Handstand : Progresser grâce à ces exercices | Charlie Tango Fitness

Handstand: Progress with these exercises

Imagine the following.

You are at the gym and you decide with your friend to practice handstand or walking on your hands. Your friend does the following:

He puts himself in a position of perfect balance, walks a distance of 30 meters and lets his feet fall gracefully on the ground.

"Wow, that was easy - and it was my first try!"

(No one ever said that.)

For most people (including me), handstand is not so easy, and walking in this incongruous position can be even more difficult. In fact, it can take a lot of work.

While handstand walking isn't necessarily a "basic move," it's definitely fun. And it also begins to appear more and more in competitions...

If you've ever tried (and failed) to walk on your hands, then you probably know that feeling... of total incompetence.

I remember trying for the first time...

No matter how strong or determined you are, there is absolutely no way to learn hand walking without one thing:

the practice.

Not just any practice. You have to be smart, because it's almost impossible to practice hand walking in a "gradual" progression.

With box jumps you can lower the height. With pull-ups, you can do negatives, or jumps. And with the handstand... you fall. A lot.

So today I'm going to teach you the exact handstand walking progressions I was doing in the beginning:

Here is my 5-step progression to learn hand walking :

Step 1: Hold your nose against the wall


Yes, feet up. This is different from the traditional balance hold with an outward facing body position.

When you're climbing (this is called "wall walking"), try to hold a handstand where only your nose and toes are touching the wall. This will naturally keep you in a stronger hollow body position and allow you to support the weight in your steady shoulders, not on the wall.

handstand-beginner

Tips :

  • Focus on maintaining a hard core.
  • Keep your feet together and pointed.
  • The nose should touch the wall (which forces you to keep your head neutral).


Mark:

Try to accumulate more than 30 seconds without a break while holding this position. Don't forget to breathe! I like to program these handstands into my warm-ups on a regular basis.

Step 2: Shoulders taps

When you walk handstand, you never have both hands resting equally on the ground. Instead, your weight constantly shifts from arm to arm as you move forward.

It is as if you were standing or walking (on your feet). Sure, standing is fine, but when you walk, you shift your weight from one leg to the other.

The shoulder tapping exercise allows you to practice this weight shift in a controlled environment. You learn to shift the weight from arm to arm while maintaining strong shoulders (and balance).

Advice :

  • Start by shifting your weight and very slightly lifting one hand off the ground. It is not necessary to immediately reach for your shoulder.
  • As you feel comfortable, raise your hands higher and higher. Try to switch from one hand to the other smoothly, without pausing.


Mark:
Work up to getting 15-20 uninterrupted shoulder taps before moving on to the next handstand walking progression. I love doing this exercise in an EMOM.

EMOM 8 minutes:

1 "Wall Walk" (walk "nose to the wall")
16 shoulder hit

handstand-crossfit

Step 3: Touch the hips

It's much the same as shoulder taps, except you exercise an extreme level of control and precision. You are isolated with one hand for much longer, which teaches you to maintain control of your body in a handstand upside down position.

Advice :
Focus on controlling your body! Otherwise, it is very easy to lose the hollow back position and fall to the ground.

Mark:
Once you've managed to string together more than 10 of these exercises, you'll be ready to kick some serious ass handstand!

Step 4: Non-Wall Brackets (Outlets)

Now that you've established lateral (side-to-side) balance, it's time to work on vertical (standing) balance.

In this step, just use your feet to step away from the wall to hold a handstand. The best part is that the wall gives you a "safety net" to get your feet back down. Practice holding for a few seconds at a time and slowly increasing.

Note : On your first try, find a spotter to make sure you don't fall forward. Otherwise, it can get ugly and turn into some very awkward forward rolls. 🙂

Tip : Start by placing your hands slightly further away from the wall so they can stay in place for the off-the-wall grip.

Stage 5: ATR outside the wall

This is where it all happens! Take your feet off the wall and allow your body to "pull" forward by tilting it more than 90 degrees. Don't go too far in your steps. Feel your balance drop slightly forward and follow it with a walk with your hands forward to keep the rhythm.

Tips :

  • Take short, hesitant steps rather than long steps. These small steps will help you keep your balance and move forward without falling!
  • Keep your feet together and your butt tight! This buttock activation will help your body stay rigid while handstand walking. If you're a coward, you'll fall to the ground.

hand stand

Step 6: Try walking on your hands!


After learning how to walk on the handles, you are ready to start racing! Go ahead and try walking on your hands! Don't be afraid to practice all of these progressions regularly to keep your skills sharp.

I hope you can apply this simple progression to your training. If you do, you will see significant progress! Sooner or later, you'll be walking upside down in your home, gym, and garden.

Want to train more? Can't get enough of being upside down? Check out our training guides and programs here.

The best way to practice handstand is with a friend, so be sure to share this post with someone you will practice with!

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