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My Favorite Handstand Practice Exercises
Favoritable | April 30, 2017
Here are my favorite exercises I do on a regular basis to practice handstand. The more often you can practice the faster you’ll see results, however, you don’t have to spend more than 5-10 minutes a day being upside down.
Handstands are not only a great way to build exceptional strength and athleticism, daily practice can also bring a lot of health benefits:
- handstands help reduce stress and improve your mood
- handstands stimulate endocrine system
- handstands improve your metabolism
- handstands improve your balance and spacial awareness
- handstands improve blood flow
- handstands improve digestion
- handstands stimulate lymphatic system
Here are some tips that will help you with your practice:
- Activate your shoulders – practice standing upright by reaching with your hands towards the sky lifting your shoulders and bringing them towards your ears. Now do that when you’re in the handstand position.
- Spread your fingers and keep most of the weight on the palms of your hands, mostly on the heels. Use the fingers only when you feel like you’re about to fall over.
- If you’re doing a straight pencil handstand, make sure to squeeze your thighs together, point your feet but try to spread your toes (for more leg engagement) and squeeze your glutes. Make yourself as rigid as possible. You want to keep your spine straight and get rid off the natural curve in your lower back. When it comes to your pelvis – do the opposite of sticking your butt out.
- Your gaze or where your eyes go when doing a handstand is also important. The point of focus will vary depending on the style of handstand. If you’re doing a straight pencil handstand, look at the point between your hands and don’t kink your neck. Don’t move your eyes and try to breath naturally.
There’s no magic formula to improve your handstand other than a daily practice and variations of different handstand exercises such as those in this video.
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Bodyweight only | Exercise Ball | Hand Weights | Jump Ropes | Kettlebells | Pull Up Bar | Resistance Bands | Sliding Discs
Private Member |
massachusetts, united states
Thank You for this!!!!!!
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
can you clarify if those benefits are for being upside down? or purely doing a handstand? I do shoulder-stand on feet-up trainer stool and think all those benefits are still valid using that stool.
Of course athleticism and spatial awareness can’t be beaten, but the health benefits is the priority to me. Before having a feet-up trainer, I was doing should-stand inversion using 3 yoga blocks under each shoulder, but still needed a wall for safety. The stool however can be used in the middle of the room , I really love it. (it can be use for many other poses than inversion btw)
Private Member |
france
it would be great if we could add pages as favourites too, I’m definitely coming back to this page to practise handstand 🙂
Private Member |
san diego, ca, usa
Agreed! Wish I could make this a favorite.
Private Member |
los angeles, ca, usa
😉
Private Member |
san diego, ca, usa
Thanks!
Private Member |
hailey, id
W
O
W
you’ve just made my wish to do more of these a part of my daily routine
thank you – always – Zu
t