The handstand: A fundamental skill that is the foundation and starting point to progress further to learning many other callisthenic movements. The handstand helps to build strength and develops total body proprioception. Now, I’m far from perfect when it comes to performing a handstand. But along the way I have learnt a few tips that have helped me to improve and at least get to the stage I am now (still newby status, but getting better). When learning the handstand the most important thing to remember is not to get focused on one part in isolation. There is not one part that is more important than the other. The entire kinetic chain and body must work together in unison. The handstand is also not something you will learn in 1 day. You have to practice, practice, practice…lots! Having said all that, we will begin at the feet and work our way to the hands and consider each segment in isolation. Firstly, remember to keep you toes pointed. When I first started practicing I thought this was a girly thing to do and I would be able to smash out a handstand without pointing my toes. Unfortunately, I was very wrong. You have to point your toes even if you look like a bit of a fairy. Pointing the toes upwards gets the body to flow in an upward direction and helps to align the body in that straight position. Secondly, keep your legs straight and together, do not let them flap around in the air or let them go limp (this makes things much harder to control). Squeeze your bum tight. The more active the glut muscles, the more stable your midsection and legs will be. Squeeze them tight together. This will help with maintaining balance. Thirdly is the midsection. You need to tense your abs and squeeze your bum tight. Doing this will allow you to posteriorly tilt/rotate your pelvis to flatten your spine. This helps achieve that nice straight line and also makes it easier to control the leg position so once again they don’t flap in the wind. If you relax your abs and gluts, your pelvis with anteriorly tilt and your legs will fall towards your backside and your head will tilt forwards. Next is the shoulders…the shoulders need to be actively engaged and fully extended. Think about pushing yourself away from the ground, shrug your shoulders towards the ground, push into the floor and straighten your arms as much as possible. The tension you develop in the muscle/fascial system doing this will give you greater control. The head position is also very important. Your spine will follow where you position your head. Ideally, when learning, try and look forwards with your eyes, instead of looking at the ground. If you look at the ground, the spine will bend and follow the head. This will increase the lordotic curvature and make it more difficult to stabilise the midsection. If you look forwards with your eyes, the spine will stay straighter and make it easier to balance. As your master the handstand, you can start playing with head position. Lastly is the wrists/hands/fingers. I personally like to have my fingers splayed and facing forwards. The hands should also be about shoulder width apart. If your hands are spaced too wide or narrow, it takes more effort and control to balance. Keep the arms/hands directly under the shoulders. The wrists/hands/fingers play a paramount role in the balancing act and fine tuning of our position. By increasing the loading on the fingers and pressing the fingers into the ground you can bring your legs from leaning to far back and get them back to the centre, by shifting the load on to the palm/heel of your hands, you bring the legs from to far in front to back to the centre. The wrists/hands/fingers, provided your body is now a rigid lever, can move your body back and forward playing a balancing act. However, if any of the links break down (no midsection control, no active shoulders, toes not pointed, legs not straight and together) and become unstable, you will not be able to control the entire chain. Hope this helps. Now get out and smash out some handstand action!
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 14:40:52 +0000
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