Stuck at Handstand progress

Hi guys,

I have been doing wall handstands(belly to the wall) for almost 2 months, before that i did for a few months as well before taking a break.

I dont know what is wrong but ....

I am able to do 5 sets of 40-45 wall handstands

i am also doing handstand wall runs every now and then

but still when i try to push away into a freestanding handstand while in a back to the wall handstand

I am unable to hold it for more than 2 seconds i dont know what is wrong

Please help me out

i do some hollow body holds before every handstand workout 5 sets of about 45 seconds

but these are not the perfect hollow body, they are the beginning progression.... imagine you are sitting in a chair with your hands tucked in your sides, now imagine you this same way but with your back to the floor this is the hold that i am practicing coz i dont have teh strength yet

PS i am a six foot tall ectomorph, with a long torso and heavy legs....not very ideal right, is this the reason it is so hard to balance???

Are your shoulders aligned with your wrists? It's impossible to balance if they aren't.

Also, you should try balancing from a stomach to wall HS.

No, your height shouldn't have anything to do with balancing in a handstand. It'll definitely make planche and levers harder though...

How do i make sure that the shoulders are aligned with the wrists??

Could the balance be harder due to lack in core strength?

please post a video of your handstand

Doing wall handstands would give u the strength, but not the balance and most certainly not the freestanding automatically.

Practice is key here (hundreds of failed kicks to a freestanding handstand is part of the journey) before u get your freestanding

Are you aware of the role of your fingers to balance your handstand? Building good alignment with wall exercises is neccesary but if you are not able to balance using your fingers it is almost impossible to get a freestanding handstand, no matter the position or alignment. When you say you can stay on the wall but fall after a second or two when you try freestanding I get the impression this is your problem. You need to work on gripping the floor. Imagine you are trying to squeeze and crush the floor with your fingers. This is your main way of correcting over-balance(falling in the direction of your back). It does take some practice to build forearm and finger strength and to make it an intuitive action.

To get an idea of how this works, get in a push up position with your knees on the floor. Lean a bit forwards while keeping your arms straight so you get a slight shoulder angle and then squeeze your fingers as you would claw into the floor. The force from your fingers will push your shoulders and upper body backwards. This pressure is what keeps you up in a handstand, especially in the early stages. In the beginning I would reccommend you to stay slightly over balanced(we are talking millimeters ideally) and keep your balance with the tension of your fingers. 

This is just what I assume from what you wrote. To see your alignment, shoulder flexibility, etc you would have to post a video.

Handbalancer said:

Are you aware of the role of your fingers to balance your handstand? Building good alignment with wall exercises is neccesary but if you are not able to balance using your fingers it is almost impossible to get a freestanding handstand, no matter the position or alignment. When you say you can stay on the wall but fall after a second or two when you try freestanding I get the impression this is your problem. You need to work on gripping the floor. Imagine you are trying to squeeze and crush the floor with your fingers. This is your main way of correcting over-balance(falling in the direction of your back). It does take some practice to build forearm and finger strength and to make it an intuitive action.

 

To get an idea of how this works, get in a push up position with your knees on the floor. Lean a bit forwards while keeping your arms straight so you get a slight shoulder angle and then squeeze your fingers as you would claw into the floor. The force from your fingers will push your shoulders and upper body backwards. This pressure is what keeps you up in a handstand, especially in the early stages. In the beginning I would reccommend you to stay slightly over balanced(we are talking millimeters ideally) and keep your balance with the tension of your fingers. 

 

This is just what I assume from what you wrote. To see your alignment, shoulder flexibility, etc you would have to post a video.

Gee, I'm glad you posted this just now. I was considering writing a post as to whether it was normal/productive that I was gripping the ground and using my fingers to the point they were cramping up (on very close wall HS). Headed me off early.