My Handstand Journey: What I wish I knew when I began

[jesusloverr]

@mduce It’s easy enough to check if you’re ready: try some wall handstand holds to test your strength and endurance (pay attention to your wrist and shoulder strength and flexibility). Try holding for 30s. If that’s doable then I don’t see why you shouldn’t start.

Start with the above mentioned wall HS holds, frogstands (to find balance in your wrists) and I’d even recommend headstands (to find bodyline balance)

 

[mduce]

@jesusloverr Thanks, I'll give it a try!

 

[brobear]

@jesusloverr unrelated question, but is it possible to do reach a level where u can do a handstand without warming up (and getting injured)? I can't do it. Just a thought when i want to just bang out a handstand out of nowhere , perhaps to impress someone or take a photo lol (yea so much vanity i know)

 

[jesusloverr]

@brobear I mean, yes, you should be able to pull a HS “out-of-the-bag” without a warm up eventually. But I do wonder how many years of practice you’d need before the risk of injury is next to nothing...

Imagine the splits. A ballerina with 20 years of experience can probably enter the splits position at whim even when cold. The “newbie” who has been training splits for 2 years, and can do them when warm, would be really pushing their limits to suddenly jump into the splits without any kind of warm-up.

At some point it will be doable, but I very much doubt there’s any science which explains when someone reaches that point.

TLDR; yes, after enough practice. But listen to your body. If it feels uncomfortable that’s your body telling you you’re not ready for it.

 

[acad]

@jesusloverr Man I held a handstand 10s once and can’t make it again. I barely doing 4-5s hold it sooo frustrating

 

[jesusloverr]

@acad The key is to just keep practicing. Those tiny muscle movements which are keeping you in balance need to be developed with repetition so that they become efficient enough to hold you for X time. The only way to build that is practice and patience.

 

[tom9820]

@jesusloverr 5 minutes every day is better that three 45min sessions per week.
What?!

 

[jesusloverr]

@tom9820 As I mentioned, this isn’t about strength or hypertrophy gains. The volume approach pays off more with frequency over length of training when it comes to HSs. If you can stomach 45 minute sessions daily, and still finish up 45 mins with good form at the end, they hey, go for it!