.
Develop the freestanding handstand position on the floor, then move to parallettes and rings as you become more proficient. Rings handstands and one-arm handstands will be the true test of your handstand abilities long-term. It is actually easier to perform handstands on the parallettes (because it is easier to obtain a better grip), but it is safer to begin on the floor, especially if you have just progressed from wall handstands to freestanding handstands. If you still need to work on kicking up, bail techniques, and/or grip, you should read through the previous section.
You should seek to reduce wobbling in both the dynamic and static senses. For the dynamic motion, you want to be able to kick straight up to a handstand without wobbling at all. It takes a lot of practice to learn proper control, as kick-up force is hard to modulate. You do not want to under-balance and come back down; nor do you want to overbalance and be forced to compensate by arching your back or walking on your hands. For the static motion, obtain a solid handstand position so that you only have to make a few corrections using your wrists. This level of superior control will look good to any observers, and it requires far less energy than wobbling back and forth.
Once you have developed the position through wall handstand training and become proficient in it, all it takes to achieve a freestanding handstand is consistent practice. Practice every day if you are able. This skill is an A-list skill in the Gymnastics Code of Points. If you need additional information or further visualization, here are some additional resources:
In the images above, you will find four variations of a freestanding handstand that you can use to work toward a one-arm handstand. All of these variations involve balancing with one hand and some of the fingers on your other hand (each variation uses a different number of fingers).
From left to right:
Using a wall to assist with one-arm handstands is not effective. There are many photos online of one-arm handstands against a wall. While it makes a cute photo, using the wall does little to help develop the skill sets required for a true one-armed handstand. However, the wall can be useful for building up the necessary strength and conditioning, especially in your shoulders and wrists. These bear the brunt of the pressure but do not help much with balance, which is the foundation that the one-arm handstand is built upon.
Before you begin learning the one-arm handstand, you must develop a solid, straight-body handstand. The variation used to develop a one-arm handstand is a freestanding straddled handstand with a slow, progressive weight shift to one side. Use the straddled handstand because straddling your legs lowers your center of gravity, which makes the skill much easier to perform. With your legs spread, leverage to both sides is increased, making it more difficult for the body to sway in either direction. This gives stability. As you gain experience, challenge yourself by closing your legs.
The straddle handstand requires the ability to perform a solid handstand because your core is more apt to be unstable in this position, and you need the tight body position to learn correct balance at the wrists. Finding the correct center of balance in your hands is critical to learning this skill. You can reduce assistance in the straddled handstand by slowly removing fingers from the skill. First to go is the pinky. Follow that with the ring finger and continue until the thumb (and therefore the entire hand) is no longer helping.
Since balance at the wrists is critical to learning the skill, increased grip strength will significantly speed up its development. The center of balance of the one-arm handstand is somewhere near the joint of the ring finger (depending on one's anthropometry), so strengthening the whole grip is fine but you will see better results from specifically strengthening the last three fingers of each hand.
Advanced handstands of all kinds should be practiced either on a hard floor or hand balancing implements. It is much easier to maintain control with fingertips that are being pressed into a solid floor, or hands that are squeezing very strongly on implements or parallettes.
The key for the one-arm handstand is exactly like the freestanding handstand, except after you balance the straddle handstand, you should lock your shoulder in the active position (shoulder earmuff) and slowly shift your weight onto one arm. Since you are shifting your weight, the weight on your other arm will decrease and may cause you to come up on your fingertips on that hand. This is totally fine. Over time you will decrease the amount of the hand you use.
If you feel yourself wobbling throughout your body as your weight shifts to a one-arm hold, keep practicing. Remember, the critical component of learning a one-arm handstand is balancing the movement directly through your wrists. If your body is wobbling through your core or legs, you are not learning correct balance patterns, and are making the movement harder than it needs to be.
As you lean over, you will notice that the center of gravity in your hand will shift as well: toward the joint of your first ring finger. This progression of weight shifting in your planted hand is normal, so get used to the way it feels. You can supplement with specific grip work as well. Your ring and pinky fingers will strain to keep your balance centered in this small area, so it is important to take care of your joints. It is normal for one of your joints to get noticeably sore while practicing this movement. If this soreness does not dissipate naturally, take a break for a couple of days to allow your tissues to heal. This will prevent overuse injuries.
Yuri Marmerstein, a self-taught professional acrobat based in Las Vegas, consented to write the one-arm handstand section of Overcoming Gravity, found later in this chapter. You will find that he builds on the basics given here.
Freestanding handstand shoulder taps (which can be abbreviated Free HS Shld Taps) are not included on the charts, but this would be the position where they would appear. Free HS Shld Taps are a dynamic and intermediate balance skill. The goal of this skill is to balance from side to side and release your opposing hand at each juncture. This can serve as an excellent conditioning exercise and give you a good feel for dynamic stability in one-arm positions while maintaining adequate body tension.
These can be performed against a wall as conditioning for handstands, but proper care must be taken not to break form, close the shoulder angle, or arch your back. This skill is a critical component of learning the one-arm handstand. It is also a very good supplement in learning dynamic awareness, especially if you need to improve your handstand body position mechanics or want to do handstand walking for distance in the future.
Handstand walking is another good supplement for learning the one-arm handstand. Maincaining a correct tight-body technique is critical for learning this skill. If you have been able to advance this far, you should be ready to execute handstand walking without arching your handstand. This dynamic stability will help in your weight shifc, which will ultimacely help your one-arm handstand.
This is another variation you can utilize as you work toward the one-arm handstand. While performing this skill, you progressively move your hands closer together and begin biasing your weight onto one arm. Eventually, this will yield a handstand where one arm is on top of the other, and can be slowly lifced off so to bring you to a one-arm handstand position. This exercise is not as measurable as other variations, so it is not effective for training, but it does make a good supplemental exercise.
Yuri Marmerstein is a self-taught professional acrobat based in LasVegas. He is lending his expertise for this section.
"The one-arm handstand is an immensely complicated skill. It takes a lot of effort, perseverance, and dedication to learn compared to a traditional handstand. Realistically you can expect to train five to six days per week for a couple of years to achieve the balance and precision required for this skill.
Balance is all about making movements to maintain your center of gravity over your base of support. In essence, to stand is to continually save yourself from falling. On two arms, you can basically only fall in two directions-forward or backward. This makes the corrections pretty simple. However, on one arm, you have half the base of support and must now balance along both your sagittal and longitudinal axes. This means you can fall in any direction along 360 degrees of your hand. On top of this, there is a greater shoulder strength and stability requirement, in addition to body control and awareness. That is without mentioning the control required to keep your body from rotating while you are balancing on one arm.
I do not want to put anyone off, but I do want to be realistic. There is a reason why many people only dream of this skill and never achieve it. It is not something you can mess around with once a week and expect to master it. To make it work, you have to be a little bit obsessed.
Still interested?
Here are a few prerequisites you need to achieve before attempting a one-arm handstand:
Once you have the prerequisites down, you can begin to actually train for the one-arm handstand. The first order of business is the one-arm distribution (how you get to one arm). This is not as easy as it may seem. There are many techniques for shifting your weight to one arm. However, generally speaking, the less you think about it, the better. As a minimum requirement, the arm you are shifting the weight to must be vertical. Everything else is variable. An exception is bruce strength, but that is not ideal.
I am going to first describe the easiest way to shift to one arm before I explain the others. Assuming that both arms are precisely shoulder width, they should both be completely vertical. You should also assume a decent open shoulder position in the handstand line. If both arms are already vertical, you don't have to do anything with the arm you are shifting to. Rather, move the rest of your body to maintain the position of your primary arm. If you try this in a pushup position you will notice the shoulder of the free arm actually tilts upward a little bit. Do not change anything about the arm you are shifting to; try to minimize as many
variables as possible. The tension will remain in your supporting arm, but should begin to relax as the weight shifts to your free arm. This will be very important when the time comes to lift your hand. Additionally, your head should remain in basically the same position during the shift.
How do you actually shift weight? The idea is to move your hips over the arm you are shifting toward. There are two other ways distinct ways to shift, but both can cause their own issues. Still, it is worth experimenting both of them, as you might like them.
A good general rule states that the more variables you can eliminate, the easier a movement will be. However, one common mistake is losing tension in your supporting shoulder during a shift. This will almost certainly cause a loss of balance.
It is easiest to begin the motion of shifting from a pushup position. Once you can perform this, the next step is to take the concept to a chest-to-wall handstand. The idea here is the same as in the pushup position. Shift your hips all the way above one hand. Maintain shoulder tension. Attempt to keep your hips square to the wall, as you do not want your hips to twist while you shift weight. Being aware of what that feels like is essential to learning the one-arm handstand. Remember, it is important to grasp the concept of weight-shifting prior to adding the balance.
To move to the next level, add the weight shift into your freestanding handstand. Start with slow, controlled movements-gradually shift your weight to one arm and feel your other arm get lighter. Practice both sides and keep your hands flat on the ground for now. The feeling you want to begin to develop is how to tense one arm while relaxing the other.
On the topic of leg positioning, I find it easier to learn one-arm handstands in a straddle position. It takes a good amount of hip flexibility to gain advantage from this, though. Additionally, it can be hard to maintain proper body tension with your legs apart. I have seen plenty of people who had an easier time learning a straight-body one-arm handstand first, even though the balance required for that position is more precise. Apart from the movement required to shift your weight back and forth, the rest of your body should remain in one piece during this exercise. Try your best not to change your body position during the shift. Move everything over at once after the shift.
Once you feel that you can go far enough to one side, with control, the next stage is to release the palm of your free arm and come up on your fingertips. This will require more lean and a slight tilting of your body in the direction of your working arm in order to take more weight off your free arm. Remember to always keep your supporting arm vertical.
My recommendation once you can lift to the fingers of your free arm is to bend that arm at the elbow. This is not the only way, of course, but I find it a useful cue in relaxing your arm. Unnecessary tension in your free arm will make it more difficult to maintain balance while lifting your arm later on.
Balancing with your fingertips on your free arm is a long and frustrating stage. This is where the slackers are separated from the truly dedicated. Before movingon from here, my recommendation is to be able to hold at least thirty seconds consistently with your fingertips. It is even better if you are able to change leg positions while doing so.
If you are training diligenty every day, you can expect this stage to take several months. If you feel like you want to take your hand off the floor, do not do so at this time. This is your ego talking and no good will come of it at this point. Stay on your fingertips longer than you think you need to.
You want to achieve consistent thirty-second holds in both a straddle and straight-body position-both on your fingertips and one arm-before advancing to the next stage. It is also a good idea to attempt to never "fall" out of the one-arm balance. This means always fighting to come back to two arms before intentionally going back to your feet. It is important to show dominance with the movement. Come down because you wanted to, not because you fell.
Next, begin making your free hand lighter by shifting even more weight to the supporting side. When your hand and fingers feel light enough, you can treat it one of two ways: move to one finger support on your free arm or hold the same position (all fingertips), where you literally feel your free arm take no weight. It is very important to be able to place all of your weight onto your supporting hand before lifting your free hand; otherwise, the lift will cause your body to fall back to center.
When you feel that your supporting arm is absolutely weighdess, you can experiment with lighdy tapping the floor with your free hand. Doing this will allow you to begin obtaining an actual one-arm balance for several brief moments. It is imperative that any movement with your free arm be slow and deliberare. Any jerky movements will easily throw off your balance. It is my preference to lift at the elbow, maintaining shoulder position when I tap the floor. Doing this with a straight arm is okay, but it tends to create more tension in the shoulder of your free arm. Your goal is to increase the amount of time between taps, meaning you are achieving longer one-arm holds. The taps serve as a safety net during your period of one-arm balance, as you can reach your hand back to the floor to stabilize your body if you feel you are about to fall.
Once you become proficient with the finger taps, your next step is to fully lift that arm off the floor and hold a one-arm handstand. This is easier said than done. The actual lifting of your arm must be performed in such a way that it causes no movement in the rest of your body. Your free arm must be completely relaxed and bear no weight prior to being lifted.
Though there are many ways to lift your arm, I prefer to think of it as a développé from ballet. Rather than lifting your whole arm at once, it is lifted in segments. This creares less impact on the rest of your body. From a one-arm handstand with fingertip support, you would first lift the elbow of your free arm, extend your forearm, and then extend your hand. While doing this, you must focus on maintaining balance with your supporting arm. If you place too much focus on lifting your free
arm, you will most likely lose your balance and fall. For this reason, I recommend you practice lifting your arm from either a pushup or chest-to-wall handstand position. This will give you an understanding of the movement before you attempt it while simultaneously trying to balance your body in a handstand position. While first holding one-arm handstands, it is safest to keep your free hand close to the ground, that way you can always steady yourself quickly if you lose control. As you develop your awareness and hold time, you can begin moving your arm up to horizontal position and, eventually, all the way up to your body. Many people have the goal of being able to hold a basic, one-arm handstand, but that is really just the beginning. Once you can hold it, it opens a world of movement opportunities that do not exist for the majority of the world's population. This process will test your patience. You will learn a lot about yourself, regardless of whether you achieve the skill. For the truly dedicated, the process never ends. There is always so much to work on-whether it is new skills or refinement of existing ones. Hand balancing can keep you busy for many years. The one thing you cannot avoid is putting in the work.
One last piece of advice I can give is to get a teacher and have them critique you at some point. There are manyissues that you simply will not catch or be able to fix on your own. This is a skill where you would benefit greatly from another pair of eyes once in a while. Even if it is something you already know, it is a helpful to hear someone else say it."
Note from Steven: Most of these techniques are best seen on video rather than in two-dimensional images. You can find many of the tips and techniques discussed by Yuri Marmerstein on his website, on YouTube, and in the video Steps and Preparation to Achieving One-Arm Handstand.
Scapular Positioning: Keepyour scapulas depressed (but neither retracted or protracted) in order to have a stable base for the shoulder stand.
Body Positioning: Keep your elbows slightly in front of your body and tucked in toward your sides. Your arms should be fully curled, with your hands at shoulder height in front of your shoulders. Keep your body straight. If this makes it is easier for you to keep control, your body can be slightly hollow.
Rings handstands are located on column two on page one of the charts. First up is the rings shoulder stand (which can be abbreviated R ShldStd). This basic rings skill sets the standard for inverted positions on the rings. All of the balancing for this and subsequent rings positions will occur solely at the wrists, much like handstands on the floor, parallettes, and hand balancers. You should never stop practicing these specific body positions, as the ability to maintain them will demonstrate your overall skill and, often, your ability to apply strength.
As you begin training this skill, lower the rings as close to the ground as possible and place some padded mats or pillows in front of you in case you fall over or need to roll out. If you must use high rings, a good forward roll out of any inverted rings position is a prerequisite to learning those inverted positions. Practice rolling out at least ten times before beginning to do any support inverted skills on the rings. Before learning to fly, you must learn how to land. You will make the most progress if you have a partner or coachspottingyou.
The way to roll out of a shoulder stand is to implement the fetal position, like you would to roll out of a handstand on the floor. Bring the rings in toward your chest, tense your arms so they do not flare out, and tuck your body into a hall. This allows you to rotate in a manner similar to a forward roll on the ground. At the end of the roll, you will be at the top of the pull-up position in a tuck position.
To achieve a rings shoulder stand, begin with an L-sit. This allows you to swing for momentum to get your hips up over your head. You will eventually want to learn this strict, without momentum. As your hips begin rising in the back, lean forward and bend your arms. Two things muse now happen simultaneously: your hips muse begin to rise up between the straps at the same time that your elbows stop bending. This transition is critical because if your arms bend too fase and leave your hips behind you end up at the bottom of the dip position, which is almost impossible for most beginners to press out from. The timing of the hip drive and the arm bend muse be precise to actually get up into this position. It is in your best interese to have a solid familiarity with deep ring dips before beginning to learn this skill.
Once your hips are up and between the rings, control the shoulder stand position with your wrists. The rings should be squeezed into your chest tightly, but not so much that they tilt significantly inward. You want to pull the rings in and stabilize them so they are as much like parallettes as possible. This will allow you to execute the skill with minimal wobbling. Make sure you are gripping the rings as tightly as possible and are using your grip to control the position as you bring your feet above your head.
The pike position is recommend while learning to execute this movement. Most people will find it easier to raise their feet from the tuck position, but the tuck balance is very hard to control in the forward/backward plane with the wrists of a beginner. Piking-though slightly harder to execute initially-will allow your pelvis to act as a fulcrum far balance as you transition your legs up. Because rings are inherently unstable, adding components that help with the balance aspect will speed up your rate of progress by allowing far a higher volume of correct training.
Once you get your feet up and your body straight you should be slightly under-balanced. Your feet should not be directly overhead compared to the shoulder position, as the rings will be located slightly in front of your chest. If you are not accustomed to this, try spreading your legs out in a straddle position to allow them to hit the cables or straps. Even if you are proficient with the safety protocols, tipping over while in a handstand or shoulder stand is not conducive to proper learning.
After your legs have gane up and hit the straps, slowly bring them together. If you need more balance, you can place them on the inside of the cables at first, but your end goal is to have your feet touching. Remember, when you bring your feet together, you want to hit the proper body position (straight body) as soon as possible. Your wrists are the control mechanism, so engage them aggressively as soon as you take away the extra balance from the straps.
The key to this movement is keeping your body as still as possible while using your wrists to manipulate the movement. Because your hands are much closer to your body than in a handstand, you have the mechanical advantage through your wrists. Remember this and the rings shoulder stand will become a simple position to learn.
If you are having difficultly doing this skill on the rings, transfer it to a set of parallettes or parallel bars (shown above) if you have the appropriate equipment. The main difference with a shoulder stand on parallel bars compared to rings is your elbows will be out and wide. As you hold your body straight, your hands will control the movement in order to prevent you from tipping over or falling from the position. You can also use this method to learn the inverted position far the freestanding handstand.
Scapular Positioning: Your scapulas should be elevated maximally and slightly retracted in order to lock in the position. If your shoulder angle is not completely open (which may happen on the rings) due to a lack of strength, work on it.
Body Positioning: Your body should be completely straight-stacked through your hands, shoulders, hips, knees, and feet. lnitially, you will turn the rings in and keep your arms on the straps. From there, work to turn the rings parallel and then completely out.
The best way to find the proper rings strap handstand position (which can be abbreviated R Strap HS) is through the shoulder stand. Note that the deeper your arms are bent when you begin, the harder it is to get into the full handstand position. With your legs bent and feet hooked onto the cables, push out from the bent-arm semi-handstand position. Move into the final position by using your hamstrings to bend your knees and wrap around the cable while walking your feet up the cable.
In this handstand position, look for a few key markers. Straight-body positioning is a necessity. Any bend in the elbows, however slight, makes the movement much easier to perform but emphasizes the wrong muscle set. Thus, the first thing you must do in the top position is lock your elbows out and push your shoulders out toward your ears. This centralizes the major strength component into your shoulders and the major balance component into your wrists. Shoulder strength is the base of all upper-body strength. Adaptations at the shoulders will support hand balancing aspirations as well as general strength. From a one-arm handstand to a barbell overhead press, a stronger shoulder girdle is important for all pressing movements. Press handstands, handstand pushups, planches, dips, and movements like these will also benefir from shoulder strength and coordination.
After a straight-arm handstand is achieved, your next focus should be your legs. As in the shoulder stand, instead of wrapping your legs around the outside of the cables, you want to move them to the inside. This will help promote a straight, better-aligned body, and push more of the workload to your shoulders rather than relying on the cables for balance.
These first two points should be familiar; you should have practiced both by this point. If this is the case, your primary focus will shift to the rings position, which will be a new challenge. Most beginners allow the rings to turn in while pressing. This allows the straps to ride up against your arm, which reduces the difficulty
of the handstand. While this helps beginners get their feet to the top, it actually makes the movement more difficult once they get there. Thus, it is important that you learn to turn the rings out while pressing, much like the standard support position. At first, it will be difficult to force your arms off the straps. However, doing so will lead to greater balance and strength adaptations, which will be of great benefit in the long run. You will have to work toward this progressively, with the intermediate aim of having the rings reach parallel to one another.
The goal that most gymnastics coaches emphasize is to start to turn the rings out while in a handstand, from parallel to forty-five degrees past the parallel rings position. This provides an optimal amount of control and sets up large rings swinging moves like giants. These and similar moves are beyond the scope of this book, but you are encouraged to work with the rings turned out to a parallel position at minimum. This will afford you more control and the additional benefits of the stabilization factors.
As you can see, thefirst image looks like straight body positioning until it is compared to the second image.
Scapular Positioning: As you might expect, your scapulas should be elevated maximally and retracted slightly in order to lock in the position. Even if you can obtain correct scapular positioning with the rings strap handstand you will probably regress a bit to bent arms and decreased scapular elevation once you progress to the freestanding rings handstand. Take care to correct this.
Body Positioning: Your body should be completely straight-stacked through your hands, shoulders, hips, knees, and feet. lnitially, turn the rings in and keep your arms on the straps. From there, work to turn the rings parallel and then completely out. Much like with scapular positioning, you will regress and the rings will begin to turn in. Work on turning them back out and be sure to correctly align the handstand. It may be helpful to film yourself doing this so you can review and make corrections as needed.
The rings handstand (which can be abbreviated R HS) is an extension of the rings strap handstand, with two new goals. Instead of pressing into a shoulder stand and inching your way up to the top position, it is best to attempt to press into the full handstand position. Even if you do not hit it on the press alone, you will be
working your way up from a higher start position and reinforcing a harder press until you can achieve the full handstand position. Your second goal is actually more important: as you work to improve this top position of the handstand, aim to use the straps for assistance less and less.
As in the shoulder stand press, aim for a nice pike or straddle body position in order to offer hip control during your ascent. Modulate the forces accordingly to get your body into the correct position as soon as technically feasible, as you would in the kick-to-handstand position on the floor. Do you see how skills you have previously acquired begin to work together as you move into more advanced levels?
Remember, balance and control the movement with your wrists, especially when you are near the top position. Use the cables for assistance when you must, but try to cut down on your use of them. As you progress, you may only need to tap the cables with the inside of your toes rather than wrapping your legs around them. The fewer progressions you make, the more consistent the position. The more consistent the position, the faster you will progress.
As soon as you reach the rings handstand position, make sure to turn the rings out and make an effort to open up your shoulders, and squeeze your abdominals and glutes. Performing a handstand on the rings will tempt you to arch your back significantly more than performing a handstand on the floor. Obtaining a straightbody position is quite difficult, requiring impressive shoulder and core strength, as well as patience and practice.
This is an A-level skill in the Gymnastics Code of Points.
The key to the handstand pushup series is to emphasize good body positions. If you are wobbly or have poor body position, it is stunting your development.
Scapular Positioning: Begin with your scapulas elevated. As your head comes toward the ground, they will naturally begin to depress. Once your head touches the ground and you start pushing back up, seek to end with your scapulas elevated.
Technique: Place your hands and feet on the ground and move into the pike starting position. Bend your arms and place as much weight as possible over your hands. As you bend your arms, be sure to tuck your elbows in line with your body, rather than flaring them out to the sides. Keep your head in line and allow it to touch the ground. Once it touches the ground, repeat the same process backward and push out to the starting position.
The key to proper development of the pike headstand pushup (which can be abbreviated Pike HeSPU) is to add as much of your weight as possible onto your hands without toppling over. This will bias strength to your anterior shoulders, triceps, and the upper portion of your chest. It is important to keep your shoulder angle as open as possible. Think of it in terms of reaching up toward the sky, only upside down.
Do not allow the elbows to flare outward during the pressing phase. Your upper arm should remain parallel with your body (that is, your elbows should stay glued to the imaginary plane with your sides). If you allow your elbows to flare the movement will feel substantially easier, but it removes your forward-backward stability and hinders the development of advanced skills. It is especially easy for your elbows to flare when you are facigued, so be mindful.
Scapular Positioning: Begin with your scapulas elevated. As your head comes toward the ground, they will naturally begin to depress. Once your head touches the ground and you start pushing back up, seek to end with your scapulas elevated.
Technique: Place your hands and feet on the ground and move into the pike starting position, with your feet elevated on a block, box, chair, counter, or any other sturdy surface. Bend your arms and place as much weight as possible over your hands. As you bend your arms, keep your elbows tucked in (rather than flaring them out to the sides). Keep your head in line and allow it to touch the ground. Once it touches the ground, repeat the same process backward and push out to the starting position.
A box headstand pushup (which can be abbreviated Box HeSPU) utilizes boxes of varying heights to increase the bias of weight onto your arms and the openness of the shoulder angle. The remaining execution of this movement mirrors a standard headstand pushup.
While performing this movement, your body will have a tendency to keel over frontward if you lack adequate strength in your shoulders or triceps. Conversely, if you are slightly under-balanced, your body will want to push more weight toward your feet to alleviate weight on your arms. If possible, you should not allow either of these scenarios to occur. Additionally, do not allow your head to come out too much, as this will cause your back to arch, creating further issues.
Scapular Positioning: Begin with your scapulas elevated. As your head comes toward the ground, they will naturally begin to depress and come forward as your elbows move in that direction.
Technique: Begin in a wall handstand position, with your body completely straight and your feet barely touching the wall. Initiate the movement as illustrated above by allowing your shoulder angle to close while bending at the elbow. Slowly lower to the ground in a uniform movement. Make sure to keep your body straight as your head descends toward the ground. Do not arch.
The wall headstandpushup eccentric movement (which can be abbreviated 1VallHeSPUEccen.) is a step up from box headstand pushups. With this movement, you are controlling your entire body weight, but still receive assistance from the wall as a balance component.
To emphasize proper body positioning, use the stomach-to-the-wall position that you would use for a handstand. If you are not yet comfortable in this position, the back-to-the-wall variation can be used, but this can cause your back to arch since your heels are against the wall. Keep your hands as close to the wall as possible to avoid further arching when you descend.
Since this is an intermediate eccentric movement between the piked box headstand pushup and full wall headstand pushup, use a 5-10s eccentric phase. Your goal while performing the movement should be control and consistency. Avoid flaring your elbows.
Scapular Positioning: Begin with your scapulas elevated. As your head comes toward the ground, they will naturally begin to depress and come forward as your elbows move in that direction. Once your head touches the ground and you start pushing back up, seek to end with your scapulas elevated.
Technique: Begin in a wall handstand position, with your body completely straight and your feet barely touching the wall. Initiate the movement as illustrated above by allowing your shoulder angle to close while bending at the elbow. Slowly lower to the ground in a uniform movement. Make sure to keep your body straight as your head descends toward the ground. Do not arch. Once your head lightly touches the ground, push back up to the starting position. Push through your triceps and shoulders, eventually covering your shoulders like earmuffs.
This is what most people think of when they hear the term "handstand pushups." While wall headstand pushups (which can be abbreviated Wall HeSPU) are not true handstand pushups (because the range of motion is stopped by your head touching the floor), they are still a feat of overhead pressing strength and body control.
The key to this movement is the same as the eccentric portions of the movement: control and maintaining correct body positioning. Your goal should be to build up awareness and strength in your primary movers, not obtaining as many repetitions as possible each set.
Arching of the back is typically a huge problem with headstand pushups, and it is multif aceted. Fatigue is the biggest culprit. As your body fatigues, it is tempting-almost natural-to do what is necessary to bring in other muscles to aid with the movement. When this happens, incorrect neural strength patterns are established. This should be avoided.
Handstand pushups and their variations are built through proper position, control, and strength through the shoulders. When you arch, you lec the crapezius and peccoralis muscles become prime movers as the shoulder angle doses. This not only emphasizes incorrecc neural patterns, but builds general strength in the wrong muscles. Additionally, arching makes the body less aware of its posicion in space as cension is lost through the core and hips.
Scapular Positioning: Begin with your scapulas elevated. As your head comes toward the ground, they will naturally begin to depress and come forward as your elbows move in that direction. Allow this to happen all the way through to the bottom. Your scapulas will then be in a neutral, depressed position. Once your head touches the ground and you start pushing back up, seek to end with your scapulas elevated.
Technique: Begin in a wall handstand position, with your body completely straight, your feet barely touching the wall, and your hands raised on parallettes or other elevated materials. Initiate the movement illustrated above by allowing your shoulder angle to close while bending at the elbow. Slowly lower to the ground in a uniform movement. Make sure to keep your body as straight as possible as your head descends toward the ground. Do not arch. Once your head lightly touches the ground, push back up to the starting position. Focus on pushing through your triceps and shoulders, eventually covering your shoulders like earmuffs.
Wall handstand pushups (which can be abbreviated WallHSPU) require placing your hands on a raised surface to fully hit the bottom of the movement. This position creates an extreme mechanical disadvantage, as your shoulder muscles and especially your triceps end up significantly lengthened. Keep your elbows glued to your side; do not let them flare out. You can use almost anything to raise your hands, but taking safety and consistency into consideration. Most people default to parallettes, but other solueions could include mats or panel mats (if you are in a gymnastics gym).cYou can also use wood blocks, boxes, or chairs, but this is more dangerous. Whatever you do, do it safely, and be consistent.
Perform this movement with your body against the wall. Given the elevated nature of this movement, it is understandable to use back-to-the-wall positioning because it is easier to get down safely, especially as a beginner. You should also practice how to pirouette or roll out of movements to save your body if you begin to fall.
The key to wall handstand pushups is to maintain full tension in your shoulders and triceps while in the bottom of the movement. If you relax when you reach the bottom, it will not be easy to re-create cension while holding the position. Strength-wise, this movement is quite a jump from headstand pushups. Many people are not able to perform the full movement initially. To combat this, you have two options. The first
(and preferred) is the use of negatives/eccentrics. If you cannot press out of the bottom of this movement, lower yourself as slowly as possible until you can safely exit the movement. This will allow you to gain strength throughout your full range of motion. The second option is to place your head above an elevated surface that is the right height to allow you to go as deep as you can handle without going any deeper. This will allow both lowering and pressing back up. Because these will be partial range of motion movements, you must increase the height of the surface to deepen your range of motion as you are able, until the full movement is obtained.
Scapular Positioning: Begin with your scapulas elevated. As your head comes toward the ground, they will naturally begin to depress and come forward as your elbows move in that direction. Allow this to happen all the way through to the bottom. Your scapulas will then be in a neutral, depressed position. Once your head touches the ground and you start pushing back up. Seek to end with your scapulas elevated.
Technique: Begin in a handstand position, with your body completely straight. Initiate the movement illustrated above by allowing your shoulder angle to close while bending at the elbow. Slowly lower tothe ground in a uniform movement. Make sure to keep your body straight as your head descends toward the ground. Do not arch. Once your head lighty touches the ground, push back up to the starting position. Focus on pushing through your triceps and shoulders, eventually covering your shoulders like earmuffs. End with your body completely straight.
The next phase of the progression is the freestanding headstandpushup (which can be abbreviated Free HeSPU). You will have issues if you have been working handstand pushups without the accompanying handstand holds, since you must be strong with both of these to work Free HeSPU's. Having a sense for both the still-hold and moving aspects of the handstand is critical in order to progress with freestanding handstand pushups. If this is a problem, take a step back and practice handstands; they are classified as skill work and can be practiced every day if necessary. You should be able to bring up your sense of balance very quickly if you have emphasized correct body positions all along. Technical considerations of this skill are the same as the previous variations. Correct body alignment continues to be vital.
The difficulty of this skill lies in balancing the dynamic movement. If your shoulder muscles and triceps are not strong enough to handle the small corrections that must be made during the movement, you will tip over. Even if the movement is failed, it can still be completed (though poorly) by losing core tension and arching your back in the movement. Arching your back in the movement compensates for a lack of shoulder and triceps strength in an attempt to add chest and trapezius strength to the movement. You want to avoid this. Maintaining strict body positioning pays dividends in the long run.
Along the same vein, if you flare your elbows you do not have good forward and backward control. if you find yourself guilty of flared elbows often, make a stronger effort to keep your elbows in during all movements. You may need to drop a progression or two until you can perform the movement without flaring your elbows.
You also do not want to put weight on your head when you touch the ground. It does stabilize the headstand position before pushing out, but it ignores the need for proper control near the bottom of the movement. If you cut corners now, it will cose you later. The proper form is to allow your head to simply brush the ground as you maintain correct arm, elbow, and body positions.
It may take time to achieve the strength and balance necessary for this movement. If you need assistance, practice against a wall and remove your feet at different points during the movement with the eventual aim to remove them altogether.
Scapular Positioning: Begin with your scapulas elevated. As your head comes toward the ground, they will naturally begin to depress and come forward as your elbows move in that direction. Allow this to happen all the way through to the bottom. Your scapulas will then be in a neutral, depressed position. Once your head touches the ground and you start pushing back up, seek to end with your scapulas elevated.
Technique: Begin in a handstand position on raised implements like parallettes, with your body completely straight. Initiate the movement illuscrated above by allowing your shoulder angle to close while bending at the elbow. Slowly lower to the ground in a uniform movement. Make sure to keep your body as straight as possible as your head descends toward the ground. Do not arch. Once your head lightly touches the ground, push back up to the starting position. Focus on pushing through your triceps and shoulders, eventually covering your shoulders like earmuffs. End with your body completely straight.
The freestanding handstand pushup (which can be abbreviated Free HSPU) is a beast of a skill that requires serious dedication. Like wall handstand pushups, this movement should be performed on implements that raise your hands. Parallettes are strongly recommended. They are stable and consistent, assuming that their surface is not slippery. Additionally, the force you can exert through your hands via a tight grip assists with balance during performance of this movement.
Your biggestenemies, as with previous progressions, will be arching your back and flaring your elbows. If the sheer intensity of pressingout of the bottom is too much for you, you can use same approach that was suggested for headstand pushups-slow eccentrics or varying the height of your hands for progressive parcial repetitions. This position and movement should now be extremely familiar; all that is lefc is to drill it correctly. If you are still having problems with your body positioning, go back to a progression where you can maintain proper positioning throughout the entire movement.
It is absolucely imperative that you learn the body positions correctly. You will not be able to perform any of the more advanced movements correctly without proper body positioning. It is that important.
Scapular Positioning: Your scapulas should be fully elevated and very slightly retracted to lock in this position. As you bend your elbows out wide, with your feet on the straps, your scapulas will naturally depress and protract slightly. Allow this to happen to the bottom of the movement. Then, reverse the whole process when pushing up from the bottom.
Technique: Begin in a rings handstand position, with feet on the straps. Keep your feet on the straps for the entire movement. To start the movement, allow your hands to start to move out wider while simultaneously allowing your elbows to bend. This will bring the rings wider and distribute force through your traps, triceps, and shoulders. Once you hit the bottom of the movement, contract your shoulders and push through your hands, bringing them back underneath your shoulders and allowing your feet to slide along the cables. Finish in the rings handstand position with your feet on the straps. In this movement, the rings may rotate from the parallel position to a position where your forearms are on the straps. This is fine to start, but eventually you will want to keep the rings parallel the entire time.
With rings wide handstand pushups (which can be abbreviated R Wide HSPU) your aim should be to maintain proper straight-body positioning. The primary difference between this and rings handstand development is that you will aim to keep your feet inside the cables and stabilize the movement with just your wrists.
In this instance, allow the elbows to flare out in order to generate additional mechanical advantage while maintaining proper form, especially at the top of the position. Here, you will want to pause in the arms-straight, rings-turned-out, [proper] handstand position. From then on, it is all shoulder and triceps strength, so make sure you have obtained this strength from the previous progressions before attempting this or any other advanced exercise that carries a greater risk of injury.
Scapular Positioning: Your scapulas should be fully elevated and very slightly retracted to lock in the position. As you bend your elbows out wide, with your feet on the straps, your scapulas will naturally depress and protract slightly. Allow this to happen to the bottom of the movement. Then, reverse the whole process when pushing up from the bottom.
Technique: Begin in a rings handstand position, with feet on the straps. Keep your feet on the straps for the entire movement. To start the movement, allow your hands to start to move out wider while simultaneously allowing your elbows to bend. This will bring the rings wider and distribute force through your traps, triceps, and shoulders. Once you hit the bottom of the movement, contract your shoulders and push through your hands, bringing them back underneath your shoulders and allowing your feet to slide along the cables. Finish in the rings handstand position with your feet on the straps. The rings may rotate from the parallel position to a position where your forearms are on the straps. This is fine to start, but eventually you will want to keep the rings parallel the entire time.
Rings strap handstand pushups (with elbows in) are where your grit is truly tested. This movement can be abbreviated R Strap HSPU. To make this more difficult, remove your feet from the cables while in the shoulder stand position at the bottom of the movement. This will require your shoulder stand to be slightly underbalanced, which presents problems with maintaining proper body positioning, especially near the bottom of the movement. Do your best and use the straps as little as necessary to avoid compromising body position. As you ascend, your feet will naturally move back in line with the straps or cables.
This movement is very much like the freestanding handstand pushup on parallettes (or another raised implement). You have to maintain tension at the bottom of the movement, and you should make it your goal to fire out of the bottom position right away.
Some of the finer technique points are to keep the elbows in and your core tight. Allowing your body to arch to any degree will push your center of gravity toward your back, which may cause you to tip over. If you have a tendency to do this, focus on squeezing your abdominals and glutes during the movement. Keeping your core tight is important for all aspects of handstand pushups.
Scapular Positioning: Your scapulas should be fully elevated and very slightly retracted to lock in the position. As you move into the bottom position of the movement keep your elbows in, which will cause your scapulas to depress. Allow this to happen to the bottom of the movement. Then, reverse the whole process when pushing up from the bottom.
Technique: Begin in a rings handstand position, with feet on the straps. Remove your feet from the straps, balancingin the handstand position. To start the movement, allow your hands to move in front of you, toward the front of your shoulders. Once you hit the bottom position-with your hands level at your shoulders contract your shoulders and push through your hands to move them up and over your head, back into alignment with your body. Finish in the rings handstand position. In this movement, the rings may rotate from the parallel position to a position where your forearms are on the straps. This is fine to start, but eventually you will want to keep the rings parallel the entire time.
The rings freestanding handstand pushup (which can be abbreviated R Free HSPV) is a milestone of strength for most people, and this is the first rated B skill on the chart. Performing this movement builds on all of the time, sweat, and energy you have put into the previous handstand progressions. Always focus on correct body positioning. Hit the handstand, lower with control, then push explosively out of the bottom and maintain proper body positioning all the way up.
The biggest issue that you will run into is locking out your elbows at the top of the skill. This the most difficult moment during rings freestanding handstand pushups. Obviously, locking out the rings is very difficult, so hopefully you have focused on this aspect of the skill in previous progressions. If you have not done this and you have developed the strength for the rings handstand pushup, you may find that your elbows are bent at the top of the movement. If this is the case, your primary focus must be on locking your arms at the top of the movement. It may actually build more strength in your shoulders than the handstand pushup itself! As with most of the handstand variations, you may also have difficulty maintaining a straight or slightly hollowed body during the movement. You may also have to work on the rings parallel (or turned out) position, as the tendency is often to allow them to turn in.
The press appears right after the handstand pushups progressions because it strongly relates to these types of skills. A true freestanding handstand pushup will typically be about 85-95% of a bodyweight press. This is because the weight of your arms is not factored into the weight of a handstand pushup.
Both skills require good core strength and control, but they are a bit different. Obviously, pushing your bodyweight in an inverted position is not exactly like pushing your bodyweight overhead. You will get better at whatever you practice the most. There is some crossover between skills because they both involve pressing weight over your head. But there are no hard-set numbers that correlate from one to the other. This placement on the charts and strength "connection" is just to give you an idea of what you may expect in regard to pressing strength if you were to train both simultaneously. Individual anthropometry will also play a role. Those with longer bodies may have a harder time controlling a freestanding handstand pushup.
The most important factor in how skilled you can become at an exercise is how much you practice it. In this respect, you will be better at what you do more often. But if you need some supplementary work for one skill or the other, these two progressions relate fairly well to each other.
Scapular Positioning: Initially, your hands will be placed on the ground and your scapulas will be elevated as much as possible, although they will be closer to neutral at the start. elevate them. as you progress through the movement until they are maximally elevated at the end of the handstand position.
Technique: Place your hands on the ground with your arms slightly bent and your legs straight. Slowly shift your weight from your toes to your hands. Once all of the weight is on your hands, lift your feet off the ground. Do not allow your shoulders to drop down further, as this will make the press to handstand more difficult. Bring your hips directly over your shoulders. Straighten out your hips while at the same time pressing through your hands in order to straighten your elbows and shoulder angk. Finish in the freestanding handstand position.
A proficient handstand is a prerequisite to learning the bent-arm, bent-bodypress to handstand (which can be abbreviatedBA BB Press). If you cannot hold a handstand, you will not make it to the ending position of this skill without falling over. T hat being said, this position is best learned from either a bent-arm straddle or a bent-arm pike position. Tucking is not preferred; though it makes the beginning of the movement slightly easier, once your legs start to extend it is much more unstable than straight legs throughout. In the context of progression and consistency, ignoring straight leg positioning now will mean needing to learn it later when the intensity is inherently higher and risk of injury greater. If you have to switch to a lower progression, bite the bullet now and put in the work required.
Wrist control is crucial in any hand-balancing feat, and this movement is no exception. Begin by flrmly planting your hands on the floor with your fingers extended, ready to give feedback and control. Initially, balancing this skill will be difficult, and it is likely that forward rolling out of the skill will occur. Your aim should be to completely avoid this, but be prepared for it to happen if you lose your forward balance.
You can begin in either the pike or straddle position. Bend your arms slightly. (Do not bend your arms more than ninety degrees, as this places too much force on your triceps and you may not be strong enough
to push out of the position while your elbows are bent. This applies for this progression and every one from this point forward.) As your arms bend, tension is created from your hands to your shoulders, which provides a stable base for your hips to rise overhead. Once your hips are aligned over your head, begin to straighten the handstand by bringing your legs up. Difficulty level will vary depending on which position you use. Each position has its own difficulties to overcome, so it is difficult to say which is the most difficult.
Whichever position is chosen, it is just a matter of practice once you have adequate strength to perform this skill. With a solid handstand, this should not take longer than a month or two. Given the basic nature of this skill and its applicability into most other progressions, you might want to practice both variations.
Scapular Positioning: In the L-sit position, your scapulas will be maximally depressed. As you begin to move your head forward and down, your legs back, and your hips up, you will elevate your scapulas as you progress through the movement until they are maximally elevated at the end of the handstand position.
Technique: Place your hands on the ground or parallettes and push through them while performing the L-sit position. Then, begin to lean forward and allow your legs to drop and move backward. Your hips will begin to rise up behind you as you push through your hands. Do not allow your shoulders to drop down further, as this will make the press to handstand more difficult. Bring your hips directly over your shoulders. Straighten out your hips while at the same time pressing through your hands in order to straighten your elbows and shoulder angle. Finish in the freestanding handstand position.
The L-sit bent-arm, bent-bodypress to handstand (which can be abbreviated L-sit BA BB Press) progression takes the bent-body press a step further. Instead of beginning with your body behind your arms, begin with your body in front of your arms and use your upper-body strength to press the skill through your arms, ending in a handstand position.
If you are on the floor, there are two main ways to get your legs through your arms. The tuck position is recommended, though some people like crossing their legs as they bring them through the arms. If you are strong and have long arms, the pike position could work as well. Moving your legs through your arms requires active shoulders and pushing your hands as far out as possible to help build strength for handstand positions.
Once your legs get through, the skill is similar to the previous progression. Remember to focus on pushing your hips above your head without bending your arms more than ninety degrees.
It is easier if you use parallettes as you raise your body off the ground. This is not recommended; however, if you are just beginning to learn this skill and do not have the ability to get your legs through, this is an okay method to use. Pretend that there is an imaginary plane at the parallettes' height and try not to break that plane as you perform the skill. Take the skill to the floor as you progress.
Scapular Positioning: Begin with your scapulas protracted and depressed. Elevate them through the movement. Keeping them protracted through the movement is acceptable, but they will eventually end up in elevation with slight retraction as you move into the handstand.
Technique: Begin in a seal position, with your hands on the ground and body arched. Bend your arms and allow the front of your body to gain a bit of momentum as you roll on the ground. Arch your back and allow your feet to rise up behind you. As more weight is shifted onto your hands, your hips will start to rise up behind you. As your head reaches the ground, push strongly through your hands. Do not allow your shoulders to drop down further, as this will make the press to handstand more difficult. Bring your hips directly over your shoulders. Straighten out your hips while at the same time pressing through your hands in order to straighten your elbows and shoulder angle. Finish in the freestanding handstand position.
As you begin to work the chest roll straight-bodypress to handstand skill (which can be abbreviated CR SB Press), you may notice that it is not uncommon far your body to arch significantly. As you get stronger, eliminate this arch and complete the skill with a straight-body position that relies on shoulder and arm strength. Doing this will help prepare you far the next progression.
This skill requires a solid amount of back flexibility, so it can be difficult far those who are less flexible. Even though this skill may not be your cup of tea, developing the bridge is an important part of training. However, it is possible to avoid this skill altogether and build up strength through other movements until you can progress to the next press progression.
Alternatively, you can think about this movement in two parts. First, you want to be able to press into a headstand position. Second, you want to be able to press from said headstand position into a handstand. When you think about it in this manner, this exercise becomes much less daunting. You can work on both components individually and eventually pair them if you are having trouble doing both in one continuous movement.
Scapular Positioning: Begin with your scapulas depressed. They will start to protract through the movement and become elevated as you move toward the handstand. You will end with your scapulas elevated and slightly retracted.
Technique: Begin in a support position on parallel bars or parallettes. Bend your arms and lean forward, controlling the descent of your shoulders as your feet rise behind you. As your head reaches the height of your hands, push strongly through your hands. Do not allow your shoulders to drop down further, as this will make the press to handstand more difficult. Bring your hips directly over your shoulders. Straighten out your hips while at the same time pressing through your hands in order to straighten your elbows and shoulder angle. Finish in the freestanding handstand position.
A bent-arm straight-bodypress to handstand (which can be abbreviated BA SB Press) is also referred to as a hollow back press handstand. The difficulty level of this movement can vary significantly depending on how much momentum is used. If your overarching goal is increasing your level of strength, you should strive to reduce the amount of momentum necessary to hit the final handstand.
This skill is most easily performed on parallettes or an actual set of parallel bars. It can be performed on the floor, but it is significantly harder because the floor blocks any movement of the legs that would be lower than the ground. If you do not have access to parallel bars, use parallettes and begin from the kneeling position. As you lean forward, straighten your legs as soon as possible to execute this skill as close to the parallel bars as you can. Alternatively, you start in an L-sit position: Allow your legs to drop so that your body is straight. As your legs pass through the bottom of the movement, lean forward and bend your arms simultaneously. The key to this skill is not to bend over or lean too fast; you want to make a controlled pendulum with your body. You will move through three landmarks near the following positions: elbow lever, shoulder stand, and freestanding handstand pushup from the bottom of the shoulder stand position.
While the movements are similar, this skill requires more strength than a freestanding handstand pushup. This is why it is one level higher in difficulty, making it the logical next step after you have mastered freestanding handstand pushups.
Note that the illustrations show this skill performed with an arch. This is fine when you are learning; however, as you improve, perform it with a hollow position. This will increase strength in your shoulder girdle more effectively.
Scapular Positioning: Your scapulas will be elevated at the top of the handstand position. As you begin to lower, they will protract and depress. This will continue to the elbow lever position. From there, your scapulas will move in the opposite direction as you press back to the handstand position.
Technique: Begin in a handstand position. Bend your elbows and shoulders, allowing your chest and head to come forward and your feet to drop backward. Lower in a slow and controlled manner to the elbow lever position. From this position, lean forward slightly to allow your feet to rise. Then, push through your hands with your shoulders and elbows to move back to the handstand position.
Handstand to elbow lever to handstand (which can be abbreviated HS, EL, HS) is a strength move that is known as a 90-degreepushup, and it is all about impressive pressing strength in multiple planes. Perform this skill with a straight body; a good handstand is a prerequisite. You should also be proficient in freestanding handstand pushups and the bent-arm, straight-body press.
Think of your hands as the fulcrum on which your body balances. Allow your elbows to come tight to your sides in order to help balance the body. The angle of your elbows must then be opened and closed to balance the skill. If you attempt to balance the skill with just your shoulder or hands it will not work. The angle of your elbows will help control the skill and keep it in a static position. Your elbow can then be opened or closed to help initiate the ascent or descent of the skill, respectively.
The lack of momentum in this movement is what makes it so difficult. With previous skills, you could get some momentum rolling from the support or 1-sit position in the initial lean. However, in this skill, you muse control your body as you come down from a handstand so that you stop statically in an elbow lever position. Then, starting in this static elbow lever position, you muse create your own movement from strength and control it all the way back up to a handstand.
Do not try to make this skill easy by bending your legs and arching your back. Keep your body straight. Develop a sense of balance for getting in and out of the elbow lever position. If you are having difficulty, review the section on elbow lever statics for advice on how to balance this intermediate position.
Scapular Positioning: Begin in a relaxed position at the bottom of a dip with your scapulas elevated and retracted. Activate your shoulders and depress and protract your scapulas. As you move through the various positions, your scapulas will stay protracted and begin to elevate. Continue the elevation until you reach the handstand position; they will naturally move out of protraction.
Technique: Begin in a support position and lower into a dip. (Alternatively, you can start in a dip.) At the bottom of the dip, activate your shoulders and lean forward. As you do this, push through your hands. Your body will begin to rotate, causing your feet to rise. Keep your body straight and continue to lean forward so your hips and feet will rise further to a shoulder stand position. From there, press out into a handstand.
The parallel bar dip, straight-body press to handstand (which can be abbreviated PB Dip SB to HS) is a feat of strength that tests the body through the full range of pushing movements. This move requires a set of parallel bars. From the bottom of the dip position, keep your body straight (do not arch your back!) and lean forward to press into a handstand.
This movement can be performed with parallettes if you start from the third frame in this sequence. You will not get the full range of motion to build strength, but starting from a static position in the third frame is sufficiently difficult to challenge your strength.
Initiate themovement by leaning your body forward while straightening your arms so that your shoulders "slide" along the rails. This will help place your hands closer to your hips, necessary to get the rest of your body leaning forward to push out of the deep dip position into the ascent.
As your body approaches being parallel to the bars, you will be in a deep semi-elbow lever position. Do not stop in this position, as it is much more difficult than a regular elbow lever. You want to keep leaning forward and open your elbow angle so that your feet keep rising until you come close to hitting a shoulder stand on the parallel bars. From there, all that is left is the bottom portion of the freestanding handstand pushup movement.
The first phase-the dip to approximately a shoulder stand-is the hardest. At this level, handstand pushups are typically comfortable for trainees and they are less of a problem. However, it should be noted that this will be slightly more difficult because you are taxing yourself in the first phase, before the handstand pushup.
From there, the next step is to develop the necessary strength and learn how to manipulate your elbow angle to allow you to change the angle of your body so that it is set up for a press.
In order to keep the progression charts as simple as possible, rings bent-arm press movements have not been given their own category, instead they come after chair handstands.
The upper level chair handstand-the illusion-requires a loe of the stability and strength needed when learning rings bent-arm press handstand movements. It makes a good segue into rings handstands.
While other work on rings, such as rings handstand pushups, may ulcimately be more useful, it is best to learn some movements concurrently. It is beneficial to learn rings handstands, rings handstand pushups, and straight-arm/bent-arm press handstands on PB/FX before rings bent-arm press movements.
Scapular Positioning: As you begin this movement, the scapula on your down arm will be protracted and elevated, while the scapula on your up arm will be in a neutral position. Through the movement, the scapula on your down arm will become elevated to a final handstand positioning, while the scapula on your up arm will remain in place.
Technique: First, squat on a chair. Find the correct hand placements-your down arm should be on the front corner of the seat of the chair and your other arm (the up arm) should be on the backrest of the chair. To initiate the movement, raise your butt in the air and begin leaning forward. The chair handstand is a two-step process. The first pare involves moving your hips directly overhead of your shoulders. The second part involves slowly extending your legs overhead while keeping your shoulders, core, and hips stable. This will prevent you from falling forward or backward.
Your down arm should be kept straight when the press begins. (This is why it is useful to already have a straight-arm press.) If your arm bends more than abouc twenty to thirty degrees, your body will rotate and you will fail the press. Your up arm can support some weight, but since it is bent you will not have much leverage or strength to support any significant weight on that arm. Continue to lean forward and put weight on your down arm: chink about pushing upward in a straight line to your head.This will help counteract force as you lean forward and lift your hips up.
Your legs can be in either a tuck or straddle position when you attempt this press. Many people prefer the tuck position, but straddle can be easier if you have been practicing straddle presses. Be aware that your feet will hit the backrest of the chair if you use straddle.
Now that you have gotten your hips above your head, slowly extend your legs overhead. If you do this too quickly, you are likely to arch your back and lose your balance. If you do not yet know how to pirouette out of a handstand, you are strongly advised to learn this against a wall first. You absolutely do not want to fall straight over and land on your back on the ground!
After you have reached the handstand position, keep your body tight. Roughly 75% of your weight will shift to the arm that is plantedagainst the ground, so any core or legmovementcan easily de-stabilize your press. Apply force to keep yourself planted, and place your up arm on the backrest for control when coming down. Your body may twist when you are first learning this, but the twist will go away once you get the hang of the skill. Before attempting a chair handstand, you should have the ability to hold a thirty-second handstand and perform a bent-arm press handstand or a near-straight-arm straddle press handstand. Executing this skill requires being able to press to a handstand and hold a handstand. Performing handstand pushups may help, but they are not a prerequisite.
The chair handstand is actually not a very difficult skill, even though it looks impressive. Keep in mind the differences between chair handstands and regular handstands: in order to correctly execute a chair handstand, the placement of your down arm must be biased toward the front of the chair, while your up arm is placed higher on the back of the chair, creating a staggered hand position for the execution of the handstand. The horizontal distance between your hands should be roughly shoulder width, while the vertical distance between your hands can vary (though the length of the space from elbow to shoulder is typically good). Your down arm will bear most of the weight of the handstand (typically 70-80%), while your up arm will stabilize it. Optimally, your up arm will be bent at 90-degree angle at both your shoulder and your elbow, which will help bias the weight toward your down arm.
Besure that the elbow of your planted arm does not flare out; keepit lined up with your body as you press up and while you are in the handstand position itself. If your body keeps twisting, the cause may be a flared elbow. There is a high potential that you may fall out of the chair press when you are learning this movement, so learning these against a wall is advised. When you take the movement away from the wall, make sure there is a soft surface in front of you in the event that you fall forward. Make sure you practice pirouetting out of a handstand. Coming down out of the chair press is exactly like going up. First, bring your legs down slowly until you are in a straddle or tuck position with your hips up. Next, use your arms to slowly bend and support your weight. You can then bring your hips down from overhead. Ideally, you will be able to execute this without wobbling, slamming your feet onto the chair or falling over. Keep practicing!
After you have achieved a chair handstand, work toward holding it for longer time periods in order to improve your stability, just as you would a regular handstand. You will eventually be able to perform it from a starting position of being seated sideways on a chair, much like the L-sit press handstand variation. The toughest part of this skill is getting your lower body overhead from the position of being seated on the chair. Do not forget to practice both sides. You will often see inequality in straight-arm and bent-arm strength while working this movement. Work your weaker arm first.
Scapular Positioning: Same as the chair handstand.
Technique: Same as the chair handstand, except there is more instability in your up arm because it is resting on the backrest of a different chair.
The illusion chair handstand uses two chairs. You will not place your hand on the first chair, as the back legs of the second chair will be where you would place your planced arm. Instead, place your down arm hand on the back of the chair, and your up arm on the back of the other chair. While this press is basically the same as the previous chair press movement, it is more difficult for two distinct reasons:
Aside from the increased weight distribucion, you have stabilized the chair with your up arm. Your elbow muse not be allowed to flare out. If you are having issues keeping your elbow in, you may need to go back to working press movements on the floor or parallettes.
As you begin the press to a handstand, your down arm should remain straight. If your arm bends more than twenty degrees, your body will rotate and the movement will fail. While your up arm can support some weight, you do not have much leverage because it is bent. Keep your elbow from flaring out and isometrically squeeze the shoulder of your up arm in order to support some weight and prevent it from wobbling. Put most of your weight on your down arm, and chink about to pushing through it so that your hand is in a direct straight line with your head. Take care not to lean too far forward as it is easy to lose balance. This will allow you to lifc your hips up and over your head.
Your legs can be in either a tuck or straddle position when attempting this press; it is a matter of personal preference. Like with the chair handstand, most people prefer the tuck position, as your feec may hit the back of the chair if you use the straddle position.
Once your hips are above your head, slowly extend your legs overhead. If you do this too quickly, you are likely to arch your back and lose your balance. After you have reached the handstand position, keep your body tight. Roughly 75% of your weight will shift to the arm that is planted against the ground, so any core or leg movement is likely to de-stabilize your press. Apply force to keep yourself planted, and place your up arm on the backrest for control when coming down. Your body may twist when you are first learning this, but this will go away once you get the hang of it.
There is an intermediate position that can be utilized to practice this skill. Using three chairs, start with the top chair resting on two bottom chairs. After you perform the chair press handstand, take control of the chair and pull it up so that it is not resting on the third chair. If there is another person around, they can pull out the third chair as well. This is where the "illusion" comes in-because the third chair is useless. As always, this skill can be practiced against the wall or next to a soft surface in case you fall over. Once it is obtained, there are some things you can do to increase the challenge, such as straightening your supporting arm. You can also go higher if you have access to stackable chairs.
Scapular Positioning: Begin in the support position, with your scapulas depressed. As you move into this skill, your scapulas will begin to elevate and protract. As you move closer to the handstand position they will protract less and elevate more. As you reach the handstand position they will be fully elevated and slightly retracted. Technique: This skill should be approached much like the rings shoulder stand and other bent-arm, bent-body presses. From a support or L-sit position, bend your arms and rotate your torso forward to get your hips above your head. From there, you can either straddle or pike to get your hips all the way over your head. Finally, push through your arms and simultaneously straighten your hips to move into a rings handstand position.
Achieving the support position variation of the rings bent-arm, bent-bodypress to handstand (which can be abbreviated R BA BB Press) will be significantly harder, as you have no momentum from a swing. Remember to keep your arms bent as much as is necessary to get your hips overhead. Aside from this, bend your arms as little as possible because it is very difficult to press out of the bottom of the movement with a closed elbow angle. As your hips rise in the back, put as much force as necessary into the rings to ensure that your elbow positioning does not drop below a 90-degree angle.
At first, you will likely have to use the straps for balance. Most beginners do not have the stability required to complete the full range of motion with no assistance. Your goal, however, should always be to use as little assistance as possible, and to wean yourself away from using assistance as you make progress with the movement. Fight to get as high as you can without using the straps. If you are unable to gain control, you can then use the straps for assistance.
Once you have reached the top of the handstand, the same points discussed in the rings strap handstand section apply:
Scapular Positioning: Begin in a dip position, with your scapulas elevated. To begin the movement, depress your scapulas. As you move into this skill, your scapulas will begin to elevate and protract. As you move closer to the handstand position they will protract less and elevate more. As you reach the handstand position they will be fully elevated and slightly retracted.
Technique: This skill should be approached much like the rings shoulder standand other bent-arm, bent-body presses. From the dip position, lean forward and rotate your torso to get your hips all the way over your head. Finally, push through your arms and simultaneously straighten your hips to move into a rings handstand position.
Like on the parallettes, the main difference with the rings dip to handstand (which can be abbreviated R Dip to HS) is that you are devoid of any momentum that can be generated from the L-sit or lean forward. All of the strength from the dip must be applied to help get your hips overhead.
It is cheating to make this movement much easier by using a tuck position or bending your legs during the dip phase. Your focus is to get stronger. Therefore, use the straddle or pike position and avoid the tuck position. It is acceptable to use the tuck position as an intermediate progression if needed, but once you have the necessary strength you should move on to either the straddle or pike position.
The key here is the lean forward from the bottom portion of the dip. This opens your elbows and allows your torso to rotate forward. As discussed, rotating your torso will help you get your hips overhead. Adding intensity to the dip is conducive to strength gains as well.
This is a good intermediate skill for muscle-up directly into press handstand, which looks very impressive. If you are interested in combining skills or working on routines, this is a good combination to use with the muscle-up or any other type of dip variation.
Scapular Positioning: Begin in the support position, with your scapulas depressed. As you move into this skill, your scapulas will elevate and protract. As you move closer to the handstand position they will protract less and elevate more. As you reach the handstand position they will be fully elevated and slightly retracted.
Technique: From the support position, lean forward and bend your arms to exert pressure into your hands and cause your feet to rise. Keep your body straight as you do this. As your head passes below the rings, bring the rings in to hit the shoulder stand position. From there, push your hands overhead to reach the handstand position.
The key for the rings bent-arm, straight-body press to handstand (which can be abbreviated R BA SB Press and is also known as the hollow back press) is to turn your palms forward into the rings-turned-out position - much like the elbow lever, bent-arm press progression. This allows you to have more control over the skill. Try to keep the rings turned out as much as possible during the entire skill, even the handstand. This will be difficult.
If your elbow angle is not closed fast enough, you will rotate too far and forward roll or crash out of the skill. Remember to practice bailing if you are not yet comfortable with this. if you bend your arms too soon you will get stuck, and your body will not rotate. A fine line of strength and control is essential to achieve this skill. It will take a lot of practice to get it right.
If you look on the progressions charts you will find that this skill is one level above rings freestanding handstand pushups. Work that skill as well if you have not already done so. The charcs were designed so that lateral skills of all levels are approximately on the same difficulty plane, making this somewhat of a continuation of the freestanding handstand pushups line.
This is a B-level skill in the Gymnastics Code of Points.
Scapular Positioning: Begin in a handstand position with your scapulas fully elevated and slightly retracted. As you move into the skill, your scapulas will begin to depress and protract as you move toward the elbow lever position. Once you hit this position, your scapulas will be fully depressed and protracted. As you make your way toward the handstand position, they will begin to elevate again. You will end with your scapulas fully elevated and slightly retracted.
Technique: From a handstand position, lean forward and bend your arms and shoulders. Maintain straight-body positioning. Slowly lower your elbows into your waist area, maintaining pressure through your hands. Once you hit the elbow lever position, lean forward to bringyour feet and hips back up. Close the elbow angle to reach a shoulder stand position, then press out of the shoulder stand into a handstand position.
The rings handstand to elbow leverto handstand skill (which can be abbreviated R HS, EL, HS) is exactly the same as the one you would execute on the floor, parallettes, or parallel bar. The key to successfully achieving this skill is maintaining a straight-body position. Focus on controlling the handstand down by leaning forward and using your wrists to control the rings, and your shoulders and elbow angle to control your body angle.
The elbow lever portion on the rings is much harder than on the floor because it is difficult to pull the elbows in if the rings are regulation width, and the hands must be stabilized while the elbows pull in as well. Try to lock your elbows hard against your sides, but do not forget that the position is controlled with the opening and closing of the elbow angle and the wrists. Once this is working smoothly, the rest is simply ascending and descending a handstand pushup.
The rings must be turned out when coming down from the handstand to the elbow lever. This will probably happen automatically. If your head arches out, it may encourage the arching of the back during the movement. Try to avoid this. To develop the greatest level of strength, keep the nice hollow body position the entire time. Stabilizing and moving in and out of the elbow lever position to and from handstand makes this skill difficult. It requires much more control over the rotation of the skill than the previous progression.
Scapular Positioning: Begin in a dip position, with your scapulas elevated. Depress them as you start the movement. As you lean forward into the movement, your scapulas will elevate and protract. As you move closer to the handstand position they will protract less and elevate more. As you reach the handstand position they will be fully elevated and slightly retracted.
Technique: From a dip position, lean forward and bend your arms to exert pressure into your hands and cause your feet to rise. Keep your body straight. As your head passes below the rings, bring the rings in to hit the shoulder stand position. From there, push your hands overhead to reach the handstand position.
The rings dip, straight-body press to handstand skill (which can be abbreviated R Dip SB to HS) is exactly the same as the previous variation (dip, straight-body press to handstand) except it is performed on the rings. The rings must be turned out in the ascent phase for control purposes.
As your body approaches being parallel with the bars, you will be in a deep semi-elbow lever position. This is a hybrid between a planche pushup and a maltese pushup. At this point, you wanc to continue leaning forward and opening your elbow angle so that your feet continue to rise, until you hit close to a shoulder stand on the rings. From there, move into the bottom portion of a freestanding handstand pushup. This is the most difficult part of the skill, so be sure to maintain good form.
Once you learn the basics of this skill, focus on developing strength and manipulating your elbow angle so that you can bring your body overhead. Once you achieve this you can add a weight vest to make the skill more difficult and gain even more strength.
The straight-arm press to handstand variations are extremely underutilized in non-gymnastics scenanos. Everyone wants to obtain cool skills like handstand pushups and static holds like the planche, but very few have the dedication to achieve the strength and flexibility for the straight-arm press to handstand skill-set progression. It is unfortunate, since the strength and control you can gain from these skills will help significantly in the development of other skills like the planche.
If you have any aspirations for planche skills (and even most of the bent-arm pressing skills), it is strongly advised that you develop this set of progressions for pressing first. Learning to control your body from just your shoulders is very important, and you will see the benefits from learning this set of progressions not just in your pressing skills, but also in most of the pulling skills that require straight-arm stabilization, such as back levers, front levers, and even the iron cross.
Scapular Positioning: Your scapulas will be elevated when you are in a handstand position. They will stay elevated for the entirety of this movement. All of the motion will come from your hips.
Technique: Begin in a handstand position with your back against the wall and hands a few inches further from the wall than usual. Next, straddle your legs as wide as possible. Slowly bend at your hips while keeping your back and butt against the wall. Bring your feet closer to the ground and keep your butt against the wall as long as possible. If you are not fully compressed, your butt and back will likely come off the wall before your feet reach the ground. This is fine when you are starting out, but you will need to correct it to progress in the skill. This is the first progression in the series of progressions that will significantly improve your active flexibility and shoulder strength. Wall straddlepress to handstand eccentrics (which can be abbreviated WallStr. Press Ecce.) can be performed either on the floor or with parallettes placed against a wall. To make this skill easier, move your hands further away from the wall, at a more oblique angle. To make this skill more challenging (and thus gain greater strength), move your hands closer to the wall.
This skill is best thought of as a two-step process. (The actual press handstand will be a three-step process.) Here are the two steps for this movement:
You need to practice these two transitions thoroughly before progressing to the next skill. While this skill may seem relatively easy, it requires a high level of concentration, strength and control. Most trainees will experience cramping and break into a heavy sweat after performing just a couple of repetitions.Though this is only a Level S skill, it is probably the most difficult Level S skill on the progression charts. It is also one of the most critical for developing straight-arm strength.
It requires a lot of core control and shoulder strength to keep your back against the wall during this movement. The difficulty of this skill lies in having enough active flexibility in your legs to perform the straddle and in the groin to close your hips, and being able to control the movement while simultaneously being able to drive your shoulders hard into the wall to keep your back in position. Here are two ways you can improve the quality of this skill once you have learned the basic movements:
Remember, even a "small" five to ten degree bend in your elbows will make the movement about ten to thirty percent easier - and strength gains will be fewer. Therefore, you should resist the urge to bend your elbows. This is why most gymnastics coaches do not teach bent-arm pressing until straight-arm pressing is learned. Pictured above is one of the ways you can begin to practice the hip movement away from the wall, without relying on it. Since this is a headstand position, take precautions to ensure neck safety. If you have any form of neck injury or suspect you may have issues putting pressure on your head, do not attempt this position. If you choose to use this method, you do so at your own risk.
Scapular Positioning: Your scapulas begin elevated. They will stay elevated for the entirety of this movement. All of the motion will come from your hips.
Technique: Grab a block, stool, gymnastics mat, or other slightly raised implement. The higher the object, the easier the movement will be. Begin with your hands on the ground and lean forward, keeping your shoulder angle open. As your weight shifts to your hands, lift your hips over your head. Once you begin to feel that your feet are barely supporting your weight, slowly rotate your hips to a straddle handstand position. Bring your legs together and you will reach a handstand position.
Switching from wall eccentrics to this full movement called the elevated straddle stand, straddlepress to handstand (which can be abbreviated Ele Str Std Str Press) represents the point where you should be able to control a press handstand movement beginning from the ground. If you have difficulty performing this skill, you can use another object with the wall until you are familiar with the concentric portion of the movement.
While this skill is categorized on the same level as the bent-ann, bent-bodypress to handstand, it is inherently more difficult. Few people have much experience with straight-arm skill or strength work, and the increase in intensity brings a substancial increase in muscle adaptation with it. You can adjust the difficulty level by changing theheight of theimplements, so select a height for the block that suits your experience/skill level. Most people start with a block that is twelve to seventeen inches tall. If you have a gymnastics mat that folds out (like a panel mat), you can systematically decrease the height as you progress.
The main idea is to open your shoulders as far as you can without opening your hips at all. This will help you avoid the common tendency of trying to lift your feet before your hips get all the way up, which would result in a planche press-an exponentially harder skill that you may not be ready for.
You will immediately be able to gauge the difficulty of this new position. Once your feet are in the air, the burden of work falls primarily on your shoulders. It will feel like there is a heavy weight on your shoulders that makes you want to fall forward on your face. Therefore, you must continually and aggressively push your arms over your head, in order to generate enough force at your shoulders to keep your body from tippingover. Your palms and fingers should feel like they are digging hard into the ground.
Most people will get "stuck" on this progression for some time. Because your shoulders end up in a very disadvantaged angle, they must be strong in order to hold this position. You will also need significant active
flexibility in your legs and groin to give your shoulders as much mechanical advantage as possible by drawing the center of gravity closer to your body. Even with many years of training under your belt, nailing this move may seem impossible. Stick with it, as it will build a foundation to achieve a high level of pressing strength. If truly needed, get someone to help spot the skill from behind at your hips. They can brace your shoulders with their knees and move your hips to get your legs up while forcing you to maintain proper body positioning.
Continue to lower the height of the implement (and, consequentially, your feet) as your strength and flexibility allow. When you are able to lift your feet from the floor, be sure to lift slowly. Use your lower back to help control the ascent of your legs, and make sure to keep your chest open and stomach tighc. This will keep your back aligned properly.
When the angle of your arms to your torso marches the angle of your chighs to your torso perfectly, you are approaching the top of the movement. At this point, exert your shoulders even more to complete the straight vertical straddle handstand position. Top this off by cleanly bringing your legs together from the straddle position.
If everything is falling into place but you are having trouble bringing your legs together from a straddle handstand to full handstand position, you have options to help seal the gap. You can perform negatives of this movement away from the wall, or possibly practice straddle handstands.
Keep in mind that even a five to ten degree bend in your elbows will make the movement about ten to chirty percent easier-and you will not see that strength gain as quickly. Resise the urge to bend your elbows.
Scapular Positioning: Your scapulas begin elevated. They will stay elevated for the entirety of this movement. All of the motion will come from your hips.
Technique: Begin with your hands on the grouncl and lean forwarcl keeping your shoulder angle open. As your weight shifts to your hands, lift your hips over your heacl. Once you begin to feel that your feet are barely supporting your weight, slowly rotate your hips to a straclclle handstancl position. Then, bring your legs together and you will reach a handstancl position.
When performing the straddle orpike stand, press to handstand (which can be abbreviated Str./Pike Std. Press), lowering the level of your feet will make the movement significantly more challenging. More often than not, your hips will not be directly stacked over your shoulders when executing this skill. Let's break this skill down into two phases:
You must be careful to get these clistinct phases correct, as most beginners typically blencl them together. If you lift your legs too soon (i.e. before your hips are above your shoulders), your shoulders will lean too far forward and you will fall on your face. Similarly, the control through your shoulders and core must remain constant; wobbling can also cause forwarcl lean.
The pike variation is a bit harder because it requires extra forwarcl lean at your shoulders, as your center of gravity is further away from your upper bocly. After you obtain the straclclle straight-arm press to handstancl, upgracling to the pike is a goocl way to progress the intensity.
Remember, even a "small" bencl in your elbows (five to ten degrees!) will make the movement about ten to thirty percent easier. In orcler to gain the maximum from this movement, you shoulcl resist the urge to bend your elbows.
This is an A-level skill in the Gymnastics Cocle of Points.
Scapular Positioning: Begin in an 1-sit position, with your scapulas depressed. As your hips begin to move overhead, your scapulas will protract and elevate. When your hips end up moving over your shoulders vertically, your scapulas will be fully elevated from there to the ending handstand position.
Technique: Begin in an 1-sit position, with your arms straight. Allow your legs to drop and your shoulders to move slightly forward while lifting your hips in back. Keep your arms straight and contract your shoulders to prevent yourself from falling forward. Start to straddle as soon as your toes pass the bars. As your hips arrive to vertical above your shoulders, start to bring your legs up toward a straddle handstand position. Finally, bring your legs together to end in the handstand position.
Since you are starting from a lower position with the L-sit/straddle-L, straddlepress to handstand (which can be abbreviated L-Sit / Str-L Str. Press), your range of motion will be increased, placing a greater demand on your shoulders. This forces you to apply much more strength, making you stronger. In this technique, compression is the key. You will need to maintain compression in order to keep your shoulders from planching too far forward. This must be achieved as soon as your hips begin to ascend. Essentially, once your hips start moving backward, you will squeeze your abdominals and immediately bring them as close to your face as possible.
As your proficiency increases, begin with a straddle 1-sit. Doing this position from the start will make the movement more difficult in two ways: it nullifies most of the momentum you can build from swinging your legs backward from the 1-sit position, and it also warrants a greater need for active flexibility and compression.
All of the L or straddle-1 press variations have three components:
This is an A-level skill in the Gymnastics Code of Points.
Scapular Positioning: Begin in an L-sit position, with your scapulas depressed. As your hips begin to move overhead, your scapulas will protract and elevate. When your hips end up over your shoulders vertically, your scapulas will be fully elevated from there to the ending handstand position.
Technique: Begin in an L-sit position, with your arms straight. Allow your legs to drop and your shoulders to move slightly forward while your hips lift in back. Keep your arms straight and contract your shoulders to prevent yourself from falling forward. Since the straddle allows more compression with the pike, you will need to lean forward more with your shoulders as your hips rise. As your hips arrive to vertical above your shoulders, start to bring both of your legs up by opening up your hips. Finally, end in a handstand position.
The L-sit / straddle-L pike press to handstand (which can be abbreviated L-Sit / Str-L Pike Press) is an extension of the previous presses. Because this movement involves keeping your legs together and straight, it requires more forward lean to execute. This requires more strength. To execute this movement, begin from the L-sit position and push your hips directly overhead before bringing your legs up to a handstand.
Alternatively, this can be performed from the straddle-L position. Once the legs clear the arms they need to come together to hit the pike position before the rest of the press can be finished. Technique is exactly the same as the other press techniques. Each of the phases should be separated as much as possible to prevent excessive planching and to allow active compression to develop further.
This is a B-level skill in the Gymnastics Code of Points.
Scapular Positioning: Begin in an L-sit position, with your scapulas depressed. As your hips begin to move overhead, your scapulas will protract and elevate. When your hips arrive over your shoulders vertically, your scapulas remain fully elevated from there to the ending handstand position.
Technique: Begin in an L-sit position, with your arms straight on the rings. The rings can be either parallel or turned out. Allow your legs to drop and your shoulders to move slightly forward while lifting your hips in back. Keep your arms straight and contract your shoulders to keep from falling forward. Since the straddle allows more compression than the pike, you will need to lean forward more with your shoulders as your hips rise. As your hips come to vertical above your shoulders, start to bring both of your legs up by opening up your hips. Finally, end in a handstand position. Keep the rings in the starting position the entire time (either parallel or turned out).
Executing a rings straight-arm, L-sit, straddlepress to handstand (which can be abbreviated R SAL-Sit Str. Press) requires an enormous amount of strength and balance. It helps to have previously worked numerous variations of rings bent-arm press to handstands and rings handstands.
The technique far this skill centers on controlling the movement by turning the rings out. The necessity of locking your arms straight on the rings makes this skill very difficult due to the inherent instability with rings movements. Sufficient strength and control, coupled with turning out the rings should provide the adequate stability to perform this movement.
As soon as you turn out the rings, you must get your hips directly overhead. This will be the hardest part of the movement, as the instability of the rings makes it tricky. The instability will cause you to naturallylean forward and planche the movement, even though this ulcimately makes it more difficult. Resist this urge by forcing your hips up while keeping your abdominals tight.
The bulk of the difficulty is in the first phase, where you must get your hips overhead. The second phase is relatively easy by comparison, as it entails simply bringing your legs up and together. Overcompensation is common; avoid it if at all possible, as it will cause you to fall forward. Since the difficulty level of this movement is so great, you can use a bit of momentum from the L-sit. This will be eliminated in the next progression.
This is a B-level skill in the Gymnastics Code of Points.
Scapular Positioning: Begin in a straddle L-sit position on the rings, with your scapulas depressed and slightly protracted. As your hips move overhead, your scapulas will protract and elevate. When your hips arrive over your shoulders vertically, your scapulas will be fully elevated. They remain fully elevated through the ending handstand position.
Technique: Begin in a straddle L-sit position on the rings with straight arms. The rings can be parallel or turned out. Allow your legs to drop and your shoulders to move slightly forward while lifting your hips in back. Keep your arms straight and contract your shoulders to keep from falling forward. Since the straddle allows more compression than the pike, you will need to lean forward more with your shoulders as your hips rise. As your hips become vertical above your shoulders, start to bring your legs up by opening up your hips. Finally, end in a handstand position. Keep the rings in the starting position the entire time (either parallel or turned out).
Momentum that can be generated from the previous skill is all but eliminated when performing the rings straight-arm, straddle-L, straddlepress to handstand (which can be abbreviated as R SA Str-L Str. Press). One must have a tremendous amount of pressing strength in order to perform this movement correctly. The technique is exactly the same as the previous skill except you straddle from the start. Since the rings are already turned out you do not have to worry about that. Simply lean forward slightly and focus on pushing your hips up and overhead. From there, bring your legs together.
This movement performed cleanly, without momentum, is nearly as difficult as a full planche on parallettes or the floor. When you have reached this level, your pressing strength is extremely advanced.
This is a B-level skill in the Gymnastics Code of Points.
Scapular Positioning: Begin in an L-sit position on the rings, with your scapulas depressed. As your hips begin to move overhead, your scapulas will protract and elevate. When your hips arrive over your shoulders vertically, your scapulas will be fully elevated. They should remain that way through the ending handstand position.
Technique: Begin in a straddle L-sit position on the rings with straight arms. The rings can be parallel or turned out. Allow your legs to drop and your shoulders to move slightly forward while lifting your hips in back. Keep your arms straight and contract your shoulders to keep from falling forward. As your hips become vertical above your shoulders, start to bring both of your legs up by opening up your hips. Finally, end in a handstand position. Keep the rings in the starting position the entire time (either parallel or turned out).
The rings straight-arm, pikepress to handstand (which can be abbreviated R SA Pike Press) is as far as this book goes with straight-arm presses. While it is not as difficult as some of the variations of the planche on rings, when executed correctly it is almost or as difficult as a full planche on parallettes or the floor. The technique is exactly the same, except you perform this movement from the pike position. The most difficult part is keeping your arms locked straight during the movement.
You must lean forward when performing this skill, as the pike position displaces your center of mass backward. There is a tendency to bend your arms to compensate because it requires less strength. However, you must not allow this to happen. Instead, keep your elbows locked and let your shoulder take the brunt of the force. This will strengthen your shoulders for many of the higher-skilled rings strength moves like the full planche, inverted cross, and maltese.
This is a B-level skill in the Gymnastics Code of Points.
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